NEW YORK—When the Drabickis arrived in New York City they were looking forward to a hard-earned summer getaway, a luxurious bed at the five-star Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue, and dressing up for gala events and shopping in Manhattan. They had been awarded a trip to New York City by Allstate, their employer, on merit of achieving high production at work.
The Michigan couple and their two daughters awoke in those luxurious beds to find the sheets stained with blood from bites all over their bodies. The dresses that Christine Drabicki wore to a gala event didn’t cover the spots on her forearms. Worse yet, the shopping bags the family brought back to Michigan had bedbug stowaways inside.
“When I got my first bedbug case four years ago, it was a novelty,” said the Drabickis’ attorney, Alan Schnurman at a press conference in his law office at Broadway and Rector Street Thursday morning.
“It is no longer a novelty. Bedbugs are here and unless we take care of it, unless the hospitality industry does more, it’s going to have serious effects on tourism,” stated Schnurman.
The Drabickis are currently suing the hotel for an undisclosed amount.
George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, the official New York City tourism agency said in a statement that the travel industry in the city is working with the city’s departments of Health and Consumer Affairs to work on prevention and provide assistance to visitors.
“Any cancellations to the city because of the widespread news coverage have been nominal,” said Fertitta.
The Drabickis, however, will not be eager to return to the city anytime soon.
The Drabickis have incurred around $8,000 in expenses, from dry cleaning, fumigation, and other expenses after they say the vermin followed them home from the luxury hotel. In an e-mail to Christine Drabicki, director of Front Office Operations at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue, Daniel Briks expressed his concern:
“I want to ensure that you and your family’s health is addressed properly and so that [George Compas, assistant director of Security] may issue any reimbursement for the additional expenses that you have incurred. I will still be available to speak to you and will continue to work closely with Mr. Compas to ensure we are able to resolve this issue.”
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The Michigan couple and their two daughters awoke in those luxurious beds to find the sheets stained with blood from bites all over their bodies. The dresses that Christine Drabicki wore to a gala event didn’t cover the spots on her forearms. Worse yet, the shopping bags the family brought back to Michigan had bedbug stowaways inside.
“When I got my first bedbug case four years ago, it was a novelty,” said the Drabickis’ attorney, Alan Schnurman at a press conference in his law office at Broadway and Rector Street Thursday morning.
“It is no longer a novelty. Bedbugs are here and unless we take care of it, unless the hospitality industry does more, it’s going to have serious effects on tourism,” stated Schnurman.
The Drabickis are currently suing the hotel for an undisclosed amount.
George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, the official New York City tourism agency said in a statement that the travel industry in the city is working with the city’s departments of Health and Consumer Affairs to work on prevention and provide assistance to visitors.
“Any cancellations to the city because of the widespread news coverage have been nominal,” said Fertitta.
The Drabickis, however, will not be eager to return to the city anytime soon.
The Drabickis have incurred around $8,000 in expenses, from dry cleaning, fumigation, and other expenses after they say the vermin followed them home from the luxury hotel. In an e-mail to Christine Drabicki, director of Front Office Operations at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue, Daniel Briks expressed his concern:
“I want to ensure that you and your family’s health is addressed properly and so that [George Compas, assistant director of Security] may issue any reimbursement for the additional expenses that you have incurred. I will still be available to speak to you and will continue to work closely with Mr. Compas to ensure we are able to resolve this issue.”
Continued on the next page...
The family has not, however, seen any reimbursement for their expenses to date.
In a statement by a hotel spokesperson, the two rooms occupied by the family are said to “both have tested negative by a licensed technician after the guests’ departure. ... [There is] no record of complaint or incident in either room prior to the guests’ arrival or subsequent to their departure.”
The Waldorf-Astoria has already faced two other allegations, one in February by a woman visiting from Florida and one in September by the parents of a little girl from Long Island who received bites while staying at the famed luxury hotel, according to Schnurman. The hotel claims the rooms concerned in both cases were found to be bedbug free after inspections, said Schnurman.
“Are all of these people mistaken?” asked Schnurman at the press conference. “At what stage are they going to admit they have a problem?”
According to Drabicki, when she notified housekeeping staff at the hotel on the morning of May 25, after awaking with blood spots on the sheets, “they knew immediately it was bedbugs. They had a bedbug problem.”
Drabicki says she struggled with the idea of coming back to the city to give her statements. Her daughters, who Drabicki says still have nightmares and trouble sleeping because of fear of bedbugs, did not want to risk another infestation of their home.
Drabicki settled on the Marriott Renaissance after checking online blogs for bedbug complaints at hotels in the city.
In a statement by a hotel spokesperson, the two rooms occupied by the family are said to “both have tested negative by a licensed technician after the guests’ departure. ... [There is] no record of complaint or incident in either room prior to the guests’ arrival or subsequent to their departure.”
The Waldorf-Astoria has already faced two other allegations, one in February by a woman visiting from Florida and one in September by the parents of a little girl from Long Island who received bites while staying at the famed luxury hotel, according to Schnurman. The hotel claims the rooms concerned in both cases were found to be bedbug free after inspections, said Schnurman.
“Are all of these people mistaken?” asked Schnurman at the press conference. “At what stage are they going to admit they have a problem?”
According to Drabicki, when she notified housekeeping staff at the hotel on the morning of May 25, after awaking with blood spots on the sheets, “they knew immediately it was bedbugs. They had a bedbug problem.”
Drabicki says she struggled with the idea of coming back to the city to give her statements. Her daughters, who Drabicki says still have nightmares and trouble sleeping because of fear of bedbugs, did not want to risk another infestation of their home.
Drabicki settled on the Marriott Renaissance after checking online blogs for bedbug complaints at hotels in the city.
