Shrill arguments, raucous parties and passionate lovemaking top the list of sleep-disrupting noises that weary travelers often hear coming from nearby hotel rooms, according to a 2007 Noisy Neighbor Survey commissioned by the 213-location AmericInn hotel chain.
The survey polled more than 2,000 randomly selected consumers throughout the country. Of those who responded that they've been bothered, disturbed or embarrassed by the sounds they heard coming from outside their own room, 41 percent reported hearing arguments and parties, and one out of three said they were bothered by the sounds of amorous couples.
Other unwelcome noises that respondents said they've heard inside hotel rooms include flushing toilets and other bathroom sounds (26 percent); the din of power tools (13 percent); the sounds of illness (such as coughing and retching – 12 percent) and loud snoring, burping or hiccupping (11 percent). Cited less often in the survey, but just as annoying were blaring television sets, the heavy footsteps of guests in hallways and loud music.
Noise and its mitigation is one of the hottest issues in the hotel industry today. "A J.D. Power 'North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey' announced earlier this year that noise was the single most significant problem reported when more than 47,000 travelers were asked about a recent hotel stay," said Arnold Angeloni, chief executive officer of AmericInn International LLC, who himself was once awakened by an alarm clock going off in the room next door of a competitor's hotel. "Our Noisy Neighbor Survey helps to expose the most common sources of those annoying sounds – and highlights just how unusual it is to have a really quiet hotel experience."
What's equally intriguing is what travelers do, or don't do, to mitigate the noise problem. Nearly half of survey respondents who reported hearing bothersome noises (44 percent) said they have called the hotel manager or front desk to complain; one in five have tried to drown out a noisy neighbor with noise of their own; nearly 20 percent have also employed ear plugs or wrapped their head in a pillow. Surprisingly, more than one-quarter (26 percent) said they have simply put up with the ruckus and did nothing at all.