1 in 5 Brits don’t enjoy having their in-laws stay overnight in their homes, research has revealed

The survey of 2,000 adults also found that just under a quarter (24%) of those staying overnight in someone else’s home would feel comfortable using their host’s toothbrush.

Having to clean up after guests topped the list of reasons why people don’t enjoy having guests over, followed by cooking, entertaining, having to pretend to get on with guests you don’t like, and having to laugh at unfunny jokes.

Although many of us have enjoyed seeing our friends’ pets on Zoom, 45% said they’d rather guests just bring their children. Not surprising since 10% said one of the worst things about hosting is cleaning up pet hair. While 12% said their guests were not allowed to bring pets and/or children.

The research, by sofa-in-a-box brand Swyft, found 39 per cent of Brits plan to have guests stay the night in their home now that lockdown restrictions have eased, with 13% already having visits planned.

However, not everyone is keen to jump back into the hosting saddle, with further results showing that 26% are waiting until later in the year to decide, and 23% won’t have guests for at least the rest of this year.

It would seem that some have got used to the complete peace and quiet as 12% of respondents said they will never have guests to stay overnight again.

Swyft commissioned the research after seeing searches surge for “sofa beds” and ‘how-to’ articles around getting your home ready for guests.

The research also found that on average, hosts spend £31.46 on getting their home ready for guests (including bedding and food). Three-quarters (74%) of respondents said they would never ask for money from their guests during their stay, but 26% would ask their guests to contribute during their stay.

When asked if they did a ‘deep clean’ for guests pre-pandemic, 33% of respondents said they deep for all their guests, 18% would only deep clean for some of their guests and 28% would not deep clean for any guests.

A quarter (25%) expect guests to help clean before they leave, which is not a bad idea since 15% of respondents have had overnight guests leave dirty underwear in their home – which was lightly higher for male respondents (17%).

More cleaning results found that 72% said they always clean the guest bedding, 17% only do so if guests stay for more than one night, 7% only clean the bedding if it looks dirty and 2% never clean their guests’ bedding.

Geoff Bull, Chief Marketing Officer at Swyft, added: “It’s been so long since we’ve welcomed people into our homes, many of us may have forgotten how to host or what we used to do to prepare. Of course, the main thing is about everyone being together, and enjoying each other’s company again.”

When overnight guests come to stay, Brits offer them the below:

Bedside lamp (43%)

My own towels (34%)

Guest only towels and bedding (33%)

Toiletries (30%)

Guest only towels (28%)

My own bedding (27%)

Guest only bedding (26%)

Storage (20%)

Plugs (18%)

House key (16%)

Toothbrush (11%)

None of the above (10%)