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Originally Posted by onesnowyowl
1) Don't forget to bring a towel.
2) Clean up after yourself.
3) Don't use their toiletries unless you have permission to do so.
4) Offer to buy beer/food during your stay, and show up with some kind of beer/food/wine/flowers, depending on the person you're visiting.
5) Remember to say thank you when you leave!
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I'd say this is a pretty good summary. Though I don't expect my guests to bring towels, and always have some available, I always take a towel when staying with friends.
I would also like to say that this is a good test of friendship. After having stayed at several friends' houses and being received with varying degrees of good host/hostess etiquette, at least in one case, it made me seriously question the relationship. Let's just say that it was...disgusting to say the least.
I went to stay with a friend of mine and she asked me to come stay for a week with my boyfriend, in a sunny place where she had an apartment. At the time, my dad asked "have you asked her where you'll be sleeping and stuff" and I brushed it off. It was sorely regretted.
I would propose that good
host etiquette might be:
1) If there is only one bedroom in the house, the host should offer to take the couch, especially if it's uncomfortable and you, the guest, can't fit in it - also if the guest was not informed of this "accommodation".
2) If there is only one bedroom in the house, the host should, when possible, offer suitable, comfortable accomodation for the guest, especially if they are staying for more than a couple of days.
2) The host should offer the guest a clean set of towels, when available.
3) The host should clean the house at least minimally to receive the guest.
4) The host should also clean up after themselves, especially if it means eating on the guest's bed or using the same facilities as the guest.
5) The host should give the guest a reasonable amount of attention.
6) The host should ask the guest whether they would like anything particular to eat for breakfast, especially if their fridge is empty and they never have breakfast.
7) If the guest is sleeping on the couch, they should be allowed to use the room as a bedroom (if it has a door and is separate from other rooms) while they are in "pajama mode" without fear of being rudely walked in on so the host can watch TV at early morning hours.
Please note that some of these can be merely formalities, not meaning that the guest will take/need every offer/gesture, only serving to make the guest feel comfortable, welcome and happy to be at the host's house. You live and you learn.