Man wakes up in Toronto hotel at 5am. Then he looks at his body: ‘Lawsuit lawsuits lawsuit’

A TikTok user who posts as Temka (@temkaslife) said he woke up at 5 a.m. during a hotel stay in Toronto and then looked at his body. He shared a TikTok video with the caption, “woke up at 5am to this…”. The clip later reached 2 million views, 136,500 likes, and more than 3,300 comments.

The first scene showed a shirtless man from behind, slightly turned to his left. Numerous large, red, inflamed marks covered his right shoulder and upper back. On-screen text in the video read, “pov: you book a stay at a hotel in Toronto but the saxophones keep getting louder.”

The video then cut to a close-up of a white bedsheet. A small, dark insect that appeared identifiable as a bedbug crawled slowly across the fabric. The same on-screen text and saxophone music continued in that segment. Temka wrote in a comment that the hotel was the Chelsea Hotel in downtown Toronto. The hotel had a 3.9 rating on TripAdvisor at the time of writing.

Healthline describes typical bite signs, hotel risk, and treatment steps as viewers respond

According to Healthline, bedbug bites can look like red or discolored itchy bumps that appear in lines or clusters on exposed skin, though not everyone reacts to them. The site says the marks may also show swelling, a dark spot at the center, itching, burning, or fluid-filled blisters.

The article says bedbugs are most active at night and typically bite skin that is uncovered during sleep, including the face, neck, arms, and hands. The article notes that people often do not feel the bite at the time because the insects excrete an anesthetic, and symptoms can take days to appear, up to 14 days in some cases.

The insects commonly hitch a ride in luggage or clothing after an overnight trip. The site lists hotels among settings with higher risk because of high turnover and close quarters, and it says the bugs may feed only every three to seven days.

Healthline states that most bites heal on their own within one to two weeks. Suggested steps on the site include an over-the-counter or prescription corticosteroid cream, an oral antihistamine, and avoiding scratching to lower the chance of bleeding or infection.

Eliminating the insects from a space typically requires professional pest control, often with heat treatment. It also describes steps travelers sometimes take afterward, such as running clothes through a hot dryer and inspecting luggage before bringing items home. Hotel disputes can involve unexpected charges, such as when a flight attendant was hit with a $300 smoking violation fee despite claiming she never smoked in her room.

Viewers responded under the video with calls for refunds, legal action, and caution about spreading the insects. One commenter wrote, “Lawsuit lawsuits lawsuit.” Another commenter warned against bringing belongings inside right away and wrote, “Do NOT take anything into your house, leave it outside in the sun for a few days or throw everything away. You get one and you have thousands INSTANTLY”

One commenter asked about compensation and wrote, “Please tell me you got your money back” Another commenter pointed to what the video appeared to show in the light and wrote, “The fact that multiple are running around in the light means that there is A LOT you aren’t seeing”

One commenter questioned hotel habits and wrote, “yall don’t check beds? thats the first thing i do at hotels no matter how nice, and make sure they have a mattress cover” These concerns about hotel safety are not isolated, as in one case a woman returned to her hotel with her father to find everything gone even her toothbrush.