What's the most unusual/funny thing you've done for a guest?

[Alexandra316]

I have some guests staying at my primary listing this weekend: they have never been to Canada before, and in fact, have never left their home country before. They asked many questions ahead of their trip, and one of the things they asked me was "What's the LCBO?"

Here in Ontario, alcohol can only be sold through a few channels, and the primary channel is the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO, or LC pronounced Elsie, if you're feeling informal), who operate stores where you can buy said comestibles. It turned out the guest was asking because they wanted to buy some Puppers beer from the show Letterkenny (a cultishly popular Canadian sitcom). I looked into it, and found that only a few stores in our province have it, but one of them happens to be close to our cottage. I called the store, got them to set aside the last 8 cans they had, and I went to pick it up this morning while out and about doing my real job. The guest is delighted, and I thought it was kind of a fun thing to help them with, and I'm happy they're happy.

So what is the funniest, or most fun request you've had from a guest and have helped them with?

[Jim472]

Had a guest staying for a month at my rental and we were talking about the kitchen and cooking, something we both enjoy. In the same conversation she asked if I had a scale. I told her no but I'll get one before she arrived. A few days after she showed she asked where it was and I said in one of the kitchen drawers. You see where this is going right. Yeah, turns out she wanted a people scale, not food. Little laugh but got one anyways. 

[Alexandra316]

@Jim472 That's pretty funny... whoops! As someone who uses a food scale all the time, though, that's definitely something I'd appreciate having in the kitchen.

[Patty168]

Few months ago I had a Chinese guest  with his sun at my place. Only the sun speaks English . The father asked me to recommend him a barber shop and a China shop in Porto , that’s not  usual once you’re visiting Portugal. Then he asked me to buy tickets for a soccer game , to watch the game with them and to  bring a friend . I’m not a huge soccer fan but I accepted the invitation.  After all I had a funny experience. 

[Alexandra316]

@Patty168That's so nice! I've never done an activity with a guest before, but that's great that it worked out for you. 

[Patty168]

Yes, Alexandra. Once I was invited for dinner by an American guest. Also for dinner and drinks with an Italian girl that wasn’t able to book my place because it wasn’t available... most of my guests with kids sent me videos or photos of their kids after come back to their homes. Sometimes they leave me a little gift or drawings to express how much they loved stay at my place. It’s very grateful!! 

[Lawrene0]

Love the Puppers tagline, @Alexandra316 !

Funniest here was the fellow who asked for canoe launch info and shuttling help in order to surprise his wife for their anniversary. It would go like this: They would put their canoe in the river at an upstream bridge, paddle for a few hours, and "happen upon" the treehouse. He would get out of the canoe and pretend to check out the place, "find the door unlocked", and suggest they stay. She would not know he had booked it. 

You can see the problem with this as well as I could, right? I pictured her asking whether he had lost his mind. Refusing to get out of the canoe. 

She did. He had to admit, and then prove (without wifi), that he wasn't breaking and entering. Also it rained. Worst surprise ever. But all was good at breakfast, and they are repeat guests we look forward to seeing every summer. 

[Alexandra316]

@Lawrene0Such a cute idea, but yeah, not super well thought out! Still love a good romantic gesture. Glad that it worked out in the end!

[Emiel1]

@Alexandra316 

Once i had some guests who where on a Dutch langiage course. On a sunny evening i invited them for a small bike ride in the country side. On our way we came across a lot of animals (domestic and wild), and i explained the Dutch names. Offcourse they also wanted to know the sounds they make. So we al ended up in imitating the animals (resulting sometimes the animals started to join too), people staring at us if we were lunatics. But afte rall  it was a very educational journey !

[Alexandra316]

@Emiel1Too funny! Do you often go out and about with guests? I never do, but I wouldn't mind giving it a try. 

Why is it that animals in different countries have different "accents"?

[Helen427]

@Alexandra316 @Patty168 @Emiel1 @Lawrene0 

One of my guests had not seen a lamb/sheep since childhood so off we went to Cornwall Park where there was also some Orphan lambs  & tied it in with when the Farmer was bottle feeding them.

He gave me the tiniest one of the flock who was less than ten days old to hold.

After he went we had fun & games with this gorgeous lamb I named Louis.

Unbeknown to my Guest as she thought I was taking only a photo of her holding Louis I was in fact taking a video of her as she naturally nursed him. She couldn't believe it when we watched it & it's the most delightful memory for us both.

The farmer knows me well and I'd advise others not to do such a thing without his authority.

[Alexandra316]

@Helen427Amazing... that must have been a highlight of their trip. 

[Helen427]

@Alexandra316  One of many, she's still continuing her travels around the rest of the world as part of her year away from the USA and enjoying life.

Animals/ Insects make us all laugh.

One of my guests from the UK had never seen a Praying Mantis before & there's some funny photo's of that experience she's said I'm welcome to use - which may surface at some stage!!

[Alexandra316]

@Helen427That's pretty cool. We hosted a couple from England who were driving all over Canada earlier this year: always interesting to be part of someone else's travelling adventure.

[Rowena29]

Hi @Alexandra316,

I've done nothing very exciting at all, other than  meet a guest 1 hour earlier than checkin to receive a  surprise present he'd bought for his girlfriend and hide it in their room so he could produce it the next day ( it was a large framed picture so he couldn't easily smuggle it in).

I also spent some time  and got a big kick out of creating a kids  Easter retreat in the downstairs queen for a little 4 year old boy that was coming with his parents.  He was so enraptured that he was BEGGING  to be allowed to go to bed each night, which of course pleased his parents no end and got me a pretty amazing review.

But the wildlife around my house has been very co operative lately.

I  had my first international guests ( from New Zealand) check in a few days ago. We were out on the top deck admiring the view, and  on movie set cue, a very fat baby kookaburra landed on our retaining wall. (he's there almost constantly because we're landscaping and there's lots of lovely worms and grubs).  They were terribly excited and THEN 2 wild cockatiels and a bunch of rainbow lorikeets landed in the feeding dish about 1 metre from where they were standing.  THEN in the distance we spotted the splash back of whales breaching in the ocean on their migration.

Trouble is, going to be impossible to top that, and it happened in the first 10  minutes of a 10 day stay...