hotel best practices in the covid age

November 7, 2020 4:20 AM

I have to make a three-day driving trip across the US. What's the safest possible way (both for myself and others) to go about this, especially with regard to sleeping?

I am trying to be as cautious as possible. The trip is unavoidable, but I would like to do everything possible to minimize risk to myself and others.

Here is what I am already planning:
- Hard quarantine (no visitors, grocery shopping, etc.) at home for 2 weeks before leaving, hard quarantine for 2 weeks upon arrival at my destination (this might be overkill, but it's not going to hurt me, so I'm doing it)
- I camp a lot so I will just pee in the woods at rest stops
- I am bringing all of my own food for the trip and will eat in my car
- Sanitizing hands etc after getting gas

Here's where I'm stumped: sleeping.

It will be warm enough in the places I'm traveling through that I could camp or sleep in my car. However, that still means dealing with shared bathrooms if I want to shower (I do), plus between long days of driving it would be much better and safer to sleep well in a real bed. (I don't have space for the kind of camping equipment that would make sleeping comfortable.)

Do we have any sense of what the risks and best practices are for "sleeping in a real bed on a road trip"? There are a million articles, but a lot of them are old and/or seem mostly based on speculation. I'm wondering things like:

Am I better off in a motel with doors that open onto the parking lot? Is there a way to find out which motels have windows that open, or that have separate ventilation systems for each room? Should I just not run the heat/AC? Should I be worried about surface transmission? Am I better off renting a cabin? Or an Airbnb with contactless entry? Should I rent a motel for 2 nights, but only stay there on the second, on the theory that any airborne virus will have settled by then? Do I need to sleep in my sleeping bag on the bed? Should I bring a box fan? Do I need to wear a mask the whole time I'm in the room? Do we have any data at all about people getting infected during hotel stays?

Maybe some of these questions are crazy! I don't know! But I'd appreciate any input you can give me.

posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

From the CDC.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:33 AM on November 7, 2020 [4 favorites]

I’d probably try to get a room on the first floor so I wouldn’t need to worry about stairs vs. elevator.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:39 AM on November 7, 2020

I would also bring my own pillow with a different pillow slip for every different hotel room.
posted by jacobean at 6:52 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I would do AirBnBs. Chat with the host about contactless entry. You can check the calendar to see if it's been vacant for a day or two previous. Put the pillows and sheets in the dryer and wipe surfaces down if you're worried. Have a good night.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:57 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

I have had to stay at hotels on and off all summer and into the fall for work. We try first for places that have direct doors to the outside; if that isn't possible, we get rooms on the first floor near an exit -- the idea is to minimize time spent in shared interior airspaces. We skip the hotel breakfast area (which always has a bunch of seniors either not wearing masks or with their masks pulled down congregating next to the signs that say to wear masks and not congregate). At the price point you are at for chain hotels next to the interstate, my experience is that all hotel rooms have those AC/heat units under the window, rather than fancy conjoined HVAC systems. As you spend more, that can change.

There are definitely risks and issues with traveling, but we haven't found the hotels themselves to be a problem. All of the national chain motels seem to have fairly decent covid protocols in place in terms of minimizing contact at checkin, cleaning, etc. Food is really easy to deal with, since everywhere is doing takeout.

At least out here, the highway rest stops are set up well, often with the doors propped open so there is no contact at all. Mask wearing at rest stops is pretty hit and miss, though, I think because so many travelers are coming from the kinds of places where the pandemic is seen as fake news. Nicer is to do what you are talking about and pull off at a deserted area and use the bushes, but that only works in some places and there are long stretches where that is not possible.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:02 AM on November 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Hello from Hong Kong, which no one can practicably leave for a short vacation and where everyone is staycationing in our basically empty but massive hotels. I've done two this past summer and I have felt really safe even in our very dense city. The advice in the CDC link above from kevinbelt is pretty much what we do here.

To answer your questions with what is happening here, a much denser, much busier place than almost anywhere in the US:

Am I better off in a motel with doors that open onto the parking lot?
Any reduced contact with others is probably a good idea, but will the heating be good enough for you if there's no internal hallway and if the weather is cold? I wouldn't want to make this drive at this time of year unless it was from, like, Jacksonville to San Diego or somewhere very far south.

Is there a way to find out which motels have windows that open, or that have separate ventilation systems for each room?
Call ahead and ask. I asked for a room with an openable window on my last staycation and got one.

Should I just not run the heat/AC?
This hasn't been recommended here. I do wonder if having openable windows would be a nice alternative, but most of the US is getting pretty chilly.

