Hotels Aren’t Living Up To Their Coronavirus Promises

Stayed at the Marriott Springdale last night and it was the same situation. Walked in and the front desk employee was not wearing his mask.

Stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Arvada/ Denver tonight and both front desk employees were not wearing masks. Then a customer comes in wearing no mask and walks right by them (and by the giant sign that insists that “It’s The Law!” that masks must be worn at all times when indoors in the state of Colorado). Both employees said nothing about his lack of masks. They did greet him with a friendly “Hi.”

Tru by Hilton in Denver Downtown last week. No housekeeping at all regardless of the length of your stay. You get paper bag with 1 apple and a prepackaged muffin instead of advertised free breakfast. Room had debris and dirt on the floor, not even vacuumed. Bathroom soap/shampoo dispensers were not refilled. Hallways looked like homeless people camped there - full of trash, pizza boxes and empty bottles. Every dog weared a mask though and also barked from behind plexiglass on every guest who didn't have it fitted properly. They better be out cleaning their hotel..

I am in Boston, MA and decided to rent a room at a B&B about 3 hours North (NH White mountains region) for July 4th weekend. I have also decided to bring Lysol with me and go over all the touch surfaces in my room. I know it sounds ridiculous & most people would say "stay home" but I need to get out of the city for a few days- lack of sleep (fireworks), racial tensions and the likes are literally forcing me somewhere else for peace & quiet. After 4 months I need a mental break. The Inn I booked has some incredibly strict procedures in place written- I hope they practice what they preach. I wear a mask everywhere when outside my home and change it regularly. I have read each of your posts during your travels and do not believe you are unreasonable at all. I also do not believe that we should be forced to stay home & not travel- if society would use some common sense and common courtesy we may get on the other side of this. This article makes me feel confident in my choice to pack a tube of wipes.

I work for a hotel and sadly the truth is that they are skimping on cleanliness. Since the beginning on COVID-19 in March, hotels had to lay off and furlough over 50% of their staff. The main people running the hotels are now the managers that were not laid off. There are not enough Housekeepers and they are being given more rooms then normal.

With the pandemic and cleanliness concerns on the rise, companies are saying that they will implement this actions and they will try to, but the truth is that is will not be done well. What should happen is they should bring back more employees, train them on the new guidelines, and teach them why we are doing it. Training and more staff is money that these companies are not willing to invest. They are only counting the pennies from the revenue and loss that they are dealing with at the moment.

For all travelers I strongly recommend: Request all new linens and towels at check in, carry Lysol wipes with you, and if your hotel is near a hospital, request to not receive cleaning service. Cross contamination from guests is possible while cleaning rooms and there are a lot of hospital patients that stay at hotels.

First, @Wilhelm while I don't want to discourage anyone from frequent hand washing there is increasing scientific evidence that short of a vaccine, face masks are the most effective method at stopping the spread of Covid 19 as airborne respiratory transmission seems to be much more significant than surface to person transmission. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200612172200.htm). Distancing is also critical but that's not always possible especially when traveling. In fact, six feet is probably insufficient in an enclosed space with poor air circulation.

Second, while I can't speak for any hotel chains, I'm in "corporate" for a large restaurant system and I happen to be on our Covid response task force that has been developing safety protocols - including mandatory mask wearing - for our restaurants. We have taken this incredibly seriously and have made significant investments in PPE and other safety solutions, but with thousands of locations around the world it's very challenging to ensure 100% compliance. In general, the reports we have of non-compliance are the minority (which based on the comments here may not be the case with hotels) but I believe these hotel corporate parents are trying to do the right thing as we are. We welcome reports of non-compliance and I imagine these hotel chains would as well. It sometimes feels like playing whack a mole, but if we don't know about a problem we can't fix it.

