Five Big Tips for Handling Long-Term Guests on a Budget

If you’ve ever had to deal with long-term guests, you know that there are tons of hidden hassles.

However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to accommodate out visitors the best we can, should we?

For example, let’s say you have visitors for any of the following circumstances:

 

• Visiting in-laws for the holidays
• Friends and family staying over due to the delivery or a baby or an illness in the family
• Family who needs to stay with you out of sheer necessity (lost job or illness, for example)

Especially in the case of the unexpected, it’s crucial to keep cool and calm with our guests even if it feels like our sanity is on the line as they’ve overstayed their welcome. If you’re trying to figure out how to handle guests on a budget, consider the following five tips as crucial to making long-term visitors and yourself have a positive experience.

Crystal Clear Boundaries and Expectations

This is probably the one aspect of hosting that most people screw up. From the word “go,” you need to outline the following expectations, ideally before your company even arrives:

 

• How long do your guests plan on staying (don’t accept vague answers such as a “a few weeks,” but instead strive to have an arrival and departure date set in stone)
• What they plan on doing while they’re visiting (if they don’t have an answer for this, you’ll be burdened with the unfortunate expectation of constantly entertaining them)
• What areas of the house are off-limits (which is especially important if you have young visitors)

 

Even if plans change and you can afford to be flexible, having these expectations outlined lets your guests know which boundaries not to cross.

Keep Them Comfortable

Happy guests are comfortable guests, plain and simple. Likewise, your company will be less likely to bug you if they feel more at home.

For example, you may want to invest in some furniture for your guest room such as a new daybed or night stand. By giving guests the hotel treatment, such as having designated space for their stuff and small bonuses like fans and phone chargers, they’ll likely be much more gracious to your house rules.

Buy in Bulk

If you know you’ll be hosting guests for the long-term, you can save some money by purchasing some essential items in bulk from a warehouse store such as Costco. For example, bulk meals and household essentials like  toilet paper and shampoo should never be in short supply when you have guests.

Split the Bill

Just because you’re hosting visitors doesn’t mean that you should be expected to pay for entertainment and other outings. For example, make it clear that you expect to split the bill while going out to eat: gracious guests will often pick up the bill themselves out of courtesy for your hospitality.

Make Sure to Take Time for Yourself

Finally, don’t neglect the importance of “me” time to keeping your cool. You should have sections of your home to yourself where you can unwind and not feel obligated to be around your visitors. Whether it’s relaxing with a good book or going on an evening jog, take some time for yourself everyday to decompress.

Don’t forget that you shouldn’t feel obligated to break your back as a host; however, you should make your guests feel comfortable whilst also outlining realistic expectations for what they should do during their stay. Sticking to the aforementioned tips could be the difference between a happy visit and a hosting nightmare.