CALGARY -- An Edmonton man who suffered bed bug bites during a visit to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in May 2019 will be compensated for his lost income and psychological treatment.
In a decision announced March 12, Justice S.L. Corbett ruled against the hotel operators and awarded Edmonton lawyer Omar Abdulhak a total of $23,875 in damages.
Abdulhak stayed at the Lake Louise hotel for three nights in early May 2019 for a conference. He says he awoke after the first night to discover numerous spots that itched on his stomach, chest, neck and face. At the time, the hotel guest did not know the cause of the spots and the pain, which felt like mosquito bites, increased throughout his stay.
After returning to Edmonton, Abdulhak notified the hotel of his concerns regarding a bed bug issue. A hotel official returned the call, stating an inspection of the room had been completed by Ecolab, a company the hotel has on retainer, and a bed bug inspection report was negative. The hotel offered to heat treat and dry-clean his belongings as a gesture of goodwill.
Due to the negative inspection, the room remained in service. Six separate hotel stays took place in the room in the two weeks that followed Abdulhak's departure.
A visit to his family doctor confirmed the marks on Abdulhak's body were bed bug bites.
In court, a representative of Chateau Lake Louise confirmed that bed bugs are a reality of the hospitality industry and that there had been bed bug activity in the past in hotel guest rooms and staff residences. He added that employees are trained on a corporate standard operating procedure to deal with bed bugs.
The room attendant who cleaned the room ahead of Abdulhak's stay had no recollection of cleaning that specific room and her description of her training for the position made no mention a bed bug standard operation procedure. Following the attendant's cleaning of the room, an inspection was completed by another staff member.
In their decision, the justice determined the hotel breached the standard of care by failing to provide appropriate instructions to its employees for identifying signs of bed bug activity. The hotel's conduct was considered negligent and created an unreasonable risk of harm.
Abdulhak's awarded compensation includes $15,000 for general damages and $8,475 for total loss of income in the weeks after his hotel stay as well as time he took off in September 2019 after receiving treatment for psychological symptoms.
