apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Good tips. I agree that if the guest is sleeping in the common room, the host should probably put away the "bed" - the guest can at least pick up their stuff though.

I'm going to get this book! Thanks for the review!

When I stay on someone's couch I always put away the bed and keep my stuff neat.
I just feel like it's more fun for me if my host doesn't have to work too hard at keeping the house nice.

Okay, the allergy advice is terrible, I have to say. Vaccuum the day before your guests arrive but NOT the day they get there. Vacuuming kicks up dust and hair and makes allergies a LOT worse. Also, make sure that if your guests are allergic to pets, they aren't allergic to dust mites before you go opening the windows. Dust mites love the humidity changes of open windows.

When I have guests, I sleep on the sofa bed and the guests sleep in my freshly cleaned bedroom. That way I can put everything away without making them uncomfortable and they have additional privacy.

All great ideas !!! I do agree with Mocena with regard to vacuuming the day before your guests arrive. Also like Annieo, I tend to give my guests my bedroom and I sleep on the sofa.

Annieo, THANK YOU. My parents were the most gracious of hosts, offering their guests a freshly made bed (often mine, a full) and their own private room, even if it means temporarily displacing a member of the family. If one is welcoming invited guests into their home it is a special occasion, and they should be treated accordingly :)

While I can't and usually don't expect the same when I am a house guest at other's homes (i.e., tons of cats, early-rising small children, and an airmattress in the living room at my sister-in-law's), I do my best to be helpful and courteous (making the bed every morning, keeping my space tide, etc.)so they welcome me back again!

In the case of couples (e.g. my parents), large/tall people, and light sleepers, I do what Annieo does and give people my bed. I can sleep anywhere and it's good to keep the guests relatively contained (I work at home, am up later than most, and think it's less awkward to straighten up after myself).

In the bathroom, if no shelf or drawer space is available for clearing out for guests, a basket or tray usually works out well. Also, setting up a "vanity" area outside of the bathroom helps when multiple people have to get ready to go out (like for that dinner).

Great tips - especially the "welcome basket" at the hotel, and giving them a set of keys. I like the idea of "sharing" my place with guests, even if they aren't sleeping over.

No, thank you: "one in the same"
Yes, please: "one and the same"

Idioms (phrases like this one) abound in the English language (more than in others.) Many people learn them and use them only in spoken language. The correct form of each idiom is easily found online.
Often the mis-heard phrase makes little sense when written on the page (What is "one" in "the same?) and makes for more sense when corrected (Aha! They are one thing and they are the same thing; "one and the same.")

Thanks for playing.

That's "far more sense..."

if i was single and had a couple staying with me, i'd absolutely let them sleep in my bed and take the sofa... but when i stay with other people, i always feel really awkward when they offer to let me sleep in their bed while they take the alternate spot... i know they're just trying to be hospitable, but i tend to feel like i'm being more of an imposition than if i just sleep on the sofa myself...
anyway, i like most of the advice given and wish i'd thought of the hotel perks when my sister visited a few weeks ago...

The following advice is may be extreme, and only for cases where the host REALLY wants pet-allergic guests to stay with them and be comfortable. I have found that quickly wiping down the walls makes a huge difference! I am pretty allergic to cats, and when I moved into my new apartment (where a cat had previously lived) I fought with allergies for a week, including airing the place completely out, washing the hardwood floors, etc. My allergies disappeared the day my mother stepped in and insisted on washing down the walls. After mentioning it to a friend, she was a total sweetheart and did it to her place without me knowing before I stayed over one night. Usually I would be waking up wheezing, but that night I slept like a baby!

We just had a visiting artist stay with us for 2 weeks, I think she had a good time. But we are lucky to have an extra room. Here are some of the things we did to make it easier for her.

- We are expecting a baby, so we made sure to make the guest room a guest room, we took out all of the new baby stuff out of there so she would not be uncomfortable with the stuff

- Her nightstand had a pretty cup filled with guest stuff (extra toothpaste, mending kit, soaps) we have gathered from past hotel trips. It also had an alarm, reading light, and a plant to clean the air

- Although she was not allergic to cats, we made the room a no-cat-zone weeks before she came, and cleaned thoroughly a few times before her arrival.

- We made sure there was a drawer and shelf space available for her in the fridge and a cupboard shelf empty for her as well.

- We got her a bicycle and a pack of bus tickets so she would not need to rely on us if she did not want to.

Sorry, but all I can think of is how "rapunzel" must have felt when she realized that her grammatical lesson/comment contained a typo.

"To err is human, to be humbled divine."

; )

For those of us who have pollen allergies, leaving the windows open will make things far worse.

Clean, neatly folded towels with guest soap, always makes me feel welcome. Adding small shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer, is icing on the cake.

modtramp: Lol! Agreed. I felt the same way. Especially since I often have to quell my own inner grammer-Nazi.

Putting away the bed I agree with - but I think it's also fair to say that the guests should be responsible for keeping their personal items neat and tidy. There are few things more overwhelming when hosting a guest than having their stuff EVERYWHERE. When I'm a guest, I try to keep my stuff out of the way as best I can, and follow the host's lead on the bed and other household chores.

modtramp, you read my mind!
i was thinking that 'rapunzel' was hoist by her own petard. :)

i have to disagree that the host(ess) should be responsible for putting away a sofa bed. i would, of course, and be happy to, but as a guest put in that same situation, i absolutely would tidy up after myself. it's just good manners.

I'd add that if you have certain dietary wants or needs make sure your host knows ahead of time or buy the items yourself when you get there. I'd never expect my host friends to buy me a case of diet Coke but I'd certainly want to let them know (politely) about any food allergies I have.

Personally I always clean up after myself in someone else's house and I offer to help out--wash dishes, do laundry, etc. Less work for everyone and then we all feel like we're on vacation. :-)

we have two cats, and know that every once in a while an overnight guest will be allergic. so we keep a single set of guest sheets and towels that live in a closet, stored in one of those plastic zip-up bags that comforters come in. we still wash them before guests arrive and before we put them away, of course, but by not using them ourselves, we mostly avoid getting any cat hair on them at all. it really seems to help!