American families who invite their friends and relatives to come over to their homes are often concerned about making their homes more guest-friendly. Sometimes, they even think of doing a few renovations and improvements to include more amenities that would make their guests more comfortable the next time they pay a visit.
Having a ready recreational amenity is one sure way to make your guests more comfortable and sociable, such as a ping pong table. It’s one of the most popular places where guests and home members can gather around and talk while playing.
Here are a few ways to make your home more guest-friendly:
1. Set A Corner Where They Can Leave Their Stuff
One of the first concerns of any guest who visits the house of their friend or relative is a place where they can put their stuff.
To put your guests at ease, especially if they’re just visiting for the day and won’t be staying overnight, you can show them the corner where they can safely leave some of their belongings. They’d also feel more at home if they know there’s a corner where they can put down their bags, or charge their phones and other gadgets.
2. Make Sure Your HVAC Is Well-Maintained
One of the few things that are often neglected, if not totally forgotten, in home maintenance and improvement is the cleanliness of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Keep in mind that the air circulating in your home passes through your HVAC system several times each day. It’s highly important that you change your HVAC air filters on a regular basis.
This becomes even more important if you’re expecting guests who have asthma, allergies, and other lung conditions. If you’re expecting some senior or elderly guests, that’s all the more reason why you should make sure your HVAC isn’t blowing dusty or dirty air around your home. The last thing you want is having to rush a senior guest to the hospital due to respiratory difficulties.
3. Show Them The Toilet
Another concern of many guests is the toilet. Most of them don’t want to bother the host whenever they feel the need to use the toilet or washroom. But, if they don’t know where it is, they’d usually have to wait for the host to come back so they can ask their question. If there’s a party or an event in your house, some of them are left on their own.
You can put your guests more at ease and at home by having a toilet that they can readily use whenever they need to. It would be nice if you have one near the living room, which they can use anytime they need to without having to ask permission from you every time. It would also help if you can set aside some toiletries they can freely use.
4. Provide Internet Access
A lot of people these days need to always be connected to the Internet. It could be part of their work, as, nowadays, most office works are done virtually. Even kids need to stay connected to the Internet for academic purposes.
It would certainly please your guests if they know there’s a stable Internet connection at your home, which they can access for free. They might not say it right away, but it’s one of their concerns.
5. Set A Spare Room Where They Can Rest
If it’s something you can afford, it would surely be nice if you could set aside and prep a spare room that your guests can use. They need to have their own room where they can rest and have their privacy.
Even if your guests are only visiting for the day, it would still be nice if you could set up and prep a room where they can rest whenever they feel like it. If there’s a party and you’ve invited quite a number of people, some of them may have traveled far to reach your house. They could be tired, and would need a bit of rest and refreshing. A comfortable room could be the perfect way to address this.
6. Have A Little Playground For Kids
If you have a lawn or some grass in your compound, and you can afford it, another good idea to make your guests feel at home is by making a little playground for the kids in the backyard or lawn. It happens often that when your friends or relatives come over, they have to bring along their children. Especially if most of your friends are just starting their families, expect them to bring along their babies and toddlers.
Parents are constantly watching over and worrying about their children. To help your guests put their minds at ease about their kids, it would be nice if there’s a little playground in your lawn or inside your compound where the kids can play safely.
7. A Quiet Conference Nook For The On-Call
Since most people are being made to work from home or anywhere it’s possible to do so, some employees or workers are required to be on-call or standby by their bosses. Even if they’re at your house for a social event or a party, some of them are still expected by their employers to be available at least for an online meeting anytime during waking hours, and, sometimes, even during the earlier parts of the evening.
It would be nice if you can set up a little quiet nook in your house for guests who are on-call. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it has to be quiet and comfy. You can put in the basic things needed for a small conference nook. It should definitely have strong Wi-Fi signal, and, maybe, LAN for those who need wired connectivity. In addition, a small table and solid-colored background would be perfect for their video calls and conferences. Also, keep a reserve of headsets and wireless mouse, and you’ll be ready to help just in case they ask.
Open House, Friendly Home
The key to understanding how to make your guests feel at ease and at home is to try to put yourself in their shoes. What would be their concerns and what would they be looking for the moment they enter your home? You can make your home more guest-friendly by giving your guests that sense that they can still access everything they need if they stayed at their own homes instead.
