Preventing Bed Bugs in Hotels

Hotels have to be near the top of list of places people do not want to see bed bugs.  For those who work at hotels this article will be helpful with advice of how to prevent the insects before one is even seen.  For those who do not work at a hotel, the information in this piece can be applied to almost any business.

Don’t React to Bed Bugs, Prevent Them With These Steps

Wednesday August 31st, 2016 – 8:44AM

When it comes to bed bugs, a preventive approach, including implementing steps to avert guests from discovering bed bugs in their room, is likely the best way to manage bed bug issues. A strategic preventive approach should include: a staff trained to detect bed bugs; the use of preventive pest management tools to reduce the chances of a bed bug infestation; and, a complaint action plan to mitigate the negative results of a guest detecting bed bugs in their room.

Put a Preventive Plan In Place

A preventive approach to bed bug management is a great way to prevent the cost of bed bug management from reaching six figures annually, and also damaging hotel brand reputation. This approach applies to both large and small hotels alike; bed bugs do not discriminate when challenging a hotel.   A preventive plan based on non-infested rooms or in rooms cleared of bed bugs should include:

• Cover each and every mattress and/or box spring with an active mattress liner.

• Install passive bed bug monitors in at least high-risk rooms (those with previous incidents in the last year).

• Do periodic visual and/or canine inspections of all hotel rooms. Early detection is key!  In addition to hotel rooms other areas that should be inspected include: housekeeping (also vacuums and service carts), staff lockers, and luggage storage areas.

• Educate the staff on how to identify signs of bed bugs. Incentivize the staff to look for bed bugs with a reward ($5, for example) when they detect bed bugs before a guest does.

• Consider design modifications to your hotel rooms to make them more bed bug resistant.

• Ensure you have a standard operating procedure in place that will act as a guide for employees should a guest complain about bed bugs. If you don’t currently have one or are in need of guidance, download ‘The Ultimate Hotelier’s Guide to Bed Bugs.’

• Work closely with your pest management professional proactively to prevent bed bugs, not just react to infestations.

Hoteliers cannot stop bed bugs from being introduced into a hotel room. All it takes is an infected guest’s luggage to come into the room and a few bed bugs to drop off (an incident). However, a full-blown bed bug infestation can easily be established in a hotel room when fecal spots, multiple life stages including eggs, and cast skins go undetected because neither hotel staff nor guests noticed them at the outset of a bed bug introduction. Simply stated, an incident is not preventable but an infestation is! Regardless whether it is an incident or infestation, how a hotel handles a bed bug complaint is critical to the management of the problem, and the ensuing financial and reputational impact to hotel and brand. Learn more atwww.hotelbedbugprevention.com.

About Allergy Technologies

ActiveGuard Mattress Liners kill bed bugs. Easily installed on mattresses or box springs, these liners offer two-year continual prevention and control against any adult bed bugs, nymphs or eggs. ActiveGuard has no cautionary signal words or use restrictions on its label. Only four sizes—single/twin, double/full, queen and king—fit almost every available mattress or box spring, and accommodate up to extra-large in length and 17-in. in depth. Underlying is ActiveGuard’s formulation; a unique and proprietary delivery system that offers sustained bioavailability of permethrin for two years. Newest research supports that after a short exposure to ActiveGuard of only 10 minutes, bed bugs regardless of their level of resistance, begin to show significant reductions in feeding (biting) and a dramatic inability to lay eggs. This results in discontinuation of population growth thereby halting progression of an incident to an infestation. If you are seeking a pro-active preventative approach, ActiveGuard should be considered as the centerpiece of your long-term solution to keep bedding from being infested. ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are covered under U.S. Patents 5,916,580, 6,214,365, 6,440,438 and pending patents.

Find this article here: http://m.hotelbusiness.com/Hospitality/Dont-React-to-Bed-Bugs-Prevent-Them-With-These-Steps/54954

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