How do I minimize my chances of getting bedbugs in my hotel in NYC?
September 3, 2022 9:02 PM Subscribe
I'm going to be visiting NYC in a week and I'm stuck in an indecision loop regarding hotel selection, vis-à-vis bedbugs. My forefront goal is to minimize my chances of finding bedbugs in my hotel room as much as possible. How do I choose where to stay?
I've narrowed down my hotel selection by trawling Google, Trip Advisor, Yelp, and other review sites to count the number of bedbug mentions, but it's become evident that there's likely no such thing as a hotel with zero bedbug incidents in a major city like NYC. Wyndham Garden Chinatown has my current reservation, but I was able to find a single Yelp review with a photo of a bedbug. Management posted a response to the review saying they were seriously looking into it, and when I e-mailed them about the review, they listed various precautions they take "to address the prevention and spread of bedbugs," and that they also "did address the past issue with this incident". However (perhaps unsurprisingly) they didn't come out and explicitly say that yes, we discovered bedbugs following this person's stay, and yes, we eliminated the infestation.
My other working option is to rent a room at an apart-hotel like Sonder Henri on 24, and none of the reviews mention bedbugs at all. However, there's an order of magnitude less reviews for Sonder properties than for Wyndham properties, and I also get the sense from looking at some of the reviews that maybe housekeeping isn't always as thorough as they would be at a hotel. (They also only clean following a stay, not during.) On the other hand, since these apart-hotels probably see less turnover due to folks staying for longer, maybe there's less chance of spread.
I'm leaning towards staying at the Wyndham, but the bedbug photo squicks me out, and I'm feeling slightly uncomfortable about hotel management not fully copping to having had bedbugs in the past. On the other hand, they're open about their pest control protocols, and the last (and only) recorded infestation was in early 2021. I also asked them to put me in a different room/floor from the reported incident, which they seemed to agree to. (Though I have no way to verify that they actually will.) So maybe it's OK?
MeFi, any thoughts on what I should do?
I've narrowed down my hotel selection by trawling Google, Trip Advisor, Yelp, and other review sites to count the number of bedbug mentions, but it's become evident that there's likely no such thing as a hotel with zero bedbug incidents in a major city like NYC. Wyndham Garden Chinatown has my current reservation, but I was able to find a single Yelp review with a photo of a bedbug. Management posted a response to the review saying they were seriously looking into it, and when I e-mailed them about the review, they listed various precautions they take "to address the prevention and spread of bedbugs," and that they also "did address the past issue with this incident". However (perhaps unsurprisingly) they didn't come out and explicitly say that yes, we discovered bedbugs following this person's stay, and yes, we eliminated the infestation.
My other working option is to rent a room at an apart-hotel like Sonder Henri on 24, and none of the reviews mention bedbugs at all. However, there's an order of magnitude less reviews for Sonder properties than for Wyndham properties, and I also get the sense from looking at some of the reviews that maybe housekeeping isn't always as thorough as they would be at a hotel. (They also only clean following a stay, not during.) On the other hand, since these apart-hotels probably see less turnover due to folks staying for longer, maybe there's less chance of spread.
I'm leaning towards staying at the Wyndham, but the bedbug photo squicks me out, and I'm feeling slightly uncomfortable about hotel management not fully copping to having had bedbugs in the past. On the other hand, they're open about their pest control protocols, and the last (and only) recorded infestation was in early 2021. I also asked them to put me in a different room/floor from the reported incident, which they seemed to agree to. (Though I have no way to verify that they actually will.) So maybe it's OK?
MeFi, any thoughts on what I should do?
I've been to NYC loads of times, staying in cheap motels, fancy hotels, and all sorts of Airbnbs. Never had any bedbug trouble. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at either of your options.
Take reasonable measures to not bring any bugs home with you and enjoy your trip. You sound very distressed by this trip. Do you have anxiety? This level of research sounds like it is driven by an unusual degree of concern.
posted by Mournful Bagel Song at 3:36 AM on September 4, 2022 [11 favorites]
Take reasonable measures to not bring any bugs home with you and enjoy your trip. You sound very distressed by this trip. Do you have anxiety? This level of research sounds like it is driven by an unusual degree of concern.
posted by Mournful Bagel Song at 3:36 AM on September 4, 2022 [11 favorites]
I used to work for a company that had a pest elimination division that serviced large scale hotels. Generally speaking, I would not let reports of bedbugs scare me out of staying at a place like the Wyndham.
