top of page
GERM FACTS
according to Travelmath

An airline tray table is on average 12 times more germ-infested than your home toilet seat.

The average hotel TV remote is approx. 7 times more germ-infested than a dog bowl.

An airline seat belt buckle is on average 8 times more germ-infested than your cell phone.

The average 3-star hotel is cleaner than the average 5-star hotel
***Note that the Public Health and Safety Organization considers 10 CFU per square inch to be clean, and 10-100 CFU per square inch to be relatively clean.
Travelmath sent a team to gather 36 bacteria swabs from nine hotels. The below values are the average of nine hotels, in colony forming units (CFU) per square inch.

![]() Bathroom Countertop - 1,288,817 CFU | ![]() Hotel TV Remote - 1,211,687 CFU |
---|---|
![]() Hotel Desk - 614,907 CFU |

Travelmath sent a microbiologist to collect 26 samples from four flights to find the germiest places. The below values are the median of the four flights in CFU per square inch.
![]() Tray Table - 2,155 CFU | ![]() Seat Belt Buckle - 230 CFU |
---|---|
![]() Toilet Flush Button - 265 CFU |
bottom of page