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COVID and Other Airborne Germ Risks in Hotels: Myths, Realities, and Research

Can COVID travel through air vents? What type of accommodation is best?


COVID and other airborne viruses and hotels: myths realities and research. Is one HVAC system better than the other? Are home rentals better than hotels?" Stick figure with question mark on top of two images: one of a hotel room with a balcony and the other of someone working on a white vent

I’ve had quite a few clients insist on Airbnb or vacation rentals rather than hotels. But as far as transmission risk, are they really better? How is COVID transmitted through hotels, anyway? Is one HVAC system better than the other? How is air ventilated in shared buildings?


I’ve noticed many people base their travel plans on incorrect or incomplete information, and I’d like to go over the research I found and expert opinions to help quell some myths.


Note that I am not an HVAC expert or virologist, just a travel agent who wants my clients to have the cleanest air possible. If you have evidence to refute what I have found, please let me know. As always, YOUR comfort level comes first. If you genuinely feel safer being in a specific environment, I will do my best to make sure you are accommodated.




View of large industrial air ducts inside a building with a grid window ceiling. The ducts are metallic gray, set against brown walls.

How do HVAC systems work? Can COVID travel through air vents?


There are three types of HVAC systems hotels use:


  1. Packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs)

  2. Vertical terminal air conditioners (VTACs)

  3. Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) units (Source)


Packaged terminal air conditioners are the air conditioners you commonly see under windows. They are bulky, box-like structures that typically do not use outside air to cool or heat the room. Instead, they recirculate the air already in the room.


Vertical terminal air conditioners are similar to PTACs, except that they are built into a wall.


With variable refrigerant flow units, there is a central outdoor condensing unit on top of the building that connects to fan coils in each room.


The thing is, and what a lot of people don’t understand, is that ventilation can run separately from HVAC units. Having one HVAC unit, like a PTAC, doesn’t necessarily mean you have the same ventilation as another similar unit. According to Joey Fox (an incredible HVAC engineer and blogger who made research so much easier for me), the two main ways ventilation works in hotels and apartments is through hallway pressurization and direct supply ventilation. Hallway pressurization is when “air is supplied to the hallway, flows under the dwelling doors and is exhausted through the bathroom. This ensures that air from people’s dwellings does not travel into the hallway where it can then travel to other people’s dwellings.”


Direct supply ventilation is exactly as it sounds. Air is directly supplied to the room, and the door is airtight to prevent air from the hallways from entering. This is the current standard set by ASHRAE.


So direct supply ventilation is better, right? I’m not so sure it matters.



Well-maintained ventilation and HVAC units should not increase your risk of infection. When ventilation is not maintained, there are two ways transmission can occur: through the recirculation of contaminated air or by temperature and humidity conditions that support virus survival. Recirculation can occur if air is leaked due to improper pressure differences between spaces.


Luckily, Joey Fox created a procedure to see how well your ventilation is working. Here is the link. I will also go over the highlights below.




What about the study in Taiwan?


Here is the summary:

We investigated a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections in a quarantine hotel in Taiwan in December 2021. The cluster involved 3 case patients who lived in nonadjacent rooms on different floors. They had no direct contact during their stay. By direct exploration of the space above the room ceilings, we found residual tunnels, wall defects, and truncated pipes between their rooms. We conducted a simplified tracer-gas experiment to assess the interconnection between rooms. Aerosol transmission through structural defects in floors and walls in this poorly ventilated hotel was the most likely route of virus transmission. This event demonstrates the high transmissibility of Omicron variants, even across rooms and floors, through structural defects. Our findings emphasize the importance of ventilation and the integrity of building structure in quarantine facilities.

Here are my thoughts. Taiwan’s building codes differ from those in the United States and other Western countries. If you stay in a new hotel building, part of a chain, and with overall positive cleanliness reviews, you are unlikely to be in a situation where there are gaps in walls or truncated pipes. This study also does not show that transmission occurred through regulated HVAC systems and rooms with proper ventilation. I also do not believe it considers workers as asymptomatic carriers or spread through opening the door.




Close up of COVID 19 Virus

What are the primary ways COVID is spread through a hotel?


  • Communal areas like lobbies and elevators

  • Staff interactions with guests and the guests’ rooms. COVID can stay in the air for a long time in poorly ventilated rooms. You can be exposed even if the staff member who serviced your room has already left.

  • Opening the door to your room in a shared hallway

  • Ventilation (very rare, see above)

  • Drains and sanitation systems can also induce spread. However, this is also very rare and relies on certain conditions (Source).




White house with a brown roof, porch, and steps adorned with pumpkins. Surrounded by green and orange-leaved trees, evokes autumn coziness.

Is an Airbnb or a rental better than a hotel?


Honestly, I don’t think so.


For starters, if your rental is an apartment with a shared hallway, the ventilation and HVAC systems aren’t all that different than hotels’. You are still potentially opening your door to contaminated air.


Townhomes and houses are a bit better since the door opens to the outside. However, like hotels, you do not know when the last person was in the space or how well-ventilated the space actually is. If your rental is old, it may not be up to date on ASHRAE standards. These are the standards used by over 50,000 professionals and are commonly used to create housing codes. At least with hotels, you can see when the property was built. This may not always be the case with rentals, especially if the rental does not list its address. Unlike hotels, it may be harder to tell when your rental was last cleaned or when someone was in the space. Hotels like Hilton often alert you to whether your room is ready earlier than expected. Hotels also have more strict cleaning schedules.


It doesn’t matter whether you rent a space or stay at a hotel, as long as the place doesn’t have shared hallways. That is the only big difference.




Precaution suggestions:



Does all of this seem like A LOT? Don’t worry. Let me find the hotel for you! Sign up now for a free consultation!



If you do not need a travel agent but have been helped by my resources, I would really appreciate a tip! Thank you!


NOTE: I cannot actually drink coffee or any caffeinated beverage due to my POTS, so you will not actually be buying me coffee. Money will most likely go to treats for my dog, instead.


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