With summer fast approaching, hotel owners up and down the country will be gearing up for the busy holiday season and the sudden influx of visitors to the UK. Of course, key considerations for any hotelier during this period will be how they can maximise the potential of each room and ensure repeat occupancy and the ideal way to achieve this is by ensuring guests have the best possible night’s sleep.
Whilst it is well documented that creating the right atmosphere and ambience are important factors in delivering a great experience for your guests, a comfortable and relaxing bed is what they look forward to most at the end of their day. Add sumptuous, crisp bed linen, and the relaxation and comfort experience is increased further still. But all this means nothing if the condition of your mattresses aren’t up to stringent hygiene standards.
General wear and tear and staining are issues, which UK hoteliers expect and are used to dealing with on a daily basis, those can usually be rectified quickly. However, a surge in the number of guests visiting hotels can lead to a more serious, damaging and lasting problem… namely, bed bugs!
Bed bugs can be a real issue for hoteliers, with infestations having devastating consequences for businesses, ultimately leading to hotels having to temporarily close, whilst pest control teams remove the infestation. Once the bugs are introduced into a hotel through tourists luggage or clothing, they can spread easily from room to room. They can spread within a building by getting through holes in walls or pipes and can potentially invade a whole building. Mattresses and beds have to be entirely replaced to ensure a complete wipeout of the insects, meaning a potential impact on revenues at the busiest and most important time of year.
Statistics suggest that in the UK there has been, on average, a 25 per cent annual rise in reported bed bug infestations. Therefore, logic dictates that more visiting guests can only increase the chances of being left with a serious bed bug problem.
It is important to remember that bed bugs are not merely an inconvenience; they will feed on your guests causing nasty reactions and uncomfortable rashes. Previous research by Hypnos shows that hotel guests spend over 60 per cent of their time in a hotel bedroom asleep, meaning they are at a high risk of contact with bed bugs. It is therefore imperative that hoteliers address this issue and take the necessary steps to prevent or eradicate infestations, not just to ensure guests have a happy and healthy stay, but also to preserve their reputations.
When it comes to choosing a place to sleep at night, hygiene is a prime concern for guests and while the reality is that bed bugs don’t necessarily mean you have an unhygienic hotel, they can create quite the opposite perception. This is especially true when you consider social media sites such as Facebook or Trip Advisor where one bad review can put off hundreds of potential customers from staying at your venue.
So, how can hoteliers help protect their guests against these nasty critters? The solution is to invest in a mattress whose fabric cover is infused with a specialist bed bug treatment, such as HealthGuard™, which is an effective and safe way to help deal with these uninvited guests.
Hypnos integrates HealthGuard™, a world leading anti-bacterial, anti-allergy and anti bed bug treatment, as standard into the fabric and sleeping surface of all its pocket sprung mattresses. This treatment provides long-lasting protection against bed bugs and dust mites, ensuring guests have the safest and healthiest sleep environment possible. The cutting-edge technology also provides unprecedented hygienic advantages to guests with allergies. Also, as the treatment is invisible and odourless, it will not affect the Crib 5 fire retardancy properties of Hypnos’ mattress or mattress toppers.
Furthermore, the innovative product, which is used on both Hypnos’ pocket sprung mattresses and mattress toppers, can also be used on existing beds by applying a Hypnos zipped Mattress Renovator also infused with the HealthGuardTM treatment. The renovator encases the whole of the mattress to provide an additional layer of protection against bed bugs and any unhygienic and unsightly stains.
It cannot be stressed enough how important protection against bed bugs is for hotel owners. By using advanced bed bug treatments, hoteliers will not only be protecting their guests whilst they sleep, they will also be preserving their reputations.
It is also worth investing in mattresses and bedding that contain natural materials which boast hygienic benefits. Both cashmere and wool generate a micro environment that promotes healthy air flow, helps regulate body temperature and reduce body moisture while repelling allergens.
It is therefore crucial hoteliers take every necessary step to protect themselves against bed bugs. Protective mattress treatments play a pivotal role in helping to minimize the risk of infestation and every hotelier should consider investing in the cutting-edge technology. Not only will it ensure your guests have a healthy and uninterrupted night’s sleep, it will also help to safeguard the reputation of your hotel.
Editors Note: Advice that needs to be heeded by airlines too – see this blog on airline mattresses to see why
