A guest wakes up with unexplained bites and complains to your front desk. While you might wonder if the bites were from spending time outside, another question you should ask yourself is, could it be fleas? Florida’s hot and humid climate is the perfect breeding ground for fleas. This climate increases the risk of fleas within hotels and is something that every Florida hospitality manager needs to have a plan of action for. Commercial laundry is your first defense to help kill off fleas hidden in linens you might not otherwise see. Keep reading as we share our complete guide to the flea problems in Florida hotels and the best way to avoid this issue.
Why Florida Hotels Are Especially at Risk
The warm, humid climate in Florida works to accelerate the flea life cycle. Floridian business owners and pet owners find fleas an issue throughout the year due to the state’s warm temperatures and high humidity. This climate leads to quicker reproduction rates and shorter time between the flea stages, which include eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult fleas. For managers of Florida hotels, the high guest turnover increases exposure, especially for guests with pets, if they are allowed to stay there.
Florida is now a popular pet-friendly vacation destination, encouraging more people to travel with their pets, but increasing the risk of fleas entering your hotel. Hotel owners and managers need to stay alert all year round and work to avoid the risk of fleas within their hotels, as they can damage your hotel’s reputation and cause health concerns for guests. Preventative measures within your hotel can minimize the risk before it’s too late.
How Fleas Hide in Linens and Soft Surfaces
Bed sheets, pillowcases, mattress seams, towels, curtains, and upholstered furniture are common hiding spots for fleas. Flea eggs and larvae are microscopic and often undetectable by the human eye without close inspection or someone choosing to look out for them. This unknowing is why hotel guests and housekeeping teams usually don’t notice fleas until there are significant bites after sleeping in a bed or having close contact with linens.
Fleas can survive short periods on soft fabrics without a host, which is why this is such a concern for hotel owners. They are attracted to smooth and warm places, so linens and carpets are ideal hiding spots for fleas. Upholstery and seams have plenty of crevices for fleas to hide and burrow away. Your hotel room is like a playground for fleas looking for a cozy home. By educating your housekeeping team about these familiar hiding places, you can work to keep your hotel free from fleas in the future.
Signs of a Flea Problem in Hotel Rooms
Specific indicators in your hotel rooms or from guests may suggest that your hotel has a flea problem. Guest complaints of itchy bites, especially on their ankles and legs, are a strong indication that there may be a hygiene issue within your hotel rooms. When inspecting hotel bed sheets, you may notice flea droppings or small black specks. For hotels that allow pets, unusual pet scratching behavior and concerns from their owners are indicators of fleas. Guests and employees can visually notice adult fleas. If you notice any of these signs, it suggests that there is an issue that you need to gain control over as soon as possible before an infestation occurs throughout your hotel.
The Role of Professional Laundry Services in Flea Prevention
Working with a commercial laundry service offering professional laundering at high temperatures helps to eliminate flea eggs, larvae, and adults. Consistent linen turnover and strict laundry procedures within your hotel can help reduce infestation risk. Working with a professional laundry service in Florida will offer sanitization standards that exceed in-house hotel laundering capabilities while saving your team time and energy running an in-house laundry operation. As part of your laundry intake and when changing linen in rooms for new guests, ensure you have strict inspection protocols in place. This inspection will help identify possible pest issues early and stop pests or fleas from spreading between rooms.
Best Practices for Hotel Managers
As a hotel manager, one of the top tasks is ensuring your hotel meets health and safety expectations and always complies. We recommend that you schedule regular professional laundering of all guest linens and towels and create a schedule that supports your hotel’s operation. Deep-clean cycles should also include curtains, bedspreads, and removable upholstery, which many hotels overlook. It’s best to work with a laundry provider that offers pest-conscious protocols, and you should always ask about these when considering using a commercial laundry service. Train your housekeeping team to spot early signs of pests and escalate concerns by encouraging open communication at all times in your workplace.
How Nexa Laundry Supports Florida Hotels
Here at Nexa Laundry, we proudly support Florida hotel owners and hospitality managers with their laundry operations. We have years of experience servicing hotels in high-risk pest areas and understand the unique challenges faced in Florida due to the state’s climate. Our team offers a quick turnaround for busy hotels, and quality control is a key part of our process to ensure we meet and exceed sanitization standards for hotels. Suppose you do find that you have pest-related guest incidents within your hotel. In that case, we can also support you with emergency linen replacement so that the guest experience within your hotel isn’t impacted.
Do you need help with laundry in your Florida hotel? Our team understands Florida hotels’ challenges regarding pests and fleas and will be here to help. Contact Nexa Laundry today for more information about our professional laundry services or to discuss any questions about fleas and hotel linens.