Bed Bugs in Hotel Rooms: A Prevention Checklist

No hotel can guarantee that a guest will never bring bed bugs in their luggage. What a property can do is detect problems early and stop them from spreading.

1. Train housekeeping

Room attendants see every bed every day. Teach them the signs to look for — small dark spots on seams, shed skins and live insects — and how to report them.

2. Inspect regularly

Schedule detailed inspections of mattresses, headboards and furniture in addition to daily housekeeping checks.

3. Encase mattresses and pillows

Zippered encasements and protectors make inspection easier and protect mattresses from becoming infested.

4. Have a response plan

Decide in advance how a room will be taken out of service, who will treat it and how linens will be bagged and laundered.

5. Handle linens carefully

Bag linens from affected rooms in the room and launder them at high temperature. Keep enough spare linen to take rooms out of service without disruption.

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