Hospitality is central to travel.
We all value when friends or strangers take us under their roof,
feed us and make us feel at home.
That's why it's such a pleasure to host other travelers,
but not always.
Some guests are oblivious to the unwritten rules of travel,
making themselves a little bit too comfortable in their hosts home and
giving meaning to the old words of Benjamin Franklin:
Guests are like fish....
After three days, they start to stink.
So for everyone's sake, we're going to lay down the rules
of how to not be a bad guest in your host home.
Some of these rules are universal,
other ones vary from country to country.
Please comment below, and tell us what the traditions are in your home country.
This video was brought to you by Ring,
which allows you to manage the security of your home
from the convenience of your cell phone
anywhere in the world.
Carrie and I just moved into this new house,
and we thought it would be really fun to show you
how to not be a bad houseguest by using Ring security cameras
to capture Marko being a bad houseguest.
Just demonstrating, though.
I'm really not that bad in real life.
This is just a demonstration, folks.
Okay, let's get into it. Let's do it
First and foremost, do not show up unannounced
and expect to be hosted.
Hey, buddy. Long time no see. Mind if I take the couch?
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Make yourself at home.
Do not abuse your friends' hospitality by saying
you'll stay for a weekend and
ending up staying for a week or more...
or even worse coming back again and again and again
until you are no longer welcome.
Trust me. In earlier years of couchsurfing,
I made this mistake. Sorry David.
You're welcome to stay at my house here in LA whenever you want.
Do give plenty of notification and be clear
about how long you're staying before you arrive.
Stay for two or three days maximum and leave it at that.
What about gifts?
Don't show up empty-handed, and what's even worse,
don't show up super hungry
and just start rummaging through the fridge.
Hey, yo.. I think we're out of champagne and caviar.
Actually, there's only one bottle of champagne.
Can you pick some up after work?
Even if your hosts have a gigantic house with tons of room to spare,
they're still doing you a favor,
and even the smallest gift can be a token of your appreciation.
A nice bottle of wine or some artisan coffee.
It can be a nice gift.
It's something that might be a little bit more expensive than your normal tastes,
but it's a lot cheaper than getting a hotel room.
Next up: food.
Don't expect your hosts to cook for you
like this is some kind of bed and breakfast.
Having your hosts cook for you is a great gesture and it's very nice,
but it's by no means a given, so don't expect it.
And if you do experience it, be grateful.
If you're a picky eater,
don't expect your hosts to cater to your every whim.
And if you're a vegan and your hosts aren't,
offer to cook them a delicious dinner that suits your diet and serves their palates.
In fact, always offer to cook dinner at least once.
Nothing makes a host happier than coming home from work to a warm home-cooked meal.
Do this right once and you're good for the whole stay.
Ah, this is so good.
With a meal like this you can stay as long as you want.
Okay travelers, just because you may not believe in borders
doesn't mean you shouldn't respect boundaries.
So do not treat your host's home like a hostile.
That means don't show up with a pet without asking,
and definitely don't drag your hookup home from the bars
That's one of the reasons I love the Ring Home Security System
because I can keep my home safe.
I can check in on it when I'm out,
and I can even make sure that Marko's being a good houseguest
when I'm out of the house.
And if he isn't, I can communicate to him through the camera to let him know of his faulty ways.
Excuse me
This is not a hostile, Mark.
Please put some clothes on and clean up after yourself, please.
It only takes a couple of minutes to set up.
Everything is controlled through my cellphone,
and I can control it from anywhere in the world.
If you need peace of mind when you're traveling,
or if you just want to check in on your houseguest
and make sure that they're not up to no good,
this is the app for you.
Do ask your hosts about the house rules:
what time they go to bed, when they wake up,
if there's any special pet peeves that they have like wearing shoes in the house
or special considerations about taking care of the pet or the children.
And even further, if you're in a different country,
read up on social etiquette
to make sure you're not crossing any cultural boundaries.
