The Great Summer Keep-Away: A fifth of Brits don't want guests this summer
One in five (18%) adults admit they find it inconvenient to host guests at their house over the summer
Yet, it's their friends who are the least popular guests (20%) – followed by parents-in-law (15%), then siblings (14%)
More than one in ten (13%) say they don’t enjoy it when their parents visit
Research from Uswitch.com reveals how we really feel about our summer guests and offers advice on how to keep costs low when hosting.
It’s officially summer and while the weather might be heating up, that warm welcome you’re hoping for from family and friends you’re visiting this year might be a little frostier than expected.
According to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, one in five (18%) adults admit to finding it inconvenient hosting guests over the summer months.
When it comes to the most unwelcome guests, a fifth (20%) of Brits say friends are the least favoured, followed by a partner’s parents (15%) and then a brother or sister (14%).
Interestingly, dads ranked higher in popularity as a house guest than mums. More than one in ten (13%) said they found their mum’s presence less enjoyable, compared with just 10% of Brits who didn’t enjoy dad’s visit. That’s despite one fifth (19%) criticising dads for always commenting on home improvements that need to be done, and 17% saying that their dads fix things without asking.
The most common reason why Brits dislike having guests over is the continued lack of space and privacy, according to almost two fifths (37%). Followed by the pressure to have a tidy home, say a third (31%), and the incessant mess that guests create (29%). Other reasons include having to buy more food and drink (23%) and the seemingly never-ending pile of washing up (22%).
| Reasons for disliking guests in the home | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Having less privacy / space | 37% |
| The pressure to have a tidy home | 31% |
| The house becomes messy | 29% |
| Having to buy more food and drink | 23% |
| There’s more washing up (dishes) to do | 22% |
| The noise | 19% |
| Spending more on energy (gas / electricity) | 16% |
| There’s more laundry to do | 12% |
| Finding space for cars to park | 11% |
| Family arguments | 10% |
But we don’t all turn into summer Scrooges as soon as the holidays hit. The research also listed the best ways to get along with your new-found house mates during their summer stay.
Communicating well with each other (47%) and helping with washing and cleaning (47%) were the top solutions, then showing empathy for one another (37%) and doing your fair share of the cooking (36%) followed closely behind.
Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “We all look forward to the summer holidays but when they come around, some of us are faced with the idea of preparing our homes for guest after guest.
“The stress of keeping the place tidy, and paying higher energy bills while you’re catering for a bigger household can put us under stress, but there are ways to ensure you – and your guests – have the best time possible.
“Especially if they’re there for a longer period, be sure to communicate, share any tasks or chores, and try to encourage your guests to be as energy efficient as possible – whether that’s turning off lights in empty rooms or going easy on the AC.
“If you’re conscious of how much your guests are wasting on energy, you can keep track of your usage using Utrack by Uswitch, which connects to your smart meter and allows you to see usage insights down to the hour.”
Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch.com, offers tips on how to keep energy costs low while hosting guests at home this summer:
Ditch the big light: Opting for smaller lamps, or even candles, could create a more cosy ambiance, and may even save a few pennies — or save you from a ‘big light’ headache! Don’t forget to remind your guests to turn off lights when they leave an unused room.
Turn the telly off: Unless you’re hosting for a big game or film night, keep the television off. Every extra hour of unwatched TV could be costing you up to 3p in electricity — which all adds up. Instead, lean into hosting by catching up or opting for a games night.
Save with short showers: Electric showers can guzzle energy quickly, so encourage your friends or family to keep them short where possible. A typical 7.5kW electric shower costs almost 28p to use just for ten minutes, so reducing that time just four minutes will save 11p each time.
Swap the oven for the air fryer: Cooking an extra five hot meals in the oven each week could add 70p to energy costs. If a simple sandwich doesn’t satisfy, try a recipe using an air fryer, which will typically use half as much electricity as an oven.
Only run the dishwasher when full: You may find the dirty dishes start to pile up when hosting guests. Using a dishwasher is more energy efficient than doing it by hand, but make sure the machine is full before you put a wash on. An extra two dishwasher loads a week could cost about 35p.
To track your home energy usage, download Utrack by Uswitch.
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.