The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) released a statement on Monday announcing it would “relax mask requirements” for vaccinated guests while employees will still be required to wear them.
The statement, provided by Chip Rogers, president and CEO of the AHLA, comes on the heels of a set of guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stating that vaccinated Americans do not need to wear masks indoors or outdoors in most situations.
“Like all Americans, we are excited for a return to normal life, which includes travel,” Rogers stated. “The recent CDC guidelines for vaccinated Americans lifting certain face-covering restrictions was welcome news and should help speed up a much-needed recovery. As an industry, our primary concerns have always been guest and worker safety.”
Rogers continued, noting that hotels are not currently being asked to require guests to prove vaccination status:
In light of the recent CDC announcement that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask or physically distance in most settings, our Safe Stay guidelines will relax mask requirements for guests who are fully vaccinated. At this time, we are not asking hotels to require proof of vaccination status, but we do ask that all guests and workers, vaccinated or not, respect and honor these revised guidelines. Unvaccinated guests should wear face-coverings at all times and practice physical distancing.
In addition, Rogers stated hotel employees “should continue to wear face-coverings indoors for the time being and follow local business and workplace guidance” and said the new guidelines implemented by the association will only seek to ease, but not eliminate, mask requirements for “vaccinated employees working outside, or not in close contact with others.”
In the statement, Rogers also made a “call on all Americans to be vaccinated before removing face-coverings.”
“Moving into the next stages of recovery and as vaccination rates continue to increase, we will carefully consider all new guidance in accordance with all applicable federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations,” Rogers concluded. “In the meantime, Safe Stay’s rigorous health and safety protocols will continue to help support peace of mind for travelers.”
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