Guests that never leave

[Somewhere in Paradise]

We get mostly what alot of you cringe about. Long term guests. Most people stay here for 7 nights or more. I don't really mind most of the time because they are out and about.
However sometimes we get what we call a "porch sitter" who it seems to us came all the way here just to sit on the porch. While we know we should take this as a compliment, sometimes we just don't know what to do. Mostly we tiptoe around trying to keep things serene as possible, but my gosh my back hurts after all that tiptoeing. Also this IS our home.
I guess my question is how much noise is appropriate? We don't advertise ourselves as a quiet meditation place but sometimes I get the vibe (real or maybe imagined) that people think they are getting the whole place to themselves.
I'd especially like to hear from those of you with kids.

 

[Don Draper]

I don't have kids but I totally understand what you are going through. The "hang-around Harry's" who either sit in their room or in your common areas ALL day...these really wear us out.
But mostly those folks are really just interested in unwinding, I don't think you need to worry about noise at all during the day, or at times when you would expect most guests to be "out". They may have chosen you because your family lives there, and they want to interact with you. We try to just go about our business and don't worry too much about noise.

 

[JBloggs]

Don't be surprised when people actually like the sounds of life in a home.
We try way way too hard to be quiet. I say this as last weekend (all rooms occupied) and we had two rooms get up at 6am - shower, use the hairdryers, talking and were up and down the stairs at 7am, and out on our porch talking loudly. Were they going somewhere? No, they went out on the porch in the wee hours with their coffee, the sun was not even up yet.
I was amazed, as we are completely ridiculous as innkeepers to live "quietly" here so guests can relax.
I think we need to lighten up and as long as we aren't yelling or disruptive, live our lives.
Thanks for the reminder. Not what you asked, but you reminded me! We are a family and live here - not robots.

 

[EmptyNest]

I don't have kids but I totally understand what you are going through. The "hang-around Harry's" who either sit in their room or in your common areas ALL day...these really wear us out.
But mostly those folks are really just interested in unwinding, I don't think you need to worry about noise at all during the day, or at times when you would expect most guests to be "out". They may have chosen you because your family lives there, and they want to interact with you. We try to just go about our business and don't worry too much about noise..

I am with you on this one. This is your home. Certainly be aware, but don't put your normal life on hold just because a guest decided to sit around your house for most of the day. They know it is not a hotel when they book with you. We just usually tried to stay out of their way, but let them know if they needed something to let us know. We are not there to entertain.

 

[vancouverislander]

Yes, I agree, we too are way too quiet. I've had guests say they like the sound of someone else being about - makes them feel more at home. We have a lot of guests who have plans on going sightseeing or hiking and just end up staying here, perhaps going for a short walk. Took a while to get used to it but don't let it bother me now.
However, we continue to try to keep our noise down, especially early in the morning.

 

[YellowSocks]

We don't tiptoe, but the kids aren't allowed to make a ruckus when there's guests... they can go outside and play in that case. Or be in the basement watching a video. We clean and cook and talk and live our lives. At night (and early morning) we are very quiet, but otherwise, just normal.
I do limit the amount the amount of time the ds5x2 spend talking with such guests--five minutes is cute but all afternoon might be annoying.
=)
Kk.

 

[Hangfive]

A few years ago we had a TA complaint that it was too quite at our inn. And this was during a period when were full and had a few turn-overs when this guest was here.
On the flip side I've had a compaint about a neighbor's dog barking down the street.
Can't please everybody...

 

[ginocat]

If a guest is in the house all day I must carry on with my normal work. Now, if I don't have to vacuum the guest lounge I might leave that for another day but I will be quiet in the morning and evening and carry on with my duties other than that. The only time I've almost stopped making noise is when I've had a guest in bed with a migraine. If a guest is unwell I'll do what I can to minimize noise.
Not that we are hotels but you certainly hear halls being vacuumed, cleaning being done during the day. It has to happen.