Photo / William Hall
As a sole vehicle prepares to leave the Holiday Inn Express in Freeport early Sunday afternoon, a bench barricades any visitors and a sign reads "Sorry we are close[d] due to COVID-19."
Updated: April 6, 2020
Maine hotels, other lodging businesses close after emergency order
Photo / William Hall
Housecleaning gets underway at the Econo Lodge in Freeport early Sunday afternoon, although it didn't appear every guest had checked out yet as a result of the state's lodging ban.
By William Hall
On the Amtrak Downeaster, all are not aboard ...
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Maine’s lodging industry, already hobbled over the past several weeks by reduced travel, quarantines and the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis, came to a halt at noon Sunday as a temporary suspension ordered by Gov. Janet Mills went into effect.
In an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Mills on Friday ordered the closing of all lodging operations in the state and mandated that all travelers to Maine, including returning residents, quarantine themselves for 14 days. The executive order also instructs visitors not to travel to the state if they have symptoms of the disease and discourages travel from “hot spots” of the pandemic including New York City.
Included in the lodging suspension, which runs to April 30 and perhaps longer, are hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, inns, short-term rentals, RV parks, campgrounds, and public and private camping facilities.
The order allows lodgers to complete their current stays, but not to renew them. Lodging is also allowed for vulnerable people, such as those at risk of domestic violence, and for traveling health care or emergency workers.
Maine lodging businesses were also required to shut down their online reservations during the suspension. On Monday, a sampling of the reservation systems showed that many businesses seem to be complying.
In Freeport, most of the nearly two dozen hotels already appeared to be empty of guests by Sunday afternoon. Parking lots, usually growing full with travelers in these early days of the Maine tourism season, were almost barren.
At the Harraseeket Inn, a 93-room hotel in downtown Freeport, there was no sign of activity. The inn closed March 17 in response to the crisis, and a restaurant in the Harraseeket stopped curbside meal service Saturday. At Rodeway Inn and at Econo Lodge, both on U.S. Route 1, only a few cars were parked, some with out-of-state registration plates.
In a news release late Friday afternoon, Mills said she hoped businesses would voluntarily comply with her order, but that police may enforce it. Violators are subject to a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.
“We are facing one of the greatest public health crises of the world in more than a century. But if we pull together, we can and will defeat this virus,” said Mills.
“Maine is a welcoming state, and we welcome the many service members and medical professionals and others who are coming here to help us. I ask Maine people not to make assumptions about others, and we welcome the cooperation of other visitors and returning residents in quarantining themselves and keeping us all safe in accordance with this order.”
The order comes after Mills last week issued a mandate that all residents stay at home except when performing “essential” jobs or activities, and which placed tighter restrictions on essential businesses that remain open.
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