David J.
Danto
Business travel
thoughts in my own, personal opinion
eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org 
Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD
SORTA Traveling Blog, 4th
Week Of August
(This blog has a critical September 4th & 5th
update at the end.)
In 2014 I was voted
by USA Today readers as one of the top ten business travel bloggers in the
USA. Now mind you,
I turned out to be number ten on the list of ten, but I did make it on (with my
thanks to all those who voted.) Now that
we’re all stuck at home and not traveling, I had to think about what to do with
my blogs. I could stop writing them
entirely – waiting till we all get through the current COVID19 pandemic /
crisis. I could wax nostalgic and/or
complain about past trips. Or, I could
focus all of my efforts on my day job – growing the use of collaboration
technologies – especially in light of how many people are now forced to use
those tools for the first time. In
reflecting upon those choices, what I decided to do is compile an ongoing list
of observations during the crisis. Some
of these may amuse, some may inform, some may sadden and others may help. My goal will be for you to have seen
something in a different light than you did before you stopped to read the blog. I was going to apologize for how disjointed
these thoughts may seem when put together, but then it dawned on me that
feeling disjointed is our new normal – at least for a little while.
Trip Report – The Jersey Shore – Atlantic City. As readers of my “not traveling” blogs know,
my wife and I had been planning our first trip this year since March – a drive
down to the venerable Jersey Shore and a quick visit to Atlantic City. It represented two days to get away from the
stir-crazy life we’ve been living. We
were all set to go, but then the COVID19 infection and transmission rates in
New Jersey – one of the few states in the US that had done a fantastic job of
‘flattening the curve’ started to tick-back-up (due to some Coviditos
and super-spreader house parties) and we were worried that our plans would be
dashed. Thankfully the rates we were
watching headed back down to below 1, and we decided it was safe enough to go.
New Jersey
COVID19 stats from August 12th
Atlantic City is about a two hour drive from our home (with
no traffic) and we were lucky enough to make it down in record time. Highway traffic in New Jersey has picked-up
from the peak of the pandemic levels, but not back to where it used to be. We stopped at one of the many Garden State
Parkway rest stops along the way to use the bathroom and get some take-out food
(as New Jersey is still not permitting indoor restaurant dining anywhere in the
state.) The concessions in the facility
were mostly closed, with only one Burger King open, and all of the “fresh”
options on the menu (salads, grilled chicken, etc.) removed. Eating out is still a challenge in New
Jersey.
When we arrived at the casino/resort the check-in process was
easy. Plexiglas dividers are everywhere,
and the front lobby is no exception.
About the only other difference is that every floor space where people
could wait is now marked with Xs or circular spots to
encourage social distancing.
The resort showed they were being serious about
cleanliness. In order to go into any
entrance one has to pass-by a thermal imaging camera to read your temperature,
use a hand sanitizer station, and be wearing a mask. All of the entrances have been split into
“enter only” and “exit only” and each entrance is manned with a security guard
to make sure everyone passes the tests and follows the rules.
The elevators are now limited to four people or one party
together. There are disks on the floor
to show people where to stand.
When we arrived at our room we found a sticker sealing the
door to indicate that no one had been inside it since it was cleaned. Inside the room, the resort-provided
toiletries were on the vanity in a sealed plastic zip-lock bag. Honestly, we didn’t think that any of these
efforts represented a cleaner room than before, but each gesture was meant to
help people feel at ease. My wife and I
got to work with the alcohol we packed and started wiping-down and spraying
everything. We also set up a
HEPA air purifier to clean the room’s air
continuously for our stay. We
mist-sprayed the bedding with the alcohol and let it dry, then unpacked our own
pillows for the bed. Was all of this
overkill? Just like everything else with
this pandemic, I have no idea. We
obviously did whatever we could to feel as safe and comfortable as we possibly
could. In addition, we opted out of
housekeeping services for the brief, two night stay, as we felt we could manage
to keep the bed and towels for an extra day, and honestly, why take the risk.
Walking around the resort and the casino it was good to see
99% of the people taking the rules seriously.
Nearly everyone was wearing masks – and correctly covering their face
and nose. One person walking through the
casino was only covering their mouth and a security guard stopped him and made
him cover his nose too. There was the
occasional rude person wearing the mask as a chin strap, but it was very rare. We wore KN95 masks for this visit, not our
usual cloth ones, again, to feel a bit safer.
The casino itself was clearly completely transformed due to the
pandemic. I wish I had the Plexiglas
concession for this place, as shields between players and between players and
dealers were permanently installed – complete with the resort’s logo.
Only every third slot machine was playable, the rest were
disabled to promote social distancing.
The entire resort is mandated by our governor’s orders to only 25% of
capacity, so there was plenty of space for everyone. In addition, again because indoor dining is
still not permitted and masks are required, there was no smoking nor drinking
allowed in the casino. It was clearly
the cleanest casino I’ve ever been in – which was actually a pleasure.
