On my homepage today on Yahoo, is a very interesting story on hotels having major problems with bedbugs. Some of the hotels are major chains.

One of the nicer hotels here in the city on Central Park was sued and settled the suit quietly.

I had no idea it was such a problem, but now will certainly look, before I leap (into bed that is).

I have never had a problem in all the years I have been traveling but wondered if any one here had "experience" with this.

Don't know for sure,but think I've been bedbugged! dh and I spent the night in chain motel in Mt. Pleasant, Tx and woke up the next morning with welts from bites. dh was especially allergic and his even left scars. We've been bit by most insects you can imagine and never had a skin reaction like this!

Sorry this should have read Bedbugs. My dyslexia kicked in there, I guess.

I had that happen to me at a four star well known hotel - it was awful. Needless to say, we got reimbursed our hotel and free meals.

It happened to me in Juneau AK. I felt a crawling sensation on me and took my blanket and went to the lobby and slept on a couch. The next morning I had lines of red welts on me. Another guest ended up sleeping in the lobby with the same problem.

This brings back memories! 17 years ago hubby and I honeymooned in Ixtapa, Mexico. When we got to the hotel, we found out that the rooms with King beds were under renovation.

We were given a room with twin beds that couldn't be pushed together due to a stone table built into the stone floor separating the beds! After the first night (in our separate beds) we were both like, did you feel something tingly all over you last night? You did? Me too!

Ok, I'll bite...

What do bed bugs look like? What should I look for prior to leaping into a strange bed?

Dear placeu2
after we were bitten, we did a little research and, sadly, I don't think the little buggers (sorry, had to add that) are easy to spot. They're tiny and tend to hide in the daytime so you don't really know they are around until you wake up, bitten! They tend to be light colored, sort of ant-like, if I can remember what the pictures I've seen of them look like.

One story from Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06586387.htm

"Oval-shaped and less than a quarter of an inch long, the brown-colored insects like to settle close to their food source, often hiding out under mattresses and bed frames, in crevices and behind picture frames." and "They can go months without feeding, patiently awaiting a new host or travel companion."

"Unlike mosquitoes, which can transmit malaria, yellow fever and West Nile virus, bed bugs have not been linked to anything more serious than the itchy, red welts that often appear on a victim's skin."

Article goes on to tell that with less use of very powerful general use insecticides in favor of "targeted" chemicals, bedbugs have proliferated, and because they often arrive and depart the hotel in guest luggage as well on on-person that ANY hotel could get them.

Damn, I'm getty itchy!!