During the nicer weather, or during ideal tourist seasons, many people find themselves traveling hours away from their home to enjoy a change of scenery. When personal safety is regarded, the chances of being a victim of crime becomes less common, but is still possible. When Airbnb, Hostel, or hotel crime strikes, the scene begins to unravel fast.

The first on the scene is the unsuspecting hospitality staff, who quickly contact the authorities. The cops or first responders/EMS arrive shortly after. A little lesser known, surprising fact is who cleans up the scene. When all the commotion and investigation settles, the Airbnb property owners or hotel management have to make the call on how they'll clean the room.

Generally, the scene unravels like this:

EMS responds within minutes to evaluate the health of the victim and transport him/her to an area hospital, and the police begin their investigation to determine what happened, who is at fault and if any charges need to be filed. Meanwhile, the crime scene is combed for fingerprints and evidence to piece together what just happened. 

Once the initial flurry of activity has passed, it becomes the building management’s responsibility to make sure that the area is restored as quickly as possible. Most think that hotel staff are responsible for cleaning up a crime scene, but it is in fact illegal to ask untrained employees to clean potentially harmful bodily fluids.

Homeowners and AirBnb property owners should also seek a professional crime cleaning company. No untrained set or eyes or nose should be expected to clean up the scene. You may think you’re desensitized to it from horror movies and images you may have seen on the internet, but without proper PPE and cleaning supplies you’ll quickly realize you’re playing with fire. 

It may be tempting to try to save time and money and use your own housekeeping staff to clean the crime scene. But actually, having the job done safely and efficiently saves you money in the long run. It lessens the possibility of spreading the contamination to other rooms, and avoids a PR nightmare.

Your housekeeping staff does not have nor know which appropriate protective gear to use, or the high grade disinfectants needed to thoroughly clean the scene and prevent it from spreading. Without a professional cleanup team, your future guests and staff are at risk for infection and disease.

Your housekeeping staff also does not have the permits and certifications necessary to dispose of all of the biohazardous materials found at the scene.

Finally, as you might expect, it can be very troubling and difficult to clean up the scene including blood, bodily fluid and remains and will often cause serious emotional distress. The result of this action could easily cost you more time and money, as well as a risk for persistent property odors.

Chad Callaghan, a security consultant to American Hotel & Lodging Association and founder of Premises Liability Consultants, once said to Lodging Magazine, "it’s time-consuming and costly when there are blood-borne pathogens. We called on professional crime-scene cleaners. Thank God they exist."

Indeed, the liability of cleaning bloodshed is enormous for a public business, and should never left for someone unqualified.

Bio Recovery has been cleaning hazardous conditions in NYC hotels for more than 20 years. We have all of the necessary cleaning products, equipment and protective gear to complete the job quickly, eliminating all traces of blood, bodily fluids and remains. Our team can also properly dispose of all biohazardous waste and unsalvageable property so that no one in your hotel is at risk of contracting infection or disease.

In addition to professionally cleaning hotels after a crime, Bio Recovery cleans residences, businesses, vehicles and even public areas after crimes, trauma, unattended death, or suicide. We can also help with other biohazard threats like drug operation cleanup, hoarding cleanup, asbestos and mold remediation.

Our teams and services work discreetly. We arrive on the scene in unmarked, discrete work vans with the goal of helping property owners and keeping the public's health in mind. We do not speak or respond to reporters, news outlets, or even neighbors on the scene unless given explicit permission to do so.

Furthermore, many of our services are covered by property insurance, so you might not have to pay for our services. Let us give you some peace of mind during this stressful time. Give our team a call at 1-888-752-5001 anytime 24/7 if you need help fast!