Getting your home ready for a guest can prove tiring and expensive
Britons are opening their doors to house guests for almost a month of the year, collectively spending billions in their efforts to be perfect hosts.
New research from Lloyds TSB Home Insurance shows that across the country Britons fork out over £5 billion annually providing the perfect ‘hometel’ for their visitors. Keen to create their own stylish hotel-like environment, hosts pay for gourmet food, fresh flowers, toiletries and candles and even new furniture to ensure they make a good impression.
But the novelty of having houseguests often wears off with one in five saying their visitors outstayed their welcome. Parents-in-law and parents got a bit too comfortable for their hosts’ liking – 17 per cent said their parents-in-law and 13 per cent said their own parents took advantage of their hospitality. Even mates and boyfriends and girlfriends didn’t seem to realise when they weren’t wanted anymore.
And while the visit may start with claims of “my home is your home”, many hosts admit they end up regretting their words of welcome. Not tidying up, expecting to be waited on hand and foot, and leaving the toilet seat up are among the top offences happening in accommodating households. Hosts also struggle to tolerate those who talk too much or ‘get in the way’.
The top 10 most common houseguest complaints include:
Not tidying up after themselves
Leaving lights on when no one is home
Leaving the toilet seat up
Expecting to be waited on
Leaving the bathroom in a mess
Not washing up/loading the dishwasher
Making too much noise
Getting in the way
Trying to help too much
Putting things back in the wrong place
Not making their beds
Leaving wet towels on the floor
Paula Llewellyn from Lloyds TSB Home Insurance, comments: “As Britain’s most popular home insurance provider we know how special people’s homes are to them, so when guests outstay their welcome it can be frustrating. But we’re stereotypically British, so we bite our tongues and get on with it; which is exactly the kind of spirit that makes us so hospitable in the first place.”
Invariably hosts suffer these social faux pas in silence though. In only very rare circumstances – less than 1 per cent - are guests shown the red card and asked to pack their bags early.
And these transgressions occur despite house rules being laid down in advance – many admit they let their guests know they are expected to meet certain standards of modern etiquette. The most common ground rules given to visitors include asking them to not smoke, to remove shoes in the house, use coasters for hot drinks, turn lights off when nobody is in the room and keep the noise down after a certain time.
Despite coping with visitor annoyances, half of the population who have guests still enjoy playing host – understandable given 60 per cent say their home is welcoming.
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