LIKE FISH, HOUSE GUESTS GO OFF AFTER 3 DAYS

HAVING people to stay isn’t easy. Staying with people isn’t easy either. But, as ever, good manners can make the difference.

AS A host, your job is to make your guests feel welcome and comfortable by anticipating their needs. As a guest, your job is to join in the spirit of the occasion and clear up after yourself.

HEAVENLY hosts allow guests to settle in to their rooms when they arrive, let them know the rough timings of things, but give them their privacy.

HEAVENLY houseguests . . . don’t outstay their welcome. The old adage ‘fish and houseguests go off after three days’ still applies.

HEAVENLY hosts provide fresh towels, glasses for water on the bedside table and they talk guests through how the shower works.

HEAVENLY houseguests make coffee, empty the dishwasher and don’t use or take things without asking first. You thought the smoked salmon in the fridge looked like a tasty afternoon snack: your host thought it was tonight’s starter.

HEAVENLY hosts leave coffee and tea out on the breakfast table for early risers.

HEAVENLY houseguests bring a present and send a handwritten thank you.

HEAVENLY hosts devise a suitable mixture of activities and downtime.

HEAVENLY houseguests go along with the host’s schedule and participate in group activities. If you would like to relieve the host’s burden by taking them out for dinner one night or being

in charge of breakfast one morning, discuss your idea with them on arrival.

Try spending the occasional night in your own spare bedroom (and not just when you’ve had fight with your other half) to get a feel of what it’s like to be a guest in your home. Upgrade and improve the guest facilities accordingly. OLD SCHOOL: A selection of light reading that the host thinks may be of interest to the guest should be left on the bedside table.

NEW SCHOOL: Plug in a spare mobile phone charger next to the bedside lamp and provide your guests with the wifi password before they have to come and ask you.