Finally, it's beyond frustrating that somehow mask wearing has been turned into a political issue. While not everyone commenting here may agree on the importance of mask wearing, I bet we can all agree that (1) we want things to get back to normal as soon as possible and (2) since we're all here we all want to be able to travel like we used to again. Guess what: the numbers in the US don't lie. Without placing blame, our collective failure to take this seriously and make minor sacrifices like wearing a mask where adequate social distancing isn't possible, is the one thing that will prevent us from getting back to normal without a vaccine. And for those that love to travel - again presumably everyone on here - while other parts of the world start to open up as they flatten their curves by doing things like widespread use of masks, don't be surprised if those same countries make it very difficult/impossible for Americans to visit until we get our act together.

The very compliant countries in Asia where you see high amounts of mask-wearing even prior to corona virus may be due to a higher sense of germ phobia, but likely is also due to societies that highly value the good of the many. From youth they are just raised differently than in countries that have a different value system, praising individual freedoms. You see this in everything from mask-wearing to flagrant and provocative (and frightening) gun toting in public spaces. What you are seeing here is a reflection of the world you live in, no more, no less - expecting a corporation to change that reality is unrealistic, but individual managers certainly have power over their thiefdoms. If you want to see change, speak up - tell those around you to wear masks and complain to management while you are there, only with pressure will their be compliance for any change that is uncomfortable, and it goes without saying to be the example you wish to see, and wear your own mask. For those of you that complain about wearing a mask 8-hours a day, as my husband does, please keep in mind the health care workers pulling double shifts to save the lives of people this infection is killing wearing their masks full time from the moment they step through the doors. If you knew you were keeping just one person out of the hospital, don't you think that's worth your discomfort? Try different models till you find one that causes you the least discomfort in your particular activities and wear it when you think you might be within 10' of someone else indoors. I'm wearing mine, and I've already had it and come out the other end. The more of us that wear them, the more people we influence to wear them.

Ben, you have been urged on your blog to not be so passive-aggressive in matters such as this, but you persist.
Of course you should have spoken to the hotel manager to express your concerns, and to inform yourself as to whether stated policy is being flouted, and whether you should escalate you complaint beyond the hotels management.
Speaking to the room attendant would be pointless, as she/he is unlikely to change their MO, unless they feared disciplinary action by management (unlikely it would appear).
Ditto for the clipboard supervisor.
I always decline room servicing for the entire stay, and just get fresh towels and supplies from the attendant if I happen to come across her/him in the hallway. Otherwise, I can cope.
I understand your anxiety in travelling in the US during this pandemic, and as it is likely to get even worse and last a long time there, you may need to reconsider future travel anywhere.

I stayed at the Intercontinental San Diego this past weekend. I'm a Spire Ambassador and booked a Club IC rate late last year for UCSD commencement. I was expecting a different experience, however I wasn't expecting to not receive (or be acknowledged) any perks or benefits - elite status meant nothing. The Club IC was closed however I was still charged the Club IC rate! The staff could only blame the state of CA for the regulations they are under, which I understand ... However they should at least recognize status still and change Club IC rates to accommodate guests fairly.

Masks, like gloves, are worthless. Most people are wearing the same mask for days; never washing or changing them. I've said this for years about gloves that restaurant employees wear.

Regardless, I'm shocking at you essentially tattling about employees on the blog. Did you call the hotel and ask for their response? Did you ask the employees for their side? Maybe some of these employees had medical conditions that prevented them from wearing a mask. Did you consider that?

Why should front desk agents wear mask ... if there is plexiglass and/or they are a safe distance away? This is all really getting out of hand.

People keep citing that certain people are used to wearing masks; that it's not that hard; that it may be a little uncomfortable but what's the big deal ... these comments are really taken out of context:

OF COURSE, people outside in Vegas aren't wearing masks. Hello, it's 105 degrees. Last time I checked, most hospitals are 65 to 69 degrees AND have air flow. If people did wear masks outside in Vegas, the hospitals would be full for sure with stroke victims, etc.

