Parisian bedbugs ruin study trip of Antwerp art students: “Did we take them back with us? That chance is nil” | Antwerp

The Visual Arts students would spend their studio week in Paris. When booking, the accommodation guaranteed to the students that there were no bed bugs present, a very persistent problem in Paris these days.

“But on the way there, one of the students came across a brand new review of the hotel,” says Geertrui Robbrecht of KdG. “Our college then took action and our teachers thoroughly checked the hotel after the first well-filled day program. They actually encountered bedbugs in several rooms and obviously decided not to check in.”

Alternative hotels without bedbugs — that are affordable for study trips — are apparently very rare in Paris these days. “We have not found a suitable accommodation. That city really has a major problem,” Robbrecht continues. “The decision was then made to return home. Too bad for the students, but the right decision, since we could not take the risk of staying and spreading bed bugs. to Antwerp. So that risk now does not exist.”