Parents traveling to US via China with Layover

Hi, I have been trying to reach out to the airlines and the embassy but no one has been responding to my queries.
The situation is, my parents and other family have been traveling China Southern for the past many years and had layovers in Guangzhou and Wuhan, since the layover in Guangzhou is about 15 hours, they get a hotel courtesy of the airlines and they come back in time for the next flight to Wuhan where the layover is only an hour and a half (1.30) and they never needed a transit g; however, just recently i heard some noise saying according to new rules they may need a transit visa since they have two layovers. I am not sure what to do as I don't have any confirmed information from anyone. Just to recap
China Southern airlines Delhi, India - Guangzhou, China (Layover - 15 hours, 45 mins) - Hotel provided
-- Guangzhou, China - Wuhan, China (1.30 hours layover)
-- Wuhan, China - SFO, USA
Also, CS website says they don't need the transit g if they have valid tickets for onward journey.

If it saves the time and effort of getting the transit g, my parents may be ready to either just stay in the airport and not take the hotel or pay a lot more and take the transit hotel in the airport so they don't have to leave it.
Please advise, this would be very helpful.