Beginning July 27, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) will require guests to cover their faces while occupying interior common areas of their hotels in the United States and Canada, an IHG spokesperson told Business Travel News.
© Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel
Intercontinental New York Barclay Hotel
Similar mandates were announced this week by the Hyatt and Marriott brands, which referred to the guidelines outlined in the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AHLA) ‘Safe Stay Guest Checklist’, released last week with the for the sole purpose of standardizing COVID-19 – health and safety measures promoted in hotels and tourist centers throughout the country.
Hilton reportedly confirmed that it will also update its policies to require guests to cover their faces, and that Loews Hotels had already requested masks for guests.
Hyatt specified in its updated policies that guests will be asked to be seen without the proper facial coatings on their properties to wear them, and facial masks will be provided for those without their own. It had already become standard practice for employees of major hotel chains to wear masks and any other relevant personal protective equipment, at all times while on duty.
“This new policy comes at a crucial time in the midst of current Covid-19 challenges and helps us care for the health and safety of our guests and colleagues,” Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt President and CEO, said in a statement. “In an effort to enable safe travel, we support AHLA’s recently expanded Safe Stay initiative and traveler checklist that help us unite as an industry to promote clear guidelines, which for the foreseeable future include the use of face covers in interior public spaces and practical social distancing throughout the hotel. “
“Health experts have made it clear that wearing face covers in public spaces is one of the easiest steps we can all take to protect ourselves and reduce the spread of COVID-19,” announced Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson, in a video message. “These are all easy steps we can take to support each other and the communities we love, whether we live there, work there, or visit each other.”
Video: Marriott, Hyatt to order facial coatings in indoor public spaces (travel + leisure)
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