As of: January 25, 2024, 6:48 a.m
By: Julia Volkenand
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An NDR test reveals: The cleanliness in northern German hotels leaves a lot to be desired.
From hair in the bed to stained sheets, the results are shocking.
Hamburg - Hotels often present their rooms in immaculate condition on their websites, in catalogs and on social media platforms.
The rooms are perfectly clean, with crisp white sheets and elegant bathrooms stocked with carefully ironed towels.
Pictures like these immediately make you long for a vacation.
However, this ideal does not always correspond to reality and the dream vacation can quickly turn into a nightmare, as a test by NDR in northern German hotels shows.
Together with TÜV hotel tester Olaf Seiche, the broadcaster checked the hygiene standards in the hotel chains “Best Western”, “Ibis Budget”, “Maritim” and “Motel One”.
Particular attention was paid to the hotel bed, where ideally you wouldn't want to find anything other than a praline as a bedtime treat.
Dirty secrets: Hotel chains fail hygiene tests
Things become unpleasant as soon as you arrive at the Ibis Budget City Süd in Lübeck.
Seiche discovers a lot of hair on the bathroom door and discoloration and dirt in the toilet that would not even be tolerated in a train station toilet.
The bedside tables and bed frame are stained.
“They really have a hygiene problem here,” was the expert’s verdict.
At first glance the bed doesn't seem dramatic, only a few black lint can be seen.
But the lint roller test reveals: There are also several black hairs in the bed.
The blanket under the cover shows several yellow discolorations - according to Seiche, probably "some body fluids where the blanket has not been cleaned properly." A small ray of hope: the mattress is provided with a protective cover.
Several hotel chains were unable to score points in the NDR hygiene test.
© Screenshots (collage)
Things then get serious when it comes to ATP measurement, which detects biological residues on substances.
The value of a mattress protector is an incredible 30 times higher than that of a brand new sheet, and 152 times higher for a pillow.
Professor Johannes Knobloch from the Institute of Microbiology at the University of Hamburg explains what an increased ATP value means: “That means that some biological contamination can be found.”
Similar conditions can be found at the Best Western Hamburg International.
When you enter the room you immediately notice burn holes in the carpet.
A look at the bed reveals a lot of hair, obviously from different people.
The blanket and mattress are also stained.
The ATP measurement is relatively inconspicuous, but the huge spots on the sleeping area are hard to miss.
“It’s just a mess,” complains Seiche.
And what does Best Western say about it?
The hotels are run individually and entrepreneurially, but they want to check the quality in Hamburg.
Hair and stains in the bed – hygiene tests in hotels leave you speechless
The Maritimhotel Bellevue in Kiel performed somewhat less devastatingly in the test comparison.
The decorative scarf on the bed is very stained and a ketchup bag was not completely disposed of when cleaning the room, but otherwise there is not that much to complain about in comparison.
Pillows and sheets are clean, but the duvet is not.
However, the ATP value is hygienically harmless.
Conclusion: Pretty good.
The company itself wants to closely examine the room check procedures and raise awareness among staff.
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At the Motel One in Hamburg, the NDR team immediately discovered stains on the lamp, decorative pillows and bedside table.
Particularly worrying: The decorative pillows have the highest ATP value in the entire test and then end up directly on the pillow.
There is also a lot of hair in the bed.
“No hotel chain can actually afford such defects,” says the expert angrily.
Motel One and Ibis Budget have not commented on the NDR team's allegations.
Hotel rooms under the microscope: hygiene deficiencies in hotels uncovered
Biological tests in the laboratory show: Although there was bacterial contamination in the beds in the hotels, it was exclusively skin flora or classic environmental flora, assures Prof. Knobloch.
He doesn't see any health risk here.
But it's not just beds that can become a hygiene trap.
A hotel expert reports to Stern that she is particularly disgusted by the remote control and never touches it.
A study in the USA also showed that many hotels do not change glasses.
How important is hygiene in the hotel room actually?
In addition to the obvious disgust and feel-good factor, poor hygiene can, in extreme cases, pose a health risk.
Mold and pathogens can form or multiply.
The lecturer in clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester warns on
theconversation.com
about the largest sources of germs in the hotel room: The drinking glass in the bathroom should be rinsed before use and the remote control should be disinfected after touching textiles such as armchairs or curtains , you should wash your hands.
These are notoriously difficult to clean.
The expert continues: “The risk of infection lies in the invisible microbiology.”
These cannot be sniffed out or seen with the naked eye.
Fortunately, the northern German hotel chains seem to have passed the test, at least in this respect.
What remains is above all the disgust factor.
This article was created using machine assistance and was carefully checked by the editor before publication.