APOLOGIST.

If I were in the OP's shoes and confronted with this sort of "logic" I would want to know

- the last time the hotel was checked for bugs
- the last time they found bugs
- what they did in that case
- and the last time this particular room was checked or treated
- also since he decided to accept being moved to a new room, I'd want to know the last time THAT room was checked or treated for bugs

Can't give me that? I'm going down the street.

I hate to say this but I'd be willing to bet that most hotels (even those of high caliber) have/have had/will have bedbugs. I've been bitten 4 times in 5 years of full time (250+ nights/yr) travel. It is nasty and disgusting but it is unfortunate fact of life.

REALIST

I wasn't apologising for the other hotel, I was asking a simple question. If the hotel provided you that info, then what? Your best bet would be to ask that before you check in anyway. Hotels get bedbugs from guests, but not the guest who found them, never them of course. It's funny, "I'm going to the hotel down the street!" Like I said, they have them too. You're probably just taking the bugs with you, since that's how they're spread.

It's nice to know someone understands the situation. I stay in hotels a lot, I inspect rooms, I wash my stuff. I travel with a duffel bag because it's easy to throw it in the dryer when I travel. The idea that hotels with bedbugs are filthy, evil, should never be stayed in is just ridiculous. Bedbugs are currently unpreventable.

Great. now you're a carrier.

Be realistic. It's likely no hotel is certifiable bedbug-free.

Follow up
 

Sorry for the lack of follow up - no airline traveling recently = no FT time during the day!

It was neither of these hotels. And no, I was not bitten.

I talked to the manager this morning, she brought me into her office. Told her I was looking for no compensation but wanted to just make sure that the info was relayed. She said the night staff did inform her of the situation. She said they get a lot of false alarms and this was the first instance of bugs under her management. She said they called a pest guy to take a look. She asked if I was OK. That was basically it.

I had another 2 week reservation with them starting Tuesday but just canceled it. Unfortunately, no other Hilton brand is conducive to the location that I want to be for work - so I executed a MR Plat challenge today - not too thrilled, but those bugs freaked me out. I was itching all last night, even though I know my current room is clean. Hoping I can mentally get over this asap.

I really don't want to blast the hotel's name all over FT, they have been really accommodating allowing me to store a ton of work equipment over weekends that I check out. That being said, the hotel is in Phoenix (not a resort and not an airport hotel). If you are truly concerned about staying at this property/room, feel free to PM me and I will disclose the property. I feel that they are handling the situation, and don't deserve the scarlett letter.

I did log the hotel into the registry as well.

Thanks for all of the advice. ^

I don't believe anyone in this thread said anything about filthy, evil hotels with bedbugs that you shouldn't stay at. Re-read my posts. I never said anything bad about the hotel or staff. I also changed ROOMS, not hotels. Don't put words in our mouths.

And it IS the hotel's responsibility for bugs and for treatment/prevention. The attitude of "part of life, deal with it" is very negative. Well black mold can happen - deal with it, not our problem. The flu is spread by people - deal with it, not our problem. Dogs brought into hotels can have fleas - deal with it, not our problem. Following me?

I'm not saying hotels need to go all TSA. However, I believe they should have a written protocol and know their protocol. Isn't it odd that the manager didn't approach or contact me? I have been a guest for more than a month and all of the staff knew I intended to stay 3+ months. I report bedbugs and never get a call. I had to go to them to ensure that they knew about it. While I'm not upset, I would think this would be protocol.

And yes, it is the traveler's responsibility to not bring them back to the family/house. But hotels cannot take an out-of-sight out-of-mind attitude; to me that is unacceptable. There's no bedbugs in my car, and the seat reclines ...

I'm somewhere in between here.

It is the hotel's responsibility to investigate and call out pest prevention anytime there is a bug (of any kind) reported. The should block out the room until the pest is irradicated. I do believe that all reports should be treated chemically where or not the dogs find bugs. Maintainance and pest prevention is a hotel's responsibility regardless of who causes the problem. That's a business cost.

It is our responsibility as guests to protect ourselves in the event that an infestation has been missed by the hotel. I disinfect everything I might touch when I check into a hotel room. I check the bed and under furniture and in visible cracks and crevases where bugs might hide. I pull the table I put my stuff on away from walls and other funiture. I transport my clothing in $10 Men's Warehouse vinyl hanging bags. If I were to encounter a situation I would just toss the bag in a dumpster away from home and wash my clothing in hot at a laundramat. Everytime I get home my clothes go immediately into the washer and I to the shower. So far I've not brought anything home. *Knocks wood*

This behavior is not reserved just for hotel rooms and travel. I follow the same immediately wash philosophy for any new items I bring into my home.

Last year I inadvertently brought bedbugs from one hotel to another in my suitcase. I know this because I woke up with a bite on my hand while sleeping at the second hotel, and freaked out and did a search of the headboard, mattress, drawers, etc and found nothing at all--not even evidence of the room ever having been treated for anything in the past. The manager told me that they had never had bedbugs in that room or in that entire wing and was astonished to think they were there, but she would do a search, etc. This was in California.

