Think you’ve seen every hotel guest faux pas? Think again.
New research has revealed some of the strangest habits travellers admit to while away from home, from sneaking food out of the breakfast buffet to washing underwear in kettles and squeezing extra guests into rooms.
Hotels.com partnered with British etiquette expert William Hanson to launch its ‘Grand Etiquette Hotel Guide’, a list of 10 practical dos and don’ts for navigating modern hotel manners, from breakfast buffet protocol and the blurred lines around stealing from hotel rooms.
The hotel booking platform’s study was conducted online and gathered responses from 2,000 British adults.
The findings show that one in three hotel guests admit to smuggling food from the breakfast buffet to snack on later in the day, and more than a third of respondents say they regularly enter the wrong number of guests when booking to keep costs down.
At the other end of the scale, travellers do draw lines in the sand over particularly unsavoury behaviour, with only 2% saying they engage in public displays of affection around the pool or rudeness to staff.
According to the study, 23% say washing underwear in the hotel room kettle is a big no-no and those who reserve sun loungers with towels are on many people’s hate list.
The Brits surveyed also had opinions on travellers from other nations. They said that the Japanese and Swedish are the most polite guests, and Americans and Germans are the least – although that’s, of course, subjective.
No matter which country a traveller comes from, Hanson and Hotels.com’s etiquette list has ideas on how to travel more politely. Here’s what they suggest.
How to be a better hotel guest, etiquette-wise
Treat staff with kindness: Being rude to staff topped the list as the most distasteful behaviour from hotel guests. The correct etiquette, Hanson says, is to treat every member of staff, from the cleaner to the manager, with genuine respect. As well as making the experience more pleasant for everyone involved, he suggests that staff who feel valued are more likely to offer better service to individuals who are polite.
Be quiet in corridors: While noise in lobbies and hotel bars is to be expected, corridors are a different story. There’s little worse than being woken up by doors slamming and people yelling in thoroughfares. Instead, travellers should consider other guests and move through corridors quietly, keep their voices low and not stomp around.
Don’t over do the drinking: Many of us enjoy a drink – or two – while on holiday, but Hanson says a well-enjoyed drink shouldn’t become a “public performance”. He recommends practising moderation in public spaces and maintaining dignity and control, all while making sure everyone in sight is having a nice time too.
Don’t be tempted to smoke indoors: Smoking indoors has been forbidden in many nations for years now, but that doesn’t stop people lighting up. Lighting a cigarette indoors can ruin a hotel room for future guests, or cause potentially serious damage, including evacuations for other travellers. Those smoking in hotel rooms can also face significant penalties, so it’s best not to even try to do it.
Don’t trash your hotel room: We all like to make our hotel room a home-from-home, but it’s wise not to make it horribly untidy, for everyone’s benefit – not least the housekeeping team. If you keep it somewhat ordered, cleaners can do their job efficiently, and you can have a more pleasant space to come back to after a long day exploring (or lying by the pool).
Respect the in-room kettle: Recently, an influencer went viral for suggesting guests should use a hotel room kettle for washing underwear – and faced enormous backlash. Hanson says people who use it for laundry “deserve to be cut off from society”, which is perhaps a little dramatic. Nevertheless, kettles really are best used for hot drinks only.
Don’t steal everything that isn’t nailed down: While the likes of hotel toiletries and slippers are nice little luxuries many of us like to take home with us, there are limits as to what travellers should smuggle out of their rooms when their stay comes to an end. Larger items, like pillows and robes, should be left in place. If taken, guests may be faced with a hefty bill or, at the very least, embarrassment over the petty theft.
Don’t go wild at breakfast: The breakfast buffet is not a free-for-all, Hanson says. It’s a great time to exercise the best in queueing habits, to ensure everyone gets a fair crack at the food on offer.
Avoid sunbed blocking: ‘Sunbed wars’ are well documented nowadays, where many travellers race to claim their sun lounger at the crack of dawn. Hanson suggests that marking territory with a towel is poor form, especially if the perpetrator vanishes until the mid-afternoon, effectively blocking the chair for anyone else. “A lounger is not secured by textile alone, but by presence,” he says.