Best Western Gets Serious About Cleanliness, Equips Housekeepers With…Black Lights?
- Posted on May 30, 2012 at 9:40pm by
Becket Adams
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In an effort to ensure their rooms are as clean as possible, Best Westerns across the country will be equipping their cleaning staff with black lights “to detect biological matter otherwise unseen by the human eye, and ultraviolet light wands to zap it,” USA TODAY reports.
Cleaning staff will even get disposable wraps to clean off television sets and remote controls.
Best Western is responding in part to a new study from Booz & Company that claims travelers are far more concerned with cleanliness than they are with customer service, style, and design.
“But it’s also reacting to the times, in which hotels and supermarkets place hand sanitizer in visible places for germ-obsessed customers,” Barbara DeLollis writes for USA TODAY.
Because of concerns over e-coli, norovirus, and bird flu, people are much more cautious about cleanliness says Ron Pohl, a Best Western vice president.
“It used to be that you walked into a guest room and saw a stain on carpet, you‘d think the room’s dirty,” Pohl says. “Today, guests don’t see any stains, but they still question how clean the room is.”
The hotel chain hopes to have its overhauled cleaning techniques in its 2,200 hotels in North America by the end of 2012. Today, about half the hotels have been updated, Pohl says.
“Best Western is ahead of the other hotel groups in its price range with its cleanliness approach,” says Bjorn Hanson, dean of New York University’s hospitality school, adding that “it can have an effect on market share.”
The program has already had a positive effect on customers, according to Best Western’s internal measures.
“For hotels already using the wands, Pohl says, guest satisfaction for cleanliness of the room rose by 12 [percent] and for the overall experience, by 13 [percent],” USA Today reports.
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Comments (35)
garbagecanlogic
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 8:16pmJust visited one in Carson, CA, they must have forgotten to give them the black light!! Course that was about a year after visiting one in western Nebraska where the numerous bugs would have eaten the light anyway.
Praise Be To Obama. Psalm 109:8
The U.S. Out Of The U.N.
Report Post »The U.N. Out Of The U.S
tharpdevenport
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 7:18pmJust imagine what the Oval Office looked like after B.J. Clinton left.
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 1:37pmkinky.
Report Post »tharpdevenport
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:55pmAs far as I am concerned, Best Western can do what ever it wants and I’m all for a cleaner room, but it does come with a price, and it is passed down to the consumer. And all that surface studying takes a little extra time, which means somebody could end up having to wait on a room a little longer.
I can tell you from experience here in my city, Panama City Beach, FL — I can’t speak for other cities — the hotels/condos don’t require that the top thick bed spread be washed, only the sheets, so there‘s no telling how long it has been since they’ve been washed, and what the last people to sue the room did on them.
And that applies to couch cusion covers, too.
Do yourself a favor and you get into a place on vacation, and pop that bed spread, and fluffy floor mats in the bathrooms, into the washer if there’s one in the room, and clean them. You’ll be glad you did, and unknown to the next guy, he’ll have something clean[er].
Report Post »alwayshappy
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:01pmAfter watching ‘Hotel Impossible’ I totally support all hotels and motels who strive for cleanliness! Hotel/Motel managers should see and know just what their maids, etc., are doing. I think they might be surprised!!!
Report Post »Bluebonnet
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 4:33pmToo many hotel & motel rooms are filthy (most we can’t see) We spent a couple of weeks at a RESIDENCE INN by Marriott that never felt clean. Someone came into our room and left the door ajar with the latch open and I know bugs came in. Two days later I killed a big cockroach. They denied that anyone left the door open, but I know we always check the doors, even when they latch automatically. We go to Dallas every year and I’ll never stay at Residence Inn again because of this incident. No offer of compensation at all.
Report Post »The corners were dust laden, dust on the sofa which had probably never been pulled out. For well over $100 a night, it was not very clean. I’ll look for a clean Best Western after this when I have to travel. We’ve all seen the stories about what they find in most rooms that only look clean. yikes.
Big Al
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:32amI will never enjoy staying in a hotel room ever again! Yuck!!!!
Report Post »CK1911
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 9:00amThis says it all for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKCS49wfdpE
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 8:45amI think this is a good idea. It reminds me of an episode of “My Name is Earl”.
Report Post »Earl and his brother live in a motel. While the housekeeper was cleaning their room and changing the bed, Earl asked her, “I know that you clean the room and change the sheets once a week, but I was wondering, how often do you change the bed spread?” The housekeeper replied, “Hell Earl, I don’t know! I’ve only worked here for a year!”
NASTY!!!…………….
ThePostman
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 7:55amThanks to the illegals, there is now a bedbug infestation all around the country. There is also fungal infections in many hotel rooms now, and those are very hard to beat once you get them.
The black light is rather silly – it’s really for people who think the hotel rooms are covered in semen (they are, but it is not infectious generally). The real danger that people are being exposed to is E Coli, MRSA, and fungi. These bugs are literally killing people, but they do not know where they got them from so there is no national call to fix this problem.
And if you think hotels are bad, wait till you see the infection numbers of people who go on cruise ships.
Report Post »MOLLYPITCHER
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 7:47amHotels/motels are gross. I’d rather camp out. I don’t care where I go as long as I can be in my own bed/sleeping bag at night.
Report Post »Bluebonnet
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 4:44pmSounds smart. I’d rather sleep a few hours in my car than stay in a filthy hotel. Believe me, even the high priced ones are just as filthy as some modest priced ones. I’ve known for years to never sleep with the filthy bed spread left on. And don’t sit on them, eek. After all the legionaires disease, and other horrid sicknesses on cruise ships, I’ve given that up too. Now they are sinking. Is there no end?
