MachineQ and Spotta are teaming up to offer an answer for hoteliers to detect bed bugs before they become problematic.
The formula is crucial, especially in light of the increasing prevalence of hotel bed bug infestations worldwide. Reports indicate that these infestations result in an annual cost of US$111,000 per brand for hotels in the United States. This cost encompasses expenses related to maintenance, treatment, lost revenue, and other associated costs. However, the figure does not factor in an outbreak’s effect on a brand’s reputation, which could further increase the overall cost to the hotel.
The solution works by discreetly installing Spotta’s wireless Bed Pod sensors underneath mattresses. The traps use pheromones with no discernible odour to lure bugs in. If one is detected, it activates a camera using Spotta’s AI detection system to analyse the photo and validate that a bed bug is inside the trap. Upon detection, the image is sent with the exact time and location to the cloud using MachineQ’s network.
Real-time alerts with the information captured are sent to hotel employees, allowing them to act fast and remediate before the situation becomes widespread, further disrupting hotel operations, and potentially causing irreparable harm to a brand’s reputation.
“Our 24/7 monitoring solution provides hoteliers peace of mind by detecting bed bugs quickly, enabling swift action to help reduce damage and guest impact,” said Robert Fryers, a CEO at Spotta. “We’re excited to partner with MachineQ to offer an innovative solution for hoteliers – leveraging their established IoT network connectivity platform – in the U.S. amidst a persistent bed bug issue.”
“We are proud to continue offering unique and scalable IoT solutions with partners like Spotta to expand our platform’s value to customers in hospitality,” said Bryan Witkowski, a head of product and strategy at MachineQ. “Our clients can start with bed bug monitoring and add other use cases to help manage risk, such as water leak detection and staff duress, using the same network infrastructure for a low total cost of ownership and fast deployment.”
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