u/MaxiePriest

I've used 3rd-party hotel booking sites (PL) quite a few times to book hotel stays. Overall, I'm fairly certain that I have found lower prices...to a point

When comparing 3rd-party sites, I've noticed that all hotel rates are about the same (within a few $). When searching a hotel's website, prices are definitely higher than on booking sites.

However... the site I use the most (PL) keeps me logged in to their site, and when I consider extending my hotel stay or booking another, I see higher rates than when I log out and search for the same hotel and dates.

Instead of rewarding a valued customer (me) with special discounts, a free night, or a thank-you bonus, they seem to be rewarding new customers who have never booked with them. The rates are substantially lower when I am not logged in.

Is it true that 3rd-party booking sites are more concerned with gaining new customers (by offering lower rates, presumably to lure them in), but once one has booked several times, hotel rates start rising...?!

Has anyone else noticed the same thing?

I have tried the top two sites (bedbugreprts and bedbugregstry), but neither appears to be operational. Maybe they were (over 20+ years ago), but both seem to be unmonitored; there are no replies to email help requests, and searching the sites for previous BB reports (for specific addresses, hotels, etc.) takes the user nowhere slow.

This is really bugging me!

I booked a hotel for an extended stay (three weeks) because I had work done in my home. My stay has been problematic: I became very sick (originally thinking I had the flu). I smelled mold, but it took a few days to see evidence of what was really going on.

About a week in, a water leak appeared from the ceiling (which created a gooey brown/orange mold from the crown molding to the floor), and a constant stream of water was dripping onto the bedside table (and everywhere else). All of this had to be happening to begin with, but it wasn't obvious since the leak (and the mold) hadn't revealed itself yet.

I became extremely sick due to mold and spore allergies (runny eyes, persistent cough, wheezing, nasal congestion, etc.) By the 6th day, I had completely lost my voice. I requested a room change and went through several rooms with either a similar mold smell, non-working AC units, or other weirdness.

I was finally relocated to another room that seemed fine (no apparent mold, leaks, smells), and the AC worked. I woke up the following morning with BB bites on my wrist, hand, shins, and ankles. This hotel allows pets, but these were not flea (or even tick) bites...these were BB bites.

I was/am horrified. I spent over $3k for a couple of weeks at a Best Western Plus hotel, and the result was extreme mold allergy symptoms and illness (and BB bites). I'm livid.

So, livid, that I sat down to type reviews for the hotel on travel sites, travel booking sites, Yelp-type sites, PissdConsumer-type sites, and any/all official bedbug reporting websites I could find. But there doesn't appear to be any (official or unofficial) bedbug reporting websites. The ones that are there are useless.

Where, exactly, are the people who have been affected by bedbugs (hotel, hostel, Airbnb, rental unit, or similar) supposed to report this?

I get that hotels will likely do their best to hide or remove bedbug reports and complaints, but there still has to be a way for the general public to document bedbug infestations so that other (unsuspecting) travelers can see the reports before booking a hotel.

This is a creepy subject. Just looking at the bites gives me the heebie-jeebies. I'm freaked out by the elaborate steps a traveler has to take (according to the EPA) to bring their luggage and belongings back home (nothing can be brought inside, everything has to be sprayed with insecticide, extreme heat must be applied, vacuuming...). The only alternative is to discard everything.

I'm just furious right now. Where can I report this?

PS

I did report all of the above to the LA County Environmental Health Department and filed a formal complaint against the hotel. The Inspector said they will conduct a thorough investigation of the entire property, and the hotel will be notified that the rooms in question are not to be occupied per their investigation. But it is not their policy to disclose their findings to the complainant, so I won't be privy to anything else. Hopefully, the inspection will trigger action on the part of the hotel, but who knows.