Tourists visiting some of New York’s most prestigious hotels have reported being bitten by bed bugs despite their five star surroundings.
Guests at the Waldorf Astoria and Marriott Marquis hotel are among those to have been affected by the infestation. Reports of bed bugs in the city’s hotels have jumped by 44 per cent over the past year.
According to the Bed Bug Registry, which lists reports of alleged incidents, there are almost 6,000 incidents in their databases relating to New York.
Reports of bed bugs in New York hotels have increased by more than 40 per cent between 2014 and 2015
Guests at the Waldorf Astoria, pictured, have reported the uninvited guests in their bedrooms during stays
The registry said that reports of infestations had increased by more than 44 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
According to the reports, it is not only cheap motels who rent rooms by the hour who are affected by the uninvited guests.
One couple who were staying at the Astor on the Park hotel overlooking Central Park posted a video on YouTube of the mattress of their $400-a-night room.
According to the New York Daily News, 176 hotels which are part of 272 member of the Hotel Association of New York City have been subject to bed bug reports.
Lisa Linden told the paper: ‘Bedbugs are a global issue that extend beyond hotels. Every member of the Hotel Association of NYC that we are aware of has an active anti-bedbug program in place. If a problem arises, it is dealt with immediately and effectively.’
Many reports of the bed bug website are anonymous.
A spokeswoman for the Marriott Marquis said: ‘We take all reports made by guests directly to the hotel very seriously. It is not possible to prevent bed bugs from entering a hotel, given the nature of how they are introduced (via guest luggage and/or clothing).
‘Proactive measures for bed bug presence should include routine inspection of guest rooms and proper training to identify the signs of a possible presence.
‘Marriott has the greatest concern and respect for every guest’s experience. We take hotel hygiene and cleanliness very seriously. As a result, Marriott has established very strict standards of cleanliness for all its hotels that either meet or exceed public health department regulations, including pest control.
‘In the unusual event we are made aware of a concern, we respond immediately to the situation and take the appropriate steps to remediate the problem.’
According to experts, there has been a major resurgence in bed bugs over the past two decades because the insects have become resistant to insecticides.
Louis Sorkin, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York said: ‘Bed bugs are now very widespread in most major cities around the world, and they have increasingly become resistant to insecticides, making them harder to control.’
The scientists identified genes responsible for their insecticide resistance, genes involved in mitigating the traumatic effects of their brand of copulation and anti-coagulant genes useful for an insect that makes blood its exclusive source of nutrients and water.
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