A LOT of people aren't 'comfortable' to wear masks because of both active and inactive health issues. I have a dear friend with a seizure history; no way in hell she should have to wear a mask. People with mental health challenges DO find them to be more restrictive than an average person, and wearing one triggers anxiety and panic attacks, even and especially when they haven't had an episode in a while. Someone with claustrophobia is going to have great difficulty wearing a mask.

Oh, and by the way, the people I describe in the above paragraph, almost all of them AVOID crowds already, anyway. I can see wearing mask if you're in the middle of Times Square and it's NYE, but for crying out loud. I was in a Starbuck's today with two other customers, one of which had her two babies in a dual stroller; a girl 2-3 years old, and a baby about 8 months. The little girl had on a mask, the little baby did not. All I could do was stare. This was SO weird and just wrong and made ZERO sense. There are ZERO cases where children under 3 have had this, and that poor little girl should not have to wear a mask. And if people are going to be all militant about the masks, the baby should have had a mask on, as well, right? Well, if somehow the baby picked up the virus (and remained asymtomatic) it's now given the virus to probably the sister even with the mask on and the mother, as well.

Come on, sheeple. This mother and her kids were not near anyone, minded their own business, but had to "conform" or "abide" by the Starbuck's rules or risk being turned away. Absolutely horrendous.

Is it potentially polite to wear a mask? Probably. But this mask shaming and this mandating-or-else has to stop. Even on the airlines, they give you a break if you have a preexisting condition, and some people DO need to travel at this time for real purposes, NOT just for recreational.

I am one that has had Covid 19. I am 65. This has been a very hard experience where I thought I might die. I have no idea how I got the virus. I wear a mask everywhere I went. I used sanitizer and washed my hands diligently. I got the virus from someone else. Probably someone without a mask. When you decide to not wear a mask, you are now saying you could care less if you make someone else sick, as you could carry this virus and not know it.

To me, not wearing a mask says you do not care about anyone else.

+1@Jena. It’s so pathetic when adults try to wish a virus away or whine because it’s inconvenient to wear a mask. Nobody wants to be in the situation we are in but “wanting things to look normal” doesn’t do anything to change the reality. And wearing a simple surgical mask isn’t that hard. I volunteered at a farmers market yesterday, wore a mask (or rather three of them, since I changed them every three hours) for 8 hours in 93 degrees. It wasn’t that hard. A front desk agent can and should wear masks for the duration of their shift

Lucky, thank you for your honest review. I am in the health care field and have to travel for a government deployment. I’m working in an area where Covid-19 is rampant in the community and am staying in a Marriott property (Town Place Suites) for 30 days. It’s been nearly two weeks so far and I have had similar experiences. The hotel staff are inconsistent (at best) in terms of wearing masks, from the front desk staff, to food service (grab and go breakfast), to housekeeping. In addition, the front desk staff often act indifferent, even though I’m staying with them for 30 days. They did upgrade me to a one bedroom suite so I appreciate that (although it took more negotiating than necessary given my status). The surrounding restaurants are open at 50% capacity but hardly any customers wear masks, even while waiting for a table, even though I believe it is required in this state (NM). At the local Target or supermarket, fewer than 50% of customers are wearing masks. Like you, I live in an area where mask wearing is required and people generally confirm to the rules (DC suburbs in northern Virginia) so this has come as a bit of a shock. I too flew American Airlines and was glad to see the policies enforced; however, at my layover airport (Dallas), only about one third of the people were wearing masks (including the restaurant staff of places that were open!) Needless to say, I won’t be doing any leisure traveling after I return home from this deployment.

I stayed at the Andaz Scottsdale in late May just after it opened back up. They capped capacity at around 50%. Once a guest checked out, they left the room vacant for 2 days before the staff cleaned the room for the next guest. They have bungalows so your interactions with other people was lessened. The staff wore masks. Based on my experience I would highly recommend them.

