Dirty restrooms are costing travel hubs food and beverage sales

A new summer travel survey says dirty restrooms are pushing most travelers to skip purchases at airports, highway rest stops and train stations during the busy Fourth of July travel week. The findings suggest cleanliness can directly affect concession revenue at transportation hubs.

Why it matters: - Restroom cleanliness is tied to whether travelers spend money inside transportation hubs. - The survey points to a direct revenue risk for airports, highway rest stops and train stations. - U.S. airports alone rely heavily on food and beverage sales, which account for 26% of non-aeronautical revenue in a $65 billion market.

What happened: - AAA projects 72 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home during Fourth of July week. - Invisible Sun Technology released the 2026 Invisible Sun Summer Travel Index based on a survey of 788 U.S. consumers conducted in May and June 2026. - Nearly three out of four summer travelers, 72%, said they would leave a restroom without using it if they found it unacceptable. - Nearly eight out of 10 consumers, 79%, said they avoid eating in restaurants in airports, highway rest stops or train stations with dirty restrooms.

The details: - Consumers ranked a dirty toilet area as the top reason a restroom is unacceptable, followed by dirty floors and foul odors. - More than half of respondents, 53%, said they plan to drive to their summer destination. - Travelers were 3.2 times more likely to view highway rest stop restrooms as unacceptable than airport restrooms. - Travelers were 2.7 times more likely to view highway rest stop restrooms as unacceptable than train station restrooms. - Among highway rest stop restrooms, consumers ranked those along the Florida Turnpike as the cleanest, followed by I-95 and the Garden State Parkway. - The same travelers also ranked the Florida Turnpike as having the dirtiest restrooms, followed by the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. - Consumers ranked Buc-ee’s as their favorite convenience store restroom, followed by 7-Eleven. - Quick Trip and Wawa tied for third. - Prior research cited in the release found that six out of 10 consumers would spend more at a business known for clean restrooms, and 71% would be more likely to return and spend more after a positive restroom experience.

Between the lines: - The survey suggests travelers are not only reacting to visible cleanliness, but to inconsistency across locations. - That inconsistency may make customers less willing to stop, dine or shop because they cannot trust the restroom experience. - John Kunzier, CEO of Invisible Sun Technology, said travelers are willing to spend during summer travel but will take their money elsewhere if restrooms are unacceptable. - Kunzier also said inconsistent cleaning, not geography, is the real problem for operators trying to preserve customer confidence and revenue.

What's next: - Transportation operators face the busy summer travel period with a clear operational test: keep restrooms clean enough to protect spending. - The survey implies that maintaining consistent restroom standards could influence repeat visits and future purchases. - Cleanliness across all properties matters, especially for operators with multiple facilities and routes.

The bottom line: - For travel hubs, restroom quality is not just a customer service issue. It is a revenue issue.