RELATED: If You’re Unvaccinated, You’ll Be Turned Away From This.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Some hotels in the U.S. have already said that they will require proof of vaccination from both guests and staff, according to The New York Times. The PUBLIC Hotel, Equinox Hotel, and Wythe Hotel in New York City; the Urban Cowboy Lodge in Big Indian, New York; and Pilgrim House in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are the first to announce this stringent new policy. At the PUBLIC Hotel, all guests over the age of 12 must be fully vaccinated before entering, beginning Sept. 6. “The health, safety, and wellbeing of our guests and staff is the only thing that matters to us,” Ian Schrager, hotelier and founder of PUBLIC, said in a statement. “With these measures in place our guests will be able to relax, enjoy, and experience the hotel and all of the exciting things it has to offer in the knowledge they won’t get sick or make anyone else sick.” Urban Cowboy Lodge and Pilgrim House have already started requiring that guests show proof of vaccination in order to stay at either property. Both the Equinox Hotel and the Wythe Hotel will be enforcing vaccine requirements as of Sept. 13. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Vaccine requirements for hotels are also popping up outside the U.S., so international travelers should take note. Puerto Rico issued an island-wide mandate in August requiring that all guests and staff at all hotels, guesthouses, and short-term rentals like Airbnb provide proof of vaccination or a negative PCR or rapid test taken 72 hours before arrival. Elite Island Resorts, which has several hotel locations throughout the Caribbean, also began requiring proof of vaccination for all guests 12 and over on Sept. 1. “After weighing all the choices, issues and concerns, mandating vaccines was the wisest option in protecting the critical tourism industry of these beloved destinations that are so crucial to the survival of so many employees, and the only way we will be able to keep travel and tourism going strong throughout the fall and winter,” Elite Island Resorts founder and CEO Robert A. Barrett wrote in a statement. As of late August, larger U.S. hotel chains such as Marriott International, Hyatt, and Hilton, are not yet requiring guests to be vaccinated, per the NYT. But this could soon change. Sarah Brown, a spokeswoman of Marriott International, told the news outlet that while guests at Marriott hotels are not required to be vaccinated, local jurisdictions may require vaccine verification at certain locations. Some experts are still doubtful that this type of mandate will spread to major hotel chains in the country. “At the current stage, I don’t think we will see broad vaccine requirements by hotels,” Christopher K. Anderson, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, told the NYT. RELATED: If You’re Unvaccinated, You Could Soon Get Charged More for This Every Month.
