We’re pioneering a new standard of hotel clean. All hotels promise a clean room during the coronavirus pandemic. Why is a list of the safest hotels for coronavirus so important? Follow these tips for safely flying, driving and staying at hotels. Note: These hotel brands have introduced new cleaning and sterilization policies, often in partnership with health care providers. If you're thinking of traveling during the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, you might be wondering: Is there a list of the safest hotels during the COVID-19 crisis? originally appeared on NerdWallet. Resorts are taking other measures to convince guests they’ll be safe during their stay. To help you benefit from similar programs that put your health front and center, here is a list of the 10 safest hotel chains to stay at during COVID-19. There has also been increasing politicization over wearing face masks, causing large segments of the population to ignore the public health directive. Like us on Facebook to see similar stories, Man in plot to kidnap Michigan governor to plead guilty, prosecutor says, Biden pick for transportation, Buttigieg, advances in Senate. On the other end of the spectrum, Choice and Wyndham disappointed across all criteria we considered. Sam Kemmis is a writer at NerdWallet. Vaccine updates, safe care and visitor guidelines, and trusted coronavirus … are now wiped down and disinfected and washable items like rags and mop heads are all washed and sanitized after each job. Winners: Hilton (Grade: A+) and Radisson (Grade: A+). But that still leaves the question of where to stay once you reach your destination. Best Western, Hilton, and Marriott also performed well, thanks to a new mask requirement policy from Marriott, room-blocking from Hilton, and a comprehensive health plan from Best Western introduced soon after the pandemic started. Hold off on planning non-essential travel this summer, please. Radisson has consistently offered top-tier flexibility for guests throughout the crisis. It … Experts agree that people are safest while staying at home; however, doctors rank staying at a hotel as the fourth-safest activity people can enjoy during coronavirus. On top of everything else, it's summer and hot, and people started opening up their "quarantine bubble," socializing more, and even traveling. Colorado 3rd Safest State During COVID Pandemic. We compared each program across six criteria, based on the official policies stated on the hotel websites: Despite a rocky rollout of its health policy, Hyatt’s last-minute face mask requirement and staff training procedures set it apart. Though more people are opting for air travel now compared to this spring, it's still down significantly from past summers. From new cancellation policies to improved cleaning and social distancing procedures, major hotel brands have scrambled to adapt to the new reality. Which Airline Should I Fly In 2020 (and Beyond)? While vacation rentals have been a popular choice, they're not always an option, meaning that travelers have been slowly trickling back into reopened hotels. Which have offered the most customer-friendly policies and been willing to sacrifice bottom-line concerns for the sake of guest safety? vacation rentals have been a popular choice, 10 things you probably won't see in hotels anymore. With only a small percentage of the population vaccinated against COVID-19, a new WalletHub study ranked South Carolina one of the least safest states during the pandemic. Instead, road trips have been the preferred vacation method. COVID-19: What you need to know. But now, we have to factor in the potential for coronavirus exposure. But on the other hand, the novel coronavirus has been spreading rapidly in other parts of the country like Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona. Colorado is the third safest state during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by WalletHub. So even though we have awarded two “A+” grades, we still see plenty of room for improvement in this area. improved cleaning and social distancing procedures, continue to offer fully refundable fares throughout the summer, how airlines have been handling the pandemic, if you’re on the fence about a hotel booking, 5 Destinations From Netflix Hits to Inspire Your Future Travels. Answer 1 of 2: In mid-July, will probably be looking for a place to stay along I-70, within an area roughly one hour east or west of Columbia, MO. Similar to our analysis of how airlines have been handling the pandemic, we have done our best to boil this extraordinarily complex topic into a simple grading system and provide help for travelers in choosing which hotel to trust with bookings for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. If you plan to travel during the pandemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says getting a rental home is safer than staying with friends or family or at a hotel Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. There is. Then came rollbacks of both policies in the summer as the virus seemingly abated. If ensuring health and proper social distancing are your primary concerns, consider brands like Hyatt, Best Western, IHG, or Marriott, which scored best in these areas. Ultimately, even road trips aren’t completely safe during COVID-19—no matter how many precautions you take. Best Western, for example, scored a B+ for its health policies, but an abysmal D for its flexible booking policies. The post Which Hotels Have Handled COVID-19 the Best? As the world re-opens following the COVID-19 pandemic, travelers may wonder about the safety of staying in hotels. They've either published a vaguely worded press release, meant to soothe worried guests but short on specifics, or they've said nothing substantive other than, "We'll do better. Hotels are reopening during the coronavirus pandemic but may provide safety risks for your health. Since we are not experts in this area, we did not attempt to compare