Staying with friends is the best! Here’s how we like to show up when we’re guests in our friends' homes.

At MyPlace we believe that together, we have more. Sharing our homes with each other creates and builds trust, strengthens connections between people and allows for new experiences to materialize. How great is that!

Staying at a friends or friend of a friend’s place is not the same as staying at a hotel or vacation rental. When we stay with friends, we slightly shift our expectations of the stay experience but we also shift how we show up as a guest in our friends' homes.

Here’s a few things we think about when we stay with our friends.

Did your friend accept your request to stay at their place or invite you to stay at their place? Amazing! They TRUST you to be in their home, around their precious belongings. That’s special (seriously!). Build upon that trust by showing up in the best way, treating their home better than you would your own.

Plans changed? Coming in later than expected? Need to cancel your stay?

Life happens, just be sure to share it with your host so they can support you as best possible or make alternative arrangements. Ensure you have already established proper lines of communication with your host if you haven’t already done so by getting on the phone or starting a text thread, it’ll make both your lives a lot easier if/when your plans change.

Understanding:

Your friend is NOT a professional vacation rental host. They’re just sharing their private home with you. Try to remember the difference.

Life is busy, emails and texts slip through. They’re just sharing their home with you, perhaps for the first time. If something doesn’t quite work out, have a little understanding and be as flexible as you can :)

Responsiveness:

You can also help your host by being as responsive and communicative as possible, even if they might not be :)

Respect the home and the things in it:

Treat their home as if it were yours. Then treat it better. If your host has shared some house rules with you, read them and follow them. If they haven’t, be proactive and ask them what’s cool and what’s not. They’ll appreciate that you asked.

Gratitude:

Had a great stay? Let your friend know! We like to leave our friends a nice thank you note, sometimes a bottle of wine or small token of our appreciation for letting us stay. Doesn’t have to be anything grand, but it will mean a lot.