Staying in hotels in major cities can be quite a dangerous adventure.
Major cities are the melting pots of beautiful world cultures. This is great when it comes to learning about new societies, music, education, science and so forth, but becomes tricky when we consider the pathogens delivered from these world cultures (smallpox, anyone?).
There is an epidemic in New York City that is the Bed Bug. If you are not aware of what Bed Bugs are, you better get hip to it soon. These parasitic insects feed on the blood of human beings and warm blooded animals and are extremely rampant in many hotels. We can thank Europe for this lovely creature which have recently made a resurgence in the U.S.
When bed bugs attack, you will wake up to find yourself covered in bite marks. If you were unaware of bed bugs, you may assume that this is just a matter of one creepy spider. False. The parasites have gotten the best of you. In fact, if you stay a few days in a room with bed bugs, you will soon be able to actually see them, as they get bigger with your blood. Disgusting, right?
Oh, it gets worse. Bed bugs like to travel. They cling to clothes, luggage, paper, anything to keep their game going. And being so small, it’s hard to tell if you have been compromised. So, now you become the European, infecting other rooms, businesses and, yes, your very own home.
I had a friend in New York who learned of a bed bug infiltration in his apartment and literally had to throw out every single piece of furniture, clothing, book, paper, carpet. etc. Obtaining bed bugs is pure hell! It will change your life, and probably not in a positive way.
Getting rid of bed bugs is a whole different game. Even if you have your place fumigated, which can take weeks before it’s effective, the results are not 100%. These parasites are tricky little buggers, pun intended.
Feeling itchy yet? Well, here’s the icing on the cake. One of the hotels I worked in actually had a major bed bug infestation on two of its floors. Talking dollars and cents, that’s about 100 rooms, at an average cost of $500 a night, and a daily revenue hovering at $50,000. This doesn’t include the amount of money lost on its bars, restaurants and room service.
Now, let’s be real here, people. We all know money is what makes this crazy world go ’round and ’round. Do you really think my hotel was going to have the good heart to close down those two floors for a month, costing it somewhere in the ballpark figure of $1,500, 000? Hell, no!
What I learned is that management would have rooms known to be infected with the little brown bugs fumigated in the morning and rented by the afternoon. Yes, you heard me correct. These infected rooms would not be taken off the market, they would simply be tidied up. The good ol’ half-assed way.
For weeks, I would read from guests that emailed their experiences to the hotel and what a surprise when I read:
“We loved everything, but there seemed to be a mosquito in the room that bit my son to pieces.”
“The bar was amazing, but when I woke up with spider bites I wasn’t too happy.”
“The restaurant service was truly exceptional. There may have been an insect problem, I woke up with mysterious bites all over me.”
Oh, God!!! I was so appalled. I do think I threw up in my mouth a few times.
One day a housekeeper even told me, “Be careful, de are bugs on de floors. Everywhere. De get on your clothes. Be careful.” Walking down the halls of these floors, I soon found myself with butterflies in my stomach and on constant look out for anything that wanted my blood. The bed bugs had gotten to my brain.
The Bed Bugs had won. They always win. They continue to march on.
Moral: Do your research before you stay at any hotel. Check for online reviews of hotels that mention bug issues. If nothing was done to rectify the problem, stay far away from that hotel or… get ready to feel the itch.