Then I went home and saw two of them crawl out of my suitcase--the same suitcase I had left on the bed in the first hotel in New York City, during the bedbug crazed summer last year. So I don't know if they found a place to hide in the Palm Springs hotel, but I felt bad that I brought them in there because I was certain I did.

Anyway, the end of the story is that I had my whole house sprayed for over $200 and bought all sorts of bed bug detecting items to make sure they are gone.

The easiest thing for hotels to do is put this little cardboard plaque (about the size of a switchplate) that sticks onto the back of the headboard that has cooregated cardboard behind a sticker with a grid where you can check off each time you have inspected the plaque. The corregated cardboard contains little holes that the bugs would love to make their home and there is a large white border surrounding it where one would observe bed bug cast off particles if they were living inside it. You check it off weekly or monthly within the grid and write the date you looked at it. I think hotels would be able to do this and if I saw that the date on the plaque was recent, I would feel as if the hotel has been proactive in searching for bugs.

Of course, not a solution, but sort of helps you sleep better.

Thank you for caring OP! :-:

I too, am taking steps to ensure that I don't bring bedbugs home (or to the next hotel). I find myself pulling back sheets and inspecting mattresses at even the nicest hotels, and watching where I place my luggage in the room (i.e., not on the carpet or bed), hanging clothes in the bath/shower and leaving the bathroom light on (not in the dark closet). I've even been buying new luggage which is more plastic/smooth (not cloth where they can hide).

Currently staying in NYC, and I particularly follow these rules here, although I know it's a risk wherever you travel today.

Heh. I had a bad stay at the Las Vegas Hilton a couple months ago - checked in very, very late. Got a smoking room that was horrible (kept choking, literally) with the smoke. Questionable stains on floor, low floor near elevator (when my MyWay preferences, as well as my diamond "notes" both asked for high floor away from elevator). Bad scene.

Went down around 2am to front desk to change rooms. No dice. Nada.

Figured, screw it, I'm not going to check out in the middle of the night to find a different property.

Woke up with bites all over my legs. Great fun to cap the night off.

Veering from "bad hotel stay rant" to addressing the OPs question: What did I do? I went to the front desk, informed them of the situation, and basically left it for them to decide what to do. They more or less were polite, said sorry, but that was it. I checked out, wrote management and diamond desk, eventually got an apology and a free night cert.

This all said, I totally understand things go bad sometimes, and bedbugs probably are one of the sad facts of life that are going to happen if you stay in enough rooms. It's *guests* that carry them in, and the hotel is really mostly the victim. I'm pretty mellow and don't do the DYKWIA attitude with hotels. If they're full, if something's out of sorts, I'm forgiving and I sure won't take it out on a front desk person. But it's appropriate to ask for your money back if you didn't get what you needed out of your stay.

I also understand that the LV Hilton is its own mess of issues familiar to most here, not being a true Hilton property. For a killer rate, I'd probably go back grudgingly as long as I didn't check in late or during a high traffic night where I couldn't switch rooms if there was a problem. Alas, we all know that Hhonors properties in Vegas strip area are scarce and as offstrip properties, not as fun.



TDM

I once stayed in a (Marriott) hotel that had bedbugs and I got bitten terribly. Yes, I think fairness to fellow travelers demands that we talk to the hotel manager during the day to make sure that the room is cleaned properly before new guests move in. At least this is what I did back then. I was given a new room, all my clothes were washed by the hotel and got a medical check up by a doctor who came to my hotel room, just in case. I was very impressed by how they handled this problem and expressed my gratitude for this when I left.
Bedbugs can happen anywhere (this was Marriott hotel in a posh area in a major Western-world city), and it is good if both the customer and the hotel management work together to solve the problem.

That works for me, I would like to know if I have bed bugs in my luggage so I think that would be a great service checking in ans well as cheking back out, bring it on :)

FYI: The sensation of bugs crawling on the skin is called, "formication." I get it after pulling a tick off my skin.

I think a reasonable course of action is the following:

1. Preview hotel on bedbugregistry.com and avoid the obvious problem places
2. When checking in, place luggage on the TOILET (bedbugs cannot live in tiled bathrooms, much less climb porcelain), and then...
3. Slide a business card behind the headboard looking for bugs to fall out
4. Pull back the bedding a bit looking for stains or bugs

Forget about it from then on. NEVER place luggage or clothing on a bed for more than a few minutes!!
If I can, I try to suspend the luggage from a hanger, else simply leave it on the desk or table. I avoid the luggage rack.

I think that a clean, friendly "bed bug" dog could be a real plus for a hotel. I'm imagining a Hampton with a dog bed in front of the faux fireplace. When you walk in he greets you with this big smile (but doesn't jump or slobber on you). When he's not sniffing he keeps you company. Kids love him. Instead of screaming kids running up and down the hallway you have screaming kids running and playing fetch outside with the dog. During the Manager's Reception business people pet him and have him do tricks. Long term guests can have a big warm friendly sleeping companion if they so wish.

I think a black lab would have the right temperment. He could have some cool name like Cooper or Dex.