Today is traditionally the biggest travel day of the year and millions of Americans will hit the road, hop on trains, and board airplanes. (I’ll refrain from any comments on the new TSA security procedures at this time.) For many, they’ll be heading to visit with family and friends, bound for feasts and good times. Many people will choose to stay the weekend at the homes of those families and friends, but maybe they should think about staying in a hotel instead.
In a recent holiday stress survey commissioned by Cambria Suites, the all-suites brand by Choice Hotels, and conducted by independent research company Leflein Associates Inc., more than one third of American adults (36 percent) admit that holidays would be less stressful if their relatives stayed in a hotel rather than with them. Among adults with children under 18, nearly one in two (45 percent) would be more relaxed without having guests over for the holidays.
So maybe staying in a hotel for the Thanksgiving weekend and the rest of the upcoming holidays wouldn’t be such a bad idea. You can get up when you wish. You get ready at your own pace without worrying about sharing a bathroom with numerous other people, and there’s always the fact that even the closest of families and friends need a break from each other now and then. According to the survey results, it may make your family and friends happier than you think.
That idea is backed up by the survey’s results. The survey revealed that Americans could only tolerate relatives staying with them for about three and a half days without losing their cool. About one quarter (24 percent) confess they can only host family members for one day or less, while 40 percent can manage two or three days.
While it may seem like staying in a hotel is an unnecessary expense, consider that it may be saving would-be hosts money. According to the study, when considering expenses such as groceries, entertaining, decorations, and having the house cleaned to make guests feel comfortable, Americans spend nearly $300 per household to have relatives stay with them during the holidays.
And there’s also the elimination of what usually turns out to be lame excuses people make up to avoid hosting guests. According to the study, 33 percent of adults have lied to relatives in the past to avoid having them as a houseguest. Among those who have made excuses, the top excuse was pretending to go out of town (36 percent), followed by being sick (34 percent), not having an extra bed (34 percent), hosting other visitors (22 percent), and renovating the home (14 percent).
So while we might like to sing about going home for the holidays, we might want to think about going to a hotel when we get there.
Readers: Have you chosen to stay at hotel rather than with relatives during the holidays? Or, having you secretly wished relatives would go to a hotel rather than stay with you?