Excerpted:
Over the past several weeks I have stayed at several hotels across the spectrum from upscale resorts to roadside motels…
What I found is a great deal of inconsistency, even at hotels flagged under the same brand. It’s also obvious that some hotel owners and operators are using coronavirus to cut costs.
at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort, where peak-ski season rates exceed $1,000 per night. I was among the first guests to stay at the hotel in Colorado’s famed Vail Valley when it reopened Friday.
The much-reduced staff worked hard, but the complete lack of any real services, including daily housekeeping or open restaurants, make staying here a lousy value at $237 or 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.
My experience at the super-charming Chamberlin Inn, near Yellowstone National Park in Cody, Wyoming, was completely different. The 21-room, family-owned hotel is fully open with no downgrades to service standards.
One of the winners this summer will undoubtedly be Airbnb, as the short-term rental of a vacation house or apartment is a better value than staying at a hotel-in-name-only. This is especially true at hotels with the audacity to charge a resort fee when they are providing nothing more than a bed to sleep.