Mr. Meek

Security & Safety

Hotel Amenities or Enemies? - Guest Attractions May Attract Unwanted Guests

By Frank Meek, International Technical & Training Director, Orkin, LLC

Beyond checking the availability of a room during their travel window, guests may also check the availability of amenities before they book with you. Business travelers want the comforts of home, and vacationers want all the extras home doesn’t offer. To cater to the varying wishes of guests, hotels and resorts continue to add to the list of convenient, value-added services and amenities offered, from fitness centers to business centers, food service to laundry service. Guests expect to have everything they could want or need within the confines of the hotel. These amenities add up to guest satisfaction but may also be the perfect invitation for pests.

With an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy, a pest management provider can identify areas that offer what pests are looking for – food, water and shelter with good, proper ambient temperatures – and implement preventive practices that help keep pests out. The focus of an IPM program is a proactive, preventive approach that relies on targeted chemical treatments only as a last resort. IPM’s limited use of chemical treatments also makes it a more sustainable solution to pest management, which scores another amenity point with guests. A strong IPM strategy and partnership with your pest management provider will help you maintain the amenities that garner four-star reviews and keep your hotel a hot spot for your guests – not pests.

Following are common hotel amenities that rate highly with pests and tips on how to stop them before they get comfortable.

Swimming Pool

The swimming pool, a haven of relaxation for guests, can also be attractive to flies, mosquitoes and stinging insects seeking a moist environment and readily available food and water sources. To keep these pests from making a splash, keep the pool area clear of puddles and other standing water by using a squeegee on the deck after rain showers. Empty or dispose of containers that have gathered rainwater or other residual moisture which can attract mosquitoes.

Trailing vines and flowering bushes in the landscaping around the pool deck not only attract pests with the sweet smell of nectar, their foliage can also provide convenient harborage. Vines and greenery can also become “bridges”by which insects can crawl over treated areas to gain entry into your establishment. Work with your landscape manager and pest management provider to develop landscape plans that deny pests the cover and entry points they seek. Install sodium vapor bulbs or yellow bulbs in outdoor lights to fend off mosquitoes surrounding the pool and clubhouse. Unlike mercury vapor or incandescent lights, these bulbs do not provide as much attraction for mosquitoes and other flying insects.

Poolside snacks can fortify more than just the recreational swimmer. Food debris and drink spills – particularly sugary sodas and juices – are a poolside buffet for many pests. Provide ample trash receptacles and keep them covered to stop flying insects from gathering around them. Empty trash cans regularly to prevent garbage overflow.

Fitness Center

Your workout facility may work out for more than your health-conscious hotel guests. As a warm moist environment, the fitness center may draw cockroaches and rodents. The fitness center has a number of water sources including excess moisture around water coolers and vending machines, lap pools, heated whirlpools and the sauna. Regularly inspect these areas to repair leaks and mop up liquid gathering under machines and equipment. Pests need water to survive. Many are able to survive on relatively small amounts of water. Seal cracks in the tiles around pools and the sauna doors to contain moisture.

Regularly remove towels from locker rooms and send them to laundry since body odor may attract some pests. Your pest management provider can offer other tips that exercise prevention in the fitness center.

Hotel Lounge

Guests may relish the opportunity for a night cap, but the hotel bar can also be a hot spot for more than just a late-night rendezvous between friends. With abundant moisture and food sources, sanitation in this area is crucial. Sticky residue from drink spills and tidbits of bar peanuts can prove an ample late night snack for wandering pests. Many pest management providers offer staff training on the cleaning practices that will make your foodservice areas inhospitable to pests.

After closing the last tab, be sure to remove all food items from the bar, including accoutrements for drinks like fruit slices and olives. Place leftovers in airtight containers and store accordingly. Keep equipment like ice machines, refrigerators and beverage dispensers in working order to prevent leaks or excess condensation from becoming a source of water for pests.

When stocking the bar area, be sure to break down and dispose of the cardboard boxes in which liquor is delivered. Cockroaches can hide in the corrugated cardboard and even survive on the glue that holds boxes together.

Continental Breakfast

The convenience of a “grab-and-go” breakfast is attractive to guests in town for business or on their way out to a day of sightseeing. It’s also a dine-and-dash option for a number of pests like cockroaches, ants and rodents. It isn’t difficult to please the palates of these guests, so food debris and even garbage from this area can be enough to tempt them out of hiding. Continuously monitor the area when in use to clean up dropped items and spills. In addition to not being choosy, pests don’t need a loaded plate to be sustained – a few crumbs will do.

Adhere to the posted breakfast hours and remove food items at the conclusion. Leaving food out, especially unattended, is an invitation for pests to come and get their share. Anything made readily available to guests should be in an individually wrapped and sealed package. Regularly remove trash to prevent food odors from proliferating, and vacuum after the breakfast hours end to clean up any remaining debris.

Room Service

Cockroaches, flies, rodents and stored-product pests like to eat the same foods that humans eat, so hotel restaurants and room-service kitchens offer a tasty menu. Far from needing the filet mignon, grease runoff and food debris will also serve as more-than-adequate food sources. In fact, some small flies will breed in drains, in the organic waste that collects there. Another vulnerability: pests can easily arrive at the hotel on incoming shipments of food products, making the kitchen a pest’s introduction into the rest of the hotel.

In the kitchen, keep food in tightly sealed containers and store items off the floor on open-backed shelves. Maintain an 18-inch barrier between food supplies and the wall as well as the floor to keep rodents from crawling inside them in search of a meal. Remove floor drain covers and scrub the drains on a regular basis with an organic cleaner to remove any food debris. Remove waste and corrugated packaging from food shipments, since roaches often hide inside. Conduct a bi-annual “deep cleaning” of your kitchen to eliminate the grimy buildup on appliances and equipment that is tough to remove through regular cleanings.

Also, make sure to thoroughly and routinely clean the carts used to transport food items to rooms and carry the remnants of room service away afterwards. Wipe down the flat services as well as the sides, legs and wheels of the cart. It doesn’t take long for food residue to build up enough to be attractive to pests.

Conclusion

Whether they are traveling for business or pleasure, you want your guests to experience comfort and convenience during their stay at your hotel. You aim to have amenities that seem effortless yet impeccable. Pest presence undoubtedly diminishes your efforts and has a significant negative impact on guests’ reviews of your hotel. With a strategically designed IPM program, you can work with your pest management provider to make what is so attractive to your guests unattractive to pests.

An industry veteran, Frank Meek has been with Orkin since 1986. In 2003, he was named among the future leaders of the pest management industry in Pest Control Technology magazine’s “40 Under 40” ranking. Currently, as the International Technical and Training Director, Mr. Meek provides technical support and training in both sales and service to Orkin's international franchises, helping them grow and develop in their specific markets. As a board-certified entomologist, Mr. Meek teaches Integrated Pest Management principles and can explain how to use all available methodologies to prevent pest infestations in various commercial settings. Mr. Meek can be contacted at 404-888-2898 or fmeek@rollinscorp.com Extended Bio...

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