We have prepared some resources to help you create policies to safeguard you against unwanted, prolonged occupation. For our hotel members we have our employment law compliance guide, which can help you understand precisely what your employees’ rights are and how you can exercise them.

Bear in mind some of these best practices:

  • Recognize red flags — multi-room bookings, third parties booking rooms for others, and any other booking where it is unclear whether the person paying for the room is the same person who will be occupying it. Create policies to provide better accountability for guests — require IDs to be shown, even from those who are carrying hotel keys, especially if they are unfamiliar faces.
  • If a guest poses a significant and immediate risk to health, safety or the property of others, you should call the police and evict the guest. However, bear in mind that there is a backlog of eviction cases in the courts, and some police can be unwilling to evict. If criminal behavior is being witnesses, though, police should be able to act.
  • Establish your new policies, put them in writing and enforce them regularly. New security measures can be a strain on your staff, but keeping them clear-cut and enforced at all levels will alleviate this considerably.

7/1/21 – Eviction moratorium ends for lodging operators 

Lodging operators may begin the process to remove guests who have not paid for their accommodations if the guest was residing in the hotel or motel for more than 30 days after March 1, 2020.

Click here for more information. Be sure to review the PDF documents linked below to help you stay in compliance with new legal requirements.

Other resources:

American Hotel and Lodging Association

Security preparedness

Safety and security assessment form

Official responses

City of Olympia statement on hotel occupation