Friday, July 13, 2012
Many of us seem to forget our manners when it comes to lounging by the pool or spending the day at the beach. In fact, according to the result of TripAdvisor’s annual beach and pool etiquette survey of more than 1,400 U.S. travelers, 83 percent of respondents believe people often violate some form of beach or pool etiquette, up from 74 percent in 2011. Thirty-one percent have asked a stranger to stop behaving rudely at the beach or pool, up from 26 percent last year.According to the survey, the top three beach violations are: blasting loud music (18 percent); people not picking up after their dogs (11 percent); and beach chair hogging (9 percent). Top pool violations are: pool chair hogging (29 percent); blasting loud music (11 percent); and smoking (10 percent).
Other interesting survey results include:
- 84 percent get agitated when others save beach or pool chairs by leaving belongings on them.
- 37 percent maintain there should be a 30-minute limit on seating being saved, while a further 30 percent will tolerate up to one hour – and just 14 percent think chair hogging for any longer than that is acceptable.
- 19 percent maintain that saving chairs should not be allowed for any time period.
- The closest acceptable distance to sit next to another stranger at a crowded beach is three feet, according to 27 percent – while a further 26 percent set a boundary of six feet, and 15 percent say four feet meets their comfort levels.
- On non-crowded sands, 34 percent consider 20 feet to be the closest acceptable distance to sit next to a fellow beach-goer, while 24 percent say seven to ten feet is appropriate, and 18 percent say 11 to 14 feet.
- 89 percent think smoking at the pool should be prohibited.
- 69 percent think that smoking at the beach should not be allowed.
- 35 percent consider it a breach of etiquette not to rinse off before entering the pool – although 80 percent confess to not always doing so.
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