From 5-star luxury resorts to 1-star budget digs, any hotel room has the potential to carry microscopic remnants left behind by past guests.
Viruses and living bacteria are often found on surfaces like light switches and phones, and some travelers have awoken to itchy bed bug bites in hotels with high ratings where the pests were not visible to the naked eye. Though travelers needn't be overly worried about contracting diseases, the ick factor is still there and several simple practices can greatly lower the risks of getting ill.
Can Hotel Rooms Really Make a Person Sick?
Yes, they can, says research by the University of Virginia as well as a report from ABC News.
Though many people think bacteria and viruses cannot survive long on hard surfaces like desks and telephones, they are wrong. In a 2006 study, university scientists discovered that up to 33 percent of rhinovirus germs left by a sick person in a hotel room can survive over night and retain enough potency to infect someone the next day. That statistic doubles to 66 percent after just an hour of vacancy.
The ABC investigation went further and took a black light to rooms in bargain motels and luxury hotels in New York City, Miami and other locations to find out what's really living on their walls. In all the rooms tested, trace elements of urine (some of it from companion animals) and semen were found.
Precautions to Take When Checking Into a Hotel Room to Prevent Illness
According to Caroline Costello of IndependentTraveler.com, which provides a compendium of travel tips, destination information and travel discounts, there are things people can do when they arrive at their hotel room to help decrease the likelihood of contracting a disease:
- Remove the bedspread. Hotels often don't clean these blankets from guest to guest, and they can harbor bacteria, viruses, bed bugs and other unsanitary items (some have reported finding used condoms rolled up in them). They are usually the most unsanitary thing in the room and not worth the risk. Some hotels (like the Hilton Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego) eschew the bedspread all together.
- Wash hands frequently. In order for rhinovirus, which causes the human cold, and other illness-inducing germs to infect a traveler, it has to come into contact with his or her nose or eyes. Regular hand washing can prevent germs passed from objects to the hands from getting into the mucous membranes. Bringing hand sanitizers is another option.
- Do not use the glassware. Only two states in the U.S. regulate the way drinking glasses in hotels are washed and sanitized: Missouri and Kansas. To avoid getting sick, people should bring their own cups or use plastic, prepackaged cups if a hotel provides them.
- Disinfect germ hotspots. These include the remote, telephone, toilet handle, phone, door knobs, light switches, the ice bucket and faucet handles. Use an antibacterial spray sanitizer or sanitizing wipes.
- Look for evidence of bed bugs. Check the bed upon arrival for reddish brown, rust-colored spots underneath the mattress or near walls, between couch cushions or between the carpet and the wall for signs of bed bugs. Don't put baggage on or near the bed until the check is complete.
Staying Healthy While on Vacation
Bed bugs and germs don't care whether a traveler pays $500 or $50 per night on vacation. Though both research reports said that it's unlikely an illness picked up at a hotel is going to be life-threatening, taking a few precautions can only help a person remain well while traveling.
After all, though hotel maintenance crews dust, vacuum and wash each day, the average hotel only schedules a deep cleaning four times each year. Practicing a few precautions should ease a person's mind and lead to a healthier vacation.
Heidi Lowry - Heidi Lowry is an American writer.
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