Have you traveled recently since the pandemic’s numerous lockdowns began in March? If you haven’t, but you are itching to get on a plane or hit the road to go somewhere, you aren’t alone. Thousands of Americans are bored and tired of being cooped up. Many are making that leap to travel, although most are staying within the boundaries of the U.S. because foreign travel is verboten right now.
If you are starting to plan a little getaway, you might want to research hotels. Many hotels are taking incredible measures to make sure guests feel safe and secure about staying in their lodgings. Many of these hotels are doing most, if not all, of the following.
Rooms Remaining Vacant for at Least Two Days Between Guests and Cleaning
When guests vacate a room, it maybe two days before housekeeping enters to clean it thoroughly and sanitize everything. Then it might be another two days before the room is let again. This keeps the staff from touching any surface that may be infected, even when staff are required to wear PPE. It also allows the cleaning and disinfecting agents to do their job before anyone else stays in the room. Ask any hotel about their current cleaning practices to see what they are doing before you book a room.
Guest Occupancy Is Reduced and Limited
Rather than book every room on a floor in a hotel, the hotels are booking “x” number of rooms spread out on a floor. On a floor where there are usually fifty rooms to book, a hotel might only book twenty or less. Bookings are staged in such a way as to reduce person-to-person contact for social distancing, which often looks like one room every third or fourth door. If a hotel says it is completely booked, but the online information says it has rooms, follow what the hotel says because online is still following pre-pandemic information.
Contactless Check-in and Express Checkout
New strategies to check in and check out without talking to a desk person are becoming widespread. Essentially you book a room online, pay for it in advance, check-in using a messaging system or app, and use express checkout procedures to check out. Some hotels and resorts even have express checkout available on the TV in your room!