Clean + Safe Guidance for Meetings + Events

State Allows Hotels To Reopen For Group Meetings and Events

Effective April 15th, California hotels are allowed to host meetings and events with attendance limits according to the colored tier of their county, as seen below.

Vaccine and testing protocols were made available as an addendum to the Blueprint Activity & Business Tiers Chart on April 14.  The details are:

• Fully vaccinated travelers from out-of-state are allowed to attend events restricted to in-state residents. See the updated Travel Advisory.
• Where capacity limits exist, fully vaccinated employees don’t count toward the capacity limit. Information on vaccines can be found here.
• For events with fully vaccinated/tested attendees, capacity limits have been increased:
  • Orange Tier: Indoor events can increase by 50%, up to 50% of venue capacity.
  • Yellow Tier: Indoor events can increase by 50%, up to 75% of venue capacity.  
• Fully vaccinated/tested meetings:
  • Meetings must be separate/distant and clearly delineated. (12’ distance)
  • Attendees don’t need to be physically distanced.
  • Attendees must still wear masks.
• Definitions and verifications:
  • Tested-Only:  Within 72 hours of event start or 24 hours for antigen tests. Verification includes test provider/lab documentation in any form that includes name, type of test, and date of negative result.
  • Vaccinated-Only: More than two weeks after a single dose (Johnson & Johnson) or two weeks after the second dose for two dose vaccinations. Verification includes vaccination card in any form or documentation of vaccination from a healthcare provider.

The host of the meeting is responsible for verification of vaccines. This can be the hotel, the meeting planner or anyone else that could be interpreted to be the host.

The guidance for Private Venue and Events will have additional details and guidance for hotels that all CHLA members should review.  This is expected to be included with other industry guidance later today here (scroll down toward the bottom of the page).  Significantly, for employees who are not vaccinated, hotels must develop an employee COVID-19 testing program for weekly optional testing if non-tested/non-vaccinated employees will be working private events or meetings of any type.

Please always check with your city/county for the latest updates for each county.  San Francisco and Los Angeles County also updated their local events guidance.

For full details of state and CHLA guidance go to: 

• Blueprint for a Safer Economy
• CHLA's Clean & Safe Guidance for the Hotel Industry 
• COVID-19 GUIDANCE: Indoor Seated Live Events and Performances
• COVID-19 INDUSTRY GUIDANCE: Private Venues and Events
• Dr. Ghaly announcement on April 2nd

Meeting Attendance Limits for County Tiers:

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Hotels must adhere to the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, individual county health department guidelines and CHLA’s Clean & Safe Guidance for Meetings and Events. As you know, CHLA issued meeting guidance in October 2020 in English and Spanish, to prepare for gatherings and dining in outdoor areas and hotel conference rooms. Our hotel brands have developed their own safety protocols and procedures for meetings and events.

Reopening hotels for meetings and events is the next logical step for California’s economic recovery. The COVID-19 vaccine distribution is more widespread and hotel employees have been eligible to be vaccinated since early February. California is the last state in the nation to open – even partially – for group gatherings. We are cautiously optimistic that the state will take more steps to full reopening as COVID cases drop and counties ease restrictions. We do not know when these next steps will occur, but we work every day with state public health leaders, urging them to do so and reminding them that our Clean & Safe protocols have kept guests and employees safe throughout the pandemic.

State by State Reopening Tracker for Meetings + Events