Whitefish extends ban on lodging stays indefinitely

Whitefish’s ban on stays at lodging facilities will remain in place for now, and the future lifting of the prohibition has been tied to the state’s gradual reopening plan related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

City Council on Monday passed an emergency ordinance that prohibits accommodations for walk-ins or reservations for non-essential purposes at hotels and short-term rentals in the city.

A previous ordinance initially approved the ban through April, and that was later extended by the City Manger through May 10.

Council on Monday approved the updated ordinance, choosing to link the timeline for when stays at lodging facilities would be allowed again in Whitefish to the state’s three-phased plan for reopening.

Gov. Steve Bullock has implemented a gradual reopening of businesses and operations in the state after the expiration on April 26 of a statewide stay-at-home order related to COVID-19. There is no set date for when phase one will end and the state will move into phase two.

City Manager Dana Smith said the city’s phased plan for reopening lodging facilities follows Bullock’s plan for reopening the state based upon consideration of the safety of citizens and the economic impact to lodging facilities.

“After a detailed review of the governor’s plan and consideration for the safety of our citizens we’ve decided to extend the ordinance,” Smith said.

The governor’s directive that all travelers from out-of-state self quarantine for 14 days remains in effect. During phase one, the city’s restriction on stays at hotels and motels says that accommodations for out-of-state or out-of-country residents traveling for non-essential purposes remains in effect.

During phase one, all existing reservations for non-essential purposes must be canceled.

Once the state enters phase two and three, then lodging facilities may begin accepting guests who are Montana residents.

The ban on out-of-state and out-of-country guests at hotels, however, would remain in effect through phase two and three of reopening. Once the directive requiring individuals traveling into the state to self-quarantine is lifted, then Whitefish hotels may begin accepting any guest.

Smith said in the state’s plan for phase two of reopening, it says that the minimization of non-essential travel is no longer required, thus the city’s plan to allow for Montana guests at hotels, but the mandatory quarantine for certain travelers coming into the state would remain in place, thus prompting the continued restriction for certain guests.

The city ordinance regarding lodging, prohibits stays at such facilities except for essential purposes including government, health care, law enforcement, domestic violence victims, personnel responding to the COVID-19 emergency, work-related travel, family members of those seeking medical treatment, and those individuals that have a medical recommendation to quarantine outside their home.

The ordinance does allow for lodging facilities to accept future reservations, but notes that those must be canceled prior to guest arrival if the restrictions on stays remains in place.

“We want them to be able to accept reservations say for August,” Smith explained. “But we also want to let them know that they may need to cancel those reservations later.”

Violation of the ordinance may result in the revocation of the business’ license issued by the city for the facility.