Will Omicron set back travel? / Lessons from Ecuador/ Resort fees get a makeover

Happy Tuesday. We hope you enjoyed some R&R over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend before our world changed yet again. Over the long weekend, news broke about the new COVID-19 variant called Omicron. And here we go again, wondering what impact the feverish and fast-changing global reaction to the potentially vaccine-evasive and highly transmissible strain will have on our lives and travel plans. This has one of us juggling a trip to London and Cannes (arggh!). This doesn't mean we're hear with only bleak news; we actually found some good news if you're someone who hates being surprised by hotel fees when you check out. - Barbara and Jeri

Here’s what we know about Omicron:

• That we don’t know much. Health experts predict it will take about two weeks to answer questions about how transmissible the new variant is, and whether current vaccines are effective. But the CEO of Moderna warns it’s “not going to be good.” Here’s what we do and don’t know, from The Associated Press.

• Confusion again reigns. Some countries, including Israel, Japan and Morocco acted quickly to shut their borders. Others, including the U.K., have reimposed self isolation and mandatory testing for all international travelers, including those who are fully vaccinated. And if there’s one thing we did learn in 2020, it’s that all the rules can change on every country’s whim. Here’s a country by country breakdown from CNN.

• But we shouldn’t panic yet. While the World Health Organization warned that Omicrom poses a “very high” risk globally, global leaders attempted to calm the public. President Joe Biden on Sunday called the new variant a “‘cause for concern, not a cause for panic. -- Jeri

Europe: Should I stay or should I go?

That’s the question I’ve been pondering as I prepare to take off Friday for one of the travel industry’s premier luxury conferences. The annual International Luxury Travel Market that is set to resume next week in Cannes after Covid cancelled its 2020 gathering.

Risks vs. Rewards. As of today, the conference is set to go. But I have to decide whether the hassles, and the risks, are worth it. While the French haven’t changed any of their protocols -- yet -- I planned my trip with a stop through London. That is now complicated by the new U.K. rules that require all inbound travelers to have a post-arrival covid test booked before they can even board their plane to Britain. And while travelers have two days to take the test, they must self-isolate until the results are in.

Tough choices: So much for enjoying an evening in London. My choices now are to reroute my flights (at significant cost) direct to France, or just hunker down in an airport hotel for 24 hours until my Sunday flight leaves Heathrow for Nice. And because my tickets call for another overnight in London on the way home, I’ll have to go through the whole exercise again.

And the biggest unknown? Getting home. The U.S. still requires all international arrivals to show proof of a negative covid test. So now I have to weigh whether I am confident that as a fully vaccinated and boosted traveler, I won’t be exposed to and potentially infected by the new variant after spending three days in indoor meetings with travelers from across the globe. If the new variant is indeed highly transmissible and vaccine resistant, as some fear, it could increase my risk of being stranded in France or the U.K. with a positive test from a breakthrough infection.

Stay tuned. It’s starting to feel like 2020 all over again… -- Jeri Clausing

Lessons learned … from Ecuador

As the world struggles to understand the real implications of Omicron, perhaps the biggest takeaway is that it’s still way too soon to let our guard -- and our masks -- down.

The news broke just as I was returning from a 10-day trip to Ecuador, whose strict protocols now seem more prescient and reassuring than annoying.

After being hard-hit in the first wave of the pandemic, Ecuador got tough. It temporarily locked down travel to the remote and health-care challenged Galapagos and implemented strict countrywide mandates that required masks be worn at all times outside one's home, except when eating or swimming. Now, with more than 60 percent of the population vaccinated -- and even before news of Omicron raised new alarms -- the protocols remain. Yes, even drivers alone in their vehicles are required to be masked.

Even in the Galapagos, which has a vaccine mandate and is oe of the few places in the world with a near 100 percent vaccination rate, the only time we got to unmask was when we were in the water.

I have to admit that I was ready to burn my mask the minute I got home. But as one colleague on the trip with Metropolitan Touring said, “I'd rather have to wear a mask than not be able to travel.” -- Jeri Clausing

In non-covid news: Marriott agrees to disclose "real" hotel rates

On Nov. 17, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro brokered a landmark settlement with Marriott International aimed at helping consumers determine the “true price” of their hotel room advertised on a Marriott website. Covered widely by outlets such as USA Today and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the settlement has big implications for our collective trust in how hotels market their prices.

What are resort fees? You may not know you’ve paid them if you don’t examine your hotel bills. Resort fees are miscellaneous charges that hotel owners tack on a guest’s bill as seemingly mandatory; they might add $20, $40 or $80 a day to your tab, depending on the property. The charges can cover things like wi-fi, newspapers, coffee, local bike rentals and/or other random things that a guest may not know about, want, need or use.

Are hotels being “deceptive?” Shapiro called the fees deceptive, and said hotels shouldn’t be allowed to “slap hidden fees on top of your bill at the last minute.” Hotel owners like these fees because they put extra cash in their pockets -- without making their property’s rate appear more expensive than competitors.

Marriott’s position: In Pennsylvania’s court filing, it notes that “Marriott maintains that it did not and does not misrepresent Room Rates, Mandatory Fees, or Total Price and clearly disclosed all Mandatory Fees.”

Will Hilton, Hyatt and others follow Marriott? We don't know yet, but Shapiro believes they should. In his statements, he commended Marriott for its agreement to disclose resort fees as part of its initial advertised room rate and suggested it become an “industry standard going forward.”

Crickets from the hotel industry lobby group. So far, though, the hotel industry’s Washngton D.C. lobby group -- American Hotel & Lodging Association -- hasn’t said anything new. Its website maintains that resort fees “are not common practice in the hotel industry,” and “only seven percent of hotels currently charge resort fees – and these are the properties that have far more available amenities than other lodging facilities.” We’ll also need to see how Expedia and other online travel agencies respond with their own disclosures. -- Barbara