Hotel investors are being urged to address a critical gap in asset valuation as highlighted by Valpas at the IHIF EMEA 2026 in Berlin. The briefing, titled "The Valuation Blind Spot," reveals that bed bug infestations, unlike other physical risks such as fire safety and structural integrity, lack standardised inspection and certification, impacting transaction values and ESG reporting.
The report underscores the financial implications of this oversight, with luxury hotels facing direct costs of $34,000 to $101,000 (€32,000 to €95,000) per incident before reputational damage. Currently, no hotel transactions include standardised pest condition data in due diligence, despite an average of 7.1 infestations per hotel over five years. As pesticide resistance grows, 50% of chemically treated infestations require retreatment within a year.
Martim Gois, CEO of Valpas, stated, “Every hotel investor evaluates fire safety compliance, structural condition, and environmental performance before a transaction. Pest condition is the only physical risk where there is no data, no verification standard, and no pricing in the model. That’s a blind spot — and the market is beginning to correct it.”
The briefing suggests a shift from unpredictable operational costs to fixed safety infrastructure, which could stabilise net operating income and improve asset pricing. Additionally, the report highlights the growing importance of verifiable safety in corporate travel decisions and ESG audits, as hotels are significant users of harmful pesticides.
Paris serves as a case study for rapid adoption, with the luxury market transitioning to permanent safety infrastructure within 18 months following a bed bug crisis. The report concludes with a due diligence framework for investors to assess pest risks, emphasising the need for real-time certification and benchmarking against certified assets
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