BELLEVUE, Wash., June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today
Expedia.com® released the results of its 2019
Airplane and Hotel Etiquette Study, an annual check-in on what's
most annoying while traveling and how to deal with it gracefully.
This year's report shows some definite do's and don'ts when it
comes to planes, hotels and vacation rentals.
- Do lend an extra hand. If a fellow traveler appears to
have their hands full, offer to help and see if there is something
you can do to make their life easier. This could be as simple as
assisting with heavy luggage or giving attention to a restless
child.
- Most travelers are trying to achieve vacation nirvana –
especially after scoring great deals on Expedia. Be polite,
don't start fights or be confrontational.
- Do be mindful of the space around you. If you think
you'll need more room to stretch out during flight, consider paying
a bit extra to upgrade your seat.
- If you are sick but have to travel, don't get others
infected. Whenever possible, clean up around yourself and ask to be
reseated away from fellow passengers — everybody will appreciate
your efforts to keep others healthy.
- When staying in a vacation rental, do treat it like your
own and respect the host. Don't leave a mess, touch any
personal belongings that may be out, or take things that don't
belong to you.
"We are in the business of helping millions of people travel
every year, and it's important to us that everybody has the best
possible experience. How we interact with each other while
traveling has a huge impact on how we feel about our trip, which is
why we decided to dig in to some of the most common travel
annoyances," says Nisreene Atassi, PR Director for Brand
Expedia.
Goodwill on the road
It might come as a surprise, but
Americans are some of the kindest and most considerate travelers in
the world — often surpassing even our quintessentially "nice"
Canadian neighbors. In fact, Americans ranked above the global
average in terms of performing courtesies or acts of kindness for
fellow travelers.
- Americans (42%) are the most willing to change their seats (vs.
33% of Canadians) so another party can sit together.
- Nearly half of Americans expressed they've helped someone lift
their luggage into the overhead compartment (48% vs. 41% globally),
and 41% believe you should almost always step in to help another
passenger struggling with a heavy bag.
- 21% of Americans have helped entertain other travelers'
children compared to only 14% of Canadians.
Sharing travel tips and recommendations is another common way we
help each other — globally, 25% of people have given tips to fellow
airplane passengers and 35% to other hotel guests. Travel is all
about making personal connections, but sometimes it's helpful to
dig deeper and follow the wisdom of the crowd. Sites like Expedia
offer a wide array of travel information and local activities, all
reviewed and easily accessible via a mobile app.
Americans don't like to start fights
While being
confined to an airplane seat can bring out the worst in some
people, American travelers do their best to not be a nuisance and
prefer to keep to themselves. In addition to being among the least
likely to start a fight or be confrontational towards another
passenger or the flight crew, the study found:
- 45% of Americans believe politely speaking with a seat kicker
is the best way to address this annoyance, and another 16% wouldn't
even do anything because they assume it's not intentional.
- Globally, 45% of passengers get straight to the point and ask a
seat neighbor hogging the armrest to make room for them, while only
35% of Americans would take this course of action.
- Nearly 90% of Americans have never been drunk while flying to
avoid being one of the commonly cited "most annoying"
passengers.
The Germ Spreader is now the most annoying passenger
While 43% of global respondents identified the Drunk Passenger as
the most annoying person on a plane, Americans zeroed in on a
different offender: the Germ Spreader.
Imagine this scenario: You sit down in your seat and the person
sitting next to you is visibly sick, coughing or sneezing. What
would you do? It turns out catching a cold on the plane is
something Americans really want to avoid, but they go about
it in a respectable way. Nearly 50% would ask the flight attendant
for a different seat, 40% would offer them tissues or cough drops
if they had them, and another 31% would just apply hand sanitizer
throughout the flight. Presumably, these anxieties around health
and hygiene are also behind Americans' world-leading dislike of
going barefoot on a plane (78%).
The top five most annoying flight passengers for Americans
are:
- The Germ Spreader (40%)
- The Seat Kicker/Bumper/Grabber (36%)
- The Drunk Passenger (35%)
- The Aromatic Passenger (32%)
- The Inattentive Parent (30%)
Vacation rental etiquette is a two-way street
Vacation rentals are getting ever more popular. For families or
larger groups of friends, they offer many comforts of home —
including more privacy and less chance to get annoyed by loud
guests or partying across the hallway. When booking a vacation
rental on a site like Expedia, travelers can see detailed
descriptions and reviews that ensure that everything is set up for
a relaxing vacation.
When staying in a vacation rental, most Americans agree that a
few things are off limits:
- Going through the host's personal items (75%)
- Peeing in pool (73%)
- Wearing the host's clothes/shoes (64%)
- Taking items from the vacation rental, like a book or movie
(61%)
- Taking home provided staples like spices, towels, etc.
(58%)
- Inviting more people to stay without the host's permission
(57%)
When it comes to "special touches" a vacation rental host can
provide, Americans most appreciate a stocked fridge (23%) or free
meal upon arrival (17%) to their home away from home. A quick
in-person introduction to sights and restaurants in the area was
closely behind (16%), followed by a welcome drink (14%). These
results show that while personal contact is still greatly
appreciated when it comes to good hospitality, food and drinks are
the way to American travelers' hearts.
Want to learn which country's approach to travel etiquette
matches yours? Take a quick
quiz (https://viewfinder.expedia.com/quizzes/airplane-etiquette/)
and find your preferred etiquette destination.
About the 2019 Airplane and Hotel Etiquette
Survey
This study was conducted on behalf of Expedia
by Northstar Research Partners, a global strategic research
firm. The survey was conducted online from April 12-29, 2019 across North America, Europe, South
America and Asia-Pacific
using an amalgamated group of best-in-class panels. The study
was conducted among 18,237 respondents across 23 countries.
About
Expedia.com
Expedia.com® is one of the
world's largest full-service travel sites, helping millions of
travelers per month easily plan and book
travel. Expedia.com (https://www.expedia.com/,
1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide the latest technology and the widest
selection of top vacation destinations, affordable airfare, hotel
deals, car rentals, destination weddings, cruise deals and
in-destination activities, attractions, services and travel apps. ©
2019 Expedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Expedia and the Airplane
logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Expedia,
Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners. CST# 2029030-50. Visit our
web site https://www.expedia.com/ or use our mobile app
to book cheap flights and hotels.
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