Report Post »The safest way is to pay the gas prices and drive a motor home and forget the filthy hotel/motels.
raderby
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 6:13amAnd, if not already, SEIU will unionize all room cleaners after the damaging class action suits from all the eye-damage the maids will get from UV exposure.
Report Post »Exiled
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 2:16amOh, this article comes from USA Today! Now it all makes sense! Can you hazard a guess at which hotel chain is one of the biggest subscribers to USA Today? A hotel chain the provides them to their guests every morning? Hm…
Report Post »Exiled
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 2:15amUm. Most hotels have been using these for 10+ years. Best Western is way BEHIND the times on this one.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 1:49amafter you get your motel room, overturn the whole comforter onto the floor and walk on that.. you would be horrified at the top of that coverlet under a black light… the sheets get changed, the coverlets don’t … .
Report Post »idarusskie
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 1:22amNotice that Motel 6 does not put carpet in their rooms any more. laminated flooring. easier to see if its clean or not.
Report Post »Matt
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:44amThe Blaze seems to be surprised that the Best Western IS equipping their housekeepers with black lights….but what concerns me is that they HAVE NOT been doing that for the last 50 years considering that that is the most effective method for discovering and cleaning leftovers from the recreational activity that is most often associated with hotels/motels.
Report Post »mrmarkjohnson
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 12:22amThe main things I care about in a hotel are quietness and cleanliness (in that order). Best Western is kind of in that inbetween price range. They’re always better than the Motel 6 type places, but aren’t close to the Hiltons. This makes BW a more attractive option. I hope The Blaze and USA TODAY are getting a kickback for the promotion.
Report Post »txannie
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 9:31amI stayed at the Hilton in Baltimore next to the inner harbor area….most horrifically dirty place I have ever been in with NO services worth a rats tail. That was the last time I stayed anywhere but my truck camper for vacation. Never again will I trust a place to keep it clean.
Report Post »Hmschlmom
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 11:09pmAfter having worked in healthcare facilities for many years, I can tell you one thing for certain…
DO NOT TOUCH THE BED SIDE RAILS OR CALL BELL/TV CONTROL IN ANY HOSPITAL OR NURSING HOME ROOM!!!
Housekeeping DOESN’T clean them! And if you knew what nursing HAS cleaned off of them (But nursing doesn’t sanitize) …you would vomit…
(Oh, and anything that falls on the floor? THROW AWAY!!!!) If it’s your pillow? DON’T USE IT AGAIN, until someone gets you a new pillowcase…
Trust me…
Report Post »Exiled
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 2:18amThen whatever facility you’re in sucks. I too have worked many years in healthcare’s “environmental services”, and the areas you mention get cleaned by us multiple times a day.
Report Post »ThePostman
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 7:52amYou are right Mom. People are contracting MRSA in hospitals in record numbers now and many people are dying BECAUSE they were in the hospital, not due to the original malady they had. This is a fact. The hospital is a virtual ongoing pandemic scene.
Report Post »Bluebonnet
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 4:47pmIn hotels, the first thing we do is wrap our TV control in a small plastic bag or the shower caps most places provide. For one thing, I can’t wash my hands often enough when I touch anything, and always wear slippers or shoes. Yep, I’ve heard too many stories about these places and wanna go home.
Report Post »freedomisasfreedomdoes
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:49pmThat is so awsome Best Western. Good idea
Report Post »rickc34
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:48pmWell it’s about time . Sleeping in the last persons filth that is left on the covers. They just change the sheets but not the blankets or shams at some of these hotels and motels. My son was a carpet cleaner that serviced some hotels and motels and watched what house keeping did and did not do. When he traveled he would use his sleeping bag .
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:11pmEvery intern‘s parents ought to have one to check out their daughter’s prom dress! Just imagine if the housekeepers at The White House had used such technology during Clinton’s presidency! The Chinese laundry down the street would have built an expansion! The REAL reson they need such a light, is that they probably have a situation where if housekeeping ‘thinks’ the room looks cleen, they consider it clean (without cleaning it)! I work for a company that REQUIRES that drivers sweep out each and every container at final pickup–but I NEVER see a driver get out of his truck with a broom in his hand! And, I think their vision isn’t all that good, because when I wave a broom around in one of their ‘pickups’, I have to beat a hasty exit in a fit of coughing and sneezing! This has been going on for years–and management won’t do anything about it–despite a line of people looking for jobs! If I were running the place, I‘d say ’If you’re not in your truck, you had better have a broom in your hand!’ And, if that didn’t make a difference, I’d simply have the offending employees pick up their (perhaps LAST) paycheck directly from the owner!
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:06pmIf you had a blacklight with you all the time you would faint from seeing all the germs. The sidewalks would glow, so would the inside of your home and car. New York City could probably do away with lights if the bacteria and superbugs really glowed….
Report Post »FreedomWitness
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:05pmBill Clinton just canceled his reservation!
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 9:53pmDon‘t go in Charlie Sheen’s room!
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:07pmWhat about Barney Frank? Oh my…
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 10:12pmBarney? Oh, yes, check his toothbrush!
Report Post »FreedomWitness
Posted on May 30, 2012 at 9:49pmThey better get one of those black light/zapper things over to the L.A. Coliseum. You know just to make sure that there aren‘t any ’stains’ left over from the porno that was filmed there, YUCK!
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