We have a pest control service that treats the house every 3 months, and the gentleman that usually does our service is also their bed bug specialist. Since we have beagles and he has a beagle that sniffs bed bugs we started talking about the problems and places in which he sees them. When we first started using them I was frequently traveling and staying in upscale motels, assuming I'd be safe.
After talking with Jim and hearing the horror stories that he sees on a daily basis, I'm reluctant to travel and stay in a public place. I also don't purchase any used furniture, nor will I purchase used clothing.
He's seen cases where bed bugs have come in with used books, in used clothing, in used furniture, and just about any used item that you might bring into your home. He also has treated a lot of apartments, retirement centers, hotels and motels, and a large number of single family residences. They've also had to treat commercial buildings and workplaces when bed bugs have traveled in on workers clothing or other soft goods from an infected home.
They recently treated a hotel (a large, fairly expensive upscale chain hotel) and the management decied to dispose of a number of the infected mattresses. They placed them next to the dumpster with the intention of cutting them up-by the time they returned to destroy the mattresses, several had already been taken by "dumpster divers", complete with blood stains and bed bugs.
It can run a couple thousand dollars for a minor infestation, several thousand for a more severe infestation. Needless to say I'll work hard to make sure we never have that issue.