Guangzhou police are prohibiting certain hotels from accepting patrons from five Muslim-majority countries.

According to Reuters, three Guangzhou hotels confirmed they received notice from police as early as March to refuse guests from Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan. “I’m not clear of the reason. We just can’t take them,” one hotel worker said by telephone.

The targeted hotels have an average cost of 150 yuan ($23) a night, leading many to believe only budget hotels have been contacted. Two upscale hotels in the city that were contacted claim they haven’t received any such order.

The South China Morning Post reported the rule was a security measure implemented for a Guangzhou development forum. The ban is also said to be in place for next week’s G20 summit in Hangzhou, a city more than 1,000 km (620 miles) away.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said he was not aware that any such order had been issued in Guangzhou.