Here’s the question asked by Julie, who’s new to HomeExchange:
“New to HomeExchange, I’ve arranged my first home swap!
What are your tips for making guests feel as welcome as possible?
What do you appreciate when you’re staying at someone’s home? What don’t you like?”
What advice would you give Julie to welcome her first guests the best way possible?
I’ll start: for me, the most important thing is to think of these people as friends and welcome them as such. I want them to feel good in my home and feel truly welcomed. So of course, I’ll tidy up my apartment, maybe make some space in the closet, but I’ll also leave them a little welcome note and a small gift (I usually go for good locally made chocolate). And of course, I’ll leave them my little welcome guide with everything they need to know about the apartment, as well as my favorite local spots, etc.
Of course, the basics are important… a clean home, all furnishings and appliances present and functioning as stated and shown in the host’s HE page, an informative welcome guide or home manual, and the establishment of a convenient and timely way to reach them during your stay in event of problems or questions.
A small gift and welcoming note is, of course, pleasant and welcome. Of more importance, to us anyway, based on dozens of exchanges over 10+ years, are these:
Space left for coats and shoes at entryway
Space left in bedroom closets and drawers
Space left in refrigerator and pantry/cupboards
Space left in bathroom shelves and/or cabinets
A small simple meal
One of the most frustrating things to discover at a host’s home is that absolutely no space has been left for guests’ travel belongings and a home is so cluttered that it is difficult to even find space to lay out a suitcase and live from it. We have encountered a few homes like this… wonderful in every other way, but very difficult and uncomfortable to actually live in for anything more than a couple of days because one is constantly living out of a suitcase and placing groceries on tabletops and countertops because there is not storage space. The bigger the travel group and the longer the stay, the more difficult this becomes.
Hosts… please leave some space in your home for guests to conveniently “move in” and be comfortable for their visit!
In many cases, guests arrive late in the day after a long tiring day of travel. It can be a huge relief to find a small simple meal waiting for them, so they do not have to immediately go back out to shop or find a restaurant in an unfamiliar place, and those places may even be closed!
It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive… bread, cheese, fresh fruit, hummus, wine or juice or tea or coffee. I realize that we cannot predict everyone’s tastes so just go with generic simple things that 90% of people would probably eat. Or ask them in advance about their food preferences and say that you’d like to leave a meal for their first night!
To be honest, we have found that we much prefer this to a gift such as sweets or flowers. We normally leave food for a simple meal, a bottle of wine, a soft drink, and a sweet. In addition to simple kindness and generosity, this is a very small price to pay for the enormous and valuable benefit of being able to stay at wonderful homes throughout the world for days and weeks at a time!
I always like my guests to feel welcome too, of course. I always leave them something to welcome them, often everything for Dutch breakfast, but sometimes I (also) offer them a meal they can easily make, if they have to come from far. We make our home clean and tidied up, but I never remove personal items such as posters, decorations, pictures, etc. For me, a bonus point of HomeExchange is that you actually get to live in someone’s home. They may not have the same taste as you do (in fact, it wouldbe rare to find a host with exact the same taste! ), but the factthat there are personal items makes my stay better. After a day trip, we really feel like returning home.
Sometimes, newbies ask if they should remove personal items. My (personal) answer is always: no!
I do always make room in kitchen cupboards and clear out a freezer and most of the fridge. I always leave some items in the fridge that we always have in stock and tell guests they are free to use them.
I also clear out a place where they can put their things in the bathroom.
I always ask if they want us tomake room in our wardrobes, because they are very full and it’s hard to do. However, if they really like us to do that, we put clothes away to make space.
We don’t need room in wardrobes ourselves, but we do like room in the kitchen and fridge and freezer.
I always give my guests personal tips on what to do in the area, based on their interests, ages and how far they like to travel to do or go to things.
Ialso have a list of (almost) everything in my home and how it works which is in alfabetical order. Guests don;t have to read everything, but they can look things up when they need to. I also send it digitally so they’ll be able to look it up digitally if they want to.
We also make a WhatsApp group with guests, so they always can send a message (or in emergencies, call) if they want to ask something.
), but the factthat there are personal items makes my stay better. After a day trip, we really feel like returning home.