Keith Warriner, a microbiologist at Guelph University, conducted tests on air vents and ice machines in six hotel chains in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Chains evaluated include budget hotels Super 8 and EconoLodge, mid-range Holiday Inn and Best Western, and higher-end establishments the Fairmont and Sheraton.
The microbiologist found traces of coliform bacteria, a potential sign of fecal contamination, on ice machines in each of the hotel chains tested. He also discovered mould, rust, dust and pathogens on air vents in many hotels, which he said posed a risk to guests. “[The vent] affects the air you breathe,” Warriner is quoted by the CBC as saying. “It’s throwing all these bugs out, and essentially you breathe them in, and once they get down into their lungs, that’s where these microbes can take over.”
For more on Marketplace’s hotel investigation, visit CBC.ca.
Marketplace’s “The Dirt on Hotels, part 2,” will air on CBC tonight at 8 p.m.
