Located next to the Tuileries Gardens, Hôtel Le Pradey is a four-star boutique hotel with a glittering reputation. Guests enjoy an intimate, refined atmosphere within walking distance of some of Paris’s most elegant attractions, including the Louvre and rue Saint-Honoré.
The hotel’s manager, Anne Maurice, takes pride in knowing not only her guests and their needs, but her team as well.
“You are the everything. You have to listen,” she said. “You also have to know how to do everybody’s job if you want to give advice. This is how you earn trust.”
Anne partnered with Valpas right before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since becoming Valpas-certified bed bug-safe, the hotel has avoided costly room closures — preventing ~$10,000+ in lost profit at a time when guest reservations were at record lows due to travel restrictions.
With a 4.5-star Google rating and hundreds of reviews, Le Pradey’s online reputation was an asset worth protecting — especially during the uncertainty of the pandemic.
“To be honest, clients decreased a lot,” Anne said. “It was very hard.”
When occupancy drops, every booking matters. Any operational disruption becomes significantly more expensive.
Travelers arrive from around the world, often after multiple hotel stays in different countries.
“When you have travelers coming from all around the world,” Anne said, “they can bring anything.”
Bed bugs are not linked to cleanliness. They can be introduced unknowingly through luggage. For a four-star hotel operating in one of Paris’s most prestigious neighborhoods, even one incident could mean room closures, compensation, and reputational damage.
In hospitality, success depends on keeping rooms available.
Anne has seen what happens when hotels rely solely on reactive pest control.
“I heard terrible stories from my colleagues,” Anne said. “They would have a bed bug infestation, and they would have to close their doors and have a treatment company come in. And even then, it was impossible to know if the pests had been removed until the company came and tested the rooms again, resulting in weeks of closures and lots of money lost.”
She continues:
“In September and June, we sell our rooms for up to $1,000. That is lost if you have to close due to infestation. Then, when you call the company, you don’t know when they can come. It could be a few days, it could be a week. When they come, the company needs one day to treat the room. Then you have to wait another day. Then get another inspection.”
“You could lose up to $3000+, just for one room.”
And that does not include last-minute guest relocations to other hotels — sometimes even five-star properties — at peak rates.
Not every guest concern turns out to be bed bugs. But without proof, uncertainty can be expensive.
“I had a guest this summer who said, ‘I have bed bugs in my room,’” Anne said. “It was clearly a mosquito or a spider. I told her, ‘We have a hygiene standard that prevents bed bugs 24/7.’ I had proof.”
Valpas certification provided that proof. The visible label on the hotel’s website reassures guests before they even arrive.
By becoming Valpas-certified, Hôtel Le Pradey adopted a proactive standard designed to prevent infestations before they spread.
“I think it’s very useful. We receive alerts.”
Anne explains that most alerts are harmless — sometimes dust or a spider — but the constant monitoring provides reassurance.
“If you have an infestation, lost money is one thing,” she said. “but it’s also you’re reputation. People read the comments everywhere. Valpas helps us protect our good name.”
As business rebounded:
“Since April, our business has gone mad. Rooms are very expensive. If it happened now, it would be terrible.”
With certification, Anne feels prepared.
“With Valpas you can identify the problem.”
One day, the Valpas system alerted Anne.
“It was really small,” she said. “We inspected the room. I called my contact at Valpas. We followed their instructions. Inspected the room. It appeared it was only one. We were safe.”
In many hotels, such a situation could escalate into panic and closures.
“In other hotels,” she continued. “if you don’t have this, I know a few hotels and they had the whole hotel infected. They had to close for a while. With Valpas you can identify the problem.”
Guests noticed the difference.
“Guests were happy. They were reassured. They felt safer.”
In the past, uncertainty could result in compensation or free nights.
“In the past,” Anne said, “because I didn’t know, the guest might have gotten a free night, or we might have had to close the hotel. I have had two guests like this, who have claimed we their rooms had bed bugs. Valpas helped me.”
“Even though I saw that it was clearly mosquito bites, we did the Valpas Check. We checked the room, and there was nothing.”
For Anne, Valpas certification means clarity, control, and confidence — especially during periods of fragile recovery.
“It’s was good before COVID. But even better now.”
“We were busy before COVID,” Anne said. “But we charge more for our rooms now.”
Located just minutes from Opera and within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, surrounded by flagship boutiques like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, Le Pradey has always been in a prime position.
“We are 7 minutes from Opera,” Anne said. “You can walk to Eiffel Tower. We have a big garden. We are right in the center of a very touristic area, with big shops like Louis Vuitton and Chanel. It has always been busy. But since we can sell even more expensive rooms than before, it means more money.”
Under Anne’s leadership, Hôtel Le Pradey combines boutique intimacy, operational control, and a visible standard of safe, sustainable, bed bug-free stays.
At a time when every booking counted most, Valpas certification helped protect revenue — and peace of mind — when it mattered most.
