Pests Like Bed Bugs Rank Ahead of Cleanliness, Staff and Value as Travellers' #1 Hotel Booking Concern, Phocuswright Research Confirms

• Around 4 in 5 travellers across UK & France rank a guaranteed bed bug–safe room as their #1 hotel necessity; above non-smoking rooms, Wi-Fi and air conditioning

• Pests like bed bugs outrank linen cleanliness, value for money and staff friendliness as the single biggest concern at time of booking, in every market surveyed

• 79-84% of travellers across the US, UK and France would choose a certified 4-star hotel over an uncertified 5-star at the same price; 7 in 10 say they will pay more for a guaranteed safe stay

Hospitality is entering a new phase in how travellers choose hotels. New research from Phocuswright finds that pests like bed bugs now rank as the #1 hotel booking concern; outranking cleanliness and staff friendliness in every market surveyed.

1,082 leisure and business travellers across the United States, United Kingdom and France were surveyed in the report. The data shows pests like bed bugs ranking as the #1 concern at the time of booking, ahead of cleanliness, value and staff friendliness, in every market surveyed. 57% of US travellers, 55% in France and 53% in the UK rated pests such as bed bugs as an “extreme concern” when booking; ahead of every other attribute tested in every market.

The findings also reveal a "silence gap" between how guests behave and what hotels ever hear. Around 70% of US travellers and roughly half of travellers in the UK and France take precautions against bed bugs both during and after their stay, such as inspecting the bed on arrival and washing clothes in high heat after returning home. Yet very few raise the issue directly with the hotel, despite half saying they would avoid a property with a recent bed bug review.

Silence never removed the demand. It just made it invisible – to the hotel, to the booking platform, and to anyone without the data to see it

When safety becomes visible, booking behaviour changes. Across the US, UK and France, 79-84% of respondents say they would choose a 4-star hotel with continuous, visible, independent bed bug safety certification over an uncertified 5-star at the same price, and 71-82% would pick a lower-rated certified hotel over a higher-rated uncertified one.

The category is decisive even when it comes to well known brands too with 72-78% saying they are more likely to try an unfamiliar brand if it holds certification, and 78-84% more likely to return to a property that carries it. 7 in 10 will pay more to stay at one too. Among room necessities, a guaranteed bed bug-safe room ranked highest in France, with 81% of travellers considering it essential – ahead of established standards such as non-smoking rooms (65%), Wi-Fi (61%) and air conditioning (50%).  

Hotels stayed silent because they had no structural answer. Guests stayed silent too – but changed how they book

Our industry has seen this before. Every decade, hospitality discovers a guest concern it had been quietly mispricing. Smoking in the 1990s. Wi-Fi in the 2000s. Sustainability in the 2010s. Each began as a back-office issue before becoming a bookable attribute, an industry standard. Bed bug safety is next

Martim Gois, Co-Founder and CEO of Valpas

For decades, hotels stayed silent about bed bugs—and that was rational. Why talk about something you couldn't structurally solve? Guests learned to stay silent too. Phocuswright research shows they were never passive. They read reviews, inspect their rooms and take precautions when they get home. They just rarely tell the hotel. The demand was always there—it was invisible because there was no way to meet it.

Now there is. And the data says the opposite of what the industry feared: verified safety doesn't draw attention to a problem, it shapes choice, willingness to pay and loyalty.”

The category is being set

Hospitality has seen this pattern before. Non-smoking rooms, Wi-Fi and sustainability all began as operational issues before becoming visible booking attributes. Now the Phocuswright findings show travelers change which hotels they choose, what they're willing to pay and where their loyalty goes when visible bed bug safety proof is available.

Marriott International, ARP-Hansen, Cabinn and Michelin recognised properties are among the already Valpas-certified across 30,000+ rooms in 25 countries. The certification methodology is independently verified by Bureau Veritas on the same audit-grade footing as fire safety or water quality and recognised by the GSTC and WSHA. Hotels carrying the certification have reported an up to 30% lift in direct booking conversions, according to analysis by Valpas. With live availability in ChatGPT and across 1,000+ B2B travel platforms, the attribute is now surfacing at every point of the European booking journey.

Key statistics for reference:

• Pests such as bed bugs rank as the #1 hotel booking concern, ahead of cleanliness and staff friendliness

• When visible certification is available, travellers would choose it over star rating, brand loyalty, location and user ratings

• 79-84% of travellers would book a certified 4-star hotel over an uncertified 5-star at the same price

• Roughly 80% would pay more for visible, continuous, independent certification (typical premium 3-5% of ADR)

• 67-73% would choose a certified hotel over a usually-loyal but uncertified brand

• Roughly half of travellers (53% in the US, 51% in the UK and 52% in France) say they would not book a hotel that had even a single recent review mentioning bed bugs.

• Valpas estimates €9.5bn (£8.2bn) three-market revenue opportunity if certification were priced into ADR; €2bn to €5bn (£1.7bn–£4bn) currently lost annually to incidents and review-driven demand suppression

• Up to 30% of US travellers (15% UK/France) now use AI tools to research a hotel's Bed bug  reputation before booking

Media Contact

Craig Mc Hugh

PR & Public Policy Manager [email protected]