The spread of the winter norovirus and the return of bed bugs are both raising hygiene and duty of care issues in hotels, reports David Churchill
THE BAD NEWS FOR many business travellers staying in British hotels this winter is that they could fall victim to the extremely unpleasant norovirus outbreak, which is set to reach a record peak, according to some health experts.
The even worse news is that those that do not fall foul of the so-called ‘winter vomiting virus’ could instead find themselves bitten – in hotels and even on aircraft – by traditional bed bugs, which appear to be coming back in ever-increasing numbers.
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The good news – for those searching for a silver lining from their sick beds – is that neither the nasty norovirus nor cimex lectularius (better known as bed bugs) are likely to prove fatal. Debilitating, yes; deadly, no. But this is small comfort to those affected, as well as an increasing worry to hoteliers (and airlines – see panel, right) who can find their reputations besmirched by claims on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Trip Advisor that they are breeding grounds for bugs and viruses.
GETTING PERSONAL
Yet there is also an issue for the corporate travel buyer and TMCs of just how far personal health issues while on the road come under the duty of care/corporate social responsibility mix. How far should the business traveller’s employer take responsibility – or is this down to the hotel, airline or individual?
In some respects, even talking about hygiene issues in hotels is a non-starter given the obvious negative publicity it can generate. One general manager of a leading London five-star property described it as “the elephant in the room as far as the hospitality industry is concerned, and not something we like talking about publicly”. But he did acknowledge there was a constant battle underway with germs that lurk on virtually every surface in hotel rooms. “Bed bugs are not really a problem for us since they can be quickly identified and dealt with, but something like the winter norovirus is difficult to keep on top of.”
Hotels – like all businesses – are under constant pressure to reduce costs where possible. As several undercover investigations of the agencies that supply cleaners to hotels have revealed, the workers involved, who are paid piecemeal, often face an impossible task of cleaning rooms fast enough to earn a decent living.
But room cleaning is often regarded as more of an art than a science, which means that there is no one-size-fits-all standard process for cleaning. Given that the UK alone has approaching 300,000 hotels rooms (and the US almost five million) the scope for glitches in the system is clear.
KEEPING IT CLEAN
Research into hotel room hygiene has not been extensive, although a small-scale study last year by researchers at the University of Houston (and presented to the American Society for Microbiology) found that the TV remote control and lamp switches were among the most contaminated of 19 surfaces checked out.
High levels of bacteria were also found on items from the housekeeper’s carts as well as, unsurprisingly, the toilet and bathroom sink. Mops and sponges used by cleaners were said to pose the greatest threat because of the potential from cross-contamination between rooms. Cleanest surfaces tested included the bed headboard and bathroom-door handle, possibly because these were obvious targets for cleaning staff.
But while the researchers generally believed hotels tried hard to ensure a high level of sanitation, they were surprised to discover there appeared no universally accepted cleaning process for hotel rooms.
Anecdotal views of hotel hygiene by hoteliers paints a picture that suggests guests can be both the cause and victim of poor hygiene. Ice buckets, for example, are regarded as a potential source of infection because of their stand-by function as an emergency receptacle for throwing up into (mostly by those who have drunk or eaten too much, but by norovirus sufferers as well). “The thing is that many guests like having ice available in an ice bucket, even though they are difficult for housekeeping to keep hygienically clean at all times,” says one hotelier who prefers, like most of his contemporaries, to avoid publicly speaking on the issue. “Germs can, therefore, be transferred to the ice cubes and cause sickness.”
BED-SPREADER
Yet hotels are looking at ways to improve in-room hygiene. Traditional bedspreads, for example, are increasingly being replaced by duvets with extra top sheets, which are changed more frequently than bedspreads. Similarly, new hotels may choose to have just a shower room rather than standard bath, as baths are often a prime source of germs from waste pipes and exposed surfaces.
Although it is the micro-germs that cause most hygiene issues in hotels, it is the much bigger problem of bed bugs (see panel, overleaf) that grabs the headlines. The belief that dirt and bugs go together, however, is wide of the mark: bed bugs are attracted by the body heat and carbon dioxide of a sleeping human rather than dirt and grime. The link to dirty rooms, however, probably reflects their past history (associated with ‘flop-houses’ or high density tenements) and the fact that poor room management is perhaps indicative of a hotel culture where the problem is allowed to fester rather than acted upon straightaway.
But bed bugs are very good at hiding in even the smallest spaces and there is no getting away from the fact that it is usually the traveller who often unwittingly brings the bugs with him or her on their luggage.
And then, if undiscovered, they take them on to their next hotel and eventually home. The problem, however, is that some travellers may not realise at first they have actually been bitten. And those that do are often too embarrassed or reluctant to complain to bring the bugs to the hotel’s attention. Similarly, the effects of germs or viruses can be embarrassing to relate or may not be revealed until later, making the link with the hotel more difficult to establish.
This perhaps suggests that many cases of such sickness or bite-marks may go unreported. Sandy Moring, Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) senior director for programme management and sustainability, says that in the past year only 0.2 per cent of all complaints received from clients about hotel rooms “have been linked to bed bugs, and each time they seem to be an isolated case”. On wider hygiene-related concerns, she says the percentage of incidents reported in 2012 was just 1.5 per cent.
