Being a gracious guest means exhibiting good manners, respect and gratitude towards your host and their home. Here are our top 3 tips to having a great stay and getting invited back.
Tip #1: Keep your visit short and sweet.
Experts say the ideal timeframe for a house guest is three days and 2 nights to avoid too much disruption to everyone's regular routine. If your host is cooking one of the nights, offer to treat them to dinner the next. Try to show that you're enjoying yourself because everyone wants the encouragement that they're doing a good job hosting.
Tip #2: Keep your spaces neat and tidy.
There's the obvious: make your bed each morning. But also, think about how the living room looks after you finish watching a movie. Fold up the blanket and bring your shoes back to your room. Help your host tidy up the kitchen. The best tip is to pick up an area without your host knowing and let them find it clean - a good surprise.
Tip #3: Bring a thoughtful gift for your host.
You can't go wrong with a tea towel, candle, cookbook or bottle of wine. Wrapping a wine bottle in a fun tea towel is a great one-two punch. It's something to enjoy now together - the wine - and something to use later after you leave - the tea towel. A handwritten thank you note left either with the gift or sent afterwards will leave a sweet memory and hopefully earn you another invitation down the road.
Happy hosting and guesting!
