By: Stephanie Reynolds
Here are a few more tips to make the “houseguest” experience a great one for all involved.
1. Guests, ask your host when they get up and when they go to sleep. Then try to mimic that schedule. Even if you are used to partying to 2 a.m., if they go to sleep at 9 p.m., go to your room and party quietly. This is your time to explore different lives, different household cultures. Pretend you are filming an anthropological documentary (“This culture is so attuned to the rising and setting of the sun, they do not even need a clock to let them know the day has started. And they quickly retire after Jeopardy is over…”).
If you tend to get up in the middle of the night, inform your host/guest ahead of time. It is disconcerting as both a guest and a host to hear someone rustling about and not know if they are ill, hurt, lonely, an intruder, etc.
2. Hosts, some people get hungry in the middle of the night. Have paper plates/cups/bowls/etc. on the counter so the guests don’t have to rummage through the cabinets and make noise. Before they go to bed, say, “There are these snacks in the fridge and in the pantry. Help yourself.” Stock some water and snacks in the guest room.
3. If you are a guest, be polite. Don’t leave the kitchen a mess. Don’t eat all the best food (unless it was placed in your room as a welcome gift).
4. If there is special food that someone in the host or guest household needs to eat, label it and tuck it away. Often people will see “Bobby’s SPECIAL (gluten free, allergen free) cookies” and want to snack on them (they are new and delicious!), but that is all that Bobby has as a snack.
5. Hosts, it’s a great idea to clear out the fridge of all science experiments and old condiments. Dump unmarked leftovers—the last thing you want is your guest getting sick because what they thought was bleu cheese salad was actually leftovers from 3 weeks ago! A great tip I got from a fabulous lady who goes to my church is that she uses blue painters tape to mark containers in her fridge so the guests know what is in the container.
6. Clear understanding of schedules, expectations, and desires is the key to a smooth visit. Guests often want to rest, sleep, visit, shop, explore, etc. A wise and thoughtful guest will understand that it is not up to the host family to just starve until the guest wanders back home. Let your host know ahead of time (the day before) if you will make it for supper.
And a wise host will plan meals that are expandable, such as “gourmet grilled cheese” with soup, pizza, burgers or steak, spaghetti, etc.
7. Guests, strip the bed, tidy the bathroom, take out the trash, and offer to treat them to the last meal before you leave. It is a sweet kindness to your hosts to leave them little to no work when you leave.
Along with that, if work starts back on Monday, leave on Saturday. Give the host one FULL day to rest before they have go back to their regular lives. They will be eager to have you again because they know they will get a little break too.
8. Hosts, have extra pillows, towels, and blankets available. Some people have scent allergies so consider not using dryer sheets, etc. Have a plunger in the bathroom (iykyk). Have extra chargers by the beds.
9. Guests, ask about any home rules such as shoes/no shoes, acceptable eating places, etc., then follow them.
10. Hosts, mind the pets. YOU love Fluffy, and I love Fluffy, but some people don’t. Unless the guest invites your pet, don’t let the pets in the bedroom or climb on the guests, etc. If you are a guest, do not assume you can bring your pet. People have allergies, sometimes severe.
If you did get the “OK” to bring Fluffy, CLEAN UP THE MESS. I know at home we often just “wait ‘til the rain washes it away,” but when we visit, let’s be thoughtful!
Lagniappe (“a little something extra” that shows a guest they are loved):
1. A welcome note and a piece of candy on their pillow
2. Bottles of water and snacks by the bed
3. A basket in the bathroom with travel-sized supplies they might have forgotten: toothbrush, toothpaste, various over the counter medications (out of the reach of kids, though)
4. A few magazines at the end of the bed that you think the guest will love
5. Brochures of fun things to do (Hint, hint, come by Tourism!)
6. A few toys for the kids
Do you have any tips that you recommend? Send them in!
Don’t forget our Red White & BOOM is happening on the 4th at the Sportsplex starting at 5 p.m.! Vendors, food trucks, a battle of the bands, then FIREWORKS. The view is GREAT from the Sportsplex!
By: Stephanie Reynolds, Athens-Limestone Tourism Association
June 20, 2025
