6 minute read
No guest bedroom? You can still host company comfortably this holiday season
BY CHRISTINA STURDIVANT SANI
How to put your guest at ease and create a seamless experience for everyone in the household
WHILE hosting a friend or family member in your home can make for memorable moments, it can also be nerveracking, for you and your company, if you don’t have a guest room. No one likes feeling as if they’re intruding on your space or are a burden.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can make a guest feel comfortable, even if you don’t have a dedicated space for them to sleep. The key, according to home organising experts, is preparing for what they might need, so they don’t have to ask for much.
These tips will put your guest at ease and create a more seamless experience for everyone.
Find a way to create a separate space
Consider giving up your bedroom or a family member’s room to allow your guest to have a place where they can retreat and close the door.
You could sleep in a common area, or family members can double up in a room, suggests Robyn Reynolds, the owner of Organize2Harmonize and president of the Board of Certification for Professional Organizers.
If you can’t offer your bedroom, try enclosing a common space for your guest, especially if people have to pass through it to reach another room.
Reynolds recommends running a cord or rod between opposite walls and hanging a curtain on it to cordon off your sofa and give your guest privacy.
You could also purchase a free-standing divider that fans out, which is easier to put away when your guest leaves, says Naeemah Ford Goldson, the owner of Restore Order Professional Organizing and co-founder of the National Association of Black Professional Organizers. And add some fluffy pillows and clean, cosy blankets or throws to make the sofa more comfortable for sleeping.
Consider their background
Take note of your guests’ cultural background and make them feel welcome by acknowledging any related needs and preferences.
“They may want to do Zoom church in their room before they come out in the morning, or they may not eat at the same time or eat the same foods that you eat,” says Lyndsey Dianne, a blogger and the owner of DianneDecor.com.
Put together a welcome basket Stock up on water bottles, your guest’s favourite snacks, a phone charger, a scented candle, comfy socks, earplugs and a sleep mask.
“Anything that would make it feel more homey,” says Reynolds. “It could be in some sort of basket or container – whatever it is that you may have around the house.”
Prepare toiletries and bedding
Gather toiletry items such as a towel, washcloth, soap, toothpaste, lotion and shampoo.
“I would put them out even if they’re not going to use them so that you don’t have to quiz them on a checklist of items that they’ve brought or haven’t brought,” says Dianne. This also alleviates the need for guests to ask for something they forgot.
If possible, make your guest’s bed before they arrive so they won’t have to wait for you to decide that the end of the day has come.
“Now you’re setting up the bedding, and they’re standing there watching you put fitted sheets on. It’s uncomfortable,” Dianne says.
Also, provide extra blankets in case they get cold in the middle of the night, Goldson says.
Make space for their clothes
Give guests somewhere to put their clothes so they’re not living out of their suitcase, whether it’s a few hangers in your bedroom closet or space in a dresser drawer.
No room to spare? Be resourceful.
“You may have a plastic bin that they could put their clothes in that would sit somewhere in the room where they’re staying,” says Reynolds.
Depending on the weather, you should also make space for outerwear so they aren’t “hanging on to their coat or bringing it back to the bedroom” every time they enter the house, says Dianne.
Give them a house tour
When your guest arrives, take time to show them around. It doesn’t have to be every nook and cranny of the house, but at least cover the spots where they’ll spend the most time, including the sleeping area, bathroom and kitchen.
Post your wi-fi information on a card or sticky note, Dianne says, so guests can find it easily and when it’s convenient, “so they’re not walking in the house and you’re like: ‘Okay, here’s the wi-fi information,’ and they haven’t even put their bags down yet.”
Also provide a power strip with adequate free outlets for them to charge multiple items.
After the tour, “give them some privacy to unwind and get settled”, Dianne adds.
Feed them
If your guest is arriving late in the evening, set aside food for them.
“I would preorder takeout so that when they get back from the airport or wherever, it’s there and they don’t have (to say): ‘Hey, can we stop at McDonald’s on the way home?’ Let them know: ‘I ordered a bunch of stuff and you’re welcome to it.” says Dianne.
Take it a step further by stocking your kitchen with food and drinks they can consume during their stay.
“If they’re a Pepsi drinker but you’re a Coke person, have a couple of cans of Pepsis to make them happy.
“If they’re vegetarian, have some options so they have something to snack on, even if they’re not going to make full meals,” says Reynolds.
Dianne suggests having at least six water bottles in the fridge.
“If there’s plenty, I don’t have that awkward, uncomfortable feeling about taking something.”
And leave disposable plates, cups and cutlery on the counter.
“If somebody wants to get something to eat, they can easily do that and not feel like: ‘Oh, well, I have to wash these dishes or put them in the dishwasher,’” says Dianne.
Respect their time
Your guest may have had a long journey or prefer to go to bed earlier than you do.
If you’re a night owl, consider shutting things down at a more reasonable hour “so they have time to unwind and they don’t feel like they have to stay up because the host is staying up,” says Goldson.
Have the same consideration in the morning.
“You don’t know how they slept the night before. And if they’re out of town, odds are they either drove a ways, took a bus or took a flight.”
Washington Post
