In Defence of Airport Quarantine Complaints: Let's Show a Little Love, Canada

In Defence of Airport Quarantine Complaints: Let’s Show a Little Love, Canada

March 1, 2021 Jim Byers

There was plenty of travel shaming going on this weekend on social media. But also some sympathy for folks stuck at airport quarantine hotels in Canada who have been complaining about poor meals, late food deliveries and other issues.

A woman who flew from Arkansas to Montreal to be with her boyfriend told CTV News she was given a skimpy breakfast with yogurt and a couple pieces of bread. Another woman said she asked for bottled water and was told they are available only at meal time. She was told to drink water from the hotel bathroom tap if she was thirsty.

In another incident, occupants at an unnamed Canadian hotel got into a shouting match with management to complain that their lunch was late. One man who spoke with CTV News said people were angry and uncomfortable after coming off long international flights and needed food.

In another case, a woman said her dinner was delivered to her room and was cold.

Not everyone was sympathetic. Some social media posts sent my way suggested folks suck it up and that anyone who travels in this day and age can’t complain about cold toast or the availability of bottled water.

Others were more understanding, stating that some folks who travel have legitimate reasons for doing so, often family issues.

I agree completely. It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and point fingers, but many people who are strolling through Canada’s airports today have legitimate reasons for being there. Maybe their aunt in Manchester is sick, or their father in India is dying. We have no idea, and it’s frankly beneath we Canadians to start accusing people of things when we don’t know the full story.

Another travel expert sent me a Twitter note to say hotels should be doing a better job if they want to impress customers, to which I reply “absolutely.” No matter whether someone went to Orlando to take their kids to Disney World or if they visited a sick parent in Brazil, if someone spends $600 to $2,200 on a mandatory three-night hotel stay at a large airport hotel they deserve a good, hot meal delivered on time. It doesn’t and shouldn’t be an Ina Garten beef stew with oven-roasted heirloom carrots and short ribs, but neither should people spending that kind of money (and in isolation for several days) be given two cold pieces of bread and a tiny container of yogurt for breakfast.

These are all big hotels; mostly Hiltons and Marriotts and such. They’re all in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. They all have access to good food. They all should have learned something by now about servicing their clients.

I say, let’s show a little love and a little sympathy. Let’s not toss rocks and lob social media grenades at each other at a time like this. If we see someone complaining about airport hotel food, try to be understanding and perhaps forgiving. Maybe someone just came home from burying a mother they hadn’t seen for 13 months. Maybe their girlfriend of six years just split up with them and they’re coming home to be with friends and family.

Or maybe they’re just having a bad day.

In this difficult and exasperating time we’re living in, I think we’re all guilty of shaming each other in ways we shouldn’t. I happen to think everyone on a busy street in a big Canadian city should be wearing a mask. I find myself chastising people (silently) when I see them parading about as it’s 2019. But who am I to judge? Maybe they had one in the pocket of their jacket and it fell out. Maybe they’re just walking a half block to their car and took their mask off so their glasses didn’t fog up.

I admit there are times I’m out for a walk and don’t intend to go to a store, so I leave my mask at home. But then I find I want to walk around a certain neighbourhood, so I walk on the main street for a block to get to the crosswalk. I try to put a scarf or my hand over my mouth, but I’m sure I don’t do it all the time. Should I be treated like a pariah?

I don’t think so, and neither should air travellers or people stuck in airport hotel quarantines.