Travelers' Dirty Little Secrets

You’re not alone if you’ve ever peed in the pool, taken extra hotel toiletries, or even cheated on your partner when on vacation. A just-released survey by Travelzoo, a publisher of travel deals, chronicles 8 “dirty little secrets” of adult vacationers (age 18+) in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and China.

“Everyone has travel habits—some we’re proud of and some we’re not so proud of,” says Gabe Saglie, Travelzoo senior editor. “We thought it would be interesting to see the commonalities and differences among global travelers.”

Who tinkles in the pool or ocean? According to the survey, 64% of Americans admit to this bad behavior compared to 58% of Canadians, 46% of Britons, 44% of Germans and 41% of Chinese.

Who takes home extra hotel toiletries? More Americans, 69%, confess to grabbing the mini-bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion than the other surveyed nationalities. However, pocketing these items is popular. Some 63% of Canadians, 61% of Chinese and 45% of Britons admit to this conduct while only 20% of Germans do.

The Germans were also the least likely to reserve a lounge chair with a towel, 33%; do vacation planning during work, 38%; and play hooky to extend their vacation, 10%; but they rank highest in philandering while on holiday.

“It was surprising that the Germans were most likely to have a vacation fling followed by the Chinese,” says Saglie. Overall, fidelity rules since the percentage of transgressors remains low. However, 10% of Germans report cheating on their partners compared to 5% of Chinese, 4% of Britons, 3% of Americans and 2% of Canadians.

More survey findings are below. At right is a Travelzoo infographic (click for a larger version):

Planning Vacations During Work Time

*70% Chinese

*67% Americans

*64% Canadians

*40% Britons

*38% Germans

Playing Hooky to Extend a Vacation

*24% Americans

*16% Canadians, and 16% Chinese

*15% Britons

*10% Germans

Skipping Out on a Bill

*13% Americans

*9% Canadians

*8% Britons

*7% Germans

*6% Chinese

Reserving a Lounge Chair Long Before You Need One

*64% Canadians

*59% Americans

*40% Chinese

*33% Britons, and 33% Germans

Sneaking Goods through Customs

*32% Chinese

*23% Canadians

*22% Americans

*19% of Britons

Germans were not asked about customs because, according to Travelzoo, “it wasn’t culturally correct.” And peeing in a pool, playing hooky, planning your vacation at work and skipping out on a bill are culturally correct? We’re confused. Still, Travelzoo’s survey is fun.

What dirty little secrets should be added to the survey? Feel free to sign in with an alias.

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