It is so good when people come to stay. Old friends and family visit, they drop by on the way through on holiday, or spend a few nights while in town for work. The practice of hospitality underpins community and our relationships.
But do we know how much it costs to have the extra bedroom?
- How much would a smaller house have cost?
- How much less would the heating bill be?
- What would we save on maintenance?
- What about the extra sheets, new furniture, and nice soap?
- How about the extra cleaning?
It isn't that the cost is too high, its that most of us probably haven't done the math. And haven't considered other options.
- If we live within walking distance of accommodation, our visitors can still be close enough to walk back to their room after a late summer bbq on our deck.
- If we stayed up-to-date with the local AirBnB options, and perhaps even trialled a few ourselves, we could provide good recommendations for friends. We might even work out a side-deal with an owner...
- If we bought a campervan for our own holiday use, we could connect it to our mains power and have ready-made standalone accommodation up the driveway.
- We could get to know our neighbours, and use their spare bedroom, or arrange for a housesit while they're away.
Who knows, doing things differently might even be better.