Travelers weigh-in on saving beach chairs at resorts, kids at adult-only pools, tipping bellman and hotel maids, and more, in a new nationwide survey by Travel Leaders Group.
While air travel etiquette – or lack thereof – is a frequent topic of conversation among travelers, there are myriad more common travel scenarios warranting discussion about how best to resolve or defuse a situation, Travel Leaders notes.
In a recent survey,Travel Leaders Group asked Americans how they would handle uncomfortable – yet fairly common – travel dilemmas such as tipping hotel and resort bellman and maids, saving unoccupied beach chairs at resorts and bringing kids to adult-only pools at resorts and hotels, along with vying for overhead storage bin space on airlines.
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The series of “What would you do?” travel dilemma questions were part of a survey conducted by Travel Leaders Group from April 6 to April 28, 2014, and includes responses from 2,719 consumers throughout the United States.
“Our ‘What would you do?’ questions have yielded some very intriguing responses over the past two years – and this year is no different,” Travel Leaders says. “For example with airplane overhead bin space at a premium, it may surprise some that nearly 75 percent of survey participants insist they try to get as close to their assigned seat as possible before placing their carry-on in the overhead space.”
Resort-goers have a low tolerance for others who save beach chairs and then leave them unoccupied – over 66 percent of those polled said their limit would be two hours or less before they seized the unoccupied chair, the Travel Leaders survey reports.
“Some of the questions in our survey may seem humorous, but they can have a real impact on one’s overall travel experience. Since there’s no official playbook or handbook on proper travel etiquette, this survey – along with the sage advice from our professional travel agents – can assist travelers so they are able to face these uncomfortable travel scenarios with confidence,” said Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben.
Key findings include:
When asked, “If you were on vacation at a hotel or resort and someone ‘saved’ a beach chair yet was nowhere in sight, how long would you wait before taking that chair if no others were available?” the responses were:
When asked, “If a bellman at a hotel/resort grabbed your luggage and started taking it to your car/cab or room without you asking for assistance, would you still tip the bellman?” the responses were:
When asked, “Tipping maid service at hotels is increasingly common and the norm in many destinations. When staying at a hotel or resort, do you tip the maid service?” the responses were:
When asked, “If you were enjoying an adult-only pool at a hotel or resort and another guest brought their child/children into that pool area, what would you do?” the responses were:
When asked, “When staying at a hotel or resort, if there are loud noises coming from the room next door (or above/below your room), what would you do?” the responses were:
When asked, “Many hotels and resorts indicate they are trying to conserve water and energy and ask guests to consider reusing their towels. Do you …” the responses were:
When asked, “When flying, if you were concerned about overhead bin space for your carry-on bag in the area where your seat is located, would you place it near the front of the plane as soon as you got on?” the responses were:
This is the sixth consecutive year for the consumer travel survey. Earlier this month, Travel Leaders Group released information related to airport security satisfaction and TSA PreCheck. American consumers were engaged predominantly through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as through direct contact with travel clients for the following Travel Leaders Group companies: Cruise Holidays, Nexion, Results! Travel, SinglesCruise.com, Travel Leaders, Tzell Travel Group and Vacation.com.