Guidance for Commercial Lodgings and Short-Term Rentals in response to Executive Order 20-13
Governor Asa Hutchinson signed Executive Order 20-13 (EO 20-13) on April 4, 2020. In an effort to stop recreational travel by out-of-state residents and enhance the state’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, EO 20-13 directs commercial lodging and short-term rentals, including but not limited to, hotels, motels, and vacation rentals to restrict occupancy to certain authorized guests. The list of authorized guests is as follows:
a. Healthcare professionals
b. First responders
c. Law enforcement
d. State or Federal employees on official business
e. National Guard Members on active duty
f. Airline crew members
g. Patients of hospitals and their families
h. Journalists
i. Persons unable to return to their home due to COVID-19 travel restrictions
j. Arkansas citizens unable to return to their home due to exigent circumstances, such as fire, flood, tornado, or other disaster
k. Persons in need of shelter due to domestic violence or homelessness
l. Employees of hotels, motels, or other service providers/contractors of a hotel or motel
m. Persons away from their home due to work or work-related travel
· Nothing in this directive shall prevent lodging operators from offering occupancy to any individual traveling through the state for work-related reasons and needing shelter, including those professions listed above and others that require frequent travel and over-night accommodations, such as truck drivers.
· Nothing in this directive shall prevent lodging operators from offering occupancy to an Arkansas resident for reasons not addressed in the Executive Order. While in-state and out-of-state recreational travel is strongly discouraged for Arkansans at this time, circumstances may arise beyond the scope of those in the list above that necessitate Arkansans to seek overnight accommodations in commercial lodgings and short-term rentals.