If you’re planning on traveling to visit friends and family this holiday season, chances are, you’ll hear something like, “Literally, stay as long as you’d like!” But they don’t actually mean it “literally.”
According to a new survey of 2,000 Americans, most people would be happy to host guests for SIX days. Any longer than that, and you’re beginning to over-stay your welcome.
33% of people admit that they’ll begin “dropping hints” that it’s time to go, and 22% claim they’ll just outright tell a guest that they’ve stayed long enough.
Of course, not ALL guests get the same timetable. Parents are cool with their children staying for 10 days. (And let’s be honest, most MOMS are cool with MUCH more than that. They’re probably thrilled with anything less than “moving in with us indefinitely.”)
In-laws and other family members should cut it off at FIVE days.
For what it’s worth, most people in the survey say they DO love hosting, and 46% want to be the home where everyone gathers for festivities.
The biggest problem isn’t hosting being too much work, or guests getting annoying, it’s mostly just SPACE. 40% of people say they don’t have a guest room, so their overnight visitors are sleeping on the couch.
For Millennials and Gen X, there’s probably also the impact on their personal schedule. Some people can easily move things around to cater to a guest for a few days, but after a while, the normal everyday stuff you’re putting off starts to pile up.
Gen Z and Boomers are more likely to have flexible schedules. You know, since they’re not working.
