Protecting your cleanliness score and your guest reviews
Cleanliness is the most read and most graded criterion in accommodation: one visible insect outweighs ten details done right.
Cleanliness is the most read and most graded criterion in accommodation: one visible insect outweighs ten details done right.
Cleanliness is scored separately on booking platforms and is among the strongest drivers of conversion. A pest report does not knock a rating down a notch: it produces a low-scoring review carrying a keyword — "cockroaches", "bed bugs" — that future guests actively search for in the comments. The defence is twofold: cut the probability of the incident with a preventive system, and know how to answer publicly, factually and with dates, when it happens.
Travellers do not read reviews evenly: many filter straight to the negative ones and look for specific words. A single review mentioning bed bugs can therefore weigh more heavily on the decision than the property's headline average.
The effect lasts. Unlike a noise or wifi complaint, an infestation is perceived as a personal risk — bites, contaminated luggage, the problem travelling home with them. The reader does not ask whether it is likely, only whether it is possible.
Finally, the cleanliness score feeds the property's ranking in search results. A sustained drop costs you not only the guests who read the review, but everyone who will no longer see the property high enough to read it.
The preventive system first: periodic detection, a baiting plan and inspection of high-turnover rooms sharply reduce the chance of a guest being the first to see anything. It is the only measure that acts on the cause.
Then staff training. A housekeeper or receptionist who can recognise a bed bug trace or a cockroach dropping saves weeks. We train your teams when the contract is set up, and again after any significant turnover of staff.
Finally, the public reply. Answering a pest review factually — pest identified, company on site on such a date, treatment carried out, follow-up confirmed, measures added — turns an alarm signal into evidence of seriousness for the next reader. That assumes you have the dates and reports, and therefore a traceable system.
Yes, every time, and without arguing. A short, factual, dated reply setting out the treatment carried out and the follow-up performed is read by every future guest. Saying nothing leaves the accusation alone on the screen.
Only if it breaches the platform's rules — for instance if it is demonstrably false, abusive, or posted by someone who never stayed. A review describing a real experience is not removed, however well you responded.
It is not something to display in the lobby, but it is decisive in two situations: answering a guest who raises a concern before booking, and dealing with a platform or partner chain asking for guarantees after a report.
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AntinuisiblePro (BTPNE) is an independent pest control company. Booking.com is a registered trademark of Booking.com B.V.; we are not affiliated with, partnered with or endorsed by that company. These pages are written for properties that use the platform.
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8 Bis Rue de la Côte d'Or, 94500 Champigny-sur-Marne, France
Monday to Sunday, 8am–8pm
We carry out a full building survey and provide a costed management plan matched to your size and to your food service activity.
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