sdsearch

Even long before Covid-19, I was doing things in hotels like avoiding pushing elevator buttons or doorknobs/etc with my hands, taking stairs whenever possible, getting a seat away from other people at breakfast, etc.

Now in addition I do things like step back away from the elevator door to make room for anyone that might possibly come out of it, never take an elevator with someone else, and now all of that while wearing a mask. And now when given a choice, I tend to ask for the lowest floor, for least (if any) use of the elevator needed.

But I'm finding most hotels to be comparatively low occupancy these days, tho it varies depending on specifics. Low occupancy makes it much easier to avoid other people.

Meanwhile, in dining outside of hotels, I tend to dine mostly at Rewards Network (AA Dining, AS Dining, DL Dining, UA Dining, etc) restaurants, which are often ones which join that program to drum up traffic and are thus not nearly packed as much as some major chains (are even before Covid-19 many of the RN restaurants were close to empty when I would dine there, and I often dine at hours when most people don't).

So, you see, a lot of my previous habits dovetailed very well into continuing to stay a hotels and eat at restaurants while avoiding Covid-19 exposure as much as possible.

Btw, while actual restaurants are re-opening to some degree, I've yet to find a hotel with a restaurant open. Hotels which used to have free breakfast have diminished it typically to small grab-and-go bags, while hotels which used to have a restaurant and room service overwhelmingly have neither right now. It's not clear how much of this is due to safety and how much of this is due to economics of really low occupancy.

Goldorak

To OP : with this thread and this other one you started :
(3) UV germicidal lamps for hotel rooms-suites...?
it's time for you either to stay home indefinitely or to take a long break on an inhabited island

bigbellymonkey

Not from US hotels. But I am 99.9% certain I got it from JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. I stayed there for almost 3 weeks and left hotel premise only twice. Symptom started near the end of my stay. That was early March. I am one of the Covid long haulers(Google it up if you don't know this term) and I still have post viral inflammation issues. Statistically, we are supposed to be recovered patients who had mild symptoms. But it`s not like that in reality. If you can, you should just avoid hotels. Before Covid, I was on the road for 365 days a year for past 7 year. I spent 150-200 nights at hotel and the rest of them with airbnb. For most people, Covid will not kill you. But there`s a pretty good chance you gonna get some serious problems from it. Mainstream media and government want you to focus on death rate, infection rate and hospital admission. Please don't fall for that and stay safe.

fransknorge

I have read a bit on Covid long haulers. Would you be willing to share what are your current symptoms and state ?

onlyairfare

I've been living in hotels most of the past year - long-term assignments out of town - and haven't had any illness even suggesting Covid. I work in health care so I just upped the frequency of using hand sanitizer and washing hands, and I for the past few months I wear a mask whenever out of my hotel room. Not a problem since I wear a mask at work anyway. Usually plain surgical mask unless there is a particularly high-risk situation, then I use N95.

The hotel procedures seem the same as always, though staff wear masks and the occupancy is lower than usual. Housekeeping is once weekly upon request. I get take-out or drive in meals, or use the mini-kitchen for meals from the grocery.

WillTravel

It's not a hotel, and I don't live there, but I find the outbreak at the Verve condo building in Calgary interesting. 48 people and counting so far. It doesn't seem clear at all what the mechanism of spread was.

https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/covid-19-...ding-1.5005461

According to this article, the working theory is the elevators:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...rise-1.5631878

divemistressofthedark

What's keeping me out of hotels: Housekeeping/other staff not receiving paid leave so an incentive to work sick, not knowing who's just checked out of the room (and what germs they may have left behind), recirculated air in public spaces and between rooms in some hotels. Wish there were easy ways to deal with any of this.

Justin026

No illness to report. In our small firm, we have been staying in the newer sort of highway-oriented low rise hotels: Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Hyatt Place, etc. The newer decorating style gives more harder, cleanable surfaces. You can use the staircases. Easy to go between the car and the room.

Every such hotel we have been to has stopped regular housekeeping service. All have pre-made breakfast bags, some pretty elaborate. Outdoor patios popular for a distanced meeting, when we intersect on the road (which we discourage, and we require employees not to share vehicles at any time).

To eat, I scout around for an outdoor patio at a restaurant. If I don’t see something I like, Chik-Fil-A pickup and back to the room. Sometimes I pick up a beer in the lobby shop.

New normal, but doesn’t feel especially risky.

sdsearch

Do you see any pattern as to which brands have more "elaborate" pre-made breakfast bags, or does it seem up to the individual hotel? Thanks.

N965VJ

Reports seem to boil down to what an individual franchise decides to do. Some "free breakfast for everyone" properties have the regular breakfast being served by staff instead of the self serve buffet, others will have to-go bags at the front desk. Some restaurants in one place will be closed, the same brand could also have an open restaurant with full service, just additional safe practices in place.

Seems like the best thing to do at the present time is to call ahead before booking and ask about breakfast and lounge status.

sdsearch

I was referring to the difference within the content of grab-and-go bags. I already know that whether they provide breakfast or not, or whether it's a served breakfast or grab-and-go bag, needs to be determined with the individual hotel.

But with grab-and-go bags being so similarly lacking (and apparently due to cheapness more than Covid-19 concerns) at so many different brands I've been to so far, I was wondering if there were any brands that were telling their hotels to but more substantial stuff (than just a muffin and a breakfast bar) into their grab-and-go bags. I've heard rumors that Hyatt Place grab-and-go backs are more likely to include egg breakfast sandwiches (which I've never heard of a Fairfield having), which is why i was asking the specific question about whether the OP who had recent experience with several listed brands had noticed any significant difference consistently at certain brands as to the contents of those grab-and-go bags.

It's no worse from a Covid-19 perspective to but a hard-boiled egg into a go-to bag then just a muffin. But while there were plenty of hotels with "complimentary breakfasts" (including Hampton and Fairfield and Comfort) that always had hard-boiled eggs there, none of them do anything of the sort in the "grab and go" era, which implies it's more about cutting costs rather than Covid-19 safety.

And all of these hotels with previously "complimentary breakfast" i mentioned also have microwaves in each room, so they could have food that can be microwaved in those grab-and-go bags, but again I've yet to see that at those brands I mentioned.

Similarly, all of these hotels I mentioned used to have breakfast all-you-can-eat buffets, but now all the ones I've been to restrict you to just one of those tiny grab-and-go bags per person, which again seems to be about cost, not about Covid-19 safety.

Which is where hotel chain "brand standards" could come in (but many hotel chains had suspended them).