Are you about to host overnight guests and you want to be the ultimate host / hostess? We’re sharing our top secrets with you that will leave your guests raving about their stay!

Learning how to host overnight guests can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it is your first time having guests. The secret is in the little details that will leave your guests in awe at your hosting prowess! Here is our best secrets that will make your guests wanting to come back to visit you every time!

This post is all about how to host overnight guests!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OVERNIGHT GUESTS FEEL WELCOME OVERNIGHT?

Leave Your Guests A Basket Filled with Essentials & Goodies

This is the trick that will leave your guests raving about their stay! I put together a basket filled with overnight essentials as well as fun goodies they can take home. The overnight essentials like toothbrush, toothpaste is a blessing if they accidentally left their bathroom essentials at home or when they’re too tired to look through their suitcase when they just want to go to bed.

Essentials you’ll want to include:

• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Towels
• Mouthwash
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Water
• Bar of soap

Extra goodies that take your basket to the next level:

• Wi-Fi password
• Candy (I purchased the candy in the image from TJ Max)
• Moisturizer
• Facial cleanser
• Bath bomb or shower fizzers
• Mason jar glasses
• Face mask
• Shower loofahs

The basket may look expensive (especially as the guests will get to keep most of the items) but go to the Dollar Tree and you’ll find out you can make a five-star basket easily on a budget!

Extra Saving Tip!

When I spend the night at a hotel, I checkout what bathroom essentials the hotel has provided us in the room. If the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash do not have the hotel’s logo anywhere on the containers then I keep them sealed and save these items for the next time we host guests. Easy way to add more expensive looking items to the basket, especially since we don’t use the extra hotel items anyway.

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HOW CAN I BE A GOOD HOST FOR MY HOUSEGUESTS?

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Assign Drinking Cups

Give your guests a drink that they can re-use throughout their stay. The guests can keep re-using these cups which will help decrease the number of dishes in your sink. Honestly, my husband and I WISH we had done this sooner and saved ourselves from the tedious task of cleaning up a series of cups that could have just been re-used. If you want to be extra creative, you can label their cups with chalkboard label stickers.

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Tea & Coffee Readily Available

Take it to the next level and have hot water available for tea or coffee. Typically, I tend to wake up earlier than my guests, so I’ll get the water boiling before they wake up. I just make sure to fill up the kettle to the top to make leftovers for seconds. A cup of morning tea or coffee is fun when enjoying the company of good friends. If you don’t want to keep refilling the tea kettle then look at getting a thermal coffee insulator. You can choose not to fill it up with coffee and just use it for hot water when guests are ready for a second or third cup.

Supplies For Hosting Overnight Guests

Toilet Paper, Toilet Paper, Toilet Paper!

Honey, I can’t express this enough: you really want to make it where your guests don’t have to reach out to you for items that you could just have on standby for them. One of those items being toilet (if the reason isn’t obvious) as they don’t have to ask you for another roll! This isn’t just beneficial for your guests as it prevents you from dropping everything, you’re doing to get them a roll of toilet paper. Make the hosting experience easier on yourself and fill up the room with toilet paper the guests can access.

Plenty Of Blankets, Pillows, & A Mattress Cover!

“You can always put more layers on, you can only take so many layers off” – Grandpa

As my grandfather used to always say ‘you can always put more layers on, you can only take so many layers off’. If your guests get cold, have enough blankets available to keep them warm at night. Guests can always shed as many blankets as they want when they get ready to go to sleep. I’ve been miserable sleeping at other guests houses because I woke up freezing in the middle of the night, and I just wasn’t comfortable tiptoeing around their house in search of a blanket.

In regard to pillows, some people may want firm, others may want medium or soft padding. If your guests are anything like my husband, then they may not use any pillows at all! The point is, if you have pillows to spare then provide options in the room for your guests. You won’t know what they will end up using to get a good night’s rest and they’ll be thankful for it.

Protect your mattress from accidental spills or spotting by having a mattress protector underneath the sheets. We don’t want to leave our mattresses up to chance, so I’d take a look at getting a one if you haven’t already.

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Plan Your Menu Ahead Of Time

You will be thanking me for this tip! I didn’t understand the value of planning out my menu until I actually did it for our overnight guests. I want to be in the room socializing and having fun with my people! Not trying to figure out what we’re going to eat next and if we have the ingredients to make it. Some of us aren’t close enough to order take-out, so I plan our meals ahead of time now. If I can make anything the day before I do it, so I can just enjoy my guests to the fullest. Our previous breakfast menu looked like this:

Breakfast Menu

Lunch Menu

If you feed your guests a heavy meal like we did for breakfast, then lunch should be a lot lighter, or they’ll be too stuffed come dinner time. I went with a charcuterie board, and it was quite a hit!

