The next hotel room you stay in may be “dirtier than a typical home, an airplane and even a school,” according to a recent study conducted by Travelmath, an online trip calculator service.
Travelmath sent a team of investigators to nine different hotels to gather 36 bacteria swabs for the study. It then compiled its results to determine “the germiest surfaces in hotel rooms” and other stats.
It may come as no surprise that the remote control and phone are two of the most germ-filled surfaces, however, it was also found that the bathroom counter and in-room desk also contained a lot of bacteria. In fact, the bathroom counter contained the most amount of total bacteria across all hotels.
Travelmath said it gathered samples from three-, four- and five-star hotels to see if overall quality equated to less germ-infested rooms. It was discovered that three-star hotel rooms contained the least amount of total bacteria, while four- and five-star hotels actually contained more in initial findings.
However, it should be noted that not all bacteria is harmful and that your best defense against dangerous bacteria is to regularly wash your hands while traveling (and maybe pack some wipes).
For more information and infographics related to the study, check out: http://www.travelmath.com/feature/hotel-hygiene-exposed/
