MSPeconomist

I'm interested in trying to compare the published policies (and actual practices if there's enough data) across various hotel chains regarding face mask (or face shield, etc.) requirements and possibly related policies such as maximum elevator occupancy when the people are not traveling together or members of the same family. I've tried searching for such information but without much luck.

When I look at "what to expect" on a recent Marriott reservation (emailed to me personally), I see a lot of PR about cleaning procedures and then the following statement:

"FACE COVERINGS: To promote the health and safety of our communities, face coverings are required for guests and associates in all indoor public areas in North America, the Caribbean, and Latin America."

Some Marriott employees have told me that they've been instructed not to say anything to enforce this.

As stated, this can't be the formal official policy as it doesn't seem to exempt even newborn infants, people eating and drinking, or those using indoor swimming pools (some of which are currently open). It doesn't specify whether the face covering must be a mask or can be a face shield worn alone. An earlier version that I saw didn't contain the word indoor, so the implication would be that face coverings are required in parking lots, etc. The current version seems to exempt Marriott-operated shuttles, unless a bus is considered to be indoors, so IMO it's ambiguous here.

I've also noticed Marriott family hotels located in the same local jurisdiction (a couple miles apart) where one has signs saying only one person or one family per elevator while the other hotel has no such (posted or otherwise) policy. The hotels have roughly the same number of stories and similar ratios of elevators to room count.

What I've been able to learn regarding Hyatt is that a policy started for guests on July 27th (employees were required to wear masks covering their mouths and noses earlier, at least in the USA) that applies to public indoor areas in Hyatt properties in (ONLY) the USA and Canada. It says that some guests *may* be exempt, "including but not limited to" those under age two, those with (unspecified) medical conditions (without documentation like some airlines require?), or those consuming F&B in hotel restaurants (not bars or lobbies or any open lounges?). There's no mention of indoor swimming pools, some of which are currently open.

I only have a couple data points, but Hyatt elevators in the USA seem to be signposted for a maximum occupancy of four unrelated individuals.

Hyatt also says that they'll make face masks available (to guests claiming not to have one), but doesn't appear to say whether they will be free or not. I've seen them near the check in area in some but not all Hyatts recently and I've also seen them in Marriott family hotels, either individually or as part of some travel sanitation kit for sale.

Some hotels in both chains have distributed a one page COVID-19 policy fact sheet (including information about restaurant opening hours, shuttles, pools, etc.) at check in. IME these seem to have been drafted by local hotel staff or GMs individually and not by staff at corporate headquarters.

I haven't tried much to find policies for other chains such as Hilton, IHG, Wyndham, Accor, etc., but perhaps some people here are familiar with their current rules.

I'm interested in trying to discover whether, at least in the USA, some hotel chains have stricter policies than others regarding especially face masks so that this can inform my travel decisions. PLEASE do not try to debate whether face masks should be required or whether it's OK for elevators to be crowded. This thread is NOT about whether or not face masks should be worn (or should be required) but rather just the facts regarding policies announced by different hotel chains.

An obvious difference that appears above is that the Marriott policy applies to (at least almost all of) the entire Western Hemisphere while for Hyatt, it's only the USA and Canada (despite there being Hyatts in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, etc. plus on a number of Caribbean islands). Of course, if national/provincial/local policies would be stricter, the government regulation/law would apply.