Continuing from Wednesday…
The couple claims that after their arrival home from the hotel, their home was then infested with bed bugs. The infestation came to light approximately four weeks after returning home from the hotel, which signifies a relatively new infestation.
The couple reportedly then posted a comment about their experience with the hotel on Tripadvisor.com. The hotel claims that the comments are completely false and that the hotel is bed bug free. Due to the negative commentary, the hotel in question has since filed a lawsuit claiming defamation, invasion of privacy, and tortious interference with business. The hotel is seeking $30,000 in damages for loss of business and loss of reputation.
The trouble for the hotel remains because bed bugs can be lurking in any crack or crevice and even in the hotel room next door. They can travel through walls with great ease, strike their victim, and disappear back into their hiding spots. Nobody knows how well of an inspection was completed by the maintenance staff or the pest control professional. Questions will surely arise as to whether a bed bug sniffing dog was used to determine if an infestation was indeed in the hotel room. Questions will also arise as to whether bed bug traps or monitors were used before or after the guests used the hotel room.
For the hotel guests, bed bugs are hitchhikers that can be picked up anyplace that people frequent. It’s entirely possible that since the luggage was thrown away and the clothing was laundered in hot water and dried on high heat upon their arrival home, maybe no bed bugs came home from the hotel. Bed bugs have recently been found in airplanes and can be found in other sources of travel like rental cars, taxis, buses, subways etc. The problem with bed bugs is that it is always difficult to pin-point the exact time when you encountered the critters. Staying in a hotel where you found an actual bed bug though certainly does put you at high risk.
Bed bug related lawsuits are fairly new to our court system. It will be interesting to see who will win this bed bug battle.