I am expecting a very dear friend and here SO next week. They asked for hotel recommendations near us, and of course I invited them to stay with us, and sincerely want them to do so. But wasn't it sweet of them to say, "we are coming to your town and want to see you; can you recommend a hotel?"

I am impressed by my friend's consideration and politeness, but then, that's why she's such a dear friend!

Hi tuscanlifeedit, a dear friend for sure, I understand why you enjoy her company and have invited them to stay with you. A considerate friend!! Have a fun visit.

JCB- completely agree with social worker this time....and immediate family can be rude, but you're not being rude in this case...

We abide by the three day rule- 3 days is the max my parents will spend at Granma's house, at least with kids- it's on the fourth day the fights usually start:)

Well you know the old saying "Fish and visitors both start to smell after three days". So true.

We had a cousin of mine with two teenage children come to stay from the UK. They said they wanted to tour around and could they use our house as a base to drop cases and maybe stay a night or two. No problems of course. However out of the 14 days they stayed in Sydney they had two nights away at hotels, 2 nights with my mother and the rest at our house. A lovely base we turned out to be. Not to mention all the money saved in hotel bills. You can imagine how much the teenage boy ate and drank and not once did my cousin replace anything that either he or the children ate and drank. Once he had worked his way through all the gin and tonic, (I refused to restock) he promptly moved onto the next choice. They very kindly brought me a bag of apples from a trip to the orchards (bowled over by the generosity) the next day they promptly took them all for a picnic they were going on!! The daughter's parting comment was a big thanks (genuine) but a sorry we could never put you up when you come to the UK as our house isn't big enough!! I knew exactly where I stood!!. But like many before on this board we never stay at people's houses anyway, much prefer the peace and quiet of a B & B or hotel.

His daughter commented that someone she knew had moved to New Zealand, my cousin's ears pricked up and he commented that this was good news now they could stay in N.Z. for nothing!!! People just go around the world not necessarily going where they want to go, just going where the free accommation is!! Blinking cheek!!

Schnauzer- you should've locked up the booze, LOL....and the food, since a teen boy was involved...

And I've got to say- unless I couldn't stand the relatives or knew I'd be an inconvenience- I'd do the same thing, and I don't mind if people stay with me (I mean, if they WANT to sleep on the couch/floor)- Hotels/b&bs are nice, but too expensive on a long trip!

Kudos for being such a gracious host- I would've said "you only can stay with me if I/my kids/pets can stay with you:) and smacked the teen boy....

And also, if you're semi-pleasant people, and you live in a "destination" area (like Sydney or Hawaii), you're just asking for it....one of the reasons I'm convinced my parents chose to settle in eastern WA in the first place (they lived in Germany and DC before- man, were they popular!)

I didn't mention the other english couple who invited themselves with a 6 week old baby and a 3 three old to stay for a week. The mother spent the whole time in "their" room, coming down only when dinner was served on the table, Yes I cooked for them, and one night upon seeing my meal which was a chicken curry, (very nice it was too) announced with her nose in the air, that she "didn't eat curries" and promptly left the table, meal uneaten and retired to "her" room. I think they got the message I was not very happy. The poor hen pecked husband - a work associate of my husbands was very nice, but she.. what a b-t-h. Needless to say we haven't seen them since.

Oh, God, they stayed at your house with a baby and a 3 year old?? Why???Insane...I mean, rude behavior aside.

At least the hubby was nice....