Expedia.com has released the results of its 2018 Airplane and Hotel Etiquette Study, which looked at travel behaviour on flights in addition to other travel snafus. The study, conducted in February and March, compiled the results from over 18,000 respondents from 23 countries.
According to the popular travel website, the average person takes five flights per year and spends 14 nights in hotels, so Expedia sought to find which annoying habits bothered travellers the most.
The findings from the survey indicated the top three things travellers dislike the most on flights are seat kickers, bare feet, and loud/talkative people, with seat kickers taking the top spot for the fourth year in a row in the study’s history.
Kicking their way to the top spot
More than half the respondents who participated in Expedia’s study worldwide said the traveller who kicks, grabs, or bumps their seat is by far the most annoying. Over 60 per cent of respondents said they alert airline staff about seat kickers should the problem persist.
According to the site, the decreasing amount of legroom on airplanes nowadays will probably keep the seat kicker at the top of the list for years to come.
Bare feet are un'bare'able
Over 90 per cent of participants in Expedia’s study said it was unacceptable to be barefoot during a flight. Almost 75 per cent of respondents agreed they always keep their shoes and socks on for the duration of their flight, in order to avoid grossing out fellow passengers.
Do not disturb sign is always in effect
While bare feet and seat kicking are exclusive to airplane flights, one annoying habit of passengers typically follows travellers to their hotels - the loud talker.
More often than not, vacationers want peace and quiet so they can relax. It’s not surprising then that loud/talkative people ended up in the top three of Expedia’s annoying habits survey. Almost 90 per cent of Americans prefer to keep to themselves and be left alone on a flight and 69 per cent would rather sleep than talk to other passengers.
But seat kickers and bare feet aren’t the only nuisance travellers complain about on international and domestic flights. The top ranked list of worst flight passengers include:
The Seat Kicker/Bumper/Grabber - 51 per cent
The Aromatic Passenger - 43 per cent
The Inattentive Parent - 39 per cent
Personal Space Violators - 34 percent
Audio Insensitive - 29 per cent
As well, Expedia also compiled the list of top ranked worst hotel guests as follows:
The Inattentive Parents - 45 per cent
The In-Room Revelers and The Hallway Hellraisers - 41 per cent
The Complainers - 29 per cent
The Party-goers and The Bar Boozer - 27 per cent
Additional travel habits revealed in Expedia’s study
Worldwide, travellers and vacationers list bed bugs, used condoms, cigarette smoke, or foul smell as the most annoying things to encounter in a hotel room, and list dirty surroundings as the number one reason why they would ask to switch rooms. Most travellers also admitted to hiding valuables while staying in a hotel and taking items - like shampoos and notepads - from the room.
The study also found that South Koreans are most likely to get drunk on a flight, with Thai and Americans following in second and third.
Additionally, respondents listed long flights and sleeping as the top two reasons why they recline their seat, while a quarter of Americans said they don’t do it because it’s rude. Over 50 per cent of those surveyed say it’s okay to wake up passengers who are snoring and 20 per cent said they just climb over a sleeping passenger if they need to get from their seat to the aisle.
Everyone can agree annoying passengers and hotel guests can ruin a trip, but with Expedia's newest study on airplane and hotel etiquette at least you know you're not alone.