Dining, however, was a problem. With only outdoor venues allowed there is a
huge capacity limitation on getting a table at one of the few restaurants that
had boardwalk or outdoor deck areas.
Sporadic rain on our first night there meant there was just nowhere to
eat except our room. We went to one of
the many take-out restaurants on property and brought the food back to
eat. I was fine with it but my wife was
quite disappointed, as being served at a restaurant (as opposed to having to
set-up and clean-up ourselves) is a big part of the experience she is looking
for when on leisure travel. The weather
was much better on our second day, so we were able to eat at one of the
resort’s boardwalk restaurants. I kept
my mask on until after ordering as a courtesy to the waiter. Sadly, our and many of the other waiters were
not wearing their masks properly – not covering their noses – and we’ll be sure
to point this out to the resort via this blog.
Again here, the limitations were unfortunate. We could order a $39 ‘faux-steaming’
cocktail, but we couldn’t order a simple unsweetened iced tea. Eating outside was wonderful because of the
strong shore breeze keeping us cool, but it was terrible because of the strong
shore breeze blowing the napkins (and anything else on the tables) all around
and down the boardwalk.
Dining
tables and chairs set-up under a semi-permanent tent on the boardwalk
Our resort also had its own bar and restaurant right on the
beach right next to New Jersey’s famous (infamous?) Steel Pier, with an adjacent area that kind
of works out to be a private beach, and we truly enjoyed lounging there, under
an umbrella, sipping tropical drinks (that last year were not permitted on the
beach, but this year – due to the pandemic – are.) Again here, people kept masks on at the bar
and when interacting with other people, but were able to remove them when
distanced on the beach. (Yes, those are
my toes.)
Once we left the areas under the control of our resort, the
rules were not being followed or as enforced as much as we would have
liked. On the famous (infamous?)
Atlantic City Boardwalk, about 1/3 of the people were wearing masks correctly,
1/3 were wearing them as chin straps or with noses uncovered, and 1/3 just
didn’t bother. Here in New Jersey, masks
are encouraged but not required when outdoors in public spaces and when people
can maintain their distance, but IMHO it really is an IQ test and a test of
courtesy, and too many people just fail (as you can see if you zoom in and all
around in the picture below.) I can
count three masks being worn correctly, a few incorrectly, a few chin-straps,
and a whole bunch of nothing at all.
…and, that photo was taken during the middle of the day. In the evening, when the partying begins and
the bars are hopping it’s even worse.
Overall we’re glad we were able get away for a couple of days
to break the monotony, and we may do it again before this summer is over, but
it is clearly only a shadow of what leisure travel used to be. This is now simply a fact of life we’ll all
have to get used to until there is a vaccine and/or better treatments for
COVID19.
As always, please feel free to write to me with comments or
items I should add to a future Not Traveling blog (or if you just need someone
to write to.) Stay safe, be well, hug
those you’re sheltering with (but no one else) and do your best to stay
positive. We’re going to be in this for
a long while.
September
4th Update
In the first week of September, New Jersey’s Governor Murphy
announced that indoor restaurants in the state would be allowed to open at 25%
of capacity as of the 4th (in time for the long US Labor Day
weekend.) A number of restrictions were
included in that announcement, including keeping windows and doors open to
allow for fresh air and ensuring that large distances between diners were
maintained. The Atlantic City casinos
have interpreted that permission to include beverage service for seated
gamblers in their casinos. So now, a
patron wearing a mask can walk into the casino, sit at a table or machine,
order a beverage, and then completely take-off their mask to consume it. The casinos have also interpreted this to
allow for smoking for the seated gamblers as well, providing yet another excuse
to remove a mask in the casino.
Clearly indoor restaurants opening – even at 25% capacity –
is more of a risk of COVID19 infection than with outdoor dining, but the
governor’s team assumed that the low transmission rate in the state and the
mitigation steps of table distancing and open doors/windows for fresh air made
that risk acceptable. Having the
Atlantic City casinos interpret that to permit maskless
people all over their resort (as long as they are seated) is a ridiculous
foolishness that voids all of the safety that was achieved by making patrons
wear masks in public places to begin with.
I believe this move is a concession to the covidiots that refused to wear
masks in the first place. As such, I can
no longer recommend these places as a safe place to travel to during the
pandemic – which people again may forget is hardly over.
September
5th Update
On the day the new rules were to take effect, New
Jersey’s Governor Murphy announced that he was rescinding the permission
for smoking in the casinos. He said the
science was overwhelming that this activity would increase the spread of the Coronavirus. What remains in place is the permission for
people seated in the casino to remove their masks to sip a bar-staff delivered
drink, then put their mask back on between sips. I reiterate my feeling above that this is a
foolish move that the casino staff will never be able to effectively
police. Once we’ve given permission for
people to remove their masks in a “mask only” area, the safety achieved by
people wearing masks in public essentially disappears.
This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal
opinions.
All image and links provided above as reference under
prevailing fair use statutes.