Staying with Marriott and Hyatt? You’ll soon need to wear a face covering

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As hotel chains update their policies regarding face masks, we will update this post with current information.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) has decreed its guidelines for travelers to stay safe during the current climate of coronavirus. One bullet among many on their list is the use of face coverings in public areas. This has caused some hotels to rewrite their current rules to mandate face masks for guests.

Marriott and Hyatt are currently the only chains that have actually stamped a date on their policies. In less than a week, you won’t be able to enter a Marriott or Hyatt hotel without a mask.

These hotel chains require face coverings

This week, Marriott and Hyatt announced that wearing face coverings would become mandatory policy for guests beginning July 27, 2020.

Hotels are staying abreast of the AHLA’s guidelines for keeping customers safe, implementing such practices as more thorough room cleaning, sanitizing stations, enabling better social distancing practices, etc. Requiring face masks is only the latest development.

The AHLA released their top 5 requirements to travel safely, which begins with the requirement of face coverings:

1. Require face coverings in all indoor public spaces and practice social distancing in all common areas.
2. Choose contactless options, where available, including online reservations, check-ins, and payments.
3. Consider daily room cleaning, only if necessary. Ask the hotel about your options.
4. Request contactless room service delivery.
5. Refrain from traveling if you have, or recently had, any symptoms of COVID-19 or contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.

Face coverings are nothing new to the hospitality industry — hotel staff have been wearing masks for months. The policy has largely been optional for guests. If you, like many travelers, have already been wearing masks, you won’t be affected by this change.

We expect other major hotel chains, such as Hilton and IHG, and perhaps Choice and Wyndham, to outline similar rules for their guests in the very near future.

This comes after many major airlines like Delta and United have begun requiring passengers to wear face coverings when flying.

Travel policies are constantly changing in the age of coronavirus. We’ll do our best to keep you up to speed on the things you need to know before your next trip. You can subscribe to our newsletter for posts like this delivered to your inbox.