jumping

The biggest hotel guest faux pas have been revealed – including jumping the breakfast buffet queue and stealing from rooms.

Frowned upon acts when staying in a hotel include reserving pool chairs with towels for long periods, leaving rooms excessively messy and being loud in the hallways late at night. Other divisive acts include hanging damp laundry on the balcony, not leaving a review after staying and being rude to hotel staff.

Smoking or vaping in hotel rooms is also considered a no-no, as are putting the incorrect number of guests on the reservation and leaving alarms or phones to ring for long periods of time without turning them off. While not reading reviews when booking and not collecting or cashing in rewards points are also viewed unfavourably.

In response to a survey of 2000 people who have ever stayed in a hotel, Hotels.com, which commissioned the research, is offering holidaymakers £100 in ‘Hotels.comCash’ for future trips after staying for 10 eligible nights through its rewards programme.

Melanie Fish, travel expert and spokesperson for the global marketplace, which has also teamed up with William Hanson for a ‘Grand Etiquette Hotel’ guide, said: “Small tweaks can make a world of a difference.

“Taking the time to check reviews or making the most of rewards can turn a good trip into a great one, and help your travel budget stretch further, too.”

Researchers found the vast majority (90%) consider themselves to be considerate guests – although 39% think residents have become less respectful in recent years.

Sneaking extra guests in and constant public displays of affection around the pool are also frowned upon by hotel guests.

Those polled were also asked which nationalities they consider to be the gold standard for politeness – and which ones they think tend to be rudest.

Japanese tourists were ranked as the most considerate, followed by Sweden in second place, with U.K. respondents placing themselves third.

At the other end of the scale, Americans are regarded as the most impolite.

They ranked just beneath those from Germany, according to Hotels.com research conducted through OnePoll.

William Hanson said: “Better hotel etiquette doesn’t just benefit others, it can directly enhance your own stay.

“At the heart of my guide is the idea that small, thoughtful behaviours add up to big rewards: from a better night’s sleep and improved service to savings on future trips.”

Anyone who has jumped out of a plane with a parachute deserves respect, but to do it 36 times, that’s worthy of a salute.

Saul Pacheco, who turns 88 in November, is sitting in a lawn chair at the Arcadia Invitational with his friends, the starters dressed in red suits who fire pistols to begin races.

That’s when he mentions how he was in the 82nd Airborne Division and jumping out of planes in the 1960s after graduating from Wilmington Banning High and UCLA.

“I was a jump master who became in charge of the parachute troopers,” he said.

Then he talks about becoming a teacher and wanting to return to his alma mater, Banning, which had no openings, so he ends up at rival Carson and coaching the offensive line for Hall of Fame coach Gene Vollnogle for more than two decades. Vollnogle was football coach from 1963 to 1990, winning eight City titles.

Pacheco also became a track starter in 1977. He was already well trained to fire a pistol. It was learning all the rules required in track and field that needed to be mastered.

He apparently did just that, because he’s been at it for 49 years and plans to retire as a track starter this spring. For 25 years, he was a starter for the Arcadia Invitational. Then he became the meet referee to settle any disputes. The respect he has earned can be seen in the way other starters appreciate him for helping them learn the ropes.

He’ll be inducted into the Carson Hall of Fame this fall for his contributions as a coach and athletic director.

His story is pretty amazing. He was one of 13 children. His parents apparently wanted enough siblings to form a football team. His father was a carpenter helping build minesweepers at Terminal Island for the Navy. His mother stayed home and took care of everyone. The first seven kids born were boys. He was No. 5. Imagine the competition for food at dinner time.

“Everbody came in to eat at different times,” Pacheco said. “My mother did a great job having stuff ready.”

But what about 13 children together for Thanksgiving?

“We had a lot of laughs. We all got along.”

Five of the brothers are still alive, including a 90-year-old. All three sisters are alive. One of his brothers, Henry, was football coach at San Pedro for 12 years. Henry was drafted and ended up in the Vietnam War, where environmental issues might have led to the illness, lymphocytic leukemia, that took his life in 1991.

Two of his brothers worked for the LAPD. Two other brothers became firefighters. He has a grandson who’s a deputy sheriff in Riverside.

Pacheco has worked five state track championships and numerous City Section championships.

Like an umpire in football who calls a holding penalty, the only time anyone notices a starter in track is when there’s a false start.

“If there’s a false start, someone complains,” he said.

So why spend 49 years as a track starter?

“The fun part is watching all the athletes compete and being around all the other officials,” he said. “The officials are tremendous and dedicated trying to do a good job.”

All this came out by just happening to stop by and say hello to the starters who are always pleasant and enjoy talking. Unless you ask a question, you’ll never find out about someone’s background.

So why wasn’t Pacheco wearing a red suit like the rest of his friends at Arcadia?

“I brought it just in case,” he said. “I was an alternate.”

Pacheco is always prepared, whether jumping out of planes or teaching life lessons to football players.

If anyone deserves a salute, it’s Saul Pacheco.