Tips for hosting overseas guests

Less than two hours ago, my first overseas guests boarded a plane back to the United States, after having stayed with us for 12 (ish) days. This was my first time really hosting someone in my home for more than a night or two, so ensuring their stay was comfortable and easy was priority number one. In case you haven’t perused the About section of my blog, I live in Hong Kong and am originally from the east coast of the United States. As was the case with my most recent guests, the majority of my visitors will be coming from the U.S., traveling up to 17 hours to get here.

It means a lot to have someone come stay with us, not only because it’s so expensive, but traveling to Asia for many people (including myself the first time) can be a little daunting. What kind of food will they like? How much walking will they want to do? How will the jet lag affect them? Among many other questions, kept popping up in my mind.

In order to prepare for their visit, and be an actual adult, I created a plan of attack that (I hope) made their stay in Hong Kong that much better. Here are my top tips for hosting overseas guests!

Plan ahead

This one is obvious, but specifically plan ahead with your guests to learn about what they’re interested in doing during their stay, especially living in Hong Kong, there is a lot toexperience. It doesn’t have to be an in-depth prep, but getting an idea of their interests in advance will ensure they’re doing activities they will enjoy, thus maximizing their time. Especially being in a foreign country, with many types of cuisine, it’s also good to know any dietary restrictions or allergies in advance.

Create a warm environment

Think about what makes your home comfortable and cozy. Extra pillows and blankets, scented candles (we have a dog, so I especially worry about this), enough closet space to hang clothes that your guests don’t want to wrinkle (don’t forget to include hangers!), and/or drawer space are essential. It’s important that my guests feel they can completely unpack and be “at home” without having to dig clothes out of a suitcase every day.

Also, remember that small details go a long way. For each guest that visits, I like to include a personalized note in their bedroom. It serves as a fun kick off to their trip, and a nice keepsake of their time in Hong Kong.

Make sure you have the amenities covered

Another obvious one, but if there’s one thing on this whole list that’s the most important, it’s this one. Be sure to have fresh towels, shower supplies, and other hygienic items readily available for your guests. Especially those traveling a great distance, it’s easy to forget to pack a toothbrush, or hair spray. Having all of those items available will take the stress off of your guests, and even allow for more space in their suitcase!

I found this little box at one of my favorite home décor stores in Hong Kong, FrancFranc. Instead of just having the washcloths under the sink, I thought it would be cute to roll the towels, and place them in this box with a reed diffuser and lotion. The floral scent from the diffuser made the washcloths smell even more fresh and clean. And the lotion? You can get fancy with a nicer brand, but I just went with something simple like Jergens.

Tour the kitchen

This one is important for overseas guests mainly because of jet lag. We’re 13 hours ahead of our western visitors, so it’s likely they will wake up fairly early – we’re talking 5 and 6 a.m. Giving your guests a tour of the kitchen in advance will help them feel at home, giving them the space to freely help themselves to coffee or tea, snacks, etc. in those early hours before the host wakes up (guilty). Even if you find that your guests aren’t experiencing jet lag, giving them free reign over the kitchen is just good manners, besides, nobody wants a hangry house guest.

Make some snacks + treats in advance

Being in a foreign country makes everyone want to hit the ground running! That being said, many meals will likely be outside of your home, while you explore. It's nice to have some pre-made snacks available that are easy to eat on the move. For me, it was all about breakfast foods as many of our lunches and dinners were eaten outside the apartment.

For my guests, I made blueberry muffins and ginger-molasses granola from the cookbook, Run Fast. Eat Slow. The granola worked well to sprinkle on top of yogurt, or just eat plain as a snack. I also made some chocolate chip cookies to satisfy any sweet cravings…ok, they were for me. I was literally the only person in the apartment who ate them over the course of 12 days. Sigh.

Keep it local

Last, but not least, think about what makes your location unique and exciting to your guests, and include that in their stay. This can be anything from decorations, reading material, foods and more.

For me, I have a ton of books and magazines about Hong Kong and Asia. I collected all of them and created a little reading station in the guest bedroom. Having some reading material available in the bedroom also gave our guests something do during the early hours of their up-before-the-sun jetlag experience. Our guests actually referenced a lot of those materials during their stay, making them little Hong Kong experts along the way.

Stay tuned for our full 10-day itinerary. I’ll have everything from what we did, including activities, to food and shopping, and even an overnight trip to Macau!