Hotels regularly inspect for bed bugs, looking for signs such as live bugs, spots on sheets, and eggs or eggshells. Hotels also bug proof their beds using mattress or box spring encasements and bed bug interceptors (a kind of trap that wraps around the bed frame's legs). Hotels must isolate any affected rooms.
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The top three places where pest professionals report finding bed bugs are single-family homes (91 percent), apartments/condominiums (89 percent), and hotels/motels (68 percent).
Just because you think (or are even positive) the hotel had bed bugs does not necessarily mean that you brought them home with you. Granted, bed bugs are notoriously difficult to eradicate on your own, so it's a good idea to act as if you may have picked up a hitchhiking bed bug or two.
Chances are that you won't see any bugs at all, but if you see their poop trails, you know they are present. For a thorough bed bug examination, use a flashlight to look around the headboard, under the sheets and mattress pad, under the mattress and box springs, and around the base of the bed.
Some people think that bed bugs are no more common in hotel rooms or vacation rentals than anywhere else. According to recent NPMA data, however, 80% of pest control companies surveyed reported that they had treated hotels and/or motels for bed bugs infestations within the past year.
“It may surprise you that bed bugs are a common problem in hotels,” says Jordan Foster, Pest Management Expert at Fantastic Pest Control. “Infestations of bed bugs have nothing to do with sanitation or cleanliness. Bed bugs are not uncommon in hotels or motels of any star rating, from one-star to five-star.”
In most cases, guests carry bed bugs into hotels unknowingly, in infested luggage, clothing, blankets, and pillows. Hotels with high occupancy turnover are especially vulnerable to infestation. There is little that can be done to prevent guests from bringing in bed bugs. No hotel is immune to a bed bug infestation.