Expedia released their first ever Hotel Etiquette Study, which details the Top 10 Most Annoying Guests. Can you guess who is Most Annoying? (Hint: “Little Jimmy can scream in the halls all he wants. We pay good money to stay here!”)
Source: Annoying hotel guests make Expedia’s list. We know who you are. – The Washington Post
Hotel hallways are NOT the place to allow your kids to train for the 100-yard dash.
Ahhhh, traveling. So exciting to see how people from other countries live. Take in the sites, sip Cappuccino, have new experiences. Unfortunately, those new experiences often include contact with other, less-than-well-mannered guests at your hotel. Expedia recently conducted a survey to find out which behaviors bothered hotel guests the most. Hopefully, the survey will give at least some travelers something to think about the next time they pack their bags (that is, those who need to read it). Here are the Top 10 Most Annoying Guests, counting down:
10. Elevator Chatterbox. Have you heard the term “elevator speech”? It’s a thirty-second (the typical time one spends in an elevator) summary about yourself and what you can do for an organization. Candidates put a lot of thought into their elevator speeches when they’re looking for a job; it might just get them a foot in the door. When you’re on vacation (or, in European terms, “on holiday”), riding an elevator with persons unknown, it is not the time to practice that elevator speech; rather, it’s the time to practice restraint. No one wants to hear the details of your life. And if someone doesn’t speak your language, it’s just noise.
9. Business Bar Boozer. All dressed up with nowhere to go, the Business Bar Boozer hangs around the bar whenever he or she isn’t busy with that Important Meeting or Conference taking place in the hotel. Why not: 1) read a book, or, 2) just drink something non-alcoholic? Business attire does not make drunkenness more attractive.
8. Hot Tub Canoodlers. I’ve never understood this one. A couple is on vacation at a hotel, and they choose to show way more Public Displays of Affection in a hot tub than they’d want their own children to see — why not just go to your room? You’ve paid for it!
7. The Loudly Amorous. Well. Perhaps the Hot Tub Canoodlers decided to go their room after all. Keep it down, please. The walls aren’t that thick!
6. Poolside Partyers. This is probably the most dangerous category, since drinking alcohol around a pool can cause a person to slip and hit their head with catastrophic consequences. In addition, Poolside Partyers are often just plain loud: playing in the water, calling out, laughing. Sounds of life, right? Other people have lives, too. Keep the noise down.
5. Bickerers. This is probably the saddest category: people on vacation spend it by arguing the entire time? It’s not just a downer for the people involved, but for everyone around them. Perhaps next time the money for vacation would be better spent on a couples’ therapist.
4. In-Room Revelers. As already mentioned in #7, hotel room walls might not be as thick as you imagine, so having an after-party in your room at 1:00 A.M. may not be the best idea. Sure, you’ve paid for your room, but here’s the kicker: So has everyone else. And they paid for peaceful sleep.
There are other ways of defining oneself besides complaining.
3. Complainers. This isn’t about letting the front desk know you found bed bugs in your room. A Complainer is like a leaky faucet: No matter how much you tend to it, it never stops. Complainers are never satisfied. Please. So you only got three towels instead of your usual four — do you really need it?
2. Hallway Hellraisers. Hotels are known for having long, wide hallways. Unfortunately, many people see these hallways as their personal space for letting others know how happy they are to be on vacation — or, better yet, as the place to allow their kids to train for the 100 yard dash. Guess what? Fellow guests are behind many of the doors you walk by (or in the kids’ case, run by). Be an angel and keep quiet as you walk back and forth to the elevator.
And the winner is………..
1. Inattentive Parents. Sixty-seven percent of more than 1,000 participants said parents have allowed their children to run down halls, destroy plants, kick furniture, and slam doors in hotels. What these parents don’t understand is that their children are likely to grow up to be guests #2 – #10. Good manners start with you, parents. As the song says:
You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by…
Teach your children well…
And know they love you.
Au revoir!
Image of Hotel Hallway by Sebastian Lange, Flickr, CCBY 2.0. Image of Complainer by Dushan Wegner, Flickr, CCBY 2.0.
Lyrics of “Teach Your Children,” by Graham Nash, recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, 1970. Copyright Sony/ATV Music Publishing, LLC.