Hotel stays see guests looked after for the duration of their holidays. Some hotels can be very sumptuous indeed while others cater for a lower budget. However, no matter what you’ve paid for your accommodation there’s one thing you should never do in your hotel room.
New York Times travel writer Geoffrey Morrison warned against putting luggage on the bed in the US publication.
This is because there is the unpleasant risk of bed bugs.
Plopping your baggage on the hotel room bed could enable the critters to clamber aboard and hitch a free ride home with you.
According to the NHS: “Bedbugs are small insects that often live on furniture or bedding.
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“Their bites can be itchy, but do not usually cause other health problems.”
The health body added: “Bedbugs can hide in many places, including on bed frames, mattresses, clothing, furniture, behind pictures and under loose wallpaper.”
Morrison also cautioned against using the luggage rack if it’s next to the bed as the bed bugs could be lurking there, too.
“Your best bet is to put your luggage in the bathroom and then give the bed, rack, and chair/sofa a close look,” advised Morrison.
“Also, don’t assume that just because the hotel is super posh it won’t have bed bugs.
“They might have more means to get rid of the problem, but it can happen anywhere.”
According to a 2018 survey by sleep website The Sleep Judge of 1,000 Americans, 11 percent of hotel guests found bedbugs.
The nasties didn’t stop there, though. A whopping 88 percent of hotel guests have found other people’s hair in their room.
What’s more, 16 percent of hotel guests found evidence of urine in their room, while 12 percent found both sexual fluids and blood.
One dirty item to avoid in a hotel room is the upholstered chair.
“Chairs can often be made of hard-to-clean fabric and upholstery,” Dr Nidhi Ghildayal, PhD, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, infectious disease specialist, told Fox News.
“They definitely are not cleaned in the same manner as sheets and towels, which are consistently thrown into the laundry.
“Often, stains on chairs are dabbed and rubbed until they are removed, but other germs that are not noticeable to the eye remain.”
