Our world is based on instructions, and no matter how much we admire the geniuses of chaos who break the system and move forward, neglecting the rules, without a well-functioning set of laws and patterns, it is impossible to succeed. Rules make our life easier, no matter how paradoxical it may sound.
Moreover, the fewer life situations that fit into the category of non-standard ones, the easier it is actually for us to live. The fatter your team's playbook looks, the better your chances of winning. The more possible problems are described in the medical protocol list of some institution to which you came, the more protected you are. And this applies to hotels as well.
A few weeks ago, the user @pompouswomp posted a video on TikTok about how she and her relatives had a chance to personally review the medical protocol list of one of the Sheraton hotels, and it's really impressive. The video uploaded by a woman named Georgina has received over 1.5M views and almost 100K likes, and in addition, about 850 different comments. It seems to us that it is quite worth exploring this situation ourselves.
More info: TikTok
The author of the video once checked into a hotel and one of her relatives found a bedbug in the room
Image credits: @pompouswomp
So, after checking into the room, one of the author's relatives found a bug in their bed. At first, Georgina herself was not sure that it was a bedbug, but someone more versed in insects convinced her of this. It was at around 2am, but the staff showed up almost instantly. And that was it - the hotel protocol went into effect!
Image credits: @pompouswomp
Image credits: @pompouswomp
The insect was caught and sent for analysis while the guests were politely offered another room
First, the ill-fated bedbug was caught and put in a jar to be taken to the laboratory for analysis. Then all guests were given hotel bathrobes, and their clothes and belongings were collected in special biohazard bags and taken for disinfection. And it doesn’t matter that the guests themselves could have brought the insect - who knows, maybe a couple more insidious bloodsuckers lurked somewhere on the clothes?
Image credits: @pompouswomp
Image credits: @pompouswomp
When the next morning, the guests' clothes didn't arrive from disinfection in time, they were offered free room service as well
Of course, the room was also subject to sanitization, so Georgina and her family were asked to move to another one. And when it turned out in the morning that their clothes had not yet arrived to the hotel after the pest control, the guests were offered free breakfast and room service as compensation. "One small win for Sheraton," states the author of the video.
Image credits: @pompouswomp
Image credits: @pompouswomp
Although bedbugs do not spread diseases themselves, they could be a possible health hazard
By the way, despite the fact that bedbugs themselves do not carry diseases, they are included in the hotel's medical protocol list for a reason. According to information provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency, bedbug bites can cause allergic reactions as well as secondary infections of the skin from the bite reaction, like impetigo, ecthyma and lymphangitis. Moreover, mental health impacts on people living in infested homes are also possible. Reported effects include anxiety, insomnia and systemic reactions. In other words, it is better to be overly vigilant than to neglect a possible health hazard.
Image credits: @pompouswomp
Image credits: @pompouswomp
An independent hotel expert claims the staff reaction was effective and is worthy of a good review
"The hotel staff did the right thing in this situation," says Olga Shykina, a PhD and associate professor at the Department of Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Business at the Odessa National Economic University, who was asked by Bored Panda to comment on this story. "It is not necessarily true, by the way, that the bedbug was in the room from the beginning - it could have been brought there by one of the guests from the road. But in any case, the health and safety of hotel guests is above all."
"Complete disinfection of the whole room, another room for guests and sanitization of their clothes at the expense of the host - all these steps indicate a high level of service at the hotel. Even when the next morning they did not have time to bring their clothes from the dry cleaner, the staff also behaved quite correctly, providing a free breakfast in return. A reaction worthy of a good review," Olga Shykina notes.
Some people wrote that most hotels have similar medical protocols for such cases, though some hotel employees alas neglect their duties
Many people in the comments to the original video also agree with the expert. "This is an ideal bedbug situation because they're not coming home with you," one commenter wrote. "Big brand hotels have long protocol list for bed bug occurrences," another person agrees.
However, some commenters say that hotels do not always take the health of guests so seriously. For example, one of the people in the comments remembers how they were once bitten and caught one of the bedbugs as well. The guest took photos and kept the insect - but the hotel representative just called them a liar, though they were highly allergic. In any case, according to commenters, you should always check before you unpack, because the reaction of the hotel staff may not always be so great and effective.
If you've also ever found a bedbug in a hotel, we'll be interested to know how it all ended and what was the reaction of the venue staff. And, of course, we're already looking forward to your own comments about this particular story, so please feel free to leave them below.