these policies. Still, staying at a hotel during the coronavirus pandemic is … It is important, in my opinion, that we hold hotels and other businesses accountable for the actions they take at times like these. Here's what you need to know before checking in. Experts say hotels or Airbnbs can be a safe place to stay if they’re following CDC guidelines for COVID-19. Inspired by Hyatt’s purpose – we care for people so they can be their best – and in response to the dynamic COVID-19 situation, we would like to share actions Hyatt is taking to care for you during this time, including booking with confidence and travel flexibility and comprehensive steps to implement new guidance, procedures and practices as we reimagine the hotel experience. Researchers at the … M arriott International has introduced a new set of protocols for ensuring safe, clean, and healthy hotel stays in the age of COVID-19 that will include touchless check-in and the use of hospital-grade disinfectant to sanitize surfaces throughout its hotels.. When travel plans were first disrupted, some hotels outlined flexible policies for existing reservations, letting guests change or cancel these bookings without fees. ", 1995-2020 Hospitality Net™ All rights reserved, Coronavirus: Impact on the Hospitality Industry. (And many hotels have more stringent cleaning standards because of the coronavirus.) On the one hand, you have places like New York City—the original epicenter in the United States — getting the outbreak under control. All their equipment (vacuum, mop, brushes, etc.) It's a handy guide for anyone interested in staying somewhere that takes safety seriously. "All of our cleaners are required to wear clean gloves and masks at every job. The Safe Travel Barometer, a startup that ranks travel companies based on their cleaning and sanitation practices, released the list exclusively to FORBES. Hilton CleanStay. 1. This summer has been an especially confusing period of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve partnered with RB, maker of Lysol & Dettol, to develop the new Hilton CleanStay program as part of our commitment to providing our guests complete peace of mind during their stay at any of Hilton’s 18 brands. Many rooms remain empty as hotels reopen after COVID-19 outbreak Devastated by the pandemic, Canada's hotels make plans to reopen Can you still rent a cottage this summer during the pandemic? The study was done by WalletHub and was released on Thursday. Medical experts weigh in and share their tips for safely staying in a hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because too many hotels have said too little about their sanitation efforts. Summer begs the question: Is it safe to stay in a hotel during COVID-19? … "Our company has taken a number of precautions in light of the pandemic," Jacqueline Janus, cleaning expert and owner of cleaning company Two Chicks and a Broom, tells Reader's Digest. If, on the other hand, maintaining flexibility amid coronavirus uncertainty is paramount, check out the brands like Radisson, Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt, which rated the highest here. Twitter: @samsambutdif. Hyatt took top overall marks thanks to its consistent customer-first policies across many categories and dates. The Yachtsman Hotel and Marina Club, Kennebunkport, Maine The 30 harbor-front bungalows have private teak terraces, access to kayaks and … They urge travelers to check with the hotel or … It's one thing to see how hotels are updating their cleaning policies during a pandemic, but what about professional cleaners? [I stayed at 3 hotels during covid-19. The post Which Hotels Have Handled COVID-19 the Best? In general, hotels have been much quicker to scale back their flexible policies than airlines, many of which continue to offer fully refundable fares throughout the summer. Runners-up: Best Western, IHG and Marriott (Grade: B+). Infectious disease experts share how to keep yourself safe. From prioritizing your safety to offering flexible cancellation policies, these hotel chains earn the highest marks. If so, you may have a higher chance of becoming infected or infecting others. To find out, we performed a comprehensive “grading” of eight major hotel brands, looking at the policies they currently have in place as well as the evolution of these policies throughout the early stages of the pandemic. To grade these ever-evolving policies, we looked at two types of change/cancellation fee waivers (new and existing bookings) over two time periods in April and July 2020. Need to travel during COVID-19? Hilton, Marriott, and Radisson also performed consistently, but not uniformly. If you're thinking of traveling during the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, you might be wondering: Is there a list of the safest hotels during the COVID-19 crisis? For more on this developing situation, including how life might be different post-lockdown, see our comprehensive Coronavirus Guide. The best option surprised me.] To determine the final grade, we compared two major categories: We gave each brand a grade in each category (see below for more details), then averaged these two grades. This has led to a common question: Is it safer to stay at a hotel or rental property like an Airbnb in the coronavirus era? So each hotel brand received four individual grades, summarized in one overall flexibility grade below. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com. We instead focused on policies such as mask enforcement that can be compared directly. But how do you know if your room is virus-free? We also graded these policies on a curve, as with the health policies above. And although Hilton’s generosity has waned in the summer, it led the charge earlier in the spring with highly flexible policies for both new and existing bookings. Which Airline Has the Most Valuable Elite Status Program? But which hotel brands have adapted best? 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