Has anyone stayed in a hotel lately?

[Jerry1]

Thinking about taking a driving trip from Michigan to Florida to see my brother. Has anyone stayed in a hotel lately? I’m wondering if it’s business as usual for them, albeit with significantly less customers, or if they are doing anything different.

Also wondering about the road accommodations like rest stops and food. I imagine food is take out only but probably smarter to pack as much as I can to limit the need to go to a restaurant. Also I imagine the gas stations are still open and allow access to bathrooms. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[mountainsoft]

Also wondering about the road accommodations like rest stops and food. I imagine food is take out only but probably smarter to pack as much as I can to limit the need to go to a restaurant. Also I imagine the gas stations are still open and allow access to bathrooms. Any insight would be appreciated.

I haven't stayed at a hotel recently, but at least here in Washington state the rest areas are still open. We've been stopping on the way to my mother-in-laws so we don't have to go into her house while tending to her lawn.

Gas stations are still open, but I don't know the bathroom situation. It's getting harder to find public restrooms anymore, even before COVID. Most gas stations these days are just the pumps and a payment booth. Some have mini-marts for snacks, but bathrooms are rare. As someone who has a weak bladder, this is a major worry for me when traveling. Sometimes we'll stop at a fast food restaurant, but that's not an option right now.

 

[14thMed]

We came back from Florida to Wisconsin about 3 weeks ago. Stayed in Franklin,Tn. overnight, Hotel had eight rooms rented.
We got takeout from the Cracker Barrel for supper. Appeared most chain restaurants were open for takeout.
Rest areas were open and were cleaner than we had ever seen. Even in Illinois!!
Just to be safe take your TP with you.
Friends from Michigan reported similar situation on I-75

 

[mountainsoft]

Rest areas were open and were cleaner than we had ever seen.

Yep, we stopped on the way home last weekend and I told my wife that was the cleanest public restroom I've ever seen.

 

[calmloki]

We drove up I395 from La Quinta Ca to Independence Oregon on the 3rd and 4th. Stayed in Reno and was freaked out about it. Think many hotels are closing upper floor(s); we were on the first floor and it seemed well populated. Went in first with sanitizing wipes and hit light switches and knobs and tv remotes. Put towels clean hotel down to put our bags on, then got freaky about where we sat and the bedding. Gak! It's a rabbit hole! We visited wilderness bathrooms on the road, AKA shrubbery. A Costco gas stop provided a pepperoni pizza which was a lovely dinner/brunch/linner.

 

[pb4uski]

We drove from Florida to Vermont a week ago. Stayed one night in a Hampton Inn. We took a break about 2-3pm and figured out where we would be about 5-6 pm and made a room reservation at a Hampton Inn online.

Main difference was no breakfast... instead they handed us a paper bag with a bottle of water, a fruit cup and spoon and a muffin. No coffee! so we stopped at a convenience store for coffee.

...Most rest areas were open for rest rooms and vending and in some cases take out food.

We had stopped at a local restaurant near the hotel and had a take-out meal that we brought to the hotel and ate in our room.

You should check your route though... while we didn't need it I did later learn that some states are not allowing hotels to have transient travelers stay... just local essential worker and you need to have paperwork documenting that you are an essential worker in order to get a room (Vt and Ma I think but perhaps other states too).

 

[Tiger8693]

Yes. Went to Charleston SC and stayed at a Hyatt downtown. Had a great time! No worries!

 

[Dreamer]

I went from WV to NC and stayed for 5 1/2 weeks, after my DD had to go to the hospital. I took my own food and rest areas were open.

My brother is a truck driver and drives to NY, NJ and NC from PA. He asks for rooms that have not been rented for the longest and states that he is given a paper sack breakfast. I know that he said he was given water, coffee and a breakfast bar. I can't remember what else, maybe a banana. He stated that another trucker went to a hotel and did not realize that it was not open. His clock had run out and he was not allowed to drive the truck anymore. He called and had a pizza delivered and spent the night in his truck.

 

[Helen]

We've been in the Palm Springs area since mid-January and will head back to Portland on the 31st. I think we will take three days so that will be two nights in hotels. We are going to stay in higher end hotels and will wipe everything down. We are also going to buy some pillows to take with us.

 

[Scusan]

We drove FL-MI at the end of April, I also had an overnight business trip that put me in a hotel. (Yeah, I'm still w*rking occasionally, we'll see how long that lasts.)

We opted to drive 1100 miles straight through. We made 3 stops for fuel, I used a phone app for "loves" truck stops that showed me where I could find them, and confirm they were open as well as fuel price. Restrooms were open at all of the fuel stops we made. Those were the only bathroom breaks we took, but as others have mentioned, we were prepared in the event that we couldn't find an open rest area. We brought our own food and drinks, which kept us away from others and let us keep rolling. Still had a guy try to hit me up for money at one of the stops...

On my business trip, I stayed in a hotel near the airport that generally caters to business travelers. There weren't many guests. They did have the restaurant open, but since my trip was short, I opted to do a bit of a "hotel camp out" and brought what I'd need to eat, instant coffee, etc. This is no big deal to me since I still go camping (in a tent) sometimes.

There WAS a bit of a change to the room--obviously every place is a little different, but it bears mentioning.
--At check in, I got a little ziplock bag of all the goodies that are normally out by the sink (soap, shampoo..).
--The TV remote was in a zip lock bag.
--There was no hair dryer in the room
--Also no coffee maker (I just used hot tap water to "brew" instant coffee. Barbaric, no?)
--None of the normal promotional brochures that are normally laid out over the desk and night stands.

Although you didn't ask specifically about it, a few comments on my experience flying one leg to and from the biz trip:
--Easy drive to and from the airport, little traffic
--Got a great parking spot
--No line at TSA (I checked a bag since I was carrying some food)
--Both flights had nobody in the middle seats. (I think Delta is doing this till the end of June)
--Everyone wore masks
--The people who cleaned the planes after the previous flight had some kind of fogging machine to also disinfect it.
--On the first leg, the agent took time to move a few of us around so we could be further apart. She asked us first, which was very considerate.
--On the way back, all the available seats were taken (middle seats still empty though). I was afforded the opportunity to board fairly early. In retrospect, I would have kept more distance from people if I had waited, since I got on, sat in an aisle seat and then most of the other passengers walked by me.
--The other passengers all seemed to try to keep some "social distance" on the way in, but when we got to the arrival gate and the seat belt sign went off, probably 75% of them got up, grabbed their bags and packed the aisle. Old habits die hard, I guess.

HTH...