~ Mini Panini Sandwiches ~

~ Cheeses~

Variety pack of Boursin cheeses from Costco (guests die over these cheeses)

~ Salami, Coppa and Prosciutto ~

~ Macaroons ~

Another fan favorite among guests! The multi-color pack from Costco is enough for everyone!

COMMON QUESTIONS FOR HOSTING OVERNIGHT GUESTS

WHAT ARE SOME RULES FOR OVERNIGHT GUESTS?

Set Expectations in Advance

Some rules overnight guests can learn on the spot like ‘please take your shoes off at the door’, but there are other rules you may want to give your houseguest a heads up before their visit. This prevents unexpected disappointment as your guest may decide they want to stay at a hotel if they don’t want to follow the rule. In this section, we’ll go over a few of the rules you would want to cover with your guests before the visit….

No Pets Allowed?

Some people want to bring their furry friends along for the ride, but that doesn’t mean you’re bound to host them as well. My husband and I have traveled with our beautiful cat Misha, and she makes our travel experience even more exciting! However, no matter how clean and well-behaved our kitty is, I wouldn’t dream of guilting one of our friends or family members to host us as well as our cat.

Unfortunately, not all guests are this considerate to their host and you have to set boundaries with them in advance. Don’t wait until they’re traveling to your destination to tell them you won’t be able to host their pet. Your future guest needs to know in advance, so they can plan other accommodations if necessary.

Let Your Houseguests Know Your Availability Throughout the Day

Having guests over can be a real blast! Heck, you may ask for time off at work, so you can hang out with your loved ones and enjoy each other’s company. However, sometimes you might not be able to get time off work, or maybe your guest is coming in at a time when you have appointments with other people. There’s nothing wrong with this, but you’ll want to be transparent with your guest on how available you are during their stay.

This prevents disappointment and gives your houseguest the opportunity to make plans with other friends during their stay at your house.

To Get a Rental Car or Not to Get a Rental Car

If your guests are flying in, then the uncomfortable topic comes up as to who is going to do all the driving. If you want to drive your guest around, then that is great! However, gas is expensive, and you also might not want to be bound to driving your loved ones everywhere they want to go on their vacation.

If this is your situation then the phone call can be quite simple. Tell your future guest you recommend they get a rental car as you won’t be available to drive them around during their stay.

If you and your guest really want to be in the same car but need help with the gas money, then set the expectation to split the gas money beforehand.

But what if my guest is notorious for not paying me back?

I’ve been burned quite a few times in my life by people who don’t pay up the money they (quite fervently) promised they would. It’s a super uncomfortable situation to be in, but I finally changed my strategy to prevent myself from experiencing this again.

When handling these personalities, I agree with my guest to split the gas in advance but let them know we’ll pay with their card upfront. Then I’ll give them the cash (or Venmo) the difference right away. Eliminate ‘I’ll pay you back later’ from their vocabulary all together and have them put down the money upfront. You know you’ll be true to your word, and everyone will walk away happy.

Quiet Hours for Houseguests

If you’re hosting during the middle of the school week then your kids still need to go to bed at a certain time. Or if you have to go to work the next day, it’s understandable that you cannot stay up late into the night. Your guests should be able to understand the need to honor quiet hours. It doesn’t mean they have to go to bed at the same time as you or your children, but it doesn’t mean they watch movies at high volume late into the night.

WHAT TO DO WITH OVERNIGHT GUESTS?

The activities are almost endless when it comes to entertaining your guests! However, we’ll give you snippet of a few ideas of what you can do with your houseguests when they arrive.

Be A Tour Guide in Your Hometown

Show them the town you live in and be a tour guide for the day! You may live in an area that is super exciting to visit and your guests would love to see the area through your eyes!

Boardgame / Card Game Mania!

An inexpensive way to have fun is to bring out all of your favorite games from Uno to Ticket To Ride!

Go To the Movies

If there’s a good film coming out in theaters, then go with your guest and have something to discuss over dinner! Try to find something you all will like to watch, so no one is bored throughout a 2 hour movie.

WHAT IS THE 3 DAY RULE FOR HOUSE GUESTS

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” and we find the quote to remain true. No matter how excited you are to have your friends or family members over, you may not want to get overzealous with the time frame.

Have you ever seen the tv series ‘The Middle’? If you haven’t it’s a must-see comedy! The mom Frankie invites her parents over for Christmas for 2 weeks and she daydreams of the ultimate family bonding experience. Her husband Mike discourages her often as he reminds her, they grow tired of company after a few days. She comes to realize her husband is right as the house feels smaller with so many people, everyone’s routine is shaken up, and fights begin to develop as time comes.

Learn from ‘The Middle’ and have a short visit is instead! Unless you know a dream guest (they do exist) who you know it doesn’t matter how long they stay over, you’ll all be enjoying every moment of it.

This post was all about how to host overnight guests!

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This post was all about how to host overnight guests