Are you one of Canada’s most annoying travellers?

Ever hopped on a plane and hoped, with all your fingers and toes crossed, that there’s no babies sitting next to you? How about at a hotel, when you check in and think positive thoughts that the bachelorette party you saw in the elevator isn’t getting off at your floor?

There are few things more enriching in life than the experiences of travel, but there are also a few things that can put a real dampener on your journey. Expedia’s 2018 Airplane and Hotel Etiquette Study is out, and the results provide a bit of an eye opener into how Canadians really feel about their fellow travellers, and what they can do to be a bit more courteous on the road.

The 2018 Airplane and Hotel Etiquette Study surveyed more than 18,000 people worldwide, delving deep into travel habits, but also the perks and pet peeves they encounter. There’s no surprises that bed bugs are extremely annoying to 80% of Canadian travellers, and passengers on planes bare foot are a big no no (96% are against this one). When it comes to joining the mile-high club, a whopping 78% of those living in the Prairies said they would never be intimate with a travel companion or someone they just met on a flight, but interestingly only 67% of those in Quebec had the same reservations!

When it comes to ‘jetiquette’, 56% of Quebecers feel it’s ok to wake a snoring fellow passenger, and nearly a quarter of Canadian passengers are happy to climb over the seat with their back to their fellow sleeping neighbor to get to the aisle. It turns out Canadians might not be as friendly on board a plane as travellers might expect, with our friendly stereotype taking a backseat for some peace and quiet – nearly 90 per cent prefer to keep to themselves during the flight, especially those from the Prairies (94%).

The desire for privacy carries through to hotels, with half of Canadians using the privacy indicator to prevent hotel staff from entering their room.

So what about those pesky passengers and annoying guests Canadians really can’t handle? Here are the most unpopular people to travel with:

Airplane Passengers

1. Seat Kicker/Bumper/Grabber: 53% of Canadians cannot handle the person who might push, kick, bump or grab the seat in front, aka your seat, while they’re on board.
2. Aromatic Passenger: there’s almost nothing worse than a whiff of someone with a strong scent on board, according to 48% of Canadians.
3. Inattentive Parent: probably equal parts pity and peeve, 41% of Canadians are annoyed by parents who can’t keep the kids under control.
4. Personal Space Violator: planes are pretty tightly packed, so personal space violators, you know who you are, can get pretty annoying to 37% of Canadians.
5. Audio Insensitive: we know it’s loud on a plane, but that doesn’t mean you can up the volume. 25% of Canadians are sensitive to the audio insensitive.
6. Queue Jumper: get back in line! say 14% of Canadians. Unless you’re the pilot. We’re all going to the same place and they’re the only ones going to get us there faster!
7. Pungent Foodie: your senses are deadened in the air, so if we can smell your food, it’s seriously high on the smelly scale and annoys 14% of Canadians.
8. Armrest Hog: it’s there to share! The often silent battle for space on the armrest frustrates 12% of Canadians.
9. Security Newbie: yes, you need to take your shoes off and take your laptop out! Security first timers annoy 12% of Canadians.
10. Baggage Mishandler: the overhead baggage compartment and the baggage carousel are two very sacred places – don’t push or shove or take up too much space or you’ll annoy 10% of Canadians.
11. Airplane Mode Violator: you know who you are! Turn it off or frustrate 6% of Canadians.

Hotel Guests

1. The Hallway Hellraisers: running, jumping, leading a herd of elephants. That’s what it sounds like when you’re trying to get some sleep and someone is making noise outside your door. Keeping it quiet is important to 47% of Canadians.
2. The Inattentive Parents: we know you’re tired and travel weary, but keep those kids under control! 46% of Canadians are annoyed by parents who let their children misbehave.
3. The In-Room Revelers: a night away when it’s interrupted by someone’s night out is not very much fun. Loud noisemakers next door or nearby annoy 45% of Canadians.
4. The Party-goers: you might be the life of the party, but your fellow hotel guests are not. Loud party-goers might want to keep it down, according to 33% of Canadians.
5. The Complainers: travel is never usually smooth sailing, but people who berate hotel staff over minor inconveniences are pretty frustrating to 28% of Canadians, especially when you’re waiting in line behind them at the Concierge desk.
6. The Bickerers: there’s nothing like the highs and lows of travel to stir up the negative sentiment but arguing couples/roommates would do well to remember their neighbours according to 18% of Canadians.
7. The Loudly Amorous: that’s right, the indiscreet lovemakers, you know who you are. Next time, remember how thin the walls are and the 17% of your neighbours you’re annoying.
8. The Bar Boozer: guests who spend a little too much time in the hotel bar and are, for want of a better word, sloshed, annoy 13% of Canadians.
9. The Hot Tub Canoodlers: the public hotel hot tubs are there to share, not for a show, amorous couples might like to know. 10% of Canadians can’t handle the hot tub PDA.
10. The Elevator Chatterbox: talkative strangers in the elevator, beware, 3% of Canadians prefer comfortable, or even uncomfortable, silence.

Whether you’re travelling with a toddler who you know will spend the flight running up and down the tight aisles, or checking into a hotel with a few dozen of your best friends, take some time to remember your fellow passengers and make sure you’re not named and shamed on the lists above!