Staying in hotels - is it safe?

[bonvoyage]

We just got back to NJ from an eight day trip to the midwest: Columbus, Indianapolis and St Louis. We stayed in Hilton Home2 suites and found the level of cleanliness to be exemplary. This hotel chain offers a small kitchenette in the room so we were able to assemble our own meals from frozen foods from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. The other guests were all wearing masks and people took turns to use the elevator. Overall, a good experience.

 

[RAE]

I do contract work that requires travel. SO far I have been able to do in-state travel that hasn't required a hotel stay. If I needed to stay in a hotel for a contract I would not hesitate. I hope to get a contract in Daytona Beach this Winter and will drive from Wisconsin and stay in a lot of hotels. I would not fly but I don't fly anyway. I can drive anywhere within the continental US so no need to fly. Someone said they can't leave S Florida without flying which makes no sense to me. Just drive

DW just flew across the country and back, on Delta, and she was very comfortable with the experience. Middle seats on the plane were blocked off, and even the remaining seats were maybe half full. Plane was super clean. Everyone was masked. Lots of enforced social distancing in the airport. She found a place in the Atlanta airport to grab a burger to eat, and was seated way in the back at a small table by herself......nobody else around. She said she had no qualms at all about flying right now.

 

[savory]

We did a 10 day bicycle trip staying in motels. They ranged from brand name to no name. Their cleanliness seemed to be consistent. All front desk people were masked and seemingly aware of the virus.

During the day, we would stop and get takeout food, unless the restaurant had outdoor dining that appeared to be 'safe' and eat outside. Upon arriving at the motel, we cleaned the surfaces we were most concerned such as the remote, handles, light switches, etc. Since they were mostly motels, we would leave the door open for air exchange.

Being familiar with hotel cleaning practices, I always pull the spread and blanket down and sit on the sheet. I expect the pillow is always a crap shoot since body fluids from time to time must find their way to the pillow. I am fairly comfortable the pillow case has been cleaned. I also expect the carpet will make me stronger.

Lots of hand washing and being careful not to touch my face.

Breakfast was cancelled at all hotels except one. The one that provided breakfast had food prepared in hot dishes that the server placed in styrofoam containers There were tables in the lobby we but carried breakfast back to our room.

Our evaluation suggests hotel rooms can be managed. Take out food provides minimum exposure. We wait outside if we do not call ahead. Bicycling is a safe mode of transport. And, now that it has been over 10 days, I can say I am an expert or a lucky person.

 

[CaliKid]

I have stayed at a few hotels. People were respectful and kept their distances. For example, never had more than one stranger get on the elevator with us. If someone else was there they just waited for next lift. All good. No problems.

 

[audreyh1]

I tell you - huge difference spending the night in states that have mask mandates and states that don’t. It’s so much better having other guests wearing masks inside the hotel.

We basically just wiped down high use areas (knobs, handles, switches) and used our own pillows. We had our own food so avoided restaurants and hotel breakfast areas.

We were very comfortable traveling this way.

I would consider house or cabin rental for sure.

Funny story on our last round trip - hotel in small AL town near a famous golf course. No mask mandate, people hung out in the lobby socializing on a Friday night ignoring floor markers (larger family groups I expect) didn’t understand why we wouldn’t get on the elevator with other folks, hung out right at the elevator doors with loud greetings when we got off. Annoying! “Just tryin’ to be friendly!” I’m sure.

The week we are traveling AL goes on a state-wide mask mandate. It was like night and day! People were scarce in the hotel on the way back. No overly friendly folks trying to get in your space.

 

[RobbieB]

The place we're booked at removed the coffee machine and the ironing boards from the rooms. All the doors have seals on them that you have to break on enter. The TV remote is in a sealed bag.

Want your coffee maker back? Ask and they will bring it. Not worried about it. Looking forward to the beach and some killer seafood!

 

[audreyh1]

The place we're booked at removed the coffee machine and the ironing boards from the rooms. All the doors have seals on them that you have to break on enter. The TV remote is in a sealed bag.

Want your coffee maker back? Ask and they will bring it. Not worried about it. Looking forward to the beach and some killer seafood!

The Hilton properties we stayed in still had coffee machines and hair dryers. The remote was not bagged. They did have the funny seal thing on the door.

 

[harllee]

Not Covid related but I always pull the sheets back and look at the mattress for evidence of bed bugs at every hotel I have stayed in.

 

[RobbieB]

I have never done that. In 65 years I've never done that. How many have you found?

 

[2017ish]

We've done a VRBO for a week in early June (Boulder), and multiple VRBO/AirBnBs and low end hotels in June/July (Alaska) and earlier in Tennessee. Plus 9-10 flights, including six seat float plane sans masks.

No extra precautions, except wearing masks when local/business custom/law indicated it. I think DW looks under the covers for spiders before we go to bed, but that's it for our baseline precautions.

