Hotel Owners’ Statement On Assembly Bill 4131

ATLANTA—AAHOA President & CEO Cecil P. Staton issued the following statement in response to New Jersey Governor Murphy signing Assembly Bill 4131, a bill that requires the state’s Department of Health to establish sanitization guidelines for hotels operating in the state:

“As America’s hotel owners prepare to welcome back guests, their first priority is the health and safety of their guests and employees. We are concerned that, with the signing of AB 4131, the implementation of certain provisions could compromise the health and welfare of guests and employees. For example, the daily cleaning of guest rooms and requiring round the clock front desk coverage are not supported in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance and could increase the risk of exposure to and transmission of COVID-19.

“Thousands of hotels are already abiding by the protocols outlined in Safe Stay, an industry-wide initiative to enhance health and safety standards. Groups such as AAHOA, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the New Jersey Hospitality and Restaurant Association, and the New Jersey Hotel and Lodging Association worked with the CDC to help create these standards. Hotel owners are taking steps to reduce instances of personal contact through physical distancing measures and scaling back amenities that could increase the risk of transmission. We are all working towards the same goal – halting the spread of COVID-19 – and we look forward to working with the New Jersey Department of Health on sanitization guidelines that help mitigate the transmission of this virus.”