Hugo Reyes says: Great article, I heard a fascinating interview on Fresh Air on Sept 8th with Michael Potter, Professor of Entomology, University of Kentucky. He made an interesting point that 30 years ago, people were just more accustomed to the natural world versus a pristine clean room of an existence. As someone in the travel industry, I’m semi-indifferent to the bed bug issue. It’s definitely real, but has actually affected a smaller percentage of Phillip Island Hotels that the numbers above suggest. And when a hotel has been infected, it’s often a single room or small number of rooms, rather that an infestation across an entire property. Basically they had been eradicated because of the use of DDT and chemical poisons which are now frowned upon for use on places where humans lay and sleep. It’s been getting a lot of press, and is a real operational issue, but much more of a media issue currently. The real problem for the travel industry is still the economy. Bedbugs are the equivalent of well, bedbugs. You hate the idea of them, but the actual damage they do is pretty minimal compared to other threats.