Beautiful setting and nice hotel. Signage everywhere encouraging social distancing, claiming rigorous cleaning standards and assuring guests that their comfort and safety are paramount. But even if the public health concern is mainly for show, the hotel surely cares about its reputation and bottom line. So having an unmasked staff member act rudely confrontational towards a guest is BAD business. Look, I don’t care if you don’t want to (or don’t have to) wear a mask, and I’m not interested in debating your entitlement to put yourself and other people at risk, or whether you think you know better than the CDC. But don’t invade my personal space as though you want to provoke me and then say, ‘I don’t have the plague!’ in a condescending snarky way when I step back to maintain proper social distancing. And then don’t cop an even bigger attitude when I observe, ‘I’m just surprised you’re not masked.’ All the other staff I can see are. Most of your guests are. Most people in public places are. I am. I just drove 2000 miles across the country to visit elderly parents with health issues. And most people from Tennessee and Arkansas to Oklahoma and New Mexico were masked in public, especially those working in hotels that claim to care about guests’ comfort and safety during a pandemic. We are in one of the worst hot spots in the world and I’m paying over $230 a night for this room. Is this official Holiday Inn Express policy? To have staff not wearing masks bully guests about it? Wherever you stand on pandemic public health politics, masks or no masks, at least treat your guests with respect.
NB: On my way out I saw a sign indicating masks will be mandatory starting July 27. I guess this guy just had to make his point before he was forced to do the responsible thing. I also appreciated the far nicer and more reasonable (masked and gloved) staff member at the desk on checkout who agreed that no one should be treated so poorly by one of their employees.
