Customer reviews are essential factors in a business’s success. The same holds true for lodging businesses, as they strongly rely on customer reviews to help them market their facilities while building a reputation in the industry. Positive customer reviews can significantly increase customer turnout, but negative ones can just as easily break a business.
The most common reason for bad customer reviews of lodging facilities is pest problems. A pest problem will not only ruin the reputation of the affected lodging business, it can also lead to possible lawsuits and closures if left unresolved. As such, it is crucial for any lodging business to understand pest problems better so that they can quickly identify the issues and provide the best solutions.
What Are The Most Common Pests Found In Lodging Businesses?
The lodging business can be prone to several pests because of its nature to host a steady stream of different guests every day. It’s easy for pests such as bedbugs to hitchhike into the facilities through the guests’ luggage, handbags, and even clothing. Just one pair of bedbugs can immediately populate and spread their species across several rooms. Research from the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) shows that hotels are among the top three places where bed bug cases are usually reported
Cockroaches are another common pest problem for lodging businesses. Most accommodation facilities serve food, attracting cockroaches who love preying on large supplies of food waste. Unlike bedbugs whose bites are the worst consequence, cockroaches bring a lot more threats to customers. They’ve been known to bring more than 30 different kinds of bacteria, including salmonella and E. coli, making them easy carriers of germs and diseases. Their mere presence can also trigger asthma and other allergies.
A pest problem list wouldn’t be complete without ants. Like cockroaches, ants flock to places where there’s food, making lodging businesses an easy target. Ants are hard to keep away because they can fit through the tiniest of openings in the building, such as small cracks and gaps in the structure. While ants usually don’t cause harm to humans, they’re still bad for business because customers won’t like seeing them anywhere near their food. Additionally, some species like carpenter ants can also cause damage to the building’s foundation.
Rodents round up the list of the most common pests for hotels, motels, and beds and breakfasts. Rodents are just as dirty as cockroaches and are known to spread at least 35 different diseases, making them less than ideal visitors for any lodging business. Even their urine and droppings can contaminate the environment, so it’s highly recommended to get rid of them at first sight.
How Can I Prevent These Pests From Infesting My Lodging Business?
If your customer sees just one of the pests mentioned above loitering around your business premises, you can be sure that your rating won’t be a perfect five star. Any increase in number and you might even be liable for a lawsuit due to the dangers posed by these pests on people’s health. To make sure your guests enjoy a comfortable and pest-free stay at your lodging business, it’s important to take the necessary steps to minimize, if not eliminate, pest encounters.
Pests like cockroaches and rodents prefer dark and damp areas, so make sure to inspect these parts of your facilities to check if any infestations are taking place already. Overgrown vegetation near your business should be addressed immediately because they can serve as shelter to pests looking to infiltrate your facilities at some point. Performing regular inspections around the business premises is essential in preventing any pest problems before they multiply in size into a bigger threat.
When inspecting the rooms in your facility, don’t forget to look into the seams of the furniture, too. Bed bugs like to stay inside furniture and upholstery, so you need to check these sections at least once a week for any unwanted visitors. Cockroaches sometimes hide behind dressers and headboards, so look there as well.
Keeping your facilities clean and organized is the best way to prevent pests from being interested. Repair leaky pipes and faucets as soon as you can to avoid water collection that can lead to dampness and contamination. Store leftovers in secure containers that pests won’t be able to bite their way through. Clean dining areas to remove crumbs and food particles that can attract pests.
A Final Word on Keeping Pests Out of Your Lodging Business
Sometimes, regardless of how diligent you are in cleaning your facilities, pests still find a way to settle in and multiply in hiding. When this happens, it’s best to have a licensed pest control company that you can trust to take care of the pest problem for you.
Rocklin Pest Control is the ideal partner for businesses looking for general pest extermination services. With over 30 years of experience serving Rocklin, Roseville, Lincoln, Granite Bay, Auburn, and its surrounding communities, Rocklin Pest Control has a proven track record in the industry and can surely help you with all your pest-related concerns.