Disneyland Hotel pays $100,000 to settle bedbug lawsuit

An attorney says the Disneyland Hotel agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit from a Los Angeles woman who claimed she was plagued by bedbugs during a two-night stay there.

The settlement announced Monday is a "first for the company," according to attorney Brian Virag. Virag, who is with MyBedBugLawyer Inc., represented Ivy Eldridge in the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Eldridge claimed she was exposed to bedbugs during a two-night stay at the Disneyland Hotel in 2018. She claimed the bedbug bites caused severe rashes over her body, and the infestation forced her to throw away her clothes and personal effects.

Virag says bedbugs are a problem found at hotels of all quality levels throughout the country and the world, and could be an even bigger problem now that travel demand has shot up at hotels and other vacation rental properties that may have cut cleaning staff during the pandemic.

"Bedbugs can cause serious health issues, result in loss of enjoyment of time planned for vacations or family gatherings and prove incredibly difficult to rid from your clothing and dwelling if vacationers unknowingly bring them back home," Virag said in a statement.

Eldridge is not the first visitor to a hotel at Disneyland to allege they were bitten by bed bugs during their stay. In 2016, a Northern California family filed a lawsuit claiming they were bitten by bedbugs while staying at the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.