I need some advice.   Since the pandemic, I have only been seeing escorts in apartment buildings.  Given how little travel there has been, I can't imagine that hotels (in DC or Tysons) would be very full, and so it seems like walking thru a hotel lobby would be very conspicuous.   Any thoughts/reactions about that?  

I have recently had fairly good experiences in VA hotels in Tysons and Reston.  Yes, they are mostly empty, but the desk personnel remain quietly detached and let me go about my business.
That contrasts with an unfortunate experience I recently had in a Rockville MD hotel.  When I walked into the cavernous lobby of this dead hotel the desk clerk immediately asked what room I was.  I had to give him a lame answer and retreat. Since the hotels other entrances were all locked tight, I had no choice but to cancel the appointment.

It makes me wonder what percentage of local hotel business the sex trade represents.

During my recent trip out to the D.C. area,  there were zero issues at the location I was at nor was I or any of my guests ever bothered.  

 
Your provider of choice should ensure you make it to the room with no hiccups. Hopefully, shortly before you even step through the front door of the hotel, the provider will have given you step by step directions on how to maneuver past the front desk and to the elevators with ease. I encourage you to walk in like you belong there - as if you checked in hours ago or the previous day. Something I recommend is maybe have a briefcase and act like you're on the phone with a business partner or client. Most desk staff are not going to bother you.

 
Another tidbit of advice is that depending on the hotel, it may help to "dress" the part. This doesn't necessarily mean a suit and tie but I always recommend jeans, loafers, and a nice button down and/or sweater and jacket. Hotel staff rarely, if ever, give men a second glance when dressed like that.

I haven't gone to a hotel. I had to wait for the girls to come down to get me as the door was closed and only guests can go in but had no problem. Every other time, the hotel was a ghost town with only a few cars in the parking lot.  

To avoid surprise, simply ask the provider if there's any special instruction to go to her room at her staying.

I think you had bad luck. I have never had a problem with being challenged, including recently with my SB in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and North Potomac in MD.  Because  I have been with my SB, I wouldn't have a problem mentioning the room number if we arrive separately (we know each other's real names too of course). Sometimes she books the room, and sometimes I do. Neither of us have been challenged. We are both using driver's licenses with addresses no more than a 15 minute drive away, there is a 30+ year age difference, and she is Asian while I am White, so they must have had a pretty good idea what we would be using the room for.

I don't know what share of business the sex trade represents for DMV hotels, but it isn't small. If she doesn't come in dressed in hooker chic and neither of you make a scene, I think that the vast majority of hotels are happy for the business (especially now). In fact, I have never been challenged anywhere in the DMV in nearly 30 years of seeing escorts or SBs.  

A few years ago, a SB and I pretty much always met at the same hotel; I would book but add her name to the reservation so she could get a key card and go to the room if she arrived first. As with my current SB, the differences between us and our driver's licenses left nothing to the imagination as to why we were meeting. After several visits, the guy at the front desk told me that I didn't need to add her name when booking anymore because he had added her name to my profile "because, Miss Stephanie is your ... umm ... wife."

-- Modified on 12/20/2020 8:48:11 PM

Don't make eye contact with front desk staff. Walk purposefully, like you belong there. Look for side entrance. The majority of hotels have them (restaurant door to hotel, for example). I haven't had any issues.

Been to a few in Tysons. I have also hobbied in other areas like NJ, NY, CT.

Never once have I had an issue in a hotel. If anything my experience is that the desk staff is more detached and stay out of the way than when things were "normal". There is still business and people coming and going so it's not like you'd stand out.

What I sometimes do is just pretend I'm on the phone in the middle of a conversation if I see staff on the floor but I was probably being overly cautious. I really don't think there's any issue with seeing a lady at a hotel incall.

At least for the hotels around BWI and in Rosslyn, VA.  Just don't forget to wear your mask and as already noted, look and act like you belong there.

All good advice here. The only thing I would add is not to hang out in the lobby.  Lounging around in the lobby attracts attention from staff and plainclothes LE if any are sniffing around. The lobby bathroom is a good spot to stay hidden and take care of any last minute grooming details. The lobby bar is also a nice place to sit and have a beer before the session. One glass of beer.

I always go to meetings dressed well.  Not in a suit or tie, but in black slacks and a button shirt.  Something that looks business casual.  I also ask for the room number and where the elevator is beforehand, this way you don't look lost in the lobby.  If you "look" like you know where you are going no one will ask why you are there.

Have had appointments at several hotels around the DMV and elsewhere since the pandemic started. A couple of those required a key for the elevator, so my date had to meet me downstairs or stash a key someplace. Otherwise no problem.
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Was recently out of town, and had an appointment at a hotel with a huge lobby. Had to cooly make a lap around the lobby before finding the elevators, which were actully close to the door, but the front desk guy didn't even look up.