I also stayed at the hampton Inn red rock/summerlin in the Vegas area in last weekend. Mask wearing was more haphazard there. One person behind the desk was not wearing one while one was. I saw at least one other staff not wearing a mask during my stay. Based on my experience, I was not as comfortable as the Andaz (surprise, surprise) but at least didn't feel they were flagrantly ignoring the pandemic like some of the hotels Lucky stayed at.

@Kai Bill Clinton's surgeon general Jocelyn Elders is African American. Many people won't travel until they feel safe, companies make promises to that effect, and bloggers are checking out those promises. (How come some of you aren't whining about the loss of breakfast buffets or other changes that have been made during the pandemic?). As has been said, would people wear pants all day if they didn't have to- look how many are happily in shorts or sweats while working from home. Some people hate wearing a uniform or a tie or nice shoes to work- and then they have to chose between their personal preference and that job...

I can’t wait for the article comparing how much compensation you can get for catching the maid cleaning your room not wearing a mask...

No company can force their employees or customers to follow strict hygiene procedures, no more than you have been able to ensure your employees wash their hands and wash their hands properly in the bathroom. It’s simply not possible to supervise or discipline people to that degree.

The best you can do is educate and encourage people, make it about personal responsibility. Remind and reward, appreciate and acknowledge the efforts of both customers and staff.

You are hardly a saint, grossly unnecessary hotel stays and all.

Travel brands are making promises. Ben was commenting on the extent to which they’re following through. This is fine. This is one of the things Ben does for a living with this blog—to what extent are brand standards proclaimed by these corporations fulfilled. Typically this is about stuff like loyalty programs and executive lounges. Now hygiene is added to the list.

Work is a place where they pay you to do things you don’t necessarily want to do or find comfortable—nowadays that includes things like wear masks correctly and gloves. If you don’t want to do the things that your employer requires, look for a new job. Not possible? Well then do it. I do stuff at my job that I don’t like and my employer doesn’t ask or care if I agree with it or am comfortable with it. Their attitude is — don’t like it? There’s the door. There’s a line of people here who will do what we ask.

recently took qatar airways but the flight was full. Yes, literally full. There was no temperature measure either. So I guess Al Baker is living up to his promise that social distancing is not needed. The main issue with being on a transcontinental flight is that we don't know who is flying next to you. I was next to a German family, which didn't do the basic manner of keeping clean and virus free. They covered their mouth with a mask but not nose. Ok, that is not huge but they kept touching everything and no hand sanitizing. Yep they went to toilet and got out and touched the door, no hand sanitizing afterwards. How can an airline keep traveling safe is beyond me when people cannot do the basics.

@Dick, no need to call people who disagree with you idiots. Are you going to call the first African American Surgeon General for condescendingly gelling the country not to wear masks despite evidence to the contrary from other countries? People make decisions based on their evaluation of facts and personal values/beliefs/health. You should make your decision. You don’t have to travel for leisure which by definition is non essential.

Unless you are in a locale that’s requires masks in public space, you have absolutely no right to tell people what to do

Rules are always broken. I'm not saying this as a blanket justification, but rather as a brutal fact. The fact of the matter remains that we are still in the middle of a global pandemic that we're still trying to figure out, understand and fight, and between the hordes of anti-mask crowds, denialists, hypochondriacs and middle-of-the-roaders, you are ALWAYS going to find something that won't please you.

With all due respect, don't become one of those people who freaks out over whether or not people wear masks, "brand promise" or not. Your previous mention of Ford passive-aggressively staring at a woman on the plane until she put a mask on is nothing short of shameful. If anything out there sets you off, then go home and stay there until a vaccine comes out or another kind of 'all clear' lets us all go back to our previous ways. The world has enough problems, and the last thing anybody needs is policing from amped-up vigilantes.

Thank you for this post - it's one of the best, most valuable you've posted in a long time. Lots of good information here for readers.

