In an effort to set up their cleaning, housekeeping crews at Best Western will soon be utilizing black lights to detect biological matter and ultraviolet light wants to kill it. The hotel will also start providing disposable wraps on television remote controls.

The push for increased cleanliness came at the insistence of travelers, say USA Today reports. Research showed that travelers actually prefer hotel cleanliness over customer services, style and design. But, researches predict that the push for cleanliness has something to do with germ-obsessed customers that are accustomed to hand sanitizer ready and available in many public spaces.

With increased awareness of bacteria and flu epidemics such as bird and swine flu, travelers are more weary of cleanliness claims.

"It used to be that you walked into a guest room and saw a stain on carpet, you'd think the room's dirty," says Ron Pohl, a Best Western vice president. "Today, guests don't see any stains, but they still question how clean the room is."

Best Western plans to feature the new cleaning techniques in all its 2,200 hotels in North America by year's end. Today, about half the hotels have adopted it and guests are already responding.

For hotels already using the wands, Pohl says, guest satisfaction for cleanliness of the room rose by 12 percent and for the overall experience, by 13 percent. Guests are also 12 percent more likely to recommend their hotel, he says internal surveys show. Also, hotel officials credit the new cleaning program to longer stays — an increase in the average length of stay increasing to 2.3 days vs. 1.6 days

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