Ways Your Next Hotel Stay Will Be Different [Part 2]

Twenty-four hours before a recent hotel stay I had to be able to answer "no" to several screening questions, or the hotel was going to cancel my reservation.  

Guest Health Screening Questionnaire
Confirmation Number xxxxxxx
Last name Austin

We’re committed to keeping you safe while you play, and we have added enhanced health and safety measures for you and our [crew]. We ask guests to follow all posted instructions while visiting [x hotel]. However, an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. By visiting [x hotel], you voluntarily assume all risks related to potential exposure to COVID-19.

To help mitigate that risk, we are asking all of our resort guests to answer the following questions. If you are unable to certify that your answers to each of the following questions is “no” then (1) you will not be allowed to proceed with check-in, (2) please do not enter [x hotel], and (3) promptly notify guest services at [800 number] for further direction. We will waive fees for any reservation date changes as a result of answering “yes” to any of these questions. If your answer to any of the below changes to “yes” during your stay at [x hotel], you must immediately notify guest services of the change in circumstances.

1. In the past 72 hours, have you or anyone in your guest party experienced:

Subjective fever (felt feverish) or measured a temperature at or above 100.4°F
New or worsening cough
Shortness of breath or chest tightness
Sore throat
Vomiting/Diarrhea
Extreme fatigue
Loss of sense of taste or smell
Persistent muscle aches
Headaches

Yes     No

2. Have you or anyone in your guest party been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or do you or anyone in your guest party live with an individual who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days?

Yes     No

3. In the last 14 days, have you or anyone in your guest party knowingly been in close contact with someone who was at the time positive for COVID-19?

Close contact means being within six feet of one another for longer than 10 minutes. A healthcare worker who was outfitted with necessary PPE is not considered to have been in close contact with another for purposes of this question.

Yes     No

4. Within the last 14 days have you or anyone in your guest party traveled (i) out of the United States, (ii) on a cruise ship or (iii) on a river cruise?

Yes     No

5. Have you or anyone in your guest party been directed or told by the local health department or your healthcare provider to currently self-isolate or self-quarantine?

Yes     No

==========================================================

During my hotel stay, I looked around at other guests knowing they had answered the same questions before arriving, and it did make me feel at least semi-confident there was a lesser risk of virus-spreading.  One small observation -- the staff members were wearing masks, but most of the guests were not.

I bet we'll all be seeing more screenings like this for the next several months, and maybe until there's a vaccine.  Whatever that "new normal" is, this is more evidence.