Other TMCs and anecdotal reports from travel buyers echo this view, suggesting that the hotel hygiene issue perhaps is not being treated as a major concern by corporates when determining their ‘duty of care’ responsibilities. But despite the low-level of complaints, duty of care in this area is probably being taken more seriously than the data suggests. “While price is obviously a key issue for clients when buying hotels, they don’t want to compromise on health and safety issues as part of corporate responsibility to their travellers,” says Tracey Boreham, head of groups and hotel services at HRG UK. “Therefore, we and our clients are not prepared to allow cases of poor hygiene to persist in hotels we use.”
A travel buyer for a large advertising agency echoes this view: “Making sure there’s a consistent and reliable standard of cleanliness in the bedrooms is one of my biggest priorities when I’m sourcing hotels,” he says.
Other TMCs are also unwilling to compromise on this issue: “If we ever hear of a problem with a particular hotel – and we have about 18,000 hotels in our global hotel programme – then we remove them immediately while the issue is resolved,” says Ryan Johnson, land product manager for FCM Travel Solutions and Corporate Traveller.
CWT’s Moring adds: “Hotels that repeatedly receive poor feedback or present a serious duty of care issue are often removed from company hotel programmes, with CWT following up on the complaint to seek remedial action and a guarantee for improved future performance.”
So, a clear warning to hoteliers to act on the bugs and hygiene issues before they start moving up the travel buyers’ agenda – or else the suffering road warrior perhaps may start to bite back.
BUGS TAKE TO THE AIR
WHEN ZANE SELKIRK, a 28-year old Yahoo media manager with British and US citizenship, flew on a British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London, she did not expect to find herself arriving at Heathrow with bite-covered arms, legs and feet. But when Selkirk, a regular flyer on Yahoo company business who was travelling in BA’s World Traveller Plus cabin, complained to the airline she became so disgruntled at the airline’s alleged initial response that she used her internet-savvy skills to launch a website to publicise her experience.
Although BA eventually apologised to Selkirk (and according to some reports was forced to fumigate the aircraft involved, although BA does not confirm this) the story appeared to touch a raw nerve with the new generation of business travellers who turn to social media to air their grievances, posting their own alleged experiences of being bitten on either transatlantic or long-haul US domestic flights.
Such stories, of course, are anecdotal (although some come with pictures of the alleged bites) and there appears scant official data or information on whether the bugs generally found in hotel rooms have taken to the air. The airlines are understandably reluctant to comment on particular cases, although apocryphal stories abound of creepy crawlies and even vermin (giving a whole new meaning to the MICE market) that fly for free.
It would be surprising, however, if traditional bed bugs were not transported on to aircraft, since luggage is one of the main ways that they get into hotel rooms in the first place – and then often end up in the business traveller’s home attached to, or inside, their suitcase.
Routine aircraft cleaning would not necessarily eradicate any bugs already on board, especially when there is a rapid turnaround of aircraft. But many of the reports about airline passengers being bitten involve those travelling in the premium cabins, leading to some experts suggesting that the more luxurious flat-beds in business class and upwards are more hospitable for bugs than the more restrictive seats at the back of the plane.
Or, of course, it might just be that those in premium cabins are more willing and able to voice their antipathy to being bitten on board.
For those who are really worried by bugs, there are a number of US companies producing seat covers (such as www.bugoffseatcover.com) which can be used to cover airline seats. But be prepared for some strange looks from your fellow travellers.
THE VAMPIRE STRIKES BACK
GIVEN THE RECENT popularity of vampire books and films, blood-sucking bed bugs are a perfect metaphor for our times.
Having virtually disappeared as a nuisance in the second half of the 20th century – driven out by aggressive pesticides – they have staged a revival in the last decade to such an extent that some environmental and health authorities now talk of a potential ‘global pandemic’.
The rise in infestations has not only been caused by the move away from environmentally-unfriendly pesticides but also the increase in global travel – and hotels, not surprisingly, are a home away from home for bugs as well as business travellers.
Bed bugs are also experts at hiding – preferring to lay dormant during the day, with their small, reddish-brown and wingless bodies (up to seven millimetres in length) able to hide in the smallest of spaces, such as the seams of mattresses, bed frames, headboards, behind wallpaper and under any clutter or objects around a bed. Generally, they tend to live within eight feet or so of where people sleep – ready for their nocturnal feasting, attracted by body heat and carbon dioxide.
When the bugs bite, they inject an anaesthetic and an anticoagulant that prevents a person from feeling the bite and waking up. The bite marks are similar to those of a mosquito or a flea – a slightly swollen and red area that may itch and be irritating – but while mosquito bites are usually random in pattern, bed bugs apparently bite in a straight line.
Allergic reactions to a bite can vary from no reaction at all to just a small mark, although in rare cases anaphylaxis occurs – a severe, whole body reaction that can in certain circumstances become life-threatening. But this is very unusual and most people do not develop any serious skin reaction. According to the NHS, bed bugs do not transmit any human diseases and their main impact for many is the psychological distaste of being bitten.
Treatment, if needed, is usually a mild steroid cream, although antihistamine tablets can also help relieve itching. More serious cases involve fluid-filled blisters which can become infected if scratched and will need antibiotics to control.
But all the health experts agree: if bitten, take action by telling hotel housekeeping rather than keeping it to yourself.