About two weeks ago, I stayed at my first limited service hotel during the pandemic.
This was my first hotel during the pandemic.
I know I am late.
It looks like everyone and their mother has stayed at a hotel by now.
Many people have flown too.
This is my second road trip, but I hope to travel every week, whether road trip or flying later.
This will probably start out as weekly road trips (on the weekend), but as the pandemic improves (hopefully), I will be flying often.
I will be excited to fly again.
I don’t know when that will be though.
In any case, road trips are becoming more common for me.
Like I said, I want to hit the road often.
Road trips are popular during the pandemic.
This is my second car rental too during the pandemic.
I rent cars instead of putting damage on my vehicle.
I also like trying different kinds of vehicles.
This is reasonable where I live, around $40-$50 per day.
It used to be $30 a day before the pandemic though.
I know they have to make their money.
Later, I will talk about how I use Swagbucks and other things to cover these costs.
Again, I don’t believe in spending a lot of money on travel.
So now, I have completed my first hotel stay during the pandemic.
In the past, I stayed in hotels frequently, around fifty a year.
What was my experience staying at a hotel during the pandemic?
I love encouraging people to travel.
I hope people stay safe and do what they feel comfortable with.
I think you can do some travel and stay safe during the pandemic, but stick to whatever is comfortable for you.
So. here it is.
This is my first stay.
It was in a limited service hotel.
My next post will be about my second stay in a full service Hilton hotel.
Look for that post within a week.
First, what possible threats do hotels pose during the pandemic?
Hotels, known for luxury and service, are one of many people’s favorite part of the travel experience, mine included.
I love hotels.
I am sure you do too.
In the past, I stayed at fifty hotels a year again.
You don’t have to be a blogger to stay frequently at hotels.
After the pandemic, you can be jetting off to your next hotel stay for pennies after everything you learn on this blog.
I say after the pandemic because I am sure we will all travel more frequently then.
When you stay at hotels now (if you choose to do so), just take precautions like wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and sanitizing high contact points like remote controls, door knobs, etc.
What risks do hotels present, anyway?
First, hotels are gathering spaces of large groups of unknown people.
Often staff and guest gather in common areas in large crowds.
The coronavirus spreads primarily through direct contact with people, so this is a big concern.
Next, hotels are places where many objects are shared and used by a large group of people.
So, take precautions like bringing your own wipes again.
Hotels are supposed to clean the room thoroughly, but you should take precautions again.
So what was my experience?
Were people wearing masks at limited service hotel during the pandemic?
At the property I stayed at, a Holiday Inn Express, everyone I encountered had a mask on.
I choose a Holiday Inn Express because I had IHG points left.
This was just a quick trip too.
I usually stay at mostly Hilton and Marriott chains.
I usually prefer full service hotels.
If you are doing any road trip where you will pass through small towns, you will only have limited service hotels like Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, or Fairfield Inn.
I was not spending money, so this choice was easy: IHG points meant the Holiday Inn Express.
Personally, my experience with the three limited service hotels mentioned earlier is whichever is the newer property is the best one,.
A dated Hampton Inn is usually a worst choice than a brand new Holiday Inn Express.
Birmingham has many full service hotels, but again I wanted a free night with as few points as possible.
In other posts by bloggers, people said that wearing masks could be a problem during a hotel stay.
I live in Alabama.
My hotel stay was in Birmingham again.
In Alabama, there is a mandate to wear masks.
So, there was no problem wearing a mask.
RELATED: Get A Free Hotel: My Favorite Sweet Spots In Major Hotel Loyalty Programs
Was there any problems social distancing at limited service hotel during the pandemic?
At home, I walk into hotels frequently.
Most operate with fewer guests during the pandemic.
Hotels are still operating at a lower occupancy rate.
There are two main reasons for this.
First, people are not back to business travel, which is a lot of hotels’ profit.
Second, people are still scared and hesitant to stay in a hotel.
So, as I expected, there are still fewer people staying at hotels, so social distancing and avoiding crowds was a breeze.
There were signs everywhere to social distance.
There was even signs in the elevators.
How Clean Was Everything?
The hotel I stayed at was very clean.
I used TripAdvisor.
Some of the other properties I might have chosen did not have such good reviews on cleanliness, so as usual, before you stay anywhere I would check something like TripAdvisor.
I do not stay anywhere without first checking a review site.
It has saved me a lot of unpleasant surprises.
How Was Breakfast Served?
Since I stayed at a limited service brand, breakfast was included.
Breakfast is included in most limited service hotels but not all.
You could not get the buffet style breakfast as usual.
Breakfast was placed behind the check in counter in a clean area.
The front desk attendant would then ask what you wanted and place it in a grab and go bag.
You could get hot choices like scrambled eggs, sausage, etc.
You could also get muffins, yogurt, and quick grab items.
Everything was packed in a to go styrofoam package.
I am including a quick hotel review in the next section, so you can learn more about staying in a hotel during the pandemic.
This is not meant to review the particular Holiday Inn Express I stayed at, a hotel of hundreds in Birmingham.
