Beginning July 27, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) will require guests to wear face coverings while occupying indoor common areas of its hotels in the U.S. and Canada, an IHG spokesperson told Business Travel News.

Similar mandates were announced this week by the Hyatt and Marriott brands, both of which referred to guidelines outlined in the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s (AHLA) ‘Safe Stay Guest Checklist,’ released just last week for the very purpose of standardizing COVID-19-prompted health and safety measures at hotels and resorts nationwide.

Hilton reportedly has confirmed that it will also be updating its policies to require that guests wear face coverings, and Loews Hotels had already required masks for guests.

Hyatt specified in its updated policies that guests seen without appropriate face coverings at its properties will be asked to wear them, and face masks will be made available for those without one of their own. It had already become standard practice for employees at major hotel chains to don masks, and any other pertinent personal protective equipment, at all times while on duty.

“This new policy comes at a pivotal time amidst the ongoing challenges of Covid-19 and helps us care for the health and safety of our guests and colleagues,” Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt, 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 come together as an industry to promote clear guidelines, which for the foreseeable future include the wearing of face coverings in indoor public spaces and practicing social distancing throughout the hotel.”

“Health experts have made it clear that wearing face coverings in public spaces is one of the easiest steps that we can all take to protect one another and reduce the spread of COVID-19,” Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson announced in a video message. “These are all easy steps we can take to support one another and the communities we love, whether we live there, work there or are visiting.”

For more information, visit IHG.com.

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