My family took a road trip this week to Virginia Beach. We were surprised by what we found.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
Hotels Are Full
Rates were high in Virginia Beach – sky-high, in fact – but with good reason. Hotel occupancies at properties for which I was able to ascertain such knowledge were 70%, 71%, and sold out. Some were oversold, though properties indicated that reservations are very much fluid and they change from day-to-day more so than ever before, a logical if not obvious conclusion. Nonetheless, that suggests to me that a higher number of rooms will be oversold as last-second cancellations rise.
For the time being, however, hotels in Virginia Beach, VA – and I suspect all drivable beach destinations near major population centers – are packed. Other popular destinations along the Atlantic coast like Outer Banks, North Carolina, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Ocean City, Maryland also had minimal availability from my anecdotal research, corroborated by rates.
It was one of the better per-point valuations we were able to achieve by spending points instead of cash on our hotel stay. You may find a credit card that helps you with your getaway as we were able to use points from ours to stay for nearly free.
Protocols in Place
We visited a few restaurants, shops, and hotels – fear not, protocols are in place and are enforced. Masks are to be worn in the public areas of hotels and restaurants. Perhaps one of the smartest ways to reduce customer touchpoints was to eliminate menus. Instead of plastic-encased menus re-used from customer to customer, many restaurants used QR codes so guests could access them from their smartphones.
Many of the protocols were self-imposed and self-regulated but this manifested better than one might imagine. Guests in the hotel would wait for an open lift with either just one family or just one other person inside. If a lift was full, guests would wait for the next one, most without complaint. Those who had forgotten their mask would quickly apply it in public spaces. Those who were more standoffish around others would generally allow a person to go ahead in front of them rather than crowd an area if they didn’t feel comfortable.
Even the beach chairs were socially-distanced, a protocol that can stay as long as it likes.
Some Restrictions Are Meaningless
Public areas as indicated by Virginia Governor Northam can’t be as easily defined. A beach ambassador, outside on the beach in the swirling, sandy, salty wind is wearing a mask. There’s little to no sense in wearing a mask outside, but I understand it’s for posterity.
Guests are required to wear masks in public spaces in hotels and restaurants but not when outside, in personal areas or eating. Wearing a mask for the 14 steps from the front door to your table and then leaving it off for an hour to eat and drink is illogical.
One restaurant honored the 50% capacity but had a crowded bar that seemed to defeat the purpose. All guests were unmasked regardless of where they were in the restaurant, even in close proximity to strangers unless they were walking to the restroom.
Reservations for seemingly everywhere are recommended, but walk-up business is still welcome. One restaurant warned us they wouldn’t have tables until 9 PM for dinner (we called at 5 PM) but were able to seat us right away when we arrived at about 7 PM to try our luck. Another advised us of a 30-minute wait though it was just 10 minutes. Still another said 35 minutes for it to be just a five-minute wait.
I’ll never get over the common touchpoints that get neglected while masks are fully enforced. I never once saw someone cleaning a door handle, a bathroom faucet, a countertop where we picked up our coffees after others had recently leaned on the counter before us, nor an elevator panel. The mask has a level of effectiveness, but when people touch everything else that others have just touched and then take off their mask to eat or drink they likely touch their face rendering the mask useless.
And everywhere I go, I see the ubiquitous pen used to sign credit card receipts that has not been washed, replaced or swapped. Taking my credit card from my hand and walking to the credit card machine to charge it (most of the rest of the world brings the terminal to the table, but in the US this is still uncommon) then walking it back to me has a similar though more limited effect. Have you ever seen anyone sanitize their credit card?
What We Learned About Travel During COVID-19
People will still travel, and despite usual seasonal slowdowns, this year domestic visitor seasons may extend. Why? Visitors can work from home/hotels and students can learn from the road. I continue to believe that demand for a break from the monotony is long overdue for most, and it was certainly the case for us.
We already know hotels are recovering faster than air travel (despite chances of contracting the virus on a plane being next to nothing.) Hotels are promoting staycations and that may work for some markets but not for all. Virginia Beach made some strides but some policies are thoughtless and it devalues the real efforts with true efficacy measures when asinine policies are also enforced.
Conclusion
America is travelling and despite what you’ve heard, some areas are as busy as they have ever been. Virginia Beach offered us a real-time view of the state of travel right now. In many ways, it reinforced what we believed and in other ways, it turned us about-face especially on how others would react. There were two encouraging takeaways from our trip, 1) People will surprise you if you let them, and 2) A little three-day break, even via road trip, can make all the difference in the world.
What do you think? Have you travelled to a beach destination domestically? How was your experience?
