A 'bedbug capital'? SC tourists, locals sue Myrtle Beach-area hotels over pests (2024)

MYRTLE BEACH — Since December, at least seven bedbug-related lawsuits have been filed against hotels, motels and short-term rentals on the Grand Strand by people complaining of bedbug “infestations” in their rooms.

The cases are similar to many others that have been filed across the region since 2021, according to court records. Last year, federal officials warned that bedbug complaints are on the rise.

“We’ve got to end this problem,” said Trevor Eddy, a personal injury attorney in Columbia who is handling four of the recent cases and has represented hundreds of clients in bedbug-related litigation since 2018. “It’s bad for business. Horry County itself should want to clear up this problem because we don’t want Myrtle Beach to get a reputation that it’s earning as a bedbug capital.”

Eddy said the Myrtle Beach area brings about 75 to 80 percent of his bedbug clients, and he has seen more than 200 bedbug cases from the area. Over the years, he said the worst bedbug cases he has handled have come from Horry County.

Bedbugs are small, flat brown pests that can grow up to a quarter-inch long. They can be found near the piping, seams and tags of a mattress and box springs, as well as in the bed frame and headboard cracks. While they do not spread diseases, their bites can cause allergic reactions and lead to secondary skin infections such as impetigo, ecthyma and lymphangitis, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency .

Hotel guests are encouraged to check beds and carpet for possible signs of infestations. Physical signs include rusty/reddish stains and dark spots on bed sheets or mattresses, tiny eggs/eggshells or live bedbugs, according to the EPA.

Eddy attributes the rise in bedbug complaints to cutbacks in hotel housekeeping following the COVID-19 pandemic. The EPA also similarly reported this in 2023, following increased national reports of the pests.

“You’ve got less staff who have less time to flip the same number of rooms, and that probably goes the same way with the pest control companies that are supposed to be keeping these rooms safe as well,” Eddy said.

But Victoria Tobin, executive director for the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association, said bedbugs are introduced to a hotel after being brought in through someone’s luggage, clothing or other means. She denounced any correlation between cleanliness and bedbugs being present.

Tobin said the Grand Strand sees an estimated 18 million visitors every year, which is why cleanliness is a top priority for the area’s hotels.

“While the majority of those (hotels) are operated with the highest standards of cleanliness and customer service, there will always be a small percentage of bad actors that can make a bad impression by not meeting a guest’s expectations,” Tobin said.

The seven most recent bedbug-related lawsuits focus on properties in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet, according to court documents.

In Myrtle Beach, the hotel cases involved the SpringHill Suites by Marriott — sued Feb. 15 by Pennsylvania tourist Joshua Nalisnick — and the Crown Reef Resort and Waterpark, which was sued Feb. 19 by another unidentified Pennsylvania tourist.

In both cases, the plaintiffs said they were bitten by bedbugs while they slept and notified hotel management after finding the bugs in their mattresses, bedding and carpets, according to court documents.

Representatives from SpringHill Suites by Marriott and Crown Reef Resort and Waterpark could not be reached for comment.

Two other recent Myrtle Beach suits involved short-term rentals, with the first being filed by Kershaw County resident Thomas Portee. He sued Coastline Beach Rentals and its property manager in December, claiming he was bitten by bedbugs while staying at a “Beach Colony” property located along North Ocean Boulevard, according to court records.

The defendants in Portee’s case have denied any wrongdoing.

The second such case involved Virginia tourist Yvette Timberlake, who sued Landmark Resort, Vacation Myrtle Beach, Airbnb Payments and Airbnb Insurance Agency LLC on March 1. She claimed the short-term rental she booked through the hotel along South Ocean Boulevard was infested with bedbugs when she stayed there in 2023, according to her complaint.

A Landmark Resort representative declined to comment on the pending litigation.

New York tourist Dario Gristina sued Crescent Shores in North Myrtle Beach in December, according to court records.

Gristina is suing Grand Strand Resorts Inc., Grand Strand Resorts Vacations Inc. and property owners Jean Genua and Andrew Genua Jr. After the Genuas did not respond to the lawsuit within 30 days, they were declared in default on all of the allegations, according to court records.

Florence County couple Randy Smith and Nicole Smith on March 1 sued The Links Golf & Racquet Club hotel in North Myrtle Beach. A hotel representative could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, in Murrells Inlet, Horry County couple Frances Reese and Scott Reese sued the Country Inn and Suites by Radisson, as well as the hotel’s parent company, on Feb. 20, according to court records. A hotel representative could not be reached for comment.

Since 2021, other bedbug lawsuits in Myrtle Beach have been filed against multiple hotels and motels, including Oceans One Resort, South Bay Inn and Suites, and the Sheraton. All defendants in these ongoing cases have denied wrongdoing.

In the Oceans One Resort lawsuit, the hotel and its management company were dropped as defendants, but Oceans One South Tower Property Owners Association Inc. remains as one of the four defendants.

Also, there are two ongoing bedbug-related lawsuits against Myrtle Beach’s Mermaid Inn, one from 2021 and another from 2023. The motel has denied wrongdoing.

A Brunswick County, N.C., family sued the Wyndham Ocean Boulevard Resort in North Myrtle Beach in 2020 for an alleged bedbug infestation in their room. This case was dismissed in 2022.

Statewide, Eddy said a lack of government oversight makes it difficult to hold hotels accountable outside of litigation if they repeatedly have bedbugs.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control only has regulatory authority to respond to and treat state-licensed health care facilities that have been infested with bedbugs, but not for problems at hotels, homes and other places, according to the agency’s website .

DHEC confirmed it does not track bedbug complaints in hospitality businesses. State lawmakers have not introduced any legislation that specifically addresses bedbug complaints.

Eddy said a centralized reporting system for bedbug complaints could help track the problem and lead to regulation by government officials.

Eddy, with The Eddy Law Firm, represents clients in personal injury, wrongful death and medical malpractice cases, in addition to bedbugs. But he said he and his firm have advocated in recent years for more to be done to address the pests at a state level, due to the high number of bedbug cases.

Eddy said any intervention or action by officials may be better than what he’s seeing right now.

“I hate to have to resort to government regulation,” Eddy said. “There needs to be more oversight. I’ve got hundreds of these lawsuits, but it’s not getting any better. I would be very happy to get my last bedbug call.”