According to bed bug attorney Jeffrey M. Lipman, in most cases the mere presence of a bed bug should not be enough to impose liability. While there is no single piece of legislation regulating bed bug situations, this should not be misunderstood as a lack of law or liability.
Can you get sued? Of course you can.
We live in a contentious society and complaints are often brought against hotels, both against the corporate entity and against the individual owner. $ 500,000 in judgments have been made and legal fees can easily be $ 30,000 to defend a hotel against bed bug litigation.
However, there are steps hotels can take to significantly reduce liability. One thing we know for sure is that you can’t just say, “We hired a pest specialist to do this.”
Here are some steps you can take to protect your business:
- Implement a documentation system with response logs. A paper trail is key to demonstrating that you have taken proactive action.
- Hire a Pest Control Professional (PMP) to train maintenance and cleaning personnel to conduct frequent inspections in rooms and public areas. If bed bugs are discovered by hotel staff, it is important that the inspection is followed by an immediate response from the PMP.
- Contractual regular inspections by a PMP for quality assurance.
- Install active mattress covers like ActiveGuard mattress covers that will prevent bed bug infestation for two years.
- Ask your PMP about using insecticide dust in hallways and rooms as a line of defense.
- Consider using mattress covers to protect capital assets from liquids and stains.
As mentioned above, a tried and tested bed bug prevention program with active mattress covers installed on mattresses or box spring beds is proof that you have done everything you can to prevent bed bugs. This program can prevent a bed bug incident from becoming an expensive, contentious situation.
Learn about bed bug prevention in hotels and how to avoid being the subject of the next negative review on Trip Advisor in a free one-on-one webinar. Or call 1-866-978-6288 to secure your hotel with the ultimate in bed bug prevention.
About allergy technologies
ActiveGuard mattress liners kill bed bugs. These liners are easy to install on mattresses or box spring beds and offer two years of continuous prevention and control against adult bed bugs, nymphs or eggs. ActiveGuard has no warning signs or usage restrictions on its label. Only four sizes – single / double, double / full, queen and king – fit almost every available mattress or box spring bed and can accommodate up to extra-large lengths and 17 inches. in the deep. The basis is the formulation of ActiveGuard: a unique and proprietary delivery system that offers permanent bioavailability of permethrin for two years. Latest research shows that after a brief exposure of only 10 minutes to ActiveGuard, regardless of resistance, bed bugs show significant reductions in feeding (biting) and a dramatic inability to lay eggs. This causes a disruption in population growth, thereby stopping an incident from progressing to an infestation. If you are looking for a proactive preventive approach, ActiveGuard should be viewed as the centerpiece of your long-term solution to preventing bed linen from becoming infested. ActiveGuard mattress liners are covered by U.S. Patents 5,916,580, 6,214,365, 6,440,438, and pending patents.
More tips on preventing bedbugs early and detecting infestations early can be found online at www.hotelbedbugprevention.com.
