BELLEVUE, WASH. — The average person takes five flights per year and spends 14 nights in a hotel. This amounts to an incredibly high risk of annoying the people around you, as a new study by Expedia.com has found.
The results of the 2018 Airplane and Hotel Etiquette Study show, which were just released, prove once and for all that people can be downright annoying when they travel. Said Nisreene Atassi, Global Head of Communications for Expedia brand, “Whether you’ve been on one vacation or 100, you’ve likely experienced some form of annoying behavior while travelling. Our goal with this study is to better understand travellers’ biggest pet peeves and offer tips to help them maximize comfort and minimize annoyances.”
For the fourth consecutive year, ‘The Seat Kicker’ has been named the Worst Passenger to Encounter During a Flight. Just about everyone has encountered this person on a flight, that one passenger who constantly kicks, grabs or bumps the seat in front of them. This Offender just edged past the next worst possible offender – ‘The Aromatic Passenger’– who we can all agree really stinks.
Here are the Top 5 most annoying passengers:
- The Seat Kicker/Bumper/Grabber (51%)
- The Aromatic Passenger (43%)
- The Inattentive Parent (39%)
- Personal Space Violators (34%)
- Audio Insensitive (29%)
Over 90% of global respondents also agree that it’s never okay to be barefoot on a plane (gross). Moreover, people prefer peace and quiet, with 90% preferring to keep to themselves while flying, and 69% preferring sleep to pass the time over talking to other passengers (28%).
In terms of hotel guests, who do you think are the most annoying?
The top four are:
- The Inattentive Parents (45%)
- The In-Room Revelers and The Hallway Hellraisers (41%)
- The Complainers (29%)
- The Party-goers and The Bar Boozer (27%)
The study also found several other interesting tidbits:
- Across the globe, travellers are most annoyed to find bed bugs, a used condom, cigarette smoke or foul smell upon checking into a hotel room.
- South Koreans are the most likely to get drunk on a flight, with Thai and Americans rounding out the top three.
- 54% of people agree its okay to wake snoring passengers, while 20% says it’s okay to just climb over with your back to them.
- 50% of respondents check-in online for their flights, while 72% still print a boarding pass and less than 30% use a mobile boarding pass.
- Most travellers admit to hiding valuables from housekeeping and taking items from a hotel room.
- 75% of travellers say freebies such as Wi-Fi, breakfast, resort credits, free parking and room upgrades are very or somewhat important when booking a hotel.
- Only one in four travellers would pay to upgrade their seat, while even fewer would pay for in-flight Internet access.
