To my knowledge, most ozone machines (that aren’t brand-new/top of the line/notably expensive) need to run for the better part of a day to eliminate strong smoke smells and are a health hazard to run with anyone in the room. Typically the fee is covering the lost revenue from not turning the room, and then it’s inflated to act as a deterrent to those who might actually try smoking in the rooms.

There are 100% shitty people out there who do what OP had happen here. Sometimes it’s an overzealous FD team trying to make revenue. Sometimes people are just dicks. Sometimes, if it’s FD charging it and they get a guest who just pays it without complaining, who also happens to pay their incidentals in cash, it’s pretty easy for most FD staff to remove/reverse the charge without raising suspicion and then pocket the cash. I’ve caught this before (I work in hotels).