It is important to be careful with how you deal with your guests. Having guests over is not an easy task. You may feel like you want them to have the most beautiful comfortable and sweet experience staying at your place and under your care.
However, sometimes it gets confusing and we don’t know whether we’re doing more than we should or less than what’s needed for our guests to have a blast and enjoy their stay.
Sometimes our guests could be from abroad or foreigners and we just don’t have clue what’s okay to do and what’s not to help them be comfortable and enjoy their stay. For this reason, we have listed 5 ways below to make any guest happy, comfortable, and feel at ease under your care and in your home.
5 ways to make a guest feel welcome and important:
1- Ask them questions about their comfort:
One of the first things to do when someone you’re having over, wakes up in the morning is to ask if they slept well. It can be done with a simple “Did you sleep well?” or “Was there something that interrupted your night’s sleep or made you feel uncomfortable ?” if they look uneasy. If the guest slept well, that’s great.
However, the fact that you ask also shows that you care about their welfare and that you took them into consideration when preparing their bedroom or bed for them. It is a caring, polite, and nice gesture to ask similar questions to verify if your guest is sleeping comfortably, like the food, and enjoying the stay.
2- Put everything they might need at their disposal:
A good guest experience starts with a good first impression. But, it is not enough to create an ideal atmosphere. Hosts should know how to make the guest feel at home and provide them with everything they need.
An important part of creating a good guest experience is also to put everything that they might need at their disposal: from sheets or towels to new toothbrushes or shaving cream. Things like Wi-Fi connection and showing them how to use the kitchen if they woke up earlier than you, would be great. Taking care of these details beforehand will make their stay more comfortable for both parties involved.
3- Give them some space and privacy:
A great host must also ensure that guests have their privacy and help them with anything they need without intruding on their space. Smiling and greeting guests will create a positive environment and will benefit everyone in a way that it can create a good atmosphere and create a good connection between the guests and their host.
Keep in mind that your guests are grateful to you as a host for having them and taking good care of them, but this doesn’t mean that you have the right to learn about everything they do on their phone and listen to their phone calls too.
It doesn’t hurt to give your guest a bit of space, time, and privacy when needed. Give them options straight away if they ever need to go further from you to use their phone or take a call. You can say something like: “Please feel free to come to this room/ garden/ corridor to use your phone in privacy or to make or take a call”.
4- Ask about their preferences:
It is not a secret that when it comes to food, activities to do during the day, music to listen to, when to go to bed at night, etc, we all have different preferences and things we like or dislike. So if you have a guest over try to be mindful and to ask at all times about what they like and to do things their way.
You can make them feel at home by respecting their preferences and making sure that they are comfortable with everything. They will appreciate that you made them feel like they belong and will want to come back or at least will have nothing but amazing things to say about how much of a good host you are!
Keep in mind that everyone has different preferences so try asking politely, without ever assuming that they’d like or prefer something just because you do. Ask about how they would like their food cooked for example, or cook it together while having a bonding beautiful cooking experience.
5- Clear their way from your belongings:
Guest etiquette includes how to treat your guest with respect and courtesy. You should always greet your guests in a friendly manner and offer them a drink when they arrive at your home. You should also provide them with all the facilities that they need for their duration of stay in the house, such as food, drinks, toiletries, internet access and so on.
But, more importantly, you should also make sure that you remove your personal items from the guest’s bedroom or bathroom. That’s to avoid any uncomfortable situations and avoid being unhappy with their hygiene level if they touch your things or in case they break them by accident.
If you leave things you value at their disposal, it could cause conflict and maybe serious problems if something happened to these things.
How to make your guest room feel like a hotel room?
When you have guests coming to stay, you also want them to feel like they’re in a hotel, ideally. This way they will spread the word and tell everyone about how generous and hospitable you are. You will be known to be the perfect host and everyone will be wishing they could be your guest even just for a day or two.
There are a few simple things you can do to achieve this and make your guest room feel more like a hotel room. Start by making sure the bed is comfortable. Use high-quality sheets and pillows, and make sure the mattress is firm.
You should also provide plenty of pillows, a puffy and thick duvet, and clean linens so your guests can choose their own level of comfort and use what they need for a good night’s sleep. They should be able to fold and put away in an empty closet whatever sheets and pillows they’re not going to be using, rather than keep them in a corner on the bed and have them take away space.
In addition, make sure the room is clean and clutter-free. Provide a place for your guests to put their bags too, and clear away any personal items from surfaces like the dresser and nightstand. Also, stock the room with amenities like toiletries, towels, and small perfumes. You don’t have to put any snacks there if you don’t want them to eat in that room and attract pests. All you need on that level is to keep them full, well-fed, and well taken care of during the day. So they won’t feel the need to binge when they go to their room to sleep. By taking these steps, you can turn your guest room into a luxury retreat.
The bottom line:
Keep in mind that beggars can’t be choosers or at least guests cannot be so rude. You may have over guests that are hard to please or that are used to a higher type of living and lifestyle than yours, in this case, what matters is that you do your best.
The guests should also not be rude, demanding, or ungrateful but instead appreciate everything you do for them. If you have a guest that makes you feel small or that talks bad to you and doesn’t respect you, then you should try not to lose your cool and think rationally about what your options are before you do or say anything.