I sanitizer my credit card. Usually when I use a wipe after getting back into my car.
That being said I do wish US restaurants would bring the card machine to the table as they do in Europe and the Middle East. I always figured it was because of the tipping culture.
Unmasked people in a busy bar sounds like the reason the Virginia Beach area has the highest rates of COVID-19 in the state.
Touch points are probably less of an issue than many people first thought…
According to the current information on the Virginia Department of Health’s website Virginia beach isn’t even in the top 20 in regards to cases per 100k people. Stop spreading #fakenews.
We absolutely did struggle with the the highest rates in the State until very recently. Just because facts aren’t what you want them to be doesn’t make them Fake.
Our governor is a complete idiot. Twice he has enjoyed publicly “punishing” Hampton Roads which includes Virginia Beach. Not his neck of the woods. Even though the numbers are better yesterday he made another public comment on tv saying if the numbers in VA Beach stay good he will lessen their restrictions to the same as the rest of the state “right after Labor Day.” The beach business owner’s last chance for a buck. This is the governor caught with college yearbook in black face or KKK costume but it faded away because the entire states legislative body, thanks to northern VA, has become liberal. This state is becoming a joke. I’ve been here 30 years.
A comment like this, “There’s little to no sense in wearing a mask outside, but I understand it’s for posterity” is a bit irresponsible. That’s a very general statement without context and sadly not really true. On a windy beach, sure I can understand that POV. But there are situations we find ourselves in every day for which a mask is beneficial. I could list them all here, but there is little to no sense in doing that. I realize everyone has a different opinion on masks and it’s a politicized issue. But the recommendation has been to wear masks when you can’t maintain a specific distance between you and a stranger, even outside.
We can all agree to disagree on the efficacy of masks, and what the risks are when you are outside. But to hypothesize that there is little to no sense…I expect better from this blog.
Jeff W – Thanks for reading and for your comment. I have seen many studies (none of them are formalized at this point due to the newness of the virus and the data) that suggest six feet should still be maintained, but masks are mostly unnecessary outside. Here is one from Forbes (https://bitly.com/3lvSdZK):
“If the wind is blowing the virus towards you, there may be an increased risk of infection. But there will also be a massive dilution factor which will generally act to reduce the exposure even if the wind is blowing it in the right direction.
Heat from solar radiation will cause a coronavirus to dry-out, meaning it will lose its outer shield and the spike proteins that enable it to invade cells. A virus is like a burglar who uses a lock-pick to break into a building through a window: removing its shield and spikes is akin to stripping the burglar naked and taking away their tools.
Light kills viruses by damaging genetic material, which is like leaving the burglar trapped in a factory that can manufacture clones that could then escape, but with only an incomplete instruction manual for how to operate the cell’s machinery.
Taken together, the science suggests that you probably don’t need a face mask when going outdoors.
But that statement comes with an important caveat: your decision should also depend on whether you’re likely to be in close proximity to other people. If you’re walking through a rural area, a mask isn’t necessary, but you might consider wearing one if you’re in an urban park full of picnics and barbecues, where it’s harder to avoid contact with potential asymptomatic cases of Covid-19.” (https://bitly.com/3ju2W50)
-The Mayo Clinic offers outdoor advice: https://mayocl.in/3hI5trZ
-Vox science correspondent shares a Japanese study that found you’re 18.7x more likely to contract indoors, which inversely suggests that you’d be 18.7x less likely to catch it outside (https://bit.ly/3eRupfx).
-A post a few weeks ago showed that at current load factors, chances of catching COVID-19 on a plane are 1:7700 including failed masks (and that’s indoors with recycled air) which right now would require about 77 flights. (https://bit.ly/3auSG9n) I include this to demonstrate just how rare it is even indoors in situations that have been suggested to be highly effective for transmission. Knowing this would reduce chances further that contraction could occur outdoors.
-Those that are in high-risk categories shouldn’t be unmasked anyway and the CDC just released findings that just 6% of COVID-19 deaths (10,800 today) are solely based on COVID-19 out of 6MM US infections rather than co-morbidities. (https://bitly.com/2YLvK1e)
Perhaps I should have qualified the statement further by saying, “those without high-risk factors, maintaining six feet of distance” don’t need a mask outdoors. But I guess I took the six feet of distance and those with high-risk factors avoiding crowded situations were assumed at this point.
I appreciate the thoughtful reply and info. I’ve read those articles and the one consistent theme I see in them (and many others) is the use of “should” and “most likely” and “low risk.” My point is, there is no absolute because the science and data just isn’t there yet. Lots of info and lots of logic would suggest that we are much much safer outside. But even the studies themselves caveat the info and as the VOX article says:
“Washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, being diligent about physical distancing, wearing masks in public, and disinfecting communal surfaces — all these things likely reduce transmission risk, and we should keep doing them, Rasmussen said.”
