While driving to New Orleans, we spent the night at a Fairfield Inn along the Florida Panhandle, just off I-10. While Marriott has been touting the “Commitment to Clean” throughout the pandemic, the willingness to follow the corporate guidelines has generally depended on where you’re staying and the area’s feelings about COVID.
That doesn’t mean that the hotels weren’t required to put up signs letting guests know about the mask restrictions in public areas.
Even during our trip to Texas this summer, hotel staff only followed the rules sometimes and guests weren’t worried about the staff enforcing the rules, as many walked through the lobby or sat in the lounge maskless.
That’s nothing compared to our hotel in the Florida Panhandle, which couldn’t wait for Marriott to issue new signs after our governor did away with mask mandates. This is the same governor said, “How the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with my mask on?”
That’s not Marriott’s current policy which reads as such.
For the U.S. – fully vaccinated guests are no longer required to wear face coverings or social distance in indoor or outdoor areas of the hotel, unless required by local law. We ask that unvaccinated guests and associates continue to wear face coverings and practice social distancing when they are in public spaces inside the hotel. All Associates working in substantial or high transmission areas as defined by the CDC are required to wear face coverings when indoors.
That’s quite a bit different from “optional.”
I wasn’t bothered by this as we chose to wear masks, as did most of the hotel’s employees. However, many guests were walking around maskless. Without knowing if they were vaccinated or not, we chose not to ride the elevator with other guests.
It’s been 18 months since I said you couldn’t depend on every hotel to keep the corporate cleanliness promises. I’ve adapted to the environment and it no longer bothers me to wait for the next elevator.
And for those who couldn’t wait for masks to be OPTIONAL at Marriott hotels, “Welcome to Florida!”
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3 comments
But why are you traveling during a pandemic?
i am surprised you travel at all – you seem so scared.
Going to Florida in a few months. I like their Governor. Maybe you should consider making Oregon your next destination? There’s been a lot of COVID craziness in Oregon, and it could very well get worse. As Genevieve Reaume of KATU News, a local news outlet, reported and tweeted about, the state is considering making its indoor mask mandate permanent.