Found bed bugs in your hotel room? How to photograph them and what to keep for a refund or complaint
Updated · 5 min read
If you find bed bugs in a hotel room, photograph and film them before you do anything else: a wide shot of the bed and room, close-ups of the bugs, shed skins and dark spots on the mattress seams, the room number on the door, and your own bites. Then tell the front desk, ask for it in writing, keep your bags closed, and keep every receipt.
Do the evidence quickly but calmly: live bugs move and a changed room is gone for good. A photo will not decide a refund or a claim, because that depends on the hotel's policy, the booking terms and local consumer rules, but clear, dated pictures make your message much easier to act on. This is general advice, not legal or medical advice; for bites that worry you, see a doctor, and for a large claim, ask a professional in your country.
What should I do first?
Stop unpacking. Keep your bags closed and off the bed and the carpet, ideally on a hard surface such as the bathroom floor or the luggage rack pulled away from the wall, while you take your pictures.
Then photograph before you call anyone. Staff may arrive and strip the bed or spray the room, and the evidence of what you found changes as soon as they do.
What should I photograph?
1. The room number on the door, then the whole room from the doorway, so anyone can tell which room it was.
2. The bed from a few steps back, with the bedding in place, then with the sheet turned back.
3. Close-ups of what you found: live bugs, shed skins, tiny white eggs, and small dark spots (droppings or blood) along the mattress seams, the piping, the headboard and the bed frame. Put a coin or a ruler beside it so the size is clear.
4. Use a torch from the side: the light of a second phone shows small things in seams that a flat photo hides.
5. Any bugs that crawl away: film a few seconds of them moving, with the bed or the wall in the frame.
6. Your bites, close up and from a little further away, with something in the frame that shows which part of the body it is. Take them again the next day, because marks change.
What should I film instead?
Video is better than a photo for anything that moves. Film slowly along a mattress seam, then lift a corner of the mattress and film the underside. Say out loud the room number and what you are looking at; the voice helps tie the clip to the place.
What should I do about my belongings?
Look at your bags and clothes too, and photograph anything with bugs or spots on it. Many pest-control services advise keeping luggage zipped and putting clothes in sealed bags until they can be washed or dried on high heat, so ask a local pest-control service for advice. Photograph any items that are damaged or that you throw away, and keep what a laundry or cleaning service charges you.
How do I report it to the hotel?
Tell the front desk straight away, in person, and then put it in writing in a message or email you can keep, with the pictures attached: the room number, the date and time you found it and what you saw. Ask to be moved to a room that is not next to or above or below the affected one, or for a refund, and ask for the hotel to confirm in writing what it will do.
Stay factual and polite. State what you found and what you are asking for; you do not need to say who is to blame.
What should I keep with the pictures?
- The booking confirmation, the check-in receipt and the room key card or number.
- Messages and emails with the hotel and the booking site, including anything the staff promised.
- Receipts for anything you pay because of it: another room, laundry, a pest-control product, transport.
- A note from a doctor if you see one about the bites.
- The date and time you noticed it and the date and time you told the hotel.
How do I show when the photos were made?
The iPhone Camera saves the date and time inside each photo, and the coordinates if Location Services is on for the Camera. A chat app or an email often removes that data, so the hotel or a booking site may see only the picture. Keep the full-size originals and do not edit them.
Check that your phone's date and time are set automatically. A date printed on the image itself stays visible wherever the picture goes.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I document bed bugs in a hotel room?
- Photograph the room number, the whole room and bed, then close-ups of bugs, shed skins and dark spots in the mattress seams with a coin or ruler beside them, film anything moving, and photograph your bites. Then report it in writing.
- Should I take photos before I tell the hotel?
- Yes. Staff may remove the bedding or treat the room, which changes what you can show. Take your pictures first, then tell the front desk straight away and follow up in writing.
- Can I get a refund for bed bugs in a hotel?
- It depends on the hotel's policy, your booking terms and local consumer rules. Clear pictures, the room number, the time you reported it and your receipts make the request easier to assess, but they do not guarantee a refund.
- Should I unpack my luggage?
- No. Keep bags closed and away from the bed and carpet until you have moved to another room or left, and ask a pest-control service how to treat your clothes.
- What else should I keep besides photos?
- The booking confirmation, messages with the hotel or booking site, receipts for extra costs, a note from a doctor if you see one, and the dates and times you found it and reported it.