The Hotel Problem During the COVID 19 Pandemic
Like it or not, sooner or later, you will need to travel and use a hotel room. You can limit travel. You can try to isolate as much as possible. But…. Stuff happens.
Since March, we had to make some trips which needed a hotel room. We are not young, so there is some risk. We were reassured hotels were taking special measures to minimize risk and, over the Summer, they appeared to be doing an excellent job.
We try to stick to major chains with a good reputation for service and accommodations. We are actually biased towards a specific chain that has served us well over the years.
This month, we carefully planned our necessary trip. We learned something: Hotels are faltering in a very big way. Even the big players are having trouble. Staffing is at skeleton levels. Cleaning is promoted with special gimmicks like stickers on the door which resemble the old toilet “Sealed for your protection!” Yet, beyond the fancy stickers, the cleaning is the worst I’ve ever seen.
When a large property is poorly occupied and staff is minimal, bad things happen. Hot water does not flow well or at all. Vomit stains in the corner are missed. Broken chairs are not replaced or fixed. Dead light bulbs are not noticed. Dead outlets are unrepaired. If you call the Front Desk, no one answers. If you visit the Front Desk, there is no one present. If you complain, you get a kind of sad response. The problem is overwhelming and everyone is burning out.
Up until this month, I was able to say I felt safe and my stay was pleasant. This past month, however, was different. I did not feel safe and I did not enjoy my cold showers.
Yes, I sympathize. Hotel occupancy is miserably low. I look at gigantic hotel complexes today and know they are doomed. How can they possibly survive?
Then, the judgmental part hits and I respond: “You clean the room more than you used to! You occasionally inspect the room to pull out broken chairs! Turn on the lights to see if they work! Test the water to see if it gets hot! If you can’t get the basics right, you will be the hotel that does not survive this catastrophe!”
Even an optimist has to admit: The future is looking frightful. I believe 2021 will have even greater hardship. There is a lesson for us all. If you want to stay employed, you need to do better than you have ever done before. Some of us will not survive, both literally and financially. Be agile and prepared to work harder than you ever imagined. Stay safe and make others safe.
We can get through this, but there are hard days ahead!
Missing the vomit stain, that’s a bad motel.
Not cleaning the chalk outline in the parking lot, that’s a really bad motel.
I was beat after a long drive late in the night. Driving solo, cross-country. Early August. It was about 11-PM, temperature was 95-degrees. Muggy as hell. Classic Midwest summer hot and muggy, even late at night. Found a motel in farmland outside Des Moines, Iowa. Really cheap advertised rate. Pulled in, found the reason it was so cheap. New ownership. The motel was trashed, they were renovating.
“We have two rooms available. One has a working toilet, but no air conditioning. The other has working air conditioning, but toilet is out of order. Throw a bucket of water in bowl to flush.”
I saw a large cornfield behind the motel. I figured, go for the woking air conditioning and fertilize the cornfield.
I have tried to tip employees of restaurants and hotels much more than normal. These folks, these boots on the ground, are suffering. I try to engage with restaurants and hotels as much as possible. This is an industry that must survive.
So true. My daughter worked for Marriott and got payed off. The outlook is grim indeed, but they could put more effort into what business they do have.
We use the Apollo UVC and Dyson air purifier. We run it for an hour then stay in the room . Chlorox all handles too.