There is nothing quite like settling into a cozy and warm hotel room during the frigid cold of winter, unless, of course, that hotel room has bed bugs. Unfortunately, these days, encountering bed bugs within a hotel room is not necessarily uncommon, and neither are lawsuits filed by hotel visitors who find the insects in their rooms. As you can imagine, hotel owners do not like receiving complaints of this kind, but if there exists proof that the blood sucking insects are found in a room, there is little chance that a judge will rule in an owner’s favor. Recently, a Maryland couple found bed bugs in their New Mexico bedroom. Of course, the couple phoned the front desk in order to express their displeasure over the insect presence. The hotel manager who received the call did not appreciate hearing the bad news, so he decided to call the police on the disgruntled couple, and his reason for doing so remains poorly understood.
The couple, Helena Gray and Brian Blackmon, arrived at Santa Rosa La Quinta Inn a few days ago only to find bed bugs in their room. Considering that the room cost 180 dollars per night, the couple had been expecting a more hospitable environment. Several minutes after notifying the front desk of the insect presence, a hotel staff member, the hotel manager, the Santa Rosa Chief of Police and another officer knocked on the couple’s door. It seems that the manager had accused the couple of breaking hotel property. However, this claim did not stand up to evidence, as not only was their nothing broken in the room, but the couple even captured video footage of the creepy-crawly bloodsuckers. The manager then claimed that she made the call merely because the couple seemed mad over the phone, and she did not know what to do. Not surprisingly, the police left the hotel room without taking any action. It is also not surprising that both the hotel manager and the police refused to respond to news reporters concerning the situation. The couple eventually made it back home to Maryland presumably without, without bed bugs.
Do you think that hotel owners get a fair shake in court when they are sued over bed bugs found in their hotels?