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Vermont hotels and motels will be allowed to gradually reopen starting May 22, according to plans to be announced Friday by Gov. Phil Scott.
The lodging industry has been effectively shut down since Scott declared a state of emergency in mid-March because of the coronavirus crisis. Part of the purpose was to discourage out-of-state residents from visiting Vermont and spreading the virus. Only “essential” personnel, like out-of-state medical workers, have been allowed to stay in Vermont hotels. Several facilities have also contracted with the state to house homeless people or as sites to help isolate people from getting the virus.
Starting May 22, lodging establishments will be allowed to take in guests from Vermont and “non-residents who can verify they have met the 14-day quarantine requirement,” according to an email from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development sent to hospitality and lodging facility owners on Tuesday.
Officials are expected to be asked at the governor’s press briefing on Wednesday about how the verification process would work.
The rules will apply to hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, inns, as well as short-term rentals like Airbnb. It will also cover all public and private camping facilities and RV parks.
Just last week, Scott was encouraging out-of-staters to stay home for now, while hotel and motel operators were asking for more clarity on how they should plan for the busy summer season.
Under the changes, lodging establishments will have to cancel any remaining reservations they had that were to start May 15. Those had been officially allowed to be kept if they were made before the crisis started, even though facilities were essentially closed. Otherwise, operators were allowed to make bookings starting June 15.
The new rules call for a phased-in approach that would allow “modified lodging operations with specific health and safety requirements, and occupancy/capacity limits.”
The rules would appear to encourage Vermonters to use the lodging facilities and continue to discourage travelers from COVID-19 hotspots like New York City from taking short trips to Vermont.
The order expected Friday will require “all reservations from out of state guests who cannot meet the mandatory 14-day quarantine requirement must be cancelled through June 15, 2020,” effectively limiting guests to Vermonters. The ACCD memo warned that the deadline may be pushed back and that reservations for stays after June 15 “may still need to be cancelled or restricted pending any additional guidance or future Executive Orders.”
The state’s tourism commissioner, Heather Pelham, has said it will be “impractical” for out-of-staters to visit while the two-week quarantine is still in effect.
The gradual reopening of the lodging industry is the latest “turn of the spigot” by the Scott administration to reopen sectors of the Vermont economy. Earlier this week, Scott announced measures to slowly reopen the retail sector. Previously, small construction and manufacturing firms were given limited approval to restart.
Officials with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development cautioned lodging owners the rules could change if health data worsens, but sounded an upbeat tone.
“If the data continues to move in the right direction, Friday should be a first step in getting our world-class lodging sector up and running again,” said ACCD Secretary Lindsay Kurrle.
A task force in New Hampshire has recommended the same May 22 reopening date for lodgings there, with restrictions, but that still needs approval of health officials and Gov. Chris Sununu.
