Top 12 Travel Pet Peeves of 2023

From poorly designed hotel rooms to long airport security lines, there are plenty of opportunities to develop some travel pet peeves for even the most patient of travelers.

Just for fun, I want to take a few moments to share with you some of the biggest travel pet peeves I’ve developed in my years of frequent travel. 

Please note, this post is meant to be lighthearted. I don’t take any of these situations too seriously, so neither should you. 

With that, here are my top 12 travel pet peeves of 2023. 

Travel Pet Peeves

Ah, travel – the thing of wanderlust and escape. But let’s face it, as travelers we all have pet peeves that can make our journeys a bit less than ideal.

Whether it’s overcrowded trains, unhelpful staff or people who won’t stand to their side on an escalator, these annoyances range from the minor inconvenience to full-on roadblocks in our travels.

Here are some familiar (and not so familiar) grievances for anyone who loves to explore – but still dreads being stuck behind someone trying to find their passport at the immigration counter despite having stood in line for 90 minutes to get there.

1. Hotel bathrooms without real doors

For the life of me, I just cannot understand this new trend.

Over the last couple of years, I have stayed in dozens of hotel rooms without actual doors separating the bathroom from the rest of the hotel room.

Are there actually people out there saying they’d like less privacy in the bathroom?

I recently stayed at the W Hotel in Mexico City. Here, they literally just put up a curtain to separate the bathroom from the sleeping area.

Even the Ritz Carlton near Palm Springs had a sliding wooden door with slits in it instead of a regular door.

I have no idea who was asking for open concept restrooms, but it sure wasn’t me.

2. Exorbitant Hotel Parking Fees

I’m looking at you San Francisco.

Excessive overnight parking fees at hotels in major US cities have become increasingly common.  

I have personally seen parking fees as high as $85 per night, though I imagine New York City could top that.

While I realize that parking in many major cities is hard to come by, $85 for a single night of parking is absolutely ridiculous. 

3. When housekeeping never shows up

For reasons unknown to me, housekeeping seems to never show up when I need them most.

BUT, they will show up bright and early if I was out late the night before.

Whenever I order room service and have dishes everywhere, I’ve run out of coffee, or all the towels are soaking wet, housekeeping is nowhere to be found. 

For the most part, I just find this kind of funny. I’m not actually upset with housekeeping staff, I know they’ve got plenty of rooms to clean on any given day.

But, where are you when I need you most?

4. Tourists with selfie sticks

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing tourists with selfie sticks. I literally cringe every time I see one of these.

There are so many great ways to get photos of yourself when traveling alone. I just don’t understand why anyone would want to carry this contraption around all day (and look like a big dork).

Here are a few ideas for getting photos of yourself that have worked well for me and every other non-selfie-stick carrying solo traveler:

1. Ask someone standing next to you to take your photo. I have literally never been told no.

2. Prop your phone up somewhere and use the timer. This is actually more fun than you think. 

3. Find someone else attempting number 2 above and ask them if they’d like you to take their picture. Then ask them to take yours. This has also never failed me. 

4. Use a tripod.

Bonus tip: If you’re going to ask someone to take your photograph in a busy or touristy area, find someone holding a nice camera. There’s a good chance they’ll be a decent photographer and you’ll get a really nice photo. 

5. Getting stuck behind someone who has never gone through airport security before

I get it, not everybody hops on a plane several times a year, but there are so many signs in the security line explaining what steps to take that I find it baffling people are so confused.

Though to be fair airport security lines are kind of stressful with TSA agents yelling at you the whole time. The lack of customer service doesn’t make the process any easier I guess.

I usually end up behind the slowest family whenever I’m running late for a flight. But perhaps that’s just when I notice it the most.

Note to self – This situation is easily remedied by arriving at the airport at a more reasonable time. Preferably, sooner than just one hour before my flight is scheduled to depart. 

6. When there is no overhead bin space near my seat on the plane

Ah, the overhead bin. That magical place that we’ve come to rely on to fit all our life needs into one flight.

Sitting in tight quarters for hours at a time with just enough room to move your arms—and no overhead space to store that carry-on bag you stuffed till it was bursting.