The point I’m making is, until the experts (scientists/doctors) can agree on the best way to proceed, why not err on the side of caution. Why not do what we know can reduce the chances…meaning wear a mask if you are around others (inside and outside). And there may never be an absolute, and that’s ok too; it’s up to each individual to determine their level of risk.
So again, I point to this appropriateness of this blog having that POV. I come to you and the team for thoughtful travel advice, debate, etc and felt that was a dangerous sentence to share. Of course, that’s my opinion and it’s your blog.
One final point…if you believe that there is no political agenda behind the recent CDC finding you mention, well I’ve got some Eastern Airlines miles I’d be happy to sell you.
Yeah I guess if you’re close to kissing people on the beach.
“There’s little to no sense in wearing a mask outside, but I understand it’s for posterity.”
Lol. What’s next? The earth is flat? Moonlanding never happened? Covid-19 was caused by 5G tower?
Funnier tough… People who believed something like that also backed their believes with some link from the internet. Because…. Well… Its on the internet, it must be true!
You guys are funny. Keep it up! Cheers….
We choose truth over facts.
Biden couldn’t find his way to VA Bch!
Forbes, Vox, Bloomberg, the CDC – is there any source that would you trust? Do you have some that say masks must be worn outside even with six feet of distance for those who are not in high risk categories?
You’re criticizing folks for believing citations on the internet, while you provide none of your own that counter it. Isn’t disbelieving anything that counters your own view without support worse?
The point is, nobody trusts YOU. You constantly spew right-wing, anti-science nonsense. You have zero credibility. You seem shocked. Why?
Lol. I have been accused of being right-wing, a ranting leftist, and… my favorite: “alt-centrist.” It seems that maybe readers apply their own lens regardless of what’s written. They seem to ignore the portions that fit with their mindset and lash out for the pieces that don’t. I wrote in this post that masks work, they should be worn, and that people were generally following those recommendations. I also stated (then supported in the comments for unexpected doubters) that masks worn outside on an open, windy beach are mostly for posterity. I assume this is what made you bristle. Do you have something to counter this or you just don’t like it? I cited my sources, you’ve not, yet I am the one with zero credibility. Does that extend to VOX, Forbes, Bloomberg, and the CDC as they were the source of that notion?
That said, we value customer satisfaction here at LiveAndLetsFly.com. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee on anything you read but didn’t like.
It’s also good to remember that mask is more about you distributing the virus than you catching the virus.
Before Covid-19 in Asia people didn’t wear masks to protect them from other’s flu but protect others from the flu they had.
Sssh…. Let people have fun.
What hotels in Virginia Beach did you stay at? What were policies for breakfast and pools?
A hotel review is coming out this Sunday with those details.
“America is travelling and despite what you’ve heard,”
Which is one of the reasons we have the highest case and death rate in the world.
As a Virginian, I feel compelled to add my two cents. Virginia Beach is the armpit of the Commonwealth.
Christine, I am open to suggestions for a better beach in the commonwealth, I wasn’t impressed with the sand nor the water clarity.
As a Virginian I feel compelled to add my 2 cents. Northern Virginia is nothing but a continuation of the liberal slime of DC. Virginia Beach is nice but like any other tourist city that’s main attraction is the beach.
So you chose to add to the crowding and to the problem. Clearly tourist are a big part of the problem. And for the people who hate Virginia Beach don’t come!
Stay home then. Sheep
I have to say this article at this time 9-1-20 is not totally true My wife and I have a time share here every year and this is the first time that the place we were staying at was not full. Yes ,we are on the 18th floor in a penthouse suite. The beaches were not crowded,the water was nice,but the overall population was very thin at best. The boardwalk was damn near empty compared to past yrs. So I don’t know where you got ur info from,but its inaccurate
I was there last week, the weekend was sold out at three very large, major properties from three different global chains. I can’t ensure that the day you read the post, the crowds will be the same, as you might imagine. But when I was there (last week of August), it was accurate.
Living in VB it’s disheartening to contemplate an extended tourist season. I miss oceanfront
As a Virginian I feel compelled to add my 2 cents. Northern Virginia is nothing but a continuation of the liberal slime of DC. Virginia Beach is nice but like any other tourist city that’s main attraction is the beach. How can you say VA Bch is the armpit when there’s Northern, Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, and a lot more worse?
How on the world can you say that with a straight face? Drive through the beautiful sections of Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk, Hampton, South Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hopewell, etc?? Sounds like someone’s got an axe to grind!!!