Antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in tested hotel rooms

In the most comprehensive testing of hotel cleanliness in Canadian history, CBC Marketplace uncovered some disturbing findings. In a test of 54 hotels across six major hotel chains, every hotel contained some form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Specifically, the findings of C. difficile and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were extremely alarming. C. difficile and MRSA are not rare bugs, with an estimated 5% of the population carrying MRSA without showing symptoms. However, these super bugs can pose a great threat to those with weakened immune systems.

Marketplace’s test found the worst bacterial hot spots in hotel rooms to be: bed comforters, bathroom faucets, and TV remotes. It also recorded hidden camera footage of maids using cleaning techniques that would actually help spread bacteria.

If you think about lack of sanitation and the sheer volume of people coming and going in hotels, these bacterial contaminations aren’t all that surprising. When you start finding these antibiotic-resistant bacteria, then you start realizing that this is a real issue that needs to be addressed.

As scary as these findings might be for consumers, this study brings light to the matter of hotel cleanliness. It is clear that cleaning practices in hotels need to be drastically ratified. This study has already driven some of the studied hotel chains to re-train and update cleaning procedures and protocols. Let’s hope that studies like this one continue to address the issue and force hotels to examine their cleaning standards and ratify them if need be.