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Here’s the problem: Bed bugs are not a rare occurrence, and there’s nothing you can do to stop them from entering your hotels. The once uncommon pest has worked its way back into hospitality as 80% of hotels will treat for bed bugs this year, and most will have multiple infestations.
Here’s a bigger problem: Bed bugs don’t hide out in the kitchens, rooftops, or dumpsters. They hitchhike in luggage and travel straight to the guest rooms with no intention to check out.
And the biggest problem: Bed bugs feed on people like a tick, and they leave lots of red lesions on your guests’ skin as well. People like to talk about their hotel stay so they head straight to travel review sites like trip adviser… and their lawyer. You can expect revenue losses due to customer grievances, comps, room outages due to “downtime”, brand damage and lost future booking nights from bad trip advisor reviews. The largest immediate cost is a settled lawsuit. Lawsuit settlements are ranging between $10,000 to $15,000 per person.
Your goal is to take proactive action to reduce the risk of bed bug infestations and remediate the problem before the infestation invades additional rooms and interferes with your guests stay.
You need a PREEMPTIVE STRIKE strategy to reduce your risk to bed bug related costs.
Don’t leave this task to a single partner or business unit because it takes a village. More specifically, the PREEMPTIVE STRIKE strategy requires 3 pieces working together to give your hotel the best opportunity to shrink your risk of bed bug infestations.
The 3 pieces are:
A Successful Outcome of the PREEMPTIVE STRIKE strategy
An anonymous hotel management group with a portfolio of 10 hotels shared their bed bug remediation and mattress spoilage costs prior to adopting the Preemptive Strike method. The chart below shows their bed bug related expenses in 2015, the PREEMPTIVE STRIKE adoption date, and their bed bug related expenses in 2017. The result is a $70,868.00 reduction in annual costs.
What to look for in a great Pest Management partner.
A) A Proactive Inspection Service Plan
A PMP who understands the value of proactive inspections will be your best partner. Proactive inspection plans will include monthly visits to your guest rooms. The cost of this type of service is often flexible which allows the hotelier to define the percentage of rooms allotted for proactive monthly inspection. Shoot for 15% of your total room count per month if you have a large property.
B) 24hr Customer Service and Quick Responses
Bed bug infestation can’t wait till next week. Some Pest Management providers provide round-the-clock customer service lines with 1-hour callback guarantees and promise to be on-site within 24 hours. Fast remediation will help your guest rooms return to service as soon as possible.
C) Science-Based Protocols
Science-based protocols require a deep understanding of the biology of the insect and how to kill it during stages of its lifecycle. This type of understanding will naturally dovetail well with remediation strategies because remediation requirements will change depending on the complexity of the infestation.
D) A Full Range of Remediation Techniques
There are several bed bug remediation techniques, and it’s important your pest management provider offers a full range when each is required.
Chemical Treatment – Fast-acting insecticide is applied to infested areas, and most commonly to the bed frame, between the box spring and mattress, electric outlets, cracks in the walls and nearby furniture. Insecticides need time to dry before anyone is allowed in the room.
Heat Treatment – Heat treatments will target the entire room. This process involves specially designed equipment to raise the room temperature to kill bed bugs. Bed bugs and their eggs will die after 90 minutes at 118F, or immediately at 122F. Heat treatment may take as much as 6 to 8 hours.
Vacuuming and Cleaning – Vacuuming is not a remediation technique, but you will need to clean up after their mess. As bed bugs grow, they molt and shed skin 5 times as they reach maturity. They also leave fecal matter in the form of bloodstains on hard surfaces and fabric making it important to clean up any evidence of prior bed bug infestation.
Train Your Hotel Staff to Identify Bed Bugs
Enable your housekeeping staff to identify and report bed bugs sightings to the management team. A properly trained staff represents your first opportunity to spot bed bugs before your guests.
Make sure to ask your pest management partner if they offer “bed bug identification” training sessions. Some do, and it’s an invaluable service.
Bedding Encasements Complete the Preemptive Strike
It’s important to proactively encase the mattress and box spring because the unfortunate truth is bed bugs will reach your guest rooms by hitching a ride within the luggage. Mattress and box spring encasements are designed to fully encapsulate the bedding to deny bed bugs their preferred sanctuary. A protected bed will force the bug to travel farther and take harborage in more visible places which support the chances of early detection by housekeeping and your pest management provider.
Mattress encasements also extend the life of your mattress investment and improve sleep hygiene by defending it from spills, incontinence, allergens, and mold spore.
Mattress encasements are not a commodity. Some are designed to last 10-years for maximum return on investment while others are lucky to last 12 months.
Further Reading
The benefits of mattress encasements go beyond bed bug protection. CleanRest encasements create an impenetrable shield between popular household allergens like pollen, dust, dust mites, and pet dander from infesting your mattress. Allergens, once collected by your mattress, will disrupt your sleep.
Looking for more ways to enable a healthy, restorative sleep? Dig into the health benefits of turmeric or curcumin and you’ll be on your way to deep sleep.
