Smoking in multi-family housing complexes presents a significant challenge, particularly in senior living residences where health concerns are paramount. As exemplified by the experiences of one senior living property, the spread of cigarette smoke into common areas and neighboring apartments not only compromises the health and comfort of residents but also leads to frequent complaints and property damage. Despite efforts to enforce non-smoking policies, management has struggled to achieve effective resolution of the issue due to a lack of concrete evidence. 

In response to these challenges, there arises a critical need for innovative solutions like cigarette smoke detectors to address health hazards, enhance the living environment, and promote compliance with smoking regulations within multi-family housing settings. Let's explore how such solutions, particularly with the implementation of WYND Sentry, have transformed smoking regulation and resident well-being in multi-family housing complexes.

Customer Details

Customer Challenges

• Enforcement Challenges: Despite transitioning to a non-smoking building in 2019, the management team faced challenges in enforcing the policy with ongoing issues related to smoking. Hindered by the absence of concrete evidence, management faced difficulties in investigating and addressing concerns of residents violating the non-smoking policy.

• Health Concerns: As a senior housing residence, numerous residents deal with various health concerns, such as requiring supplemental oxygen. Consequently, these residents face heightened health risks associated with exposure to secondhand smoke.

• Frequent Complaints: Management regularly received several smoking-related complaints per day from concerned residents. (Approximately 60 complaints received per month)

• Building-Wide Impact: The entire building was affected by secondhand smoke as residents and staff reported the lingering scent of marijuana and cigarettes in hallways or neighboring units.

• Property Damage and Financial Implications: Incurred financial losses due to costs of smoking-related damages that were required to prepare units for new tenants.

Why Sentry?

The management's willingness to invest in WYND Sentry as the appropriate solution was driven by the urgent need to mitigate damage to apartments, address health hazards associated with smoking, and improve the overall living environment for their residents. The clear value proposition of Sentry in solving the long-standing smoking challenges justified the investment, providing a more effective and efficient solution than previous attempts.

“It was what we wanted to do for our residents. The majority here are elderly, they don’t smoke, some are on oxygen so the small amount of smokers we had was a problem”

Results

Since implementation, WYND Sentry has deterred smoking and noise incidents by 73%.  Property management saw a remarkable 93% decrease in smoking-related complaints from tenants.

WYND Sentry has successfully addressed the smoking-related challenges at this senior living property, leading to notable improvements in the living environment. The hallways now emit pleasant scents, signalling a positive change in air quality. Notably, the implementation of Sentry has resulted in a major shift in behavior among smoking residents, who have now embraced the use of designated smoking areas outside. This significant change has played a pivotal role in reducing resident complaints, fostering a more enjoyable and healthier living environment. 

Detailed Review: A senior living property sought a solution to the persistent smoking issue in their facility and found Sentry, the only accurate recreational smoke detection system. As a smoke-free senior living residence, the management aimed to establish a safer environment for their residents. Prior to implementing Sentry, the property management team tried various approaches, such as notifying residents, conducting inspections, and involving attorneys in the past, none effectively addressing the smoking problem. Frustration with the lack of success in resolving the issue led the property manager to choose Sentry. In the past, evictions occurred due to continued smoking incidents which breached the tenancy agreements. The previous resolution process was often prolonged and required the involvement of lawyers as there was a lack of tangible evidence. However, with the use of Sentry to identify smokers as well as provide reports on each smoking incident, management has been able to mitigate issues and take a more proactive approach to smoke prevention.  Sentry’s ability to provide real time notification of smoking incidents has allowed the property management team to create a process in which their property management team is able to address rule breaks of various different levels. If a pattern is discovered by management, incident reports are compiled and used to notify the resident of the rule breaks. Even with this evidence, some residents refute the accuracy of the system and some have even denied the legitimacy of the reports. Though this is the case, there has been a noted change in behavior in these tenants and no further incidents have been noted. Management have also observed a positive shift in behavior among smoking residents, noting that they are actively making the effort to go outside to use the appropriate designated smoking areas more frequently. The data and evidence based approach has improved the atmosphere and created a much more easily manageable and trusting community environment. In conclusion, Sentry has emerged as a crucial asset for multi-family housing, effectively solving persistent smoking issues and instigating a positive behavioral shift among residents. The system's real-time notifications and evidence-based reporting have streamlined management processes, fostering a more cooperative and trusting community environment. Finally, complaints from non-smoking residents have significantly decreased, which indicates the success in Sentry creating a safer and more enjoyable community.  “[Installing Sentry] was a good move. [Before Sentry] I was overwhelmed with people complaining of the smoke and there was nothing I could do”

 

For more information on WYND Sentry and how it can benefit your hotel or property, visit WYND Sentry - Multi-Family or connect with our team to Book a Demo.