This is part of the CC Festival of hospitality, original topic created in the Spanish speaking Community Center, by @Jessi7 and translated below.
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I know the feeling of being away from home very well; away from your personal space, from your loved ones, and of reaching a strange place in an unfamiliar environment. Easy, it is not.
I also know that moment when you just want your bed, after a difficult, stressful, complicated and tiring work day, that fatigue that is very different from what you can experience enjoyed on a vacation.
When I planned to offer a room in my house, I always had in mind to offer a place that was considered as their second home, no matter if it was one night or thirty, I thought about what I would do to achieve it, and it wasn't complicated, because I put myself in the place of that person who is looking for an accommodation, in which he wants to get to rest before anything else, so it became my task to offer the elements that satisfy that need.
It was clear to me that I wanted my guests to find my place:
1. Private
2. Warm
3. Cozy
4. Clean
5. Visually pleasing
Received in a manner:
1. Friendly
2. Family
3. Nice
And above all create a bond of trust from the first contact, which is a pleasant interaction for both parties (host and guest), because you might think that letting someone into your house is simple, but no, you're letting them into your world, into your privacy, and for that trust is basic.
To achieve this I supported myself in my personal experience with Feng Shui, trying to incorporate those elements that would help me create the environment that I wanted to offer my guests; an atmosphere of well-being and harmony.
After two and a half years sharing my home, every time a reservation is completed, I think I am achieving my goal; my guests are happy, and most return. None of my guests are tourists, all come to stay for work reasons, they leave with a smile. But I also have it, I love to think that they slept well, that they rested and that every morning they were ready for one more working day–that at least started full of energy!
As a hostess I always say to my guests "welcome" but my challenge with each one of them, is to make them really feel it, it's the small details that make them know that I thought of them, not as a guest more, but with details that make them feel special. For example, one of them told me before his arrival that he was coming to a baby convention, he was about to have his first baby and so I left in the room a few books of baby pictures from around the world, I remember another one that his passion is soccer and especially he is a fan of a Mexican team, so I left him the history book of this team.
I take the welcoming word very seriously. Not only does it remain said or written, I turn it into special actions for them and it pleases me. If my guests are happy, I am too.
