The New Normal for Travel

Stay safe and stress free the next time you travel. Check out my list of 10 Travel Tips you should know before you go!

My trip to Fort Lauderdale in February seemed like it was more than a year ago. I was itching to travel again; so, after almost six months, I decided to embark on an outdoor adventure in Massachusetts and plan a few day trips to Maine, Vermont and Provincetown. And as you know, travel post-COVID requires extra planning. During this new normal, travelers have to take extra precautions to make sure they adhere to travel guidelines for several domestic and international destinations, especially if you don’t intend on building a 14-day quarantine period into your vacation. Although it wasn’t a luxurious international trip, I wanted to document my first time traveling post-COVID, so other travelers know what to expect and plan ahead. 

GET YOUR COVID-19 TEST RESULTS
The first step in planning travel is clearly understanding the travel restrictions and guidelines of the destination you plan to visit. In my case, I had needed to take a COVID-19 test and get the results back within 72 hours of my departing flight per Massachusetts travel guidelines. Before the pandemic, I already had some anxiety about flying. I never felt like I was truly in vacation mode until I cleared airport security. But now, my travel anxiety was fueled more because I had to schedule (perfectly) when to take a COVID-19 test so that I would receive negative results before my 8am flight on a Thursday. I decided to take two tests – a mail-in LabCorp test and a test at a local testing site. My hope was that at least one of the tests would come back before the day of my departure.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Isaias threw an unexpected wrench in my plans and JetBlue moved my flight from Thursday to Wednesday morning. I’ll admit I panicked at first, but I decided to book a hotel room at least for one night (or more) until I received my test results. I was not only traveling with a friend, but we were visiting my good friend, who graciously agreed to host us for the long weekend. So, this was a precaution we took to ensure that everyone was COVID-free. 

FLYING UNDER NEW GUIDELINES
Fast forward to the day my flight was scheduled to leave Reagan National Airport (DCA) on Wednesday morning. The cheap roundtrip airfare, we snagged – to and from Boston – was a great bargain, but it was also important to me to choose an airline that made its passengers’ health and safety a priority. In this case JetBlue was my choice and blocking the sale of middle seats was also a deciding factor when I booked my flight. 

Walking into the airport was a different experience. The hustle and bustle of a busy airport was gone, but now, wearing a mask was mandatory unless you were eating or drinking.  Today, my TSA Pre√ access wasn’t really necessary because no one was in line at 7am in the middle of the week. The only visible difference standing in airport security was that the TSA agent instructed me to insert my driver’s license into a CAT (credential authentication technology) unit and place my phone (with my electronic ticket) on a scanner as the first step. Other than that, it was pretty much the same experience. 

After passing through security, travelers will notice that some restaurants may be closed, or they were open with clear markings on the floor to ensure that customers stay six feet apart from one another. And even at the gates, tape was used to block seats and keep passengers at a safe distance. When it was time to board the plane, travelers with loyalty membership, disabilities and children were asked to board first, but instead the desk attendants calling out group numbers or letters, passengers were asked to board by row, starting at the back. 

Once on the plane, even though it had probably been cleaned thoroughly, I quickly whipped out my plastic canister of anti-bacterial wipes and cleaned everything on and around my window seat, including the window shade, the seatbelt, the knob above the backseat tray, the tray and the armrests. Because I was flying in the middle of the week, there were quite a few empty seats.  There were no passengers sitting in my row, across the aisle to the left of me, and only one passenger sat in the row in front of me and behind me. Again, masks were required for the entire flight and that included the flight attendants, who served a small bottle of water and snacks packaged in plastic. 

During my flight, I was anxious about how Massachusetts would crack down on travelers who hadn’t taken a COVID test,  or in my case, had taken the test, but just hadn’t received the test results yet. Miraculously, I made it to the hotel without being stopped, but I should mention that I didn’t have any symptoms, I’m an avid mask wearer, practice social distancing and I had not been around family and friends for more than a week.  

HOTEL CHECK-IN POST COVID
As I mentioned before, I wanted to wait out my time in a hotel room until my test results came back. So, I made reservations for a room at the Club Quarters on Devonshire Street in Boston. Another reason why I was also experience extra travel anxiety was because this hotel was scheduled to reopen the day of my arrival. So, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was hoping they had very strict safety guidelines. 

When we arrived, there was a motion detector outside of the front entrance and the inside doorway that automatically opened the doors with a simple wave a hand. All guests checking in and existing guests returning back to the hotel had to have their temperature taken by standing in front of an upright temperature scanner. 

Guests are asked to check-in via on touchscreen monitor after a front desk clerk provides you with your very own stylus, so you don’t have to physically touch the screen. Plexiglass was placed between the two touchscreen stations as well as around the physical desk where the front desk staff stand. Wearing masks is enforced for staff and guests especially in common areas.

A hand-sanitizer dispenser was placed in front of all elevators on every floor. Before pulling out my card to unlock the door to my room, I noticed there was a seal placed on the door and its frame to signify that the room had been cleaned based on the hotel’s set protocols. As soon as I broke the seal and entered the room, I quickly pulled out my wipes and cleaned the bathroom sink, all door handles, the on-and-off switch on every light fixture, and the tabletops of the desk and nightstands. Not surprising, the TV remote control was now in a plastic bag to reduce the spread of germs. 

My experience at this Club Quarters Hotel definitely set the bar for booking my hotel accommodations in the future. The only feedback I’d offer would be to create another form of contactless access – other than plastic cards – for guest to use to enter their room. And checking the temperature of every returning guest can be difficult to keep up if the front desk staff is busy. That being said, there was a staff member at the door requesting guests check their temperature, and he/she would let them pass once the green approval logo popped up on the screen. This was first time I traveled since February and my fear of post-COVID travel subsided after seeing what new changes were made to keep airplane passengers and hotel guests safe.