Einstein said that "God doesn't play with dice." But unfortunately, we humans do. Especially when we should know better.

Hotel conditions are an urgent concern and Covid-19 sanitation an imperative for all of us, because of the high risk of community, regional, or national spread of the virus from just a single hotel positive case not contained. In Boston, summer 2020, most of us have heard the tragic story of how just 1 - one- contaminated hotel room or guest at a conference at the harbor led to an immeidate new Covid19 300,000 cases nationwide.

We may have the vaccines enroute, but only 9% - 17% of the US population is vaccinated thus far -- and, at least two of the major vaccines are proving to be only 66% effective. So subtract 33% from the population group that has received the Astra Zeneca and J&J vaccines.  We still must be careful.

Hotels are scary because we - the guests - lack control over our environment. We are entirely dependent on the responsibility and judgment of the property mangement. Usually, as with Marriott or Hilton properties, this is a good thing. But with lesser brands, it can be deadly. And unfortunately, Covid19 is to a large extent, 'a numbers game.' 

The higher the microbial viral count in an hvac system or hallway or guest room, the higher the odds that someone will become infected. The newer strains, especially out of the UK, have doubled or tripled our infection odds; and race and health condition further make many of us more susceptible.  As with any hazmat condition, if we think of this virus as an airborne, or surface-born, toxic substance - like sulfuric acid for example -- we might become less complacent and more assertive in ensuring that EVERYONE around us complies with CDC rules and keeps the environment as clean as humanly possible. We can't 'see' covid19 with the naked eye .. but it's still all around us.

The view onto an infected guest floor at the  Best Western Suites, 1251 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville MD in December 2020 shocked health and OSHA inspectors. Not only was the dust coating everything an eyesore, it ignored every CDC tenent of hotel and public space responsibility in protecting guests from this AIRBORNE virus.

• The hotel left guest trash and dirty linens from infected rooms and suites sit in hotel hallways  several  days without collecting it. So that new or un-infected guests would pass by and be exposed.
• The white film shown in the photo above is actually construction dust - cement, drywall and tile dust coating hvac, carpeting, and wood flooring and choking the air as construction crews continued to do remodeling in and around infected guest suites.

What the Hotel Suites did Wrong

FAILURE TO WARN, TEST, CLEAN, OR QUARANTINE

Everything any property, but especially a hotel or travel industry property, could do wrong in the pandemic, this Best Western DID WRONG. It showed absoluteluty no regard for guest safety, or the safety of the nearby communities and Washington DC metro area.

• The hotel property is owned by the PM Hotel Group of Bethesda, MD; and its General Manager commutes from Springfield, VA.The GM told guests she would not  test herself for Covid-19 because she feared she was asymptomatic, and the hotel could not afford a 'Postive' test result by GM or staff because it was trying to obtain a 'diamond upgrade.'

• The GM stated to guests she would  not ask or require staff, housekeeping, engineering, or the construction workers in and out of the hotel to either test themselves for Covid-19 or quarantine at home for 14 days; as CDC rules require after 'close contact' exposure. 

• There was no steam cleaning or serious disinfection between guests.

• There was no space left between occupied rooms.

• She continued to load new guests into or near infected rooms, without notifying them.

• Staff made up 'breakfast bags,' but did not wear gloves to handle the individual items - like apples - that most guests would eat without peeling. And if they themselves were not required to have regular tests - as Whole Foods requires of its employees for ex -- that was a very dangerous practice.

• Guests shared common seating, lounge area, with no spacing, gym that was never cleaned, and a common lobby coffee pot.

• The shared hvac running throughout the hotel linked EVERY ROOM TO EVERY OTHER ROOM. In an old hotel, this is deadly. The vents were never cleaned, the units when examined were rusting and probably would not even pass code. They were never steam-cleaned.

• Hotel management admonished guests who complained about pot and cigarette smoke into their rooms - through shared, aging hvac - or permeating hotel hallways, that this was a 'mixed use' property and they could not control guest smoking. *Vapor, particularly smoke, remains a highly contageous form of covid-19 transmission.