We’ve seen this before. Every decade, hospitality quietly misprices a guest need.
Non-smoking rooms in the 90s. Wi-Fi in the 2000s. Sustainability in the 2010s. The next one is already here: bed bug safety.
Each was first a housekeeping or maintenance item before becoming a booking attribute.
1990sNon-smoking rooms
2000sWi-Fi
2010sSustainability
2020sBed bug safety
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for OTAs & booking platforms
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Bed bugs are travellers’ #1 booking concern – but most hotels still treat it as a housekeeping item
Bed bugs have been a service failure no hotel fully controls – guests carry them in. So operators and owners still file it under housekeeping or maintenance, the way they once filed smoking, Wi-Fi and sustainability.
But like each of those, it has already moved into demand. In Phocuswright’s 2026 research, pests like bed bugs are the single biggest concern travellers have when they book – ahead of cleanliness, value and staff.
We have noticed an increase in concerns over the last decade.
Gerald Krischek, General Manager · Hotel Prince de Galles, The Luxury Collection
The demand is big and real – you just never see it
For decades, naming bed bugs felt like creating the risk, so the industry stayed silent. And it made sense – why raise something you couldn’t prevent? But silence never removed the risk. It just moved it onto your booking page.
Guests learned to stay quiet too. But they aren’t passive: they scan reviews, check the bed on arrival, and wash hot at home – every precaution, taken where your teams never see it.
Half would refuse a hotel after a single bed bug review. 30% of US travellers – and 15% in the UK and France – already use AI or search specifically to vet its bed bug reputation before booking.
With Valpas, we communicate that at the F6 you can stay carefree – and increased direct booking conversion by 35%.
Roni Saari, General Manager · Hotel F6, Nordic Hotels & Resorts
Naming it doesn’t make guests nervous – it wins them
Given the decades-long silence, it’s a fair concern that raising the subject makes guests more anxious, not less. The data says the opposite: 84% would pick a continuously certified, bed bug-safe four-star hotel over an uncertified five-star at the same price. Safety beats stars, location and ratings.
Why? Other top concerns like cleanliness, staff and value stay behind when guests check out. Pests follow you home and cause mental, physical and financial distress.
Customers choose based on who has the bed bug-safe certification.
Sanna Paloniemi, General Manager · Original Kupittaa, Sokos Hotels
The research
The Silent Booking Signal: how bed bug safety reshapes hotel choice
A Phocuswright survey of 1,082 travellers across the US, UK and France finds pest safety is the single biggest concern when booking a hotel — and that visible, credible proof lifts consideration, willingness to pay and loyalty.
Bed bug-safe hotels are already visible, verified and bookable – and converting more, at a higher price
of travellers would pay more for a guaranteed bed bug-safe stay
would leave a brand they’re loyal to for a certified hotel
would switch booking platforms to find the certification
Get in touch today – and gain the edge before it becomes the baseline
Follow the leaders: 30,000+ certified rooms and thousands of travel agencies and DMCs are already making better business. Join them today.
GTM
Sofi Laakso
For Hotels
Certify your hotel and turn the attribute into direct bookings, RFP wins and higher ADR.
Head of Ecosystem
Enzo Aita
For Demand & Distribution
Bring verified, real-time safe-hotel data to your OTA, platform or corporate programme.