A Secret to Hosting Overnight Guests

Extra bath towels! It’s a little gesture, like the luggage racks, but makes a huge difference. Having some towels already on the edge of the bed when a guest arrives takes away that awkward question of asking for them or scavenging a closet when they’re getting ready. I always get compliments on my Wove bath towels.

I love all the attention to detail in the comments. When hosting guests, I think it’s so important they feel just like they would do in a hotel – I even collect the slippers from hotels and leave them out for our guests when they stay over (set on top of fresh towels at the end of the bed). If only everyone was as like-minded as all the wonderful suggestions in these comments when it comes to hosting – I’ve had so many experiences of staying over at people’s homes and the sheets haven’t even been changed from the previous guests! I find this so shocking that I now have a problem accepting invitations in cases where I’m not quite sure what to expect of my hosts!

– Ditto on the hotel toiletries and extra toothbrushes. Plus spray deodorant in the bathroom cabinet. It’s the one thing you can’t get in a sample size.
– A glass/cup sitting in the bathroom with the towels along with a coaster on the nightstand as a silent signal that they can have a glass of water by the bedside.
– Hairdryer set out on the sink.
– Spare iPhone charger set up near the bed. No one likes fumbling behind the nightstand/bed looking for a spot to plug in.

My best friend’s mom always leaves a bar of chocolate on the bed. (Usually from Trader Joe’s!) I used to stay with her from time to time and always loved this gesture. Her daughter, my best friend, often leaves chocolate and books now, too, whenever I visit. It’s always a sweet gesture. :)

This has been a fun article to read. We have a detached guest house here at our place and I want to make visitors feel at home. Definitely have luggage racks! I also have a dresser where they can unload their suitcases, and plenty of closet hangers. There is a fully functioning kitchen so I try to stock the fridge. Our visitors make their own breakfasts/coffee, sometimes lunch, and they have dinner with us. I’ve got to get some of these makeup washcloths though!!! My goodness – that is brilliant! I’ve had a lot of colored towels ruined, both from stains, but also bleaching toothpaste and facial products. I only use white towels in my guest house now because of that, my pretty sage green towels didn’t make it…….. I suppose the black makeup wash cloths might also get bleached from the facial washing products that some teens use, but I’m going to give it a shot!

I stay in apartments a lot and the things that bother me the most are lack of good pillows and lack of bed side lights. I’ve lost count of the amount of places I’ve stayed with pancakes for pillows and only 2 of them, so nothing to prop you up when reading. And so many places don’t have bedside lights. There’s nothing more annoying than having to get out of bed to turn off the light when you want to sleep.

We had eight family members visit at the same time when we lived in Belgium plus our four.
Loofa for each person and shower gel in the shower- no soap to share. I put up suction hooks in the bathroom with a
name tag and hung towels for everyone. Also made it clear that there were more towels in the cupboard. We also told guests to use the washing machine for dirty laundry so they moved onto their next destination with clean clothes.
Also left out little manicure and pedicure sets since family had been on the road already for four weeks.
Boiled eggs, cereal, warm crossaints or rolls with cheese and cold meats in the kitchen for breakfast to help themselves.
Four adults and four teens did amazing job washing up and clearing up.
I also tell guests not to strip the bed so l can wash sheets at my leisure. One family of four stripped all the beds and I felt I needed to wash them as soon as they left.

My mother-in-law collects the unused toiletries from her stays in hotels and puts them in a pretty basket in her guest bathroom. So nice not to be facing a communal bar of soap in the shower last used by God knows who!

We, too are AirBnb hosts, so I have tried to think of everything possible need and comfort. I second what everyone has posted above. In addition:
* Small flat screen TV. Pretty reasonable these days, don’t take up any room, and people who love to watch TV in bed will appreciate it. I also include a laminated listing of the channels.
* Wifi PW in a small frame so it doesn’t get misplaced
* Electric water kettle with mugs, teas for bedtime
* A dorm size frig in the closet (they do hum!)
* Ironing board & iron in closet
* Sound machine, ear plugs
* Basket of brochures of things to do in the area.
* Full length mirror on back of door
* Spare umbrellas
* LL Bean canvas tote bags for shopping/sightseeing while they are here
* Small bowl of wrapped candies
* In the bathroom: Removable tub gripper for older folks
* Among the toiletry samples not mentioned above: tampons, pads, elastic hair bands, Bandaids, packet of Tide
* Our guests love this. I am ready to put one in our own shower: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Living-71450-4-Chamber-Dispenser/dp/B00004TUBO/ref=sr_1_8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1501065193&sr=1-8&keywords=soap+shower+dispenser
* bathroom spray (saves a lot of embarrassment!)
* basket filled with some clean-up supplies. Not that we expect our guests to clean up after themselves, but if they should spill something, they’d much rather touch up themselves than ask you for the Resolve carpet cleaner!
* Loofahs in addition to facecloths
* And if you really want to go that extra mile, find out what they like to drink first thing in the AM, and leave a tray outside their door. (Carafe, mugs, milk, sugar). Our guests feel so pampered!

