What the Hospitality Industry Needs to Know About the Bed Bug Threat
If you're in the hospitality industry, this is one website you don't want to find yourself on. BedbugRegistry.com is a free public database that encourages people to report bed bug experiences, specifically at hotels. There's a quick reporting form for listing the hotel name and street address which is translated into a dot-covered map of the U.S. showing the locations of each reported infestation. A list of the hotels and other infestation sites is provided to warn travelers. What the site doesn't do is verify reports, nor does it indicate when a hotel has successfully remedied the problem. The old adage there's no such thing as bad publicity doesn't carry any credence with hoteliers. They know that even a whispered rumor can have a disastrous effect on business. Websites that detail horror-laced reports of being eaten alive by bed bugs during an overnight stay in a hotel or motel play on growing public hysteria about these blood-sucking parasites. Fanned by a...