How Safe Is It To Stay In a Hotel Right Now? Here's Your Guide

Direct contact with other humans is, unsurprisingly, the highest danger in hotels. Hotels, by their very nature, are places where people congregate: individuals who are entirely unfamiliar with one another and who are likely from all over the world. As a result, public places such as restaurants, elevators, and swimming pools are the most likely places for the virus to spread.

You are at risk whenever you are in a scenario where you are surrounded by other individuals. Because Covid-19 is known to spread among persons who are asymptomatic, travellers should presume that anybody they come into contact with – whether it's employees or fellow guests – is possibly contagious.

As long as you keep a safe distance from other people in the lobby for formalities like check-in, the hazards are minimal. Bars, restaurants, and elevators are three considerably hazardous locations where social distance may not be properly enforced (or impossible).

Menus and tablecloths were most likely disinfected. However, you'll have to remove your mask when the food and beverages arrive, increasing your chance of contracting the illness from people around you. That means ordering room service or a delivery from somewhere else may be the best option.

Do you have second thoughts about taking the dip? The water in hotel swimming pools should not be a source of concern, since chlorine levels are normally high enough to render the virus inactive. Physical barriers will almost definitely be there, but swimmers should be cautious of any potentially contaminated surfaces.

Image Courtesy: Ascot Suites

Hilton has promised more disinfection of commonly touched places in guest rooms, greater cleaning of communal spaces, and a ‘room seal' to demonstrate that it hasn't been visited since it was last cleaned. Meanwhile, Marriott claims that guest-room surfaces will now be disinfected more often using hospital-grade disinfectants, and that cleaning wipes will be available for guests to use.

To comply with local regulations, all chains are using social-distancing procedures. Marriott, for example, has placed posters in lobbies to remind visitors of the distance regulations, as well as removing and rearranging furniture to provide more room. It has also placed hand-sanitizing stations in all of its locations.

In more than 3,000 of its hotels, visitors may use their phones to check in and access rooms, indicating that the company sees a future when contact-free service is the standard. You may now use Marriott's app to make requests and get room service without having to speak to a human, according to the company.

Image Courtesy: Barcelo.com