If you are a houseguest...

... Be a great one and you’ll be invited back.

Always bring a hostess gift. It doesn’t have to be expensive but you must bring something. Keep it light if you’re traveling by plane. Textiles are always good – lovely kitchen towels, for instance. If weight is not a factor, something the hostess can consume is always appreciated. Beautiful soaps, incense, fancy chocolates, a great book. Remember: how many nights of hotel are you saving by staying with your host?

Take your host(s) out for a meal. Or two or three. Be generous. Pay for the coffee if you’re out strolling together. Offer to dash out and buy the milk if they need it.

Clean up your foot print when you leave – as if you weren’t ever there.

Strip the bed and fold the sheets. It doesn’t matter that they will be put into the wash. It is not a nice “look” to come into a guestroom and see dirty sheets crumpled in a pile. And it is worse to come in the room and see an unmade bed with dirty sheets that need to be stripped. Stripping the bed and folding the sheets shows respect and thoughtfulness.

Empty your bedroom & bathroom trash into a bag and ask where you should deposit it.

Leave the bathroom neat. No hairs in the sink, no bathtub ring.

Hand over the keys before you forget!

Really make a thank you ceremony when you leave, an official moment to acknowledge your hosts and the gratitude you feel towards their generosity.

Invite them to your home. Even if you live in a dorm room, say, “If you ever need a place to stay, I’d be happy to have you.” Because you would!

Send a thank you note.


April 9, 2008