To report a hotel to the health department, contact the local city or county health department (or the state agency, depending on the jurisdiction) where the hotel is located, describe the health or safety hazard in detail, and submit any photos or documents you have. Most agencies accept complaints online, by phone, or by email. The strength of your report depends on what you saw, how well you documented it, and whether you routed it to the office that actually inspects hotels.
What Health Departments Actually Investigate
Health departments handle conditions that create a risk of illness or injury, not customer service problems. Complaints that get taken seriously usually involve one of the following:
- Pest infestations, including bed bugs, cockroaches, or rodents in guest rooms or common areas.
- Food safety problems at the hotel restaurant, such as undercooked food, dirty kitchen areas, or food held at unsafe temperatures. The FDA’s model Food Code is adopted by most jurisdictions.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food Code 2022
- Visible mold or water damage, especially large patches or a strong musty smell.
- Plumbing failures like sewage backups, no hot water, or non-functioning toilets.
- Unsafe pool or hot tub conditions: cloudy water, broken drains, missing safety equipment, or chemical odors strong enough to cause irritation. The CDC’s Model Aquatic Health Code guides how many jurisdictions regulate these facilities.2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2023 Model Aquatic Health Code
- General sanitation failures like dirty linens on a made bed, blood stains on mattresses, or filthy common areas.
Health departments generally will not get involved with billing disputes, rude staff, noise complaints, or property damage that isn’t a health issue. Those belong with hotel management, your credit card company, or a consumer protection agency.
Talk to the Hotel First (Usually)
You are not required to notify the hotel before filing, but doing so often helps. Ask for a manager, describe the problem, and request a specific remedy: a room change, a refund, or immediate cleaning. Many hotels move quickly on health concerns raised in person.
The conversation also builds your case. Write down who you spoke with, when, and what they said. An investigator will weigh your complaint more heavily if you can show the hotel knew about the hazard and failed to act. If the condition feels genuinely unsafe, skip this step and file right away.
What to Document Before You Leave the Room
Health departments handle a high volume of complaints, and the ones with clear documentation move to the front of the queue. Gather what you can before you check out or clean up.
Start with the identifying details: the hotel’s full name and street address, your check-in and check-out dates, and your room number. Then photograph the hazard. Well-lit close-ups matter, but so do wide shots that place the problem inside the room — a cockroach next to hotel stationery on the nightstand tells the investigator more than a cockroach against a blank floor. Capture anything that anchors the photo to that hotel.
Write down a detailed description while it’s fresh: exactly where the problem was (bathroom ceiling, under the mattress, in the breakfast buffet area), when you first noticed it, and how it affected your stay. If anyone else witnessed the conditions, get their contact information.
Bed Bugs Need Specific Evidence
Bed bug reports are among the most common hotel complaints, and the pests hide during the day. The EPA advises travelers to look for small black droppings, blood stains, and shed skins on bed sheets, particularly along the bottom sheet and mattress seams. A red, itchy rash is another indicator, though bites alone don’t prove the hotel is the source.3Environmental Protection Agency. Travelers Beware of Bed Bugs! Photograph any of these signs on the bedding before you request a room change.
Save the Paper Trail
Keep your booking confirmation, receipts, and any written communication with the hotel: emails, texts, chat transcripts from the hotel app. If you saw a doctor because of your stay, keep those records too. You may not need all of it for the health department, but it protects you if you later pursue a refund or a legal claim.
Find the Right Agency
Hotels are regulated at the local or state level, and which office handles inspections varies. Some states run hotel inspections through a state health or licensing agency. Others delegate to county or city health departments. Filing with the wrong office usually means your complaint gets forwarded, which costs you time.
The CDC maintains a directory that links to state and territorial health departments for all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia, plus a searchable directory of city and county health departments by zip code.4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Department Directories Search for the department where the hotel is located, not where you live.
If it isn’t obvious which office handles hotels, call the local health department’s main line and ask for environmental health or lodging inspections. Those are the divisions that typically oversee hotels.
How to Submit the Complaint
Most health departments offer three channels: an online form, a phone line, or email. Online forms usually live under a section labeled “complaints,” “report a concern,” or “environmental health” on the agency’s website.
Whichever route you take, include everything you gathered: hotel name and address, stay dates, room number, a clear description of the hazard, and photos or attachments. Phone reports go faster when you have your notes in front of you. For email, attach photos directly and keep the description organized with dates and locations clearly labeled.
Anonymous or Not
Many health departments accept anonymous complaints, but there’s a tradeoff. Giving your contact information lets the investigator call you back to clarify details, ask about timing, or request more evidence. That follow-up often decides whether a complaint leads to an inspection.
Anonymous reports work best when the evidence speaks for itself, such as clear photos of an infestation or visible mold. If your complaint depends largely on your own account rather than physical proof, anonymity may weaken it. Agencies typically won’t share your identity with the hotel, but you can ask about their confidentiality practices before providing your name.
What Happens After You File
The agency reviews the complaint and decides whether it warrants an investigation. Active hazards like pest infestations, suspected foodborne illness, or sewage problems are usually prioritized; less urgent concerns can wait.
If the department opens an investigation, an inspector visits the hotel, usually without advance notice. Inspections can cover room cleanliness, pest evidence, water temperature, plumbing, food handling, pool water quality, fire safety equipment, ventilation, and building maintenance, depending on the jurisdiction. When violations are found, the response ranges from written warnings and corrective action orders to fines, and in extreme cases a closure order that shuts down part or all of the hotel until conditions are fixed.
Timelines vary widely. Urgent complaints can get a response within a few business days; others take weeks. If you filed with your contact information, you can call to check status. If you filed anonymously, you probably won’t get updates, and some agencies won’t share case information with anyone who can’t verify they filed the original report.
If You Got Sick: Legionnaires’ Disease
Some hotel hazards go beyond a dirty room. Legionnaires’ disease, a serious pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria in water systems, kills roughly one in ten people who contract it, and poorly maintained cooling towers, hot tubs, or plumbing are known sources. The CDC defines a travel-associated outbreak as two or more cases linked to the same accommodation within a 12-month period.5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Travel-associated Outbreaks as a Public Health Issue
If you develop pneumonia-like symptoms within two weeks of a hotel stay, tell your doctor about the travel. Legionnaires’ is a reportable condition, so your state health department is required to notify the CDC. Travel-associated cases should be reported to the CDC within seven days of the health department receiving the case report, and reports should include the hotel name, full address, dates of stay, and room number if known.6Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About the Data – Case Report Forms and Instructions You don’t contact the CDC yourself; your doctor and local health department handle that. Give them the travel details.
Short-Term Rentals Are a Gray Area
If the property is an Airbnb, VRBO, or other short-term rental, the reporting path is less clear. Some states treat these the same as hotels; others regulate them through business licensing or zoning offices rather than health departments. Start with the local health department, but be prepared to be redirected. You can also report through the platform itself, which won’t send an inspector but can remove a listing or withhold payment from a host.
Money and Non-Health Complaints Go Elsewhere
A health department complaint addresses the hazard. It won’t get you a refund. For that, start with the hotel’s corporate office if it’s a chain, then dispute the charge with your credit card company if needed. USA.gov points consumers to local consumer protection offices, the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive practices, and the Better Business Bureau for mediation.7USAGov. How to File a Complaint About a Company’s Products or Services Your state attorney general is another option, particularly for deceptive advertising or a refused reservation. A filed health department complaint can strengthen any of these follow-up claims.