We are healthy 59-60 and obviously on the risk-tolerant side of the spectrum. (We are hoping to be selected for participation in a phase 3 clinical trial for a vaccine starting next month, but our travel schedule/goals may preclude that.)
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E.T.A.--forgot to include criteria for picking hotels. Price, location, and an other than abysmal trip advisor rating are our criteria for one or two night stays while traveling. For longer stays or stays at difficult or expensive destinations, other factors kick in. These criteria are unchanged from the past.

 

[harllee]

I have never done that. In 65 years I've never done that. How many have you found?

Fortunately I have not found any bed bugs yet. I started doing it years ago when some of the high end hotels in my area had reports of bed bugs. You don't want bed bugs and checking the mattress takes only a minute.

 

[harllee]

I asked a friend of mine who is a Covid contract tracer for the local health department and she said there have not been any reports of cases at hotels in our area. She thinks hotels would be safe if you don't eat in their restaurants (especially no buffets) and be sure to wear a mask in common areas and try not to get on elevators. My friend says that she thinks hotels are safer than eating in restaurant--she is seeing many cases from restaurants and thinks eating inside a restaurant is high risk.

 

[Car-Guy]

I have found that this stuff actually works... Bed bugs will travel home with in your dirty clothes and infest your beds at home. (Something else you don't want to bring home with you from your hotel stays.) Bed Bugs don't stay in Vegas either

 

[Aerides]

...and try not to get on elevators.

Ok yeah there's one. While the exposure isn't long, it's not possible to socially distance (or know if someone sneezed 30 seconds before you got on) so ask for a low floor room, and find out where the stairs are.

Waiting for an empty elevator doesn't help because they can stop up and down as well.

 

[mystang52]

I'm willing to try a simple overnight excursion, just for a change of scenery, but DW is adamantly against it. For many years, though, we've taken precautions any time we stay at hotels: check for bedbugs, wipe down all surfaces with alcohol wipes, and every evening before dinner a quick Lysol-spray of the room vent (make sure the fan is off!).
One additional thing I did was to place one of the hand towels on the pillow so my mouth and nose was not directly on the pillowcase. Whenever we resume travel, I'm going a step further and bringing my own pillow.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

I have never done that. In 65 years I've never done that. How many have you found?

I never checked. Until I was in bed at a holiday inn express in PA and they appeared on the top sheet. Many. Still disgusted

 

[audreyh1]

We managed OK with hotel elevators. Never shared and only waited for another group to finish a couple of times. Hotels were only 3 or 4 stories. We got on with a cart - no room for anyone else. Time in elevator well less than a minute. Hotels weren’t that busy most of the time.

 

[pacergal]

I never checked. Until I was in bed at a holiday inn express in PA and they appeared on the top sheet. Many. Still disgusted

ewww.... I do check, but luckily have never found any.
We always pack our own pillows everywhere we go (extra suitcase if flying--lol)
The one place we stay at on the coast has windows that open and an outside door, so I would feel comfortable driving there. We just haven't yet, as they only have a microwave and small fridge, so I would need to meal plan for that. We are not comfortable at restaurants yet, unless we do take out.

 

[H2ODude]

We had a long term reservation for the family get together in a big house at Outer Banks last week of July. Only change was we made concerted effort to minimize trips to store for food. Not sure why since when I went it was no more crowded or unmasked than here at home. Only time I felt vulnerable was the stop to pick up sandwiches at a Subway; employees w masks below nose and customers generally unmasked.

I had to call to change my cc # for last payment before we left (previous card compromised on last trip before Covid). Asked agent what they were doing and she rattled a bunch of stuff. Only thing I considered was it would be nice if they left the windows all open following cleaning, air out the place. Other unknown people and airborne is what bothers me.

As it was, we felt no more exposed than daily life here. That said, we have yet to eat in a restaurant. Friends our age have, we plan on going to one they recommended as being very aware and well spaced. It will be our 50th and nothing I can conjure on the grill seems up to it.

 

[Nemo2]

We just sleep in the car in hotel parking lots.....but always the best hotels since we save more money that way.

 

[flyingaway]

We were supposed to be in the Great Sooky Mountains today for three days. But we cancelled the trip on Friday. We are not comfortable with hotel stays and restaurant eatings at this time.

 

[DrRoy]

We are going to a state park lodge in another week.

 

[Sanstar]

We’ll wait. We did recently drive from San Antonio to northern CO and back for a long stay with DD. SA is a CV hot spot so it seemed prudent. Took every precaution during the drive, including no hotel stay enroute. It is a long drive and we were prepared to pull over and nap in the truck if necessary.

Reminded me of when we were much younger and slept in car to save money. Didn’t expect this to be our best option at this age and stage.

 

[JustKickItForward]

Traveling to one of our timeshares in next week, first time traveling since Feb...plan to spray down surfaces with clorox and another disinfectant, changing the bedsheets, and spraying some alcohol sanitizer on the couch and comforter. Crossing my fingers!

 

[Chuckanut]

We just sleep in the car in hotel parking lots.....but always the best hotels since we save more money that way.

Do you sneak into the hotel to use the bathroom? And partake of the 'free' breakfast?