www.buyingbusinesstravel.com
Analysis
between rooms. Cleanest surfaces tested included the bed headboard and bathroom-door handle, possibly because these were obvious targets for cleaning staff. But while the researchers generally believed hotels tried hard to ensure a high level of sanitation, they were surprised to discover there appeared no universally accepted cleaning process for hotel rooms.
Anecdotal views of hotel hygiene by hoteliers paints a picture that suggests guests can be both the cause and victim of poor hygiene. Ice buckets, for example, are regarded as a potential source of infection because of their stand-by function as an emergency receptacle for throwing up into (mostly by those who have drunk or eaten too much, but by norovirus sufferers as well). “The thing is that many guests like having ice available in an ice bucket, even though they are difficult for housekeeping to keep hygienically clean at all times,” says one hotelier who prefers, like most of his contemporaries, to avoid publicly speaking on the issue. “Germs can, therefore, be transferred to the ice cubes and cause sickness.”
BED-SPREADER Yet hotels are looking at ways to improve in-room hygiene. Traditional bedspreads, for example,
are increasingly being replaced by duvets with extra top sheets, which are changed more frequently than bedspreads. Similarly, new hotels may choose to have just a shower room rather than standard bath, as baths are often a prime source of germs from waste pipes and exposed surfaces. Although it is the micro-germs that
cause most hygiene issues in hotels, it is the much bigger problem of bed bugs (see panel, overleaf) that grabs the headlines. The belief that dirt and bugs go together, however, is wide of the mark: bed bugs are attracted
The issue of hygiene in hotels is “the elephant in the room as far as the hospitality industry is concerned”
by the body heat and carbon dioxide of a sleeping human rather than dirt and grime. The link to dirty rooms, however, probably reflects their past history (associated with ‘flop-houses’ or high density tenements) and the fact that poor room management is perhaps indicative of a hotel culture where the problem is allowed to fester rather than acted upon straightaway. But bed bugs are very good at hiding in even the smallest spaces and there is no getting away from the fact that it is usually the traveller who
BUGS TAKE TO THE AIR
WHEN ZANE SELKIRK, a 28-year old Yahoo media manager with British and US citizenship, flew on a British Airways flight from Los Angeles to London, she did not expect to find herself arriving at Heathrow with bite-covered arms, legs and feet. But when Selkirk, a regular flyer on Yahoo company business who was travelling in BA’s World Traveller Plus cabin, complained to the airline she became so disgruntled at the airline’s alleged initial response that she used her internet-savvy skills to launch a website to publicise her experience. Although BA eventually apologised to Selkirk (and according to some reports was forced to fumigate the aircraft involved, although BA does not confirm this) the story appeared to touch a raw nerve with the new generation of business travellers who turn to social media to air their grievances, posting
their own alleged experiences of being bitten on either transatlantic or long-haul US domestic flights. Such stories, of course, are anecdotal (although some come with pictures of the alleged bites) and there appears scant official data or information on whether the bugs generally found in hotel rooms have taken to the air. The airlines are understandably reluctant to comment on particular cases, although apocryphal stories abound of creepy crawlies and even vermin (giving a whole new meaning to the MICE market) that fly for free. It would be surprising, however, if
traditional bed bugs were not transported on to aircraft, since luggage is one of the main ways that they get into hotel rooms in the first place – and then often end up in the business traveller’s home attached to, or inside, their suitcase.
Routine aircraft cleaning would not
necessarily eradicate any bugs already on board, especially when there is a rapid turnaround of aircraft. But many of the reports about airline passengers being bitten involve those travelling in the premium cabins, leading to some experts suggesting that the more luxurious flat- beds in business class and upwards are more hospitable for bugs than the more restrictive seats at the back of the plane. Or, of course, it might just be that those in premium cabins are more willing and able to voice their antipathy to being bitten on board. For those who are really worried by bugs, there are a number of US companies producing seat covers (such as
www.bugoffseatcover.com) which can be used to cover airline seats. But be prepared for some strange looks from your fellow travellers.
often unwittingly brings the bugs with him or her on their luggage. And then, if undiscovered, they take them on to their next hotel and eventually home.
The problem, however, is that
some travellers may not realise at first they have actually been bitten. And those that do are often too embarrassed or reluctant to complain to bring the bugs to the hotel’s attention. Similarly, the effects of germs or viruses can be embarrassing to relate or may not be revealed until later, making the link with the hotel more difficult to establish. This perhaps suggests that many
cases of such sickness or bite-marks may go unreported. Sandy Moring, Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) senior director for programme management and sustainability, says
33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124