Staying In A Hotel During Covid-19

I wrote about a recent road trip we took to Lazy 5 Ranch. The drive was less than two hours away. Right now we’re only traveling distances that allow us to return home comfortably the same day. During this trip, we decided to stay overnight at a hotel for a change of scenery. We made an informed decision & are happy to share the safety measures we took.

CDC guidelines for COVID-19 suggest staying home as the best & safest option. In no way am I pushing you to go against that. However, if you choose to stay in a hotel or have to, there are certain precautions & safety measures you can take to stay as safe as possible.

-CALL THE HOTEL AHEAD OF TIME to inquire about their cleaning procedures/policies during this pandemic. Don’t hold back in this area or feel like you’re overreacting. Ask all the what, when, where, why, & how questions you need to in order to make an informed decision. The goal is safety & any establishment wanting business right now will use the best practices for their customers.

Big hotel chains like Hilton & Marriott are being transparent with the public concerning their safety measures. Many of them are even working with public health organizations to ensure proper sanitizing methods are used. There are hotel press releases with this information available for your convenience. You just have to do your research.

Also, feel free to ask for a room that has been without guests for a day or two. Or, however long you feel comfortable with. There’s no guarantee the option’s available but it doesn’t hurt to ask!

-ARRIVE PREPARED. You brought your overnight necessities but what about food & other items? Bring everything you need to minimize store visits. The goal is social distancing! When you make your weekly grocery run for your house, go ahead & grab those extra items you’ll need for your travels. Reserve a room that has a full kitchen if possible. That way any food you bring can be cooked & stored right there.

If the hotel you’ve chosen serves meals & you prefer going that route, find out how they’re distributing them. Guests obviously can’t congregate in a dining area so what measures is the hotel taking?

Breakfast is one of our must-haves for hotel stays. Homewood Suites, which is where we stayed, served a bagged breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, bananas, & yogurt. It was grab & go for guests. You may prefer a more substantial meal & that’s where being prepared (and informed!) comes in handy.

-BRING YOUR OWN CLEANING SUPPLIES. While we have faith in big chains like Hilton, it gave us more peace of mind to clean certain areas for ourselves. Some people do this anyway but with a pandemic at large, it’s a necessity. Wipe down areas like room keys (or choose a keyless option if possible), door knobs, remotes, the telephone, light switches, cabinet/fridge handles, faucets, countertops, & any other surfaces you know you’ll have direct contact with.

Typing this is making me realize areas we didn’t but should’ve sanitized. Going forward, not only will we bring supplies but also a list to ensure we don’t forget anything. Also, avoid touching items you don’t have to touch. For instance, pens, writing pads, menus, & even complimentary toiletries considering you brought your own. If you don’t need it, why bother touching it?

* Go here to see a list of most effective cleaners to fight Coronavirus *

-ASK FOR FRESH LINENS. We all hope & pray bed linens, towels, etc, are being changed properly at hotels. However, unless you have a testing kit there’s no way to really know. What you can do is ask for all fresh linens. Pillow cases especially. Those are always questionable even without a concrete reason to doubt. And, I know this is a bit much, but you can always bring your own linens for extra peace of mind.

-WEAR YOUR MASK EVERYWHERE. When you enter the hotel, have your mask on already. Don’t wait until you reach the lobby. Wear masks anytime you’re outside of your room. That includes going to get ice.

Opt out of housekeeping services during your stay to minimize contact with others. You can always call the front desk for items you need. It’s probably a good idea to avoid an extensive hotel tour right now as well. Under normal conditions, we love to roam around our hotel but COVID-19 is stalking all of us.

Again… wear your mask, wear your mask, WEAR YOUR MASK. And please do it appropriately by covering your nose AND mouth.

-ORDERING TAKEOUT. Lets say you decide to order take-out. Many restaurants have a “no contact” option now. That means you pay online & avoid interaction with your delivery person. For example, we ordered Domino’s Pizza & chose this option. All we had to do was put a small table/chair outside of our door & a note of reference for our order. When the food arrived, there was a knock on the door & the person socially distanced until we opened the door & secured our order. It was perfect.

-OTHER OPTIONS. Don’t want anything to do with hotels right now? Understandable & there are other options depending on the type of travel you’re planning. Perhaps try an Airbnb rental, privately owned home or apartment rental, an RV, beach house, cabin, or camping tent/site. As I mentioned, the accommodations you need will depend on the kind of trip you’re taking.

For now, these are some of the best tips I have to offer. I don’t know when or if we’ll stay at another hotel anytime soon but you know I’ll keep you posted. I’ll also add more safety tips to this post if they present themselves. Again, the safest & best option right now is to stay at home. If you decide on a hotel in the near future, do it safely.

*To see a room tour of this Homewood Suites location, watch the vlog below. Hotel footage begins at 18:55*