Germs Like to Bed Down On That Hotel Remote Travelers peering at hotel mattresses in search of bedbugs should turn their attention elsewhere. A far more diverse set of microscopic critters lodge themselves in a much smaller place in a hotel room: the remote control. A study by microbiologists at the University of Houston, the University of South Carolina and Purdue University found that the remote's crevasses had some of the highest levels of bacterial contamination in hotel rooms. There are a few solutions for travelers. They can stay at a Best Western, which coincidentally has just announced new housekeeping protocols that include installing flat-surface remote controls that are easier to sanitize and black-light wands (above) to reveal traces of biological matter. Guests staying elsewhere can download the LodgeNet Mobile app, which turns iPhones and Androids into remotes. But even the researchers warn against overreacting. Are people getting sick in hotel rooms? No," said University of Houston assistant professor Jay Neal, who oversaw the recent study. You'd have to lick the remote control for a long time to get sick from it.