Just in time for the holiday weekend, travel website TripAdvisor.com conducted a survey of over 1,100 people on the topic of beach/pool etiquette.
What they found should not be a surprise to you:
- At 27%, the worst beach behavior was playing loud music, followed by being drunk and littering, both at 12%. Playing loud music was also the worst poolside activity, at 21%.
- 85% of those surveyed absolutely hate “chair hogs“. Those are the people who get up super-early in the morning to claim their lounge chair on the beach or by the pool by setting their towel or bag on the chair… but then don’t show up for hours later after they’ve had their beauty- or hangover- nap.
Here’s a chair hog in action, courtesy of Carling Black Label beer:
A parade of German beach towel/chair hogs:
A comedic look at how insane some people are with reserving their beach chair early in the morning:
It’s like “cows at milking time”
- Most pool- and beach-goers hate children and pets. Both ranked having a “pet-free” or “child-free” area at the beach or pool as their number one request for a restricted-access area
- How close is too close when you lay your towel down on the beach to claim your own little piece of personal space? 28% said that “six feet” was close enough, while 28% said that they were okay being as close as three feet away from a stranger.
- 79% hate being asked by a stranger to help them apply suntan lotion…. but 13% of respondents have asked others to help them apply.
As for men in Speedos or “banana hammocks” or “grape smugglers”? 34% would like to see Speedos banned from their beaches. And while 25% of those surveyed think that skimpy bikinis on women should also be outlawed, 78% said that they believed women should be allowed to go topless at the beach or pool … but only in regions where it’s culturally accepted. 6% said to let women go topless wherever they are.