Smoking rooms? Tobacco, e-cigarettes and terraces in hotels and holiday rentals: Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece (2026)

Updated: 9 November 2026

One guest asks if they can smoke in the room or on the balcony. Another only books smoke-free. The law answers both, and your listings should too. This is what we checked in each country's official gazettes and government websites (links at the end). This is not legal advice: where we could not confirm something we say so, and you should check it with your adviser or local health authority.

Spain: what Law 28/2005 says today

In the consolidated text in the BOE:

Art. 7.t: no smoking in hotels, hostels and similar establishments, except in open-air areas.
Art. 8: you may set aside up to 30% of rooms as fixed rooms for smoking guests. Fixed means you cannot switch a room day by day.
Art. 8 conditions: separate areas with independent ventilation or other smoke-removal systems; permanent signs; tell guests the room type in advance; staff do not enter while the guest is inside, except in an emergency.
Common areas (reception, lounges, corridors, indoor restaurant): the law does not name them for hotels, but art. 7.x bans smoking in all other enclosed spaces for public or collective use.
Open air, in hospitality, means an uncovered space or a covered one with no more than two side walls (art. 2). Such a terrace is not covered by today's ban.
E-cigarettes: the list of places where the law bans them (public bodies, health and education centres, public transport, playgrounds) does not include hotels. You can still ban them in your house rules.
Fine for smoking where it is banned: a minor offence; up to EUR 30 if isolated (art. 20.1); minor offences range from EUR 30 to 600.
Regions may have their own rules: we have not checked this.

Spain: the reform is not yet law

The Council of Ministers approved the bill on 21 July 2026 and Congress published it on 11 September 2026 (BOCG no. 111-1). It is not in the BOE, so it is not in force. Parliament was then dissolved on 6-10-2026 for the 29-11-2026 general election and, according to the press, the bill lapses and must be reintroduced. The bill:

Keeps fixed smoking rooms in hotels (art. 7.1.t).
Bans smoking in bars, restaurants and other food and drink outlets, including outdoors (art. 7.1.u): this affects your bar or restaurant terrace.
Bans smoking at shared swimming pools, indoor and outdoor (art. 7.1.e).
Treats e-cigarettes and related products like tobacco in smoke-free spaces (art. 10 bis), except nicotine pouches.
The text may change through amendments. Entry into force date: not confirmed.

Portugal: up to 40% of rooms

Law 37/2007, in its current version (after Law 63/2017, Decree-Law 9/2021 and Law 5/2024), says:

No smoking in hotels and other tourist developments providing accommodation (art. 4(1)(p)).
The ban covers heated tobacco and e-cigarettes with nicotine (art. 4(3)).
Smoking is allowed in open-air areas (art. 5(3)). The law does not define a terrace; it defines an enclosed space as fully surrounded by walls and roofed.
Up to 40% of floors, units or rooms may be for smokers (art. 5(9)), with signs, maximum occupancy at the entrance, physical separation or full partitioning, and ventilation or extraction to the outside.
Fines follow the economic offences regime: minor for the smoker, serious for an operator in breach. Amounts: we have not confirmed them.
Local accommodation (alojamento local): the law refers to hotels and other tourist developments; whether it includes alojamento local we have not confirmed.

Italy: smoke-free enclosed premises

Art. 51 of Law 3/2003 bans smoking in enclosed premises, except private ones not open to the public and designated smoking rooms.
A smoking room needs (Decree of 23-12-2003): floor-to-ceiling walls, an automatic door, forced ventilation with negative pressure, air vented outside and a lit 'AREA PER FUMATORI' sign.
Hotel rooms are not mentioned in these texts. Whether a room counts as enclosed premises open to the public we have not confirmed: ask your local health authority (ASL).
Legislative Decree 6/2016 added bans in cars with minors or pregnant women and outside paediatric and maternity hospitals.
Terraces and e-cigarettes: a Senate bill (DDL S. 232) would include them; we have not confirmed it passed. Many towns have their own rules: we have not checked them.
Current fine amounts: we have not confirmed them.

Greece: banned indoors since 2010

Law 3868/2010 bans smoking in enclosed public spaces and workplaces from 1-9-2010, with no smoking areas allowed (Ministry of Health circular).
An outdoor smoking area must be open on at least two sides (Ministry of Health, 2024, citing art. 16 of Law 4633/2019).
Fines: EUR 50 to 500 for the smoker and EUR 500 to 10,000 for the person in charge of the venue, according to the Region of Central Greece (2019).
Hotel rooms and e-cigarettes: we have not confirmed this.

European Union: a recommendation, not a law

On 3-12-2024 the EU Council took up a recommendation on smoke- and aerosol-free environments (document 15059/24). It asks countries to make terraces, rooftops, balconies and patios of bars and restaurants, swimming pools and beaches smoke-free, and it covers heated tobacco and e-cigarettes. It is not binding: only what each country passes applies. It does not mention hotels.

How to publish it for Google and AI

Say the same thing everywhere. If one listing says smoke-free and another mentions smoking rooms, guests and AI will hesitate:

On your website, with schema.org: the smokingAllowed property (true or false) works for the hotel and for each room type. Example: "smokingAllowed": false.
Google: 'smoke-free property' means no smoking inside, on balconies or outdoors. If you have smoking rooms or a smoking area, do not tick it.
Booking.com: Property > Policies > House rules > Smoking. If you have smoking rooms, also say so in the room type name or description.
Airbnb: in the listing editor, say whether smoking, including vaping and e-cigarettes, is allowed.
On your website, one clear sentence: where guests may smoke and vape, where not, and any cleaning fee for smoking in a non-smoking room (if you charge one, put it in your terms).

10-minute check

Count your smoking rooms: in Spain, 30% maximum; in Portugal, 40%.
Check signs, ventilation and that guests know before booking.
Decide your vaping rule and write it in your house rules.
Look at your terrace: covered with more than two walls? Then it is not open air.
Make Google, Booking.com, Airbnb and your website say the same thing.

How iQuota helps

iQuota does not give legal advice or inspect premises. We publish your property in AI assistants with direct booking and payment at the property, and we put your rules (smoking included) into data AI can read. We do not promise that an AI will recommend you: we make sure that if it finds you, it reads correct data.

Want an official booking page AI can read and a connector with your real prices, commission-free? The first 30 hotels join free until 30 June 2027.

See the Founding Hotels programme

Frequently asked questions

Can a hotel in Spain have smoking rooms?

Yes: up to 30% of rooms, fixed, separated, with independent ventilation, signs and advance notice to the guest (Law 28/2005, art. 8).

Is smoking banned on terraces in Spain?

Not today on terraces that count as open air under the law. The bill that would ban it on bar and restaurant terraces is not in the BOE and, according to the press, lapsed when Parliament was dissolved on 6-10-2026.

Can I ban e-cigarettes at my property?

Yes, as a house rule; Booking.com and Airbnb let you state it. In Portugal the law already bans them wherever smoking is banned.

Sources

More guides for hotels

More guides for hotels →

Español · Italiano · Português · Ελληνικά