I know many people may never encounter my unknown hotel in Birmingham.
I had never heard of it myself before I made the stop.
It is just to let you see the hotel process more during the pandemic, from booking to check out.
It is also to see if hotel reviews are something you want to see on the blog.
For later, in terms of hotel reviews, since my audience comes from all over the country and other countries, I will review popular hotels in major cities.
That is if people are interested.
Quick Hotel Review: Checking in, room, breakfast, etc. for more info
Booking the hotel
I booked the Holiday Inn Express in Birmingham, Alabama for 12,500 IHG points.
IHG points start as 10,000 points.
As you can see, I was trying to get as close to that as possible.
The cash rate for this hotel was $112.
The calculation of the redemption rate yielded .90 cents (rounded).
To find the redemption value for your hotel, you multiply the cost of your stay including taxes times 100.
Then, you divide by the number of points.
IHG points are worth .50 cents, so this was pretty good at .90 cents.
I got almost twice as much as IHG points are worth.
Again, my preferred chains are Hilton and Marriott.
I usually prefer full service hotels also, like the Hilton or Marriott again.
Honestly, $100 hotels can be better with cash.
Of course, the point of this blog is to spend as little as possible though.
This is where other bloggers tell you to spend money.
In terms of value, they are right.
Your points could go to bigger international trips later.
When international travel resumes, you will want your points to see the world.
I will address other ways you can build cash later without spending any money out of pocket later like Swagbucks, reselling, again.
Holiday Inn Express check-in and lobby
Check in was smooth.
I was originally supposed to stay in Montgomery, but there was a delay in my car rental.
I had to change from my Montgomery hotel to Birmingham.
My points were reissued and the hotel was booked.
I have been helped when I pass the cancellation period at other chains like Hilton.
I don’t know if it because I am an elite member or hotels are helpful under unusual circumstances.
There were plexiglass shields at the front desk as well as stickers on the floor to show six feet distance.
I was upgraded to a suite as an IHG Gold member.
I was previously IHG Platinum but when I took time off travel, I closed my card.
It was not as hard to get approved in the past.
I mean the Chase 5/24 rule did not apply to all cards.
I actually miss my IHG Platinum status, so I will try to get the card in the future.
I think the IHG card is a good choice if you have enough Chase slots, and you frequent IHG hotels.
RELATED: 8 Credit Cards That Will Give You Hotel Elite Status Just For Having A Credit Card
Holiday Inn Express King Suite
I was upgraded to a king suite as an IHG Gold.
The entrance had a kitchenette with a mini fridge, microwave, and Keurig coffee machine.
The next hotel I stayed at, a full service Hilton hotel, had a sticker showing that the room had been cleaned.
In any case, I brought my wipes and wiped down all major areas like remote controls, light switches, door handles, bathroom faucet, etc.
Though the hotel looked spotless, I did enjoy the stickers at my next hotel stay.
I will write the post next week about this second hotel stay.
Holiday Inn Express Pool, Gym
I used neither and both were quite empty.
If you want to use either, most hotels keep both open.
Holiday Inn Express Overall Impression
Holiday Inn Express is a limited service brand like Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn.
If you travel on most highways, you will usually be choosing between these three limited service hotels if you make a pit stop.
I tend to like whichever brand is the newest or whichever I have points for when I find myself in smaller cities or towns.
Again, most of my hotel stays are in full service hotel chains, primarily Hilton or Marriott.
The Holiday Inn Express I stayed at was a new hotel with high reviews on TripAdvisor.
Since this was a last minute choice, it was actually a pleasant surprise for a limited service hotel.
Again, I stayed here because I read such good reviews on TripAdvisor.
Overall, the hotel was clean, they were markers for social distancing, and everyone wore masks.
Again, during the pandemic, hotels operate under lower occupancy and there are a fewer guest so social distancing is a breeze.
Check our location though because certain locations that are popular like Florida and California may be different and have crowds.
This was my first hotel stay during the pandemic.
Stay tuned next week, where I will review my second hotel experience at a full service Hilton.
Summary
I hope this was helpful.
The stay was surprisingly normal as are a lot of things during the pandemic.
As with my other post about my first road trip during the pandemic, many things I do at home during the pandemic, apply on the road.
As with everything, know that we are living through a pandemic, so take the normal precautions as well as those specific to hotels that I mentioned earlier.
As a blogger, I love encouraging people to travel.
The pandemic presents challenges to encourage people to travel though, so I hope you stay safe.
Honestly, I think people can both travel and be safe during the pandemic.
I plan to do a lot of road trips soon, possibly every week.
I look forward to my first flight too (hopefully soon).
I hope everyone stays safe and that this post was helpful.
You can let me know if you would like to see hotel reviews on the site.
Since my audience comes from all over the country, my hotel reviews would be from major cities like Nashville, Atlanta, and later (when the pandemic is over), major international destinations like London, Hong Kong, Dubai, etc.
Let me know if hotel reviews are something you are interested in reading.
Have you stayed in a hotel during the pandemic?
What was your experience?
