When on holiday, don’t let bedbugs bite

How a person settles into their hotel room depends on the individual. Some immediately unpack. Others spend time checking out the amenities and minibar. Some, on occasion, will have a go at jumping on the bed (let's be honest, we've all done it).

I, however, have developed a different habit over the years. Once my bags are safely on the bag rack, I make a beeline for the bed, and begin my routine search for bedbugs. I’ll look for anything that is round and black, meticulously checking the side crevices of the mattress. Call me nit-picky, but when even luxe properties such as the Ritz-Carlton New York are at risk of an infestation, it’s best to take the “better safe than sorry” approach. I’m happy to say, to this day, I have yet to find a hotel room that has unwanted guests lurking within. Not everyone has been so lucky, however.

Dubai resident Ziad Houdeib had a run in with bedbugs while travelling abroad. While in a hotel room in Riyadh, the marketing manager was sitting on his bed when he spotted something “small and black”. Having had a previous experience with bedbugs, Houdeib says he “complained immediately”.

After leaving the property, the hotel’s senior manager rang him and apologised for the inconvenience. “He offered to upgrade me to a suite next time I visited the hotel,” Houdeib adds. On arriving home, Houdeib kept his suitcase on the mezzanine level of his villa to prevent a potential infestation. “My maid found one in my suitcase, but it was dead,” he says, adding that he was lucky it didn’t result in any future problems.

Kevin Jeffers, who lives in Abu Dhabi and works for The National, also had an experience with these bugs. While staying in an Abu Dhabi hotel, he first became aware of an infestation when looking at the bed. "I didn't notice any in my clothes," he explains. The hotel quickly moved him up a floor. The second room turned out to be bug-free, and any clothes he had out of his suitcase in the previous room were immediately sent to the hotel's laundry service. "I kept an eye on my stuff," he says, adding that he was fortunate that none of the bugs from the room hitched a ride in his suitcase back to his apartment.

Although hotels will handle bedbugs in different ways, many of the steps will include a long period of intensive cleaning. Wes Tyler, the general manager of the Chancellor Hotel on Union Square in San Francisco, told The New York Times that when an employee discovered a bedbug in one of the property's rooms back in 2003, he initiated an extensive bedbug "detection programme". The procedures included the work of a "bedbug technician", whose sole job was to go from room to room searching for bedbugs, with a US$10 (Dh37) bonus paid to any employee who found one, and a five-day steam-clean and chemical-treatment service for the room and all adjacent rooms where any bedbugs were found.

It was also reported that after The Ritz-Carlton in New York fell victim to an infestation in 2012, the property was forced to close off the room and adjacent rooms, and then hold a training session for the hotel’s workers on how to spot a bedbug ­problem.

Closer to home, hotels seem less keen to reveal how they keep bedbugs at bay. Jannah Burj Al Sarab in Abu Dhabi, however, did agree to speak to us. The new hotel said that steps were taken as early as the property’s pre-opening stage to prevent infestation. A three-part, organic chemical-spray treatment was performed on all guestrooms by an authorised pest-control team. “A quarterly inspection and treatment to avoid any issues” is also conducted, says the vice president of operations, Richard Haddad. “We also do monthly inspections and treatments for internal areas of the hotel, including kitchens, restaurants, coffee bars, pantries and toilets in the lobby.” The common areas of the hotel, including the reception area, corridors and swimming pool, also receive thorough inspections.

“Bedbugs can travel with guests from one hotel to another,” Haddad says. As the pests are easily spread from one property to the next, they can live in unexpected places, such as upholstered furniture, behind headboards and even in pictures on the wall.

In addition to regular inspections, bedbug-repellent mattresses have helped hotels to prevent the problem. Sudarshan Rai, the marketing manager of Dubai Furniture Manufacturing Company, explains that once a property is infested with bedbugs, it’s very difficult to get rid of them. “The UAE is no exception to the bedbugs infestation,” he adds.

The mattress brand Serta developed a new mattress after it received several requests from hotels asking if it could develop a product that not only protects the bed, but repels bugs. The bedding itself is treated with an anti-bug agent that repels bedbugs. While Rai didn’t want to specify numbers, he did say that there has already been a sizeable interest from hotels after a recent display of the mattresses at The Hotel Show in Dubai last month.

Even with the best intentions, there’s always a chance of a slip up. Luckily, there are ways to protect yourself from these creepy crawlies – steps that don’t include steering clear of hotels entirely.

Dinesh Ramachandran, the technical manager at National Pest Control in Dubai, suggests travellers should take precautions even before stepping foot in a hotel. “While making a booking, travellers can enquire about the history of bedbug incidents and dates of pest-control treatments carried out.”

Ramachandran suggests that, on arrival, guests inspect the bed, mattress, headboard, side table and even wardrobe with a torch – the light function on your iPhone will do just fine. Investing in a bedbug mattress cover is also a great option for added safety and peace of mind. “I do this all the time when I travel,” he adds.

The mattress protector covers the entire mattress and should contain any bedbugs lurking within, says Ramachandran. The cover should be removed on departure, securely sealed in a ziplock bag and washed as soon as possible to prevent cross-contamination. The covers can be purchased from National Pest Control or online sites such as Desert Cart (www.desertcart.ae), where they sell for Dh230.

Even those who find themselves in a room they suspect has bedbugs – particularly if you find the common itchy bites, usually in threes, on your face, neck, hand or arm – shouldn’t despair. ­Ramachandran suggests a few simple steps that could help prevent your home from infestation. Wrapping clothes in plastic bags to prevent contamination will help, he explains. Once at home, wash them separately at at least 60°C and discard the plastic bag immediately. Finally, Ramachandran adds, travel bags and suitcases should all be vacuumed and cleaned, with the “vacuum cleaner cleaned as bugs can ­survive and migrate from the cleaner”.

As a last line of defence against bedbugs, which are a constant threat if you’re travelling on a tight budget, The National’s travel editor Rosemary Behan recommends packing a silk sleeping bag liner, which is lightweight and available at any good adventure shop. “This was my only luxury when I was backpacking through Asia. Bedbugs can’t get through it, so I was able to stay at $3-a-night guesthouses without fear.”

alane@thenational.ae