Record-number of Brits are opening their doors on Christmas Day

- 40,000 homes / spare rooms available to rent on Airbnb on Christmas Day

- A quarter of Brits would rather spend Christmas with friends over family

- One fifth have their first alcoholic drink by breakfast on Christmas Day

- Nation is more likely to update Facebook, Instagram their presents, reply to work email or take a selfie than they are to go to church

Research released by Airbnb has found that almost half of Brits (48%) would be willing to take someone in who will be living away from home this Christmas; so the home-sharing site is inspiring homeowners to embrace the season of goodwill by listing their property on Airbnb for the 25th December.

There are a record breaking 40,000 homes and spare rooms available to rent on Christmas day on Airbnb as hosts are welcoming people into their homes to give thousands of visitors an authentic British Christmas.

On Christmas day, visitors can expect to wake up with a hangover, pop open the champagne before midday (with 1 in 5 having their first alcoholic drink by breakfast), open some presents around 11am, not get dressed until lunchtime, witness one full blown argument and a few tears before 3pm, eat twice as much as usual by 4pm, watch Christmas films and Only Fools and Horses reruns after dinner before ending the day by joining your hosts on an obligatory afternoon walk and falling asleep on the sofa by 7:30pm.

James McClure, general manager Airbnb UK and Ireland says: “Britain is at its best at Christmas time but to some visitors it can feel like you are looking at it from the outside, and that British Christmas traditions look completely alien. This Christmas we want to hero the hosts who embody Christmas spirit, those who open their doors to colleagues, friends, extended family or people who've found themselves a long way from home. By opening their homes these hosts are making it possible for people to experience a warm, authentic and fun British Christmas Day.”

In the UK, the traditional family Christmas appears to be undergoing a modern makeover as 20% of Brits now prefer to spend Christmas with friends over family, with 45% of them admitting they'd secretly love to have a break from their family Christmas. The research also found that we are three times as likely to grumble about having family over for Christmas (12%) than we are friends (4%).

Brits are also more likely to spend Christmas day updating their Facebook, Instagramming their presents, replying to work emails and taking selfies than heading out to church.

Brits abroad are also looking for that feeling of home at Christmas with 40% of those surveyed sometimes spending Christmas outside of the UK. 1 in 5 would love to stay with a local family when holidaying abroad to experience their Christmas traditions. Australia, the US, the Caribbean, Canada and Spain were voted as the top places that Brits would love to experience Christmas in.

For more information visit www.airbnb.com

-ENDS-

Notes to eds:

Research conducted by OnePoll in November 2015 on 2,000 UK adults that celebrate Christmas

About Airbnb

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world – online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions. In Europe, Airbnb has offices in Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Milan, Moscow and Paris.