Sadly, not surprised one bit. People are idiots. Who really needs more proof of that? (Answer: only idiots.) The dead bodies pile up like cordwood and still far too many spoiled morons simply refuse to take this worldwide pandemic seriously, everywhere. Exactly how prevalent that is, does vary by location, but even where the local culture "gets it" to a greater extent, there are large numbers of morons. In deep-red Trumpistan where you've gone, expect the obvious.

Should we directly confront people not wearing masks?
Should we bring this to the attention of the manager?
Should we fill out the survey after a stay?
Should we just take our business elsewhere/not travel?

Yes, yes, yes and yes. If people don't push back, idiots rule the world (look around you for unlimited evidence).

Do what you can to protect yourself and others, get home safely, and remember these experiences. We're going to be dealing with this for a long, long time. 2021 ands 2022 (and November 3 2020) can't come soon enough.

I'm a usually a huge defender of you, Ben. But it seems after this trip you should stay home for awhile. I really want to travel (and travel vicariously through you), but right now between the rising spikes in COVID-19 and the lack of mask use around the country, seems being home for the next several weeks is the best bet. I would be frustrated too to see hotel and airport staff w/o makes or not properly wearing them, but we can't 100% mandate human behavior. Because of this, I just cancelled my trip to the Ritz Reserve in Dorado for August. I'm driving down to Montague Palmetto Bluffs now and am renting one of the cottages for my August getaway. This might be a good opportunity for you to become the biggest fan of Visit Florida. Would love to see your summer dispatches from I-4.

Sorry, but people like you are the reason why the world is in such a desperate state now.
Irrational fear and panic have taken over.

If you are afraid of corona just stay home please and don't ruin it for others who are not driven by fear...
Unbelievable how people are suddenly afraid of everything. For a healthy human being the chance of dying is practically ZERO. It's media that makes everybody believe corona is the most deadly disease ever, but it's a fact mostly people aged 80+ with several pre-illnesses die.
Of course there are cases of younger people not making it but these have severe issues such as obesity...

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised, especially given the parts of the country in which you're traveling. Personally, I'm not traveling at the moment unless it's absolutely essential--both because I don't want to put others at risk and because I generally don't trust others to be considerate of my health. If I were to travel and had to stay in a hotel, I would do careful research about the hotel. Some have posted very detailed information on their individual websites about the specific measures they are taking (e.g., the Inn at Bay Harbor Michigan, Autograph Collection), which would give me some more confidence that the individual hotel is taking social distancing and mask wearing seriously. I would also see if there are recent TripAdvisor reports about measures at the hotel, and I might even call the hotel and ask pointed questions about their measures.

@Mike +1 and thank you.

The reality is most people don’t need to wear masks the entire time they are on shift. Everyone gets breaks. They can take masks off during their breaks. If there is a proper plexiglass barrier and people respect it then practically speaking that should be fine. And practically speaking, if you are just standing in a hallway not talking (like it sounds Ben’s maids were) not wearing a mask is not the end of the world. But the maids should absolutely 100% wear masks when cleaning the rooms.

The above begs Ben’s point that there is a policy that is not being followed. For now non compliance does need to be called out. If the policy is too stringent it should change. If the policy is right and the staff are wrong, someone in a position of responsibility needs to be made aware. Though honestly how bad does a GM need to be to not see his own staff aren’t wearing masks?

I’m in a state where masks are required by law in public. I haven’t put one on yet, except in Church because my Bishop requires it for going to Mass. Otherwise, I avoid being too close, do my business quickly, and let the workers feel some sense of normal in stores.

Hotels set policies to say they are setting policies. Writing to corporate seems pretty ridiculous and is likely just going to force hard working people to suffer stupidly. If you don’t feel safe traveling, stay home. Let the rest of the people be in peace.