Next up: personal space.
Don't forget to respect the common areas of the home.
I know that this can be difficult if you're staying on the couch, for example.
But don't sleep in so that your hosts have to tiptoe around you in their own home.
Hey my favorite program is on. Let me get the remote.
Can't you watch it on your cell phone? I'm kind of on vacation.
What time's dinner ready?
But if you're staying in a guest room,
there's really no excuse.
Do keep your footprint as minimal as possible,
especially if you're sleeping on the couch.
Wake up early and return the living room to its normal condition.
Take your clothes and put them in a backpack or bag
out of the way or as out-of-the-way as possible.
There's nothing worse for a host than to come home from a long day out at work and see their living room
covered in your dirty socks and underwear.
Hey...It's like 2:00 in the afternoon.
You want to get up now?
No, it's my weekend.
Don't expect your hosts to be your personal tour guides.
I have couch-surf hosted a lot,
and I know that I do it often because I have a kind of hands-off approach with my guests.
You can come, you can stay as long as you make yourself in and out,
and I don't have to be showing you around town.
you can stay for a long time.
But when you start making it an obligation for your hosts to show you around town,
you become somewhat of a burden.
You want to avoid that.
Hey, good morning. Hey, yeah
So my plan today is to hike the Hollywood sign,
and then I'm going to go to Disneyland.
And then I need to get a selfie in Venice at sunset.
So tell me, what time are you going to be able to take me there?
I've got to work, man.
How am I supposed to get to Disneyland????
Do be self-sufficient.
Have your own plans on how to get around town
without them driving you from A to B.
Have your own ideas for how to spend your time,
and invite them to come with you as an option, not an obligation.
But by the flip side,
don't be so self-sufficient that you spend no time at your hosts' home
because then they're going to feel like you're using them like a hotel.
Next up: do not make a mess.
This might seem obvious, but if you're the one who's asking for a free place to stay,
chances are your hosts might be a little more advanced at adulting than you are.
What passes for clean at your place might not fly with your hosts.
Do clean up after yourself and give a hand with the dishes whenever possible.
If you're in doubt, use the Boy Scout rule of thumb:
leave a place cleaner than when you found it.
When it's time to leave, remove your sheets from the bed
or from the couch and put them along with your towel in a laundry hamper or in the laundry room.
The bathroom can become a flashpoint,
especially in a house with one bathroom for a lot of roommates.
You might just be the extra straw that breaks the camel's back.
Do not use up all the hot water,
sample all of their toiletries, or take a shower when everyone in the house is trying to get ready for work.
Always ask your hosts if they're done using the bathroom before you do,
and just in case light a match.
Don't leave without giving a gift,
a gift of any kind or any size but even worse,
don't leave without at least saying goodbye and thank you.
Leave a handwritten note on the fridge
or in the kitchen that expresses your gratitude and thanks them for hosting you.
Finally, in the long term remember,
don't be a guest forever.
Sure, we all have times in our life where we're traveling
and couchsurfing more than we're hosting.
But eventually you will have your own place,
a bit more stability, and the chance to
reciprocate all the generosity that you once received.
It's about giving back.
Open your doors to travelers the way they were once open to you,
and hopefully with the right amount of hospitality,
you can pay back all those times you were a less than perfect guest.
Those are our tips on how you avoid being a bad a house guest.
What are yours?
Let us know what's rude or polite in your own country
down there in the comments section.
And if you liked this video or you found it helpful,
give it a big thumbs- up, share it with your travel buddies,
and subscribe to Vagabrothers for more travel tips every single week.
As a subscriber there's a special offer available right now....
It's get your own Ring Home Security kit,
which includes a ten piece alarm system
that's perfect for building a ring of security around your home.
Head to Ring.com/Vagabrothers
or just click on the link in the description box.
Ok, as always, thank you for watching.
Stay curious, keep exploring,
and we'll see you on the road.
Peace