My fear of hotels started around the age of ten. I was the type of kid who would sit up watching episodes of 20/20 on Friday nights, scaring myself with all sorts of things; free-falling elevators, muggers, the whole nine yards. It just so happens that there was a 20/20 special on one night about shocking evidence found in hotels that question just how clean they really are. They showed an alarming amount of germs that were detected in "clean" hotel rooms using ultra-violet lights. The special also spoke on how there was an increasing number of bed bugs. I am not a germaphobe at all when it comes to anything else, but for some reason this really got to me.
Looking back on this now, I can see how completely ridiculous the whole initiation of the fear was. The intensity of my phobia has definitely improved, but I haven't been able to shake my paranoia completely when staying in hotels. Over the years, however, I have come up with several different methods that help me cope with my ridiculous paranoia. I wipe down things like the television remote control with anti-bacterial wipes. I also don't use things like the glasses that come in rooms and the top comforter on the beds, because it's been proven that these are the things that usually are missed, or aren't cleaned, on a regular basis. In the past, I wasn't able to use the sheets at all, bringing my own sheets to every hotel I stayed at; but in the past few years I've gotten a lot better, and if the hotel seems clean I will sleep in their sheets.
I have always been really impressed with Hampton Inns and Microtel Inns & Suites; I've never had a problem with either, and I've found them both to be very clean and well-kept. If anyone else has 'hoteliphobia' I would definitely recommend these. I wanted to close by saying that if anyone has a fear that might be keeping them from traveling, even if it is something silly, they shouldn't let it keep them from going where they want to.
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