Should I be worried about surface transmission?
I think if you wash your hands and are careful around doorknobs/handles/etc, you'll be way safer than if you didn't care about this at all. Try not to touch your face.

Am I better off renting a cabin? Or an Airbnb with contactless entry?
I would say no. Think about how much variability you want on a trip of this length/time. You're going to be driving perhaps 12 hours a day; the easiest way to do this is going to be boring predictable chain hotels/motels with app check-in and reliable customer service for hygiene issues if, for example, you notice that your room needs more soap. Marriott (and probably a lot of other chains) do mobile check-in and even mobile keys, meaning you can do your whole stay with no contact with any other person.

Should I rent a motel for 2 nights, but only stay there on the second, on the theory that any airborne virus will have settled by then?
This seems expensive! An alternate idea might be to look to stay in an extended-stay place that probably doesn't have as much turnover these days. Look in quieter, less interesting locations away from destinations with attractions for kids or families. I'd also stay well away from any communal breakfast situation and do takeout, or perhaps get delivery to the front of the hotel?

Do I need to sleep in my sleeping bag on the bed?
No - but I think you're within your rights to ask for another top sheet if you'd be happier that way. Maybe bring along some extra pajamas you just use for one night each, and wash them when you arrive?

Should I bring a box fan?
No. As mentioned above, try to stay in places without a central HVAC system.

Do I need to wear a mask the whole time I'm in the room?
No; I'd actually worry about mask hygiene deteriorating over time (in fact, on this trip I'd go with disposable masks you can safely dispose of along the way).

Do we have any data at all about people getting infected during hotel stays?
I didn't find anything specific about hotels, but we know that large groups of people sharing a ventilation system for an extended period of time is a risk - think of the Diamond Princess. Here in HK our equivalent to the CDC published this guide (PDF) for hoteliers on hotels should do to maintain a safe standard of hygiene. Have a look and ask some questions of the places you're thinking of staying. The issue here has been people having huge events (illegally!) in their rooms, given the closure over the summer of bars, party rooms and other places people gather. Choose places this wouldn't happen and I think you'll be fine - is anyone having a baby shower in, say, the Residence Inn by the office park next to the interstate? Probably not.

For your specific situation, I'd also say this:

- Being rested while driving that distance in that time is really important for non-Covid safety reasons, like having good reaction times on dark roads. I'd definitely stay in the nicest place you can afford with your own bathroom.

- Get a room with a kitchenette so you can safely store your food on your journey. An ice machine might also be nice for your cooler through the day. I would also bring along whatever your favorite tea/coffee situation is and make your own in the morning in your room, just to save you an extra step of stopping at a Starbucks or something.

- While other guests are for the most part outside your control (and I'd definitely avoid challenging anyone on their mask use on a trip like yours), I would say that if you're at all worried about mask non-use by hotel staff, ring ahead to the hotel/motel/whatever and ask them what they suggest: they may be *delighted* that you'd prefer a contactless and masked experience.

- Think about secure overnight parking if you have a lot of stuff in your car on this trip so you can sleep well; it would be a nightmare to have to deal with police/insurance/a broken window/no radio/etc on a trip that's this fast.

You're going to be fine. Safe travels!
posted by mdonley at 7:37 AM on November 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

I did a week long cross country drive over the summer. If you can find Best Westerns along your route, they were the best about covid precautions that we encountered. You don’t have to book for two nights because BW is doing that for you; rooms aren’t re-booked for more than 24 hours in between visitors, and they even have stickers over the doors so you know they weren’t opened.

They all have doors that open directly into the parking lot as well, and individual room HVACs. Every employee was masked even in states without mandates. If you’re really concerned I suppose maybe bring your own comforter/blanket since usually hotels don’t wash those much, but the rooms themselves also were extremely clean.
posted by nancynickerson at 8:13 AM on November 7, 2020 [15 favorites]

We brought an air purifier for the room when I traveled to a hotel over Labor day weekend. We were going to ask to forego housekeeping but the hotel had already put that policy in place across the board.

MGM manages the hotel I was at, and from what I hear they are going above and beyond on precautions.
posted by crunchy potato at 3:28 PM on November 7, 2020

Should I rent a motel for 2 nights, but only stay there on the second, on the theory that any airborne virus will have settled by then?

I would not count on this being possible. In my experience at a hotel, we closed all reservations that no called/no showed (and depending on the situation, sometimes we even closed the ones who called). Motels are different from hotels, but I would take some of the advice above (staying at a Best Western, staying on the first floor at a roadside motel with external hallways and skipping breakfast, etc.) rather than rely on that trick.
posted by librarylis at 11:11 AM on November 8, 2020