Treating a hotel room for bed bugs can be a costly situation. Not just considering the actual pest control cost, but the lost revenue when moving a guest to another room and closing off the room for the time of the treatment. Often the adjoining hotel rooms on the sides, above and below, also need to be closed off and treated.
In a survey of 100 hotels conducted by Orkin, a major pest control company, 82% of hotel owners in the survey say that it is cheaper to prevent a bed bug infestation than to clean it retroactively1. At Nattaro Labs, we couldn’t agree more.
The cost of a bed bug infestation
According to a study ordered by the U.S. Department of Health (NIH), the average cost of a bed bug infestation is just over 6,000 USD2. This sum included the cost of the treatment, furniture replacement and lost revenue for the room. In addition to these costs, hotels also run the risk of their hotel guests giving them negative reviews on for example TripAdvisor. The study estimates that revenue per hotel room decreases by 38 USD for each negative review published. Of all the hotels surveyed, as many as half had to pay damages to affected hotel guests, at an average cost of 20,000 USD2.
A new strategy to combat bed bugs
The entire hospitality industry needs new strategies and innovative products to be able to meet the challenge of bed bug infestations. The most important building blocks to this are early detection, effective control and preventive measures. This is in line with Nattaro Labs’ product offer, which is based on all the above challenges.
Detect and prevent bed bugs with Nattaro Labs’ products
A hotel business could prevent a bed bug spread and enable detection at a much earlier stage. This would simplify, or avoid, a possible bed bug treatment. If a hotel chooses to buy Nattaro Labs’ products, the annual product cost per room could be reduced significantly, commonly around 100 USD for monitoring with Nattaro Scout® and approximately 50 USD for Nattaro Safe®. The price will differ from country to country and is dependent on several choices regarding bed size, placement, risk level management, etc. Implementing proactive bed bug solutions is a worthwhile investment, compared to the huge costs involved with an infestation. Not to mention the peace of mind that comes with having preventive solutions in place.
Learn more about bed bugs in the hotel industry
Sources:
- https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2459563/2018%20General%20Hospitality%20Webinar%20Emails/Behind%20the%20Cost%20of%20Bed%20Bugs%20Hospitality%20Industry%20Report.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6462087/