How to make holiday house guests feel welcome

Who doesn't know that Las Vegas is home to several of the world's largest, most luxurious hotels?

There are more than 149,000 motel and hotel rooms in the area, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. A good many of them are outfitted with plush mattresses, sinfully soft sheets, fancy soaps and shampoos, as well as other high-end accoutrements.

So why is it that far-flung friends and family seem to prefer staying at your modest suburban abode during their visits here, rather than in an amenity-soaked suite on the Strip?

"Because it's free," mused interior designer Christine Ringenbach, owner of the Decorating Den Interiors franchise in Henderson.

Her family has called the valley home for nearly four decades. "When we first came here, everybody we knew came to visit," she recalled, "so every piece of furniture in the house opened up into some kind of bed."

Given her personal and professional experience, Ringenbach knows a thing or two about hosting house guests.

"Most of us, we don't get company that often," she said, "so to dedicate a whole room to a guest that might just be there three times a year for a few days, it's not the best use of your house."

Instead, she said, many of her decorating clients set up temporary guest quarters as needed in home offices, exercise areas, craft rooms and the like.

For the most part, people "are just happy to have a nice, comfortable place to stay," she said.

Whether it is a dedicated guest room or a makeshift sleeping area, "There are certain things that you want to try to incorporate" into any lodging space in your home, Ringenbach said.

Long before company arrives, she recommended that homeowners spend a night in their guest space to learn "what it's like to sleep in that room. Is the bed comfortable? Is there enough lighting? … What was it like to get dressed in that room?'"

The bed should be the largest and most important piece of furniture in the room.

"You really have to think about what kind of guests you're getting. Are they mostly couples, or do you need twin beds?" In most cases, Ringenbach said, a full- or queen-size bed is sufficient.

When it comes to bedding, she said, "It's really nice to make the bed with that hotel-quality-spa sort of look … that's basically all white, with maybe a couple of accent pillows for color."

As for blankets, "You have to kind of think about the weather and the time of year" to determine what type and how many guests may need.

Melissa Michaels agreed. The Seattle-based author's recently published book, "The Inspired Room" (Harvest House Publishers), shares its name with the popular home-decorating blog she has written for eight years (www.theinspiredroom.net).

She recommended offering house guests both a light-weight blanket as well as a heavier-weight option so that "they will be comfortable no matter what the temperature of your room is."

Then there is the issue of pillows.

"Those are important to people," Michaels said. "Everybody has their favorite pillow. At home you might have the ratty little pillow that you've used forever, and then you go to a hotel or a friend's house and they give you a big, brand-new, fluffy one, and it just doesn't feel the same as when you're at home. "

Michaels said she usually provides guests at her family's home (which features guest space in the basement) a feather or synthetic-feather pillow, as well as one that is more firm. "It's nice if you can give your guests a couple of options."

A minimum of four pillows should be used on a guest bed, Ringenbach said. "Some people like really soft, squishy ones and some people really like firm ones, and if you go to hotels you'll usually see that's what they provide. They're two different kinds for that reason."

Proper lighting should also be a consideration when outfitting a guest room.

"Think about your guests (being) in the bed, and it's dark and they need to make their way out to the bathroom," Michaels said. She suggested stationing a lamp on a bedside table, "just so they can flip the switch and at least get to the bathroom safely."

Speaking of the bathroom, she said it is "really important to have the bathroom super clean. Your guests don't want to come in and see all of your personal belongings strewn about."

If guests are sharing a bathroom with other household members, Ringenbach said, be sure to offer "a lot of nice, clean towels and cloths that are obviously (meant) for those people."

Consider supplying guests with a "welcome kit" that includes a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and similar items that they may have neglected to pack, Michaels said.

Also, "I like to leave a bottle of water" in the room, she said. "It doesn't have to be anything fancy … just something so that they have a little bit of water in case they need to take some medications or something at night."

There are other items that Ringenbach said can be included in a guest room such as a mirror, an alarm clock, a few books or magazines for reading, a chair (for additional seating beyond the bed), a television and even a Wi-Fi password.

"Everyone seems to travel with their gadgets," she said, "and that way (guests) can get on Wi-Fi and do whatever they need to do."

Whether a houseguest stays overnight or for a few weeks, it is thoughtful — and practical — to provide some drawer or closet space for them to store their belongings, Ringenbach said, "because who likes to live out of a suitcase?"

If nothing else, Michaels said, guests will appreciate a hook affixed to a wall or the back of a door, and a couple of clothes hangers.

Skip the luggage rack, however, as well as chocolates on the pillow at night, a fluffy bathrobe and other niceties that could make your home seem more hotel-like.

"People are coming to see you, so they certainly aren't expecting it to be a hotel … and they don't need to have room service or any of the things that they would have found if they would have gone to a hotel," Michaels reminded.

"There's no decorating police that are going to come in and arrest you for failure to comply with the guest-room rules. I think if you've made your guests comfortable, you've done your job."