Snoring passengers, cancelled flights and price gouging by airlines are the three biggest pet peeves of today’s traveler, a new study says.
A survey of 4,000 American travelers in March by Destination Analysts found that 39.7% of respondents listed flight delays and cancellations as their biggest beef with travel today. That’s not surprising given the mess we saw this winter with Southwest Airlines and others.
Next in the list of top irritants was price gouging by airlines at 37.4%. That was followed by snoring passengers at 37%.
Other top ten peeves listed were dirty hotel rooms, people talking too loud on their phones, travel rookies in the security lineup (agreed) and seatmates on an airplane who have the audacity to talk to fellow passengers.
What I found most interesting is where some of these issues ranked. A full 37% of travelers said snoring passengers are a major cause of concern, but only 34% listed “drunk or belligerent passengers.” Which means we’d rather have a shouting drunkard next to us than someone who snores. Weird.
Also interesting, especially for airlines, is that 37.4% of those surveyed listed price gouging (airlines) as a pet peeve. Only 30.4% mentioned price gouging (hotels) as a concern, which just goes to show the level of dislike for airlines by the American (and likely Canadian) public.
Finally, I find it intriguing that the eighth biggest complaint from travelers (34.3%) is “seatmates on an airline who talk to you.” I guess we’re not a very conversational people any more.
I recently wrote a story about my own pet peeves on airlines, including people who jump out of their seats and crowd the aisles before other passengers can get up.
INFLATION WOES CURB TRAVEL DESIRE
On a more serious note, the Destination Analysts survey has some disturbing news for people in the tourism biz regarding the economy and inflation worries.
The survey found that those that say travel will be a high priority in their spending over the next three months is at 55%—a drop from 61% reported during the same period in 2022. The percentage who says they will take more trips in the next year compared to the previous year dropped to a four-month low 29% and is down from 35% at the same period last year.
Similarly, the percentage saying they will spend more on travel in the next 12-months compared to the previous year is at 32%, down from 37% in March 2022.
Top sources of travel inspiration continue to be websites found through searches, email campaigns, Facebook, Instagram, and other online article/blog content.