Went to Apple Store yesterday in NYC for Genius Bar appointment. There were about 50 staff tending about 20 customers for pick ups and Genius Bar appointments. All protocols were followed as advertised. Markings on the floor, temperature check upon entering, 6ft distance at all times, everybody wore masks and gloves the whole time. Genius Bar was one large table per customer with staff and customer on different sides. Display area is closed for browsing. Staff also told me that company also provide shuttle buses to go to work to avoid public transport. Felt safe.

Stayed at the Royal Palm in Miami Beach for 5 nights a few days ago. Zero housekeeping service even after asking them for toilet paper and towel on the 4th day.
And when checking in the front desk person gave me a worse room than what I had paid for and said that this was an upgrade (Lifetime Titanium).
The 3 employees I saw during my stay did use face masks though.
Supposedly free breakfast meant $14 value coupon, limited breakfast, simple omelet was $17, they added 18% gratuity.

I experienced the same thing staying at the Fairfield Inn in Morganton NC this weekend. Brand new hotel (and the nicest Fairfield I’ve ever stayed at), so they had mobile key available. I checked in on the app, but they wouldn’t activate my mobile key until they handed me a piece of paper at the front desk informing me of their COVID policies. Marriott had advertised the mobile key as a way to limit in person interaction. It seems like that information could have been emailed. Front desk employees were not wearing masks at all at check in. They were behind a small piece of plexiglass but kept leaning around it to talk to guests. I sent an email to the GM, which so far has been unanswered. Perhaps, I’ll get a reply Monday. It was a great hotel otherwise with friendly staff. I just wish they had followed those 2 Marriott guidelines to promote a safer hotel stay.

Come on lighten up. Had recent stay at renaissance and felt perfectly safe. There were plastic shields at check in counter and employee was wearing gloves. Key was sanitized. And the good thing out all of this the room was perfect clean

I think the measures taken were enough!

Regarding your rental. I believe it will be cleaned better before you pick it up. So, no need to sanitize it yourself. (since you’re the only one driving it.
And to put things in perspective. Before all of this nobody did sanitize or (extra) clean stuff. So, the benefit of this is that my car and hotel room is finally clean. We need to go back to before again soon. Locking down everything and act with too much panic will cause the world to be destroyed.

Keep travelling!

It's exactly as I posted here last week in the comments. The hotel brands great Covid policy of cleaning and staffing requirements is complete nonsense in practice. I had all of last week in hotels and only one appeared to be making any effort with cleaning and staff masks.

The only time I am saying anything is getting into an elevator. I refuse to ride an elevator with anyone not wearing a mask. Period. I could not believe the number of employees who were trying to enter the elevator with me without a mask on.

Frankly, I'm not surprised. Noncompliance for even the most basic things in our lives is fairly high. Just look at how many people fail to use turn signals while they're driving. And that's an offense punishable by law.

Even if this weren't a promise by a company (which, frankly so many promises are broken on a regular basis), people would still be apt to not follow through.

Between US culture being so heavily divided on believing in effective measures for disease prevention on top of mask wearing never having been part of US culture on top US culture being so highly focused on independent autonomy over all else with no regard whatsoever to the effects that autonomy has on other people, I am not surprised whatsoever by the actions of individuals. Even if it is corporate policy. Even if it were a law (which, in most places it's not).

I'm not surprised whatsoever. People suck. And I'm going to be stuck inside my apartment for a very long time because of it.

@Lucky The whole point of everyone staying home was to flatten the curve so cases stayed within the capacity of the healthcare system. Despite what government, airlines, hotel chains and the f**kwit at the top of it all say. Healthcare systems are being beginning overwhelmed again all over America. People have to take responsibility where government won’t and stay home if they can.

I really hope you got tested before you left home and I reallly hope you get tested when you get back and I really really hope you didn’t pick up a case of Covid-19. Friends who have had it say it is no joke and some of them have health consequences that have not gone away and may never go away.

No amount of mask wearing is going to protect those hotel employees from what you may have brought with you from the plane or from Florida. It seems disingenuous to complain about the lack of mask wearing from hotel employees whilst you are making this unnecessary trip.