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The Sheraton Myrtle Beach is the latest Grand Strand hotel to be sued over bedbugs.
- Nicole Ziege/Staff
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Local Government Reporter covering Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and unincorporated Horry County.
Nicole Ziege
MYRTLE BEACH — A city-owned hotel property is the latest Grand Strand establishment to be sued over bed bugs.
Lisa Meeting, a tourist from Norfolk, Va., claims she found bed bugs in her Sheraton Myrtle Beach hotel room, according to the lawsuit. She named the hotel and city as defendants.
“Defendants knew or should have known that the room ... was infested with bed bugs, that they didn’t treat the room before (she was) injured, nor did they warn them of the bug infestation,” according to suit, filed in May.
Meeting, who visited Myrtle Beach last year, is suing for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, premises liability, breach of contract and unfair trade practices, according to court documents.
Marriott International, the parent company of Sheraton, could not be reached for comment.
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The city owns the hotel and convention center property, according to the complaint. City spokesperson Meredith Denari declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Meeting stayed at the hotel near the city’s convention center on Aug. 25-26, 2023, according to the lawsuit. During her first night, Meeting alleges she was bitten while she slept. She notified management, and the hotel’s pet exterminator confirmed that bed bugs were in the hotel room, including the mattresses, bedding and carpet, according to the lawsuit.
“Defendants had a duty to (Meeting) as an operator of the hotel to keep the hotel in a reasonably clean and safe condition,” her complaint stated. “Defendants also had a duty to warn (Meeting) of the bed bugs and/or infestation as it caused a threat to (her) safety.”
The lawsuit alleges the hotel and the city acted negligently, carelessly and recklessly by failing to maintain the property in a “reasonable clean and safe condition.”
Meeting is seeking damages, alleging the hotel and the city misrepresented the condition of the hotel and its rooms. She maintains the hotel breached its contract with her when it failed to keep the room clean, according to the lawsuit.
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The new suit was filed the same day that a similar bed bug complaint against the hotel was dismissed. That case, filed in 2023 by Lexington County resident Charlie Daniel Jr., similarly accused the hotel of having bed bugs and failing to keep the room clean.
In that case, Daniel alleged he stayed at the hotel in May 2022 and notified management after he found bed bugs in his room. He said he, too, was bitten while he slept. Daniel requested to drop his case on May 16.
At least seven other bed bug lawsuits have been filed against Grand Strand hotels, motels and short-term rentals since December. Those 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 bed bug complaints were on the rise.
Bed bugs 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.
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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.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control does not track bedbug complaints in hospitality businesses. The agency only has regulatory authority to treat state-licensed health care facilities that have been infested with bed bugs.
That means bed bug problems at hotels, homes and other places are outside the agency’s purview.
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.
The other Grand Strand lawsuits that have been filed since December focus on properties in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet. The defendants in these cases have denied wrongdoing, according to court documents.
Follow Nicole Ziege on Twitter @NicoleZiege.
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Nicole Ziege
Local Government Reporter covering Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and unincorporated Horry County.
- Author email
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