30 July 2009

What's bugging you about your hotel?

British travellers are more likely than their European counterparts to complain about their hotel stays, according to a new study.

Poll of almost 5,000 users of hotel price comparison website Trivago across six countries last month found that on average 82% of respondents claimed to have had a bad hotel experience on holiday.

The British have the most complaints with only 14% saying they did not have any hotel issues whilst on holiday. French travellers had the least complaints with 23% reporting they never had a bad hotel experience; the Dutch came a close second at 22%.

The most common complaint by British guests was bugs in the room (22%). Ten per cent said that they had been in a room that was either unclean or had broken appliances, and the same percentage complained about noisy neighbours.

Seven per cent of British respondents declared that they got food poisoning from the hotel food and one per cent ended up with chlorine poisoning from the pool.

Across the survey as a whole, the most wide spread problem was bugs in the room, with the Dutch (19%), German (19%), Spanish (17%), French (15%) and Italians (15%) all naming this the number one problem.

Another big complaint in Spain (ten per cent) and Germany (seven per cent) was that no room was available upon arrival, despite booking in advance.

Overall, one percent of respondents from each country got chlorine poisoning from the hotel pool.

by Phil Davies

Post your comment

Your Comments (1)

Hotels are plain sloppy about hygiene

Hotels cut corners. Big corners. Managers have become "bean counters" not people friendly. In fact meeting up with a GM in larger hotels these days is like trying to meet with the Queen, Pope or President of some country. Cleanliness is a disgrace in most hotels. Staff have little or no training. Little management influence is placed on PROPER cleaning other than handbooks written years ago when a broom and one mop was the total equipment of choice. Today cleanliness is paramount. The price of hotel rooms dictate absolute perfection in amenities and cleanliness. NOT JUST the dust. Using more than a pine scented disinfectant (still found in top hotels) is now a reality. There are products that are non-toxic incredible in dispensing with germs and other human sleep disgards. Wake up hotels! It is why B&B and guest houses, where the owners spend what is necessary in time and money to make each bed stay like it is brand new. Most hotels have lost touch. Pity.

By Robert George, Friday, July 31, 2009