Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2008 > July > 16 > Entry
Thoughtful advice for house hosts
Last week, we shared readers’ advice for house guests. Now it’s the hosts’ turn.
Create a restful haven for your guests.
Make your guest room feel like a hotel/spa. Lots of white towels, travel size toiletries, books and magazines about local attractions and activities.
Have a plunger in the bathroom!
Explicitly invite your guests to have free rein with the kitchen, bathrooms and remote control. Don’t assume they know they’re welcome to autonomy in your home.
Give a tour when your guests arrive, so they know which room is theirs, which is yours, and which rooms they’re not supposed to enter.
Open bar is an open invitation for overnight guests. If you don’t find some creative way to limit the libations, be prepared to wake up to people sacked out on your couch, floor, bathroom tile, etc.
Always be prepared for the unexpected. Back up for everything including bar, bathroom, and medical emergencies.
Sleep in your guest room and use the guest bath.
Watching TV doesn’t count as a way of entertaining out-of-towners. Hide the remote from yourself.
Give yourself a few non-negotiable minutes each day to go outside and take deep breaths.
Don’t run your guests ragged. They should catch their plane with a sigh of nostalgic pleasure, not relief.
Let your guests discover Austin on their own and make their own memories about our fair city.
Never invite anyone to stay for longer than you can resist resurrecting unresolved issues or smoldering resentments.
Be clear with your invitation’s start and end dates, and how it will impact your schedule. My friends in Charleston have this disclaimer framed in their beach house: “If we get drunk on Sunday and invite you to stay until Tuesday, we don’t mean it.”
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Travel
Comments
Click here to report comment abuse.