How to Host a Guest in your Home

Hosting a guest is can be great fun. Not least because you get to become a tourist in your own – or a neighbouring – city once again.

Other benefits include making new, lifelong friends, having fun dinner parties, and the opportunity to strike up connections for future travel plans of your own. And that’s just for starters. Hosting a new guest can be thrilling and inspiring. Here’s a checklist to make sure you do it properly, so that both you and your guests have a great time – rather than wishing you’d never set eyes on each other…

Tell them your timetable from the off

It may be that you’ve managed to take one or two days off work for when your guests arrive. So, just to make sure they understand you have other commitments and won’t be showing them around the whole time they’re here, let them know. This can be done easily by telling them you’re excited to show them round on xx and xx but you’ll have to turn up to work the rest of the time. That way there’s no misunderstandings or awkward encounters and your guests know they’ll have to organise stuff for themselves the rest of the time. And on that note…

Don’t try to pack everything in

The days that you do spend with your guests should be fun and relaxing. They shouldn’t be a matter of you running around madly trying to cram every single tourist attraction and the best places to eat within that allotted time. Aim for heading to a couple of ‘must do’ spots a day. That way both you and your guests will have plenty of energy to last the whole visit.

Provide a ‘welcome pack’

All the best hotel and BnB places leave a welcome pack for guests – and there’s a very good reason for that. It puts them in a good mood and endears them to you from the off. Not only that, but it means they can relax when they arrive and not feel awkward about asking you for a cup of tea, tissue, phone charger, the wi-fi password etc when they’ve only just met you for the first time.

Stock up on extra food

Filling up your fridge with essentials, such as milk, yoghurt, orange juice and bacon makes sure no-one goes hungry the first few days. Add eggs, coffee and tea bags (including herbal versions) to the cupboard. Meanwhile, it’s a good idea to have a ‘ready spread’ of food nibbles to put out and leave. This includes bowls of nuts and dried fruit, cheese and crackers, olives and a different fruit-type spread for the biscuits. Oh, and we’re sure some squares of chocolate won’t go amiss either.

Give your guests a guide

By giving them a guide, your guests have a checklist of things to see and do without having to ask you all the time. Or constantly consult their Lonely Planet guide. In the guide write down trendy coffee shops, great independent boutiques, restaurants people rave about, cool pubs and cocktail bars, and where’s good to walk. You can even send them this as a link before they even arrive so they can make some plans of their own.

Make sure they have space to store stuff

Providing a room in which your guests can stay which usually doubles as your office or a space where you store stuff out of sight, means that there’s not always room for your guests’ belongings. This means their books, ipads and jackets etc may find their way to your kitchen or living room – and not leave. So, always make sure they have space in the room in which they can store their things – whether that means clearing out a wardrobe or bureau. Honestly, you will come to really thank us for this tip!

Let your guests help clear up

Yes, it’s ok to let your guests help you with clearing up the dishes after a meal, and washing or drying them. After all, you’re their host, not an unpaid servant. But better than that, when you all chip in and do stuff it means you get to spend more time together doing interesting, fun things. And which is why your guests are here in the first place…

Get in touch

Thinking of hosting some guests yourself? Then why not take a look at our website visitsomeone.com to get a good idea of exactly what’s involved. We make it easy for you by connecting you with like-minded guests. We also check their accreditation beforehand and make sure it’s possible to hook up with guests with similar interests to your own.