When you own a hotel, one of your worst fears may be the breakout of a bed bug infestation. Just the mere presence of these nasty bugs can result in a widespread problem very quickly, and it could also ruin your hotel's reputation if word got out about them. To stay ahead of the game when it comes to bed bugs, use the following tips.
1. Take All Customer Comments and Complaints Regarding Sightings Seriously
One thing that you should always do is to take any and all customer comments and complaints about possible bed bug sightings seriously. Even if you believe that a guest may have seen a piece of dirt or even a flea if your hotel caters to pets, you still need to follow up on any reports.
As soon as a guest vacates a room, go into the room, and examine the bed carefully. Especially look at the corners for signs of bugs, larvae, or egg casings. If you find anything suspicious, have a pest control technician come to the room to verify whether or not anything that you find confirms the presence of bed bugs.
2. Train Your Staff to Recognize and Inspect for Signs of Bed Bugs
While you should take all guest reports seriously, do not wait until you get them to perform regular inspections of your hotel's rooms for the signs of bed bugs. One way you can ensure these inspections are done is to train your staff to recognize and check for the signs every time they clean the rooms.
Along with checking for live bugs and egg casings, you should also tell the staff to look for tiny, reddish spots on the sheets and mattresses. Since bed bugs' food is primarily blood, their fecal material has this coloring. Larger spots, especially under the pillows, could also indicate that the bugs have bitten guests, and these spots are the blood that seeped out after the bite
As soon as you have suspicion or verification that one or more of your rooms have bed bugs, you need to act immediately to avoid an infestation, as they breed and spread very quickly. However, do not attempt to get rid of the pests yourself since they can be extremely difficult to eradicate completely. Instead, contact a commercial bed bug pest control service to have them inspect the rooms and discuss with you a plan of action for taking care of your unwanted guests.
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