I buy fresh orchids from Trader Joe’s and place in guest room. Looks fancy and I can enjoy it after they go!
Also, easy access bedside lighting so guests don’t have to get out of bed to switch off a light.
Finally, snacks! Lots and lots of snacks. Piles of fruit, sliced cheese, crackers and variety of booze options that are easily visible.

I love a beautiful tray (just bought one on sale at Home Goods) with a nice candle, water bottles, and other small luxury items to make our guests feel like they’re at a resort and less like a small apartment. The little details really do matter!

We are hosting friends from Australia (my home country) in our adopted home outside of Philadelphia for a week this coming Thursday. Although we host overseas guests often our guest room “set up” has always been somewhat sparse. Thanks to the wonderful suggestions, I’ve added a number of things to our guest room. Hopefully our guests will have an extra comfortable stay this time around.

what a great idea! luggage racks never even cross my mind and feel like a lovely hotel treat :)

here are my thoughts on how to BE a good overnight guest: https://www.belikefamily.com/blog/2017/6/20/goodguests

THIS POST is exactly why I read Cup of Jo. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, but your post strikes a perfect balance, then sparks a conversation among a group of strangers that feel like friends. Just wanted to voice my appreciation!

Recently visited my brother and my sister in law set out a couple different varieties of nice granola on the counter the night before and stocked the fridge with berries, yogurt, kefir, and cold brew. Yum! Woke up early with my toddler and everyone else was sleeping but it felt like a little good morning greeting.

A box of tissues in the bathroom and bedroom is always appreciated, but I commonly find none. I nearly always have tissues on me or a travel pack, because of allergies, etc., but it isn’t enough for a week.

And keeping basic medications handy is brilliant. I’m more likely to get an upset stomach while traveling and my husband has horrible reactions to cats. I try to bring travel sizes with me, but sometimes they don’t actually make it in my bag.

I too appreciate the luggage rack, and am happy to know you do too! It’s only this year’s travel where I began hoping each room I stayed in would have one. All the reasons you wrote of for your new found appreciation of the luggage rack, echo my own. It’s as if out of the blue, I noticed what a difference they make for me. How does that happen in life? You go about your business ignoring things, not seeing their value, then bam! it’s like you’re seeing it’s valuable use in your life for the first time.

Since our guest room shares the main bath with ours I recently put in a nice large mirror! I like to make sure I’m presentable when I come out of bed in the am as a houseguest :) also towels, bottles of water, fresh flowers, ear plugs and eye masks!

I have guest towels that feel nice and fresh and fluffy (instead of using the old ones I use. LOL). SPACE is good. I give them space. I need a lot of space while travelling. I always have snacks and different beverages on hand. Earplugs. Eyemask. I make them drink wine with me before we all turn in.

I fill a basket with trials of shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss (a variety), ear plugs (we have trains that like to go by during the night), body wash and/or soap with bright white wash cloths and white bath towels and leave it on the bed, just in case they forgot any thing. I also leave water bottles on the night stand.

I will make the bed with white sheets and a colorful duvet.

I always ask ahead of time what drink (alcoholic or not) they would like, along with any snacks, when they arrive. Most of our guests are driving at least 3 hours (we live in a congested area where the last 15 miles could take you an hour if you don’t plan right!) or flying in. So if you need a refresher (lemon water) or something to take the edge off (G&T) it will be waiting for you. I also like to have some nibbles, as you never know when was the last time was they ate. The trick on that is to have things that easy to repackage and toss back in the fridge or pantry so if no one is hungry it doesn’t go to waste.
Also a tip: if my visitors have kids I always ask if there are any specific foods they would like us to pick up. We don’t have kids, so I try to make sure they are included in the food planning.
Last, we have a chalkboard in the kitchen so I always make sure to “welcome” our guests there and provide some space for kids to doodle.

Our “guest room” is the toddler’s room, so I’m guessing guests get access to as many cuddly toys as they could want and nappies? This is an upgrade though- previously it was a blow up mattress in our living room (the joys of small London flats …). It’s for this reason we basically just host family. And very close friends
When I went to stay with my parents one time (with the kid), my mom prepared snack baskets for me and the baby. His was bigger (obviously) but it was such a sweet idea.