Bed Bugs on Social Media
As anyone in the hospitality industry knows, social media is a real influencer in the marketing of your property. Good reviews can help bookings, but bad ones can really hurt you. Probably no social media post could be more consequentialin a bad waythan a reference to bed bugs.
One of the reasons that there is an increase in complaints about bedbugs is that hotel owners are using out-of-date methods to combat these revenue wreckers. Typically, chemicals have been the desired method of eradication. But there are problems. One downside is a revenue issue: chemical treatments need to be applied and then a 2 week waiting period needs to pass before it can be verified that the problem is completely solved. That delay represents over 14 days of lost revenue for every treated room.
That delay represents over 14 days of lost revenue for every treated room.
A second issue is that chemical treatments are becoming increasingly ineffective. Aside from the possibility that the chemical does not infiltrate sufficiently to kill every last bug and egg, 7 of 12 species are now becoming or are immune to chemicals. Today, the only sure solution is a heat based treatment.
So, if you want to keep your mentions on social media positive, make sure you have upgraded to the solution that ensures bed bugs have been completely eliminated. With heat, both you and your social media worries can rest easy knowing the property is bug free.