Whether someone else brings bedbugs into their hotel is not something they can control. What they can control is how they address this. Hotels like the Wyndham invariably use a fairly nuclear option: sealing off and treating the affected room, the rooms on either side, the room across the hall, the room upstairs, and the room downstairs. They blitz those rooms, then go through a process to clear the chemicals.
If you see copious reports of bed bugs in an older or less reputable hotel, that may mean something. Isolated report at a name brand, upscale hotel? Even multiple reports may indicate nothing more than the amount of people passing through.
One thing you can be sure of with a hotel like that: they absolutely went all-out to get rid of the bedbugs, for both liability and reputation reasons. They're long gone, and the odds of them having bedbugs again are random, just like any hotel you can find without a report of bedbugs.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:03 AM on September 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
Whether someone else brings bedbugs into their hotel is not something they can control. What they can control is how they address this. Hotels like the Wyndham invariably use a fairly nuclear option: sealing off and treating the affected room, the rooms on either side, the room across the hall, the room upstairs, and the room downstairs. They blitz those rooms, then go through a process to clear the chemicals.
If you see copious reports of bed bugs in an older or less reputable hotel, that may mean something. Isolated report at a name brand, upscale hotel? Even multiple reports may indicate nothing more than the amount of people passing through.
One thing you can be sure of with a hotel like that: they absolutely went all-out to get rid of the bedbugs, for both liability and reputation reasons. They're long gone, and the odds of them having bedbugs again are random, just like any hotel you can find without a report of bedbugs.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:03 AM on September 4, 2022 [3 favorites]
This is not to hand wave your concerns about bedbugs. If the thought of them haunts you, I get that. But don't put your energy into trying to avoid something that reputable hotels see on a random basis, to comparatively tiny degrees. Instead, read up on how to inspect your room for signs of bed bugs. When you check in, eyeball it yourself and then sleep easy with the knowledge that you vetted the room and bed personally.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:12 AM on September 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:12 AM on September 4, 2022 [5 favorites]
If it's helpful: several years ago I accidentally slept in an infested bed, got bitten, and still did not bring an infestation home.
I have now become more alert though, and I basically second DirtyOldTown's comment and link. When I arrive at a hotel or vacation rental, I pull up the sheets and check if there are bedbug poop stains on the mattress—they'll look like small bloodstains. Putting your suitcase on a rack seems like a decent extra precaution, but bedbugs mostly move around at night, so it's unlikely they will lay eggs in your suitcase while you do this.
posted by capricorn at 10:21 AM on September 4, 2022
I have now become more alert though, and I basically second DirtyOldTown's comment and link. When I arrive at a hotel or vacation rental, I pull up the sheets and check if there are bedbug poop stains on the mattress—they'll look like small bloodstains. Putting your suitcase on a rack seems like a decent extra precaution, but bedbugs mostly move around at night, so it's unlikely they will lay eggs in your suitcase while you do this.
posted by capricorn at 10:21 AM on September 4, 2022
Yeah the thing about bedbugs is that it isn’t the experience of getting bitten that’s a big deal, it’s trying to get rid of them that’s a big deal. So your main goal is to not take home a pair or a pregnant female. Keep your luggage on a rack or in the bathroom, and when you get there, strip the bed down to the mattress and look for little dark spots near the head of the bed, which is their preferred hangout spot.
If you still feel uncomfortable, there’s this thing called the Packtite which can heat treat your luggage when you get home — after having bedbugs I used one for several years.
I’d stay anywhere that didn’t have, like, lots of bedbug reports, and I’d just take the above precautions.
posted by hungrytiger at 10:27 AM on September 4, 2022
If you still feel uncomfortable, there’s this thing called the Packtite which can heat treat your luggage when you get home — after having bedbugs I used one for several years.
I’d stay anywhere that didn’t have, like, lots of bedbug reports, and I’d just take the above precautions.
posted by hungrytiger at 10:27 AM on September 4, 2022
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Fortunately, your odds of encountering bedbugs at any given location are fairly low. Of the scores of hotels I've stayed in over the years for work and pleasure, I've had bedbugs at only one (not in NYC). If you know how to check for them before unpacking and you don't find anything, you're probably good.
The best thing you can do—regardless of where you stay—is just minimize your chances of bringing any bugs home if they happen to be in the room. Most importantly, use the luggage rack and don't leave anything on the bed or on upholstered furniture. Leave your shoes by the door instead of next to the bed (or on a hard surface like the bathroom floor instead of carpeting). That's about it.
posted by theory at 9:59 PM on September 3, 2022 [10 favorites]