One of my biggest fears when boarding a flight is to have no available overhead bin space near my seat.

I generally board early if I need bin space, and board last if I don’t, but sometimes my plans don’t always work out.

In the past I’ve volunteered to hand my bag over to the flight attendant to store under the plane, but sometimes a tight connection makes that unreasonable.

7. Slamming hotel room doors

This one only bothers me if it happens frequently in the early morning, or if my hotel room is already loud.

Also, if I’m not feeling well (aka have a hangover). 

There’s nothing like your neighbor slamming their hotel room door over and over again at 5:00 a.m. when you have a pounding headache. 

8. When the intercom on the airplane is messed up and I can’t understand what the pilot is saying 

For all you other nervous flyers out there, maybe you can relate to this one. 

Hearing the pilot give a flight update or just say hello always makes me feel a little less anxious. 

What doesn’t help, is when the pilot attempts to address the passengers and all you can hear is static.

This is especially unhelpful if there is turbulence. In my head, I’m always thinking if the intercom doesn’t work, what else is broken. 

Other times I just need arrival gate information so I can make a short connection. Though usually if I didn’t understand I’ll just ask the flight attendants.

9. Scammers of any kind

I’m sure we can all agree that scammers suck.

You can find them just about everywhere, but especially in very touristy areas. While I haven’t fallen for too many scams (yet!), I’ve been approached by many who have tried. 

Being misled or scammed because you’re a tourist can really put a damper on a fun vacation.

My advice, do your research before visiting your next destination.

Figure out the most popular kinds of scams you are likely to encounter so you can be prepared to handle those situations when they happen. 

You just might save yourself quite a bit of money. 

I had one experience while traveling in Colombia where random people were pretending to be tour guides. While these people did kind of know the city, they certainly didn’t qualify as tour guides.

10. When I realize I’ve way overpaid for a hotel room

Have you ever been super excited to stay in a nice hotel, only to be met with extreme disappointment as soon as you open the door to your room?

This has happened to me on several occasions, most recently in San Diego and Brussels. 

Sometimes it’s the pictures that made the property seem much nicer than it really was.

Other times, I’ve incorrectly assumed the hotel was more luxurious because of the high room rates.

This can usually be prevented by reading hotel reviews, just make sure you read enough of them. 

11. People who recline their seats on an airplane

There’s a lot of talk in the media and on social media lately about the debate over whether reclining one’s seat on an airplane is rude or perfectly acceptable.

Here are my thoughts on the topic.

If the person in front of me wants to recline their seat, that is there choice. I have zero problems with that. This is a travel pet peeve because for some reason the person in front of me always reclines. Like always.

Do I recline my own seat on the airplane? Only sometimes and only on long haul flights. It’s usually because I’m uncomfortable and I’m trying to sleep.

But long story short, if you’re going to fly economy on a long haul flight, you need to be prepared to have very little space for the duration of the flight.

If you hate the idea of people reclining their seats in front of you, consider flying business class or first class. You’ll have much more space and you won’t have to worry about this.

I also agree with many other traveler bloggers out there who have been pointing out that it is the airlines who should be responding to this controversy.

It is the airlines themselves who have left so little room for passengers inside the airplane.

I understand the need to squeeze more bodies into a plane to keep airfare low, but how far will this go? I guess only time will tell.

As for me, I’m grateful to be able to fly around the world for an affordable price. I just wish airlines in the United States were as affordable as the airlines in Europe and Asia.

12. People who don’t get up when the plane arrives at the gate

I know this is a controversial take, so hear me out.

It’s not news that the people who stand up when the plane lands are generally ready to move once the door opens 5 minutes later.

The people who didn’t stand up when the plane landed have yet to gather their personal belongings. So when their row is up to deplane, they are just then starting to gather their personal items and find their luggage.

When I’ve been standing in the aisle for 5 minutes, you can bet I am ready to move as soon as the person in front of me steps forward.

This is just my take, but I know air travel is different for everybody. As long as we all get there safely, not much else matters.

If you’ve enjoyed my post about travel pet peeves and are looking for more great travel tips, check out my Top 10 Travel Tips for Europe. 

Related Posts