Maybe it’s the kiasi (Hokkien phrase that means taking extreme measures to avoid risks) mentality, but the majority of Malaysians never break hotel rules, a hospitality etiquette survey by online travel site Expedia revealed.
Some high-ranking pet-peeves of Malaysian hotel guests . Photo: Expedia
Only around 10% of respondents in the 2016 Expedia Hotel Etiquette Poll allowed multiple people to sleep in their room without notifying the hotel or stated the hoarding of toiletries to take home.
Similarly, only 3% admitted to having smoked in a non-smoking room, while a mere 1.1% checked in under a fake name or snuck in a pet without notifying the hotel.
The results of the survey – which looks into the behaviour and preferences of overnight hotel guests above the age of 18 – also revealed that Malaysians expect other guests to be equally civil too.
Nothing annoys Malaysians more than the Hallway Hellraisers. A total of 64% voted that noisemakers outside of the hotel room as the most annoying and offensive type of hotel guests.
Some other high-ranking pet-peeves are The Inattentive Parent (who let their children misbehave), The Loud Speaker (who speaks loudly on their mobile in the hotel common areas and the Hot Tub/Pool Canoodlers (amorous couples in the hotel hot tub or pool).
Meanwhile, a whopping 79% of Malaysians have stayed in a hotel overnight at least once in the last 12 months.
The majority of respondents (90%) voted room service as a somewhat or very important amenity in their chosen hotel. In fact, over 80% Malaysians deem room service as a necessity rather than a luxury.
The only factors that came up higher than room service on the list of priorities, were the price (97.8 %) and the ability to self control the room temperature (93.6%).
But of course, the must-have amenity is WiFi at 99%. True to Malaysians’ reputation as an economically conscious lot, 36% of the respondents are not willing to pay more than US$10 (RM44.70) per day for WiFi.
The survey, distributed throughout Malaysia, was conducted online using an online probability-based panel designed to be representative of the general population.
