In certain cases, courts can even levy large judgments against hotel operators who rent rooms infested with bed bugs. In 2003, a federal appellate court awarded $372,000 in
State inspectors have the authority to shut down an establishment that poses an "imminent health hazard" involving fire, flood, sewage backup, rodent infestation, bed bug infestation or "any other condition that could endanger the health and safety of guests, employees and the general public."
punitive damages, roughly 37 times the compensatory award in the case, to a couple bitten by bed bugs while staying at a chronically infested Motel 6 in Chicago.
Hotel owners and operators have faced periodic reports of bed bugs for decades, but a newfound public fascination with the problem, combined with the proliferation of websites dedicated to documenting bed bug outbreaks, has created a frenzy of media activity never before seen. Indeed, bed bug stories have been reported in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and many other local television and print outlets across the country. Stoking the traditional media’s interest in bed bugs is a rash of new online forums where travelers post the unsettling details of encounters with the pests.
Much of the coverage seems sensational and overblown, but property owners and third party operators in the hospitality industry have to face the reality that the process of eliminating bed bugs from hotel rooms can be quite expensive and can lead to litigation and costly settlements. Additionally, reports of infestation on online travel sites like TripAdvisor and bed bug reporting sites like bedbugregistry.com and bedbugreports.com can cause significant reputational harm and loss of business.
The good news for hospitality companies is that robust risk management practices, and the appropriate insurance and risk financing programs, can significantly mitigate the financial impact bed bugs can have on a hotel organization.
Establishing formal risk management protocols around bed bugs is an important first step in minimizing the cost of infestation. Proactive steps for hotel organizations include creating a formal program to train housekeeping staff on spotting bed bugs, creating a policy on how to handle outbreaks or complaints and implementing regular pest control inspections.
“Bed bugs are on our list of emerging issues facing the insurance industry, not only for hotels, but in the retail, apartment, and residential healthcare sectors,†noted Brian Gerritsen, Senior Director of Hospitality Business at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. “The recent increase in bed bug related claims has prompted us to become more proactive about the issue with our insurance customers.†Mr. Gerritsen’s team recently released an industry alert recommending that hotel operators take several actions to prevent potential infestations in guest rooms including:
• Chemically treating mattresses and sealing them in plastic
• Washing/drying bedding and towels regularly and daily if possible
• Vacuuming cracks, crevices and other hiding places and sealing openings permanently so the bugs don’t have a place to hide
• Having regular inspections and extermination services done by a qualified pest control contractor
• Training and educating housekeeping employees to recognize the presence of bed bugs and immediately report any activity to the appropriate personnel
For more:Â http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/don039t-let-bed-bugs-bite-insurance-and-risk-management-perspective
most travel sites have very nice webpages and their services are very nice too. ‘;”
most travel sites have very nice webpages and their services are very nice too. ‘;”
Some of these recommendations are very good, but some are not.
Chemically treating mattresses and sealing them in plastic
neither of the above recommendations makes any sense whatsoever. How often would one treat with chemicals and what chemicals? best recommendations is to NOT use ANY chemicals on a mattress. Encase the mattress in a good encasement to protect it. Or buy plasticized mattresses that can be easily washed if necessary. Some hotels actually discard infested mattresses i am advised, but this is not necessary. covering a mattress in plastic is not a great idea.. the polyvinyl encasements tear easily, and not comfortable. If there is an infestation, then there must be a detailed protocol of treatment and a strategy for the mattress and box present.
• Washing/drying bedding and towels regularly and daily if possible
one presumes that this is part of a hotel routine, but changing the sheets every day for same guest may be excessive, but not a bad idea.
• Vacuuming cracks, crevices and other hiding places and sealing openings permanently so the bugs don’t have a place to hide
good idea..
• Having regular inspections and extermination services done by a qualified pest control contractor
one needs to define what kind of inspections.. not rooms in general, but other areas such as laundry areas – very good idea, but needs to be organized. Detection dogs are very useful but some services oversell use of these dogs as random inspections or total site inspections… a grand waste of time and money.. when an infestation has been reported by staff or guests, then the dogs are like “money in the bank ” to protect hotel reputation. that is when the dogs are very valuable.
• Training and educating housekeeping employees to recognize the presence of bed bugs and immediately report any activity to the appropriate personnel
This is really the MOST important recommendation.. These are the first alert ..
Missing
How to respond to guests who report infestations, as well as communicating the risk to guests. Most hotels do not want to even talk about this as if it doesn’t exist, but a wiser policy would be to provide guests with what to do if they found an issue, and the hotel’s policy.. may seem like drawing attention, but it really shows due diligence by the hotel. Perhaps there is a fear to draw attention, but as this problem increases, the way that hotels handle complaints is critical.. Perhaps at this time based on very low frequency of problems, best for hotels to have a policy of addressing guest complaints, but if the incidence increases, then a policy of providing guests with information may be needed.. This would be similar to advising of fire protocols.. no one expects a fire, but telling people how to protect themselves in a rare event is mandatory,, perhaps a similar approach to bed bugs might eventually be a good idea.
Sam Bryks M.Sc. Board Certified Entomologist
IPM Consultancy
Toronto Canada
Some of these recommendations are very good, but some are not.
Chemically treating mattresses and sealing them in plastic
neither of the above recommendations makes any sense whatsoever. How often would one treat with chemicals and what chemicals? best recommendations is to NOT use ANY chemicals on a mattress. Encase the mattress in a good encasement to protect it. Or buy plasticized mattresses that can be easily washed if necessary. Some hotels actually discard infested mattresses i am advised, but this is not necessary. covering a mattress in plastic is not a great idea.. the polyvinyl encasements tear easily, and not comfortable. If there is an infestation, then there must be a detailed protocol of treatment and a strategy for the mattress and box present.
• Washing/drying bedding and towels regularly and daily if possible
one presumes that this is part of a hotel routine, but changing the sheets every day for same guest may be excessive, but not a bad idea.
• Vacuuming cracks, crevices and other hiding places and sealing openings permanently so the bugs don’t have a place to hide
good idea..
• Having regular inspections and extermination services done by a qualified pest control contractor
one needs to define what kind of inspections.. not rooms in general, but other areas such as laundry areas – very good idea, but needs to be organized. Detection dogs are very useful but some services oversell use of these dogs as random inspections or total site inspections… a grand waste of time and money.. when an infestation has been reported by staff or guests, then the dogs are like “money in the bank ” to protect hotel reputation. that is when the dogs are very valuable.
• Training and educating housekeeping employees to recognize the presence of bed bugs and immediately report any activity to the appropriate personnel
This is really the MOST important recommendation.. These are the first alert ..
Missing
How to respond to guests who report infestations, as well as communicating the risk to guests. Most hotels do not want to even talk about this as if it doesn’t exist, but a wiser policy would be to provide guests with what to do if they found an issue, and the hotel’s policy.. may seem like drawing attention, but it really shows due diligence by the hotel. Perhaps there is a fear to draw attention, but as this problem increases, the way that hotels handle complaints is critical.. Perhaps at this time based on very low frequency of problems, best for hotels to have a policy of addressing guest complaints, but if the incidence increases, then a policy of providing guests with information may be needed.. This would be similar to advising of fire protocols.. no one expects a fire, but telling people how to protect themselves in a rare event is mandatory,, perhaps a similar approach to bed bugs might eventually be a good idea.
Sam Bryks M.Sc. Board Certified Entomologist
IPM Consultancy
Toronto Canada