Relationships,FriendsMAY 15, 2025

Roommates’ Existence Becomes A Problem As Entitled Guest Demands They “Leave” For Her Comfort

Rugilė Baltrunaitė and Kornelija Viečaitė

Letting your friends crash at your place is no biggie if you have the space to spare. Thirty percent of Americans say they host overnight guests in their homes at least a few times a year. But there are good guests and bad guests.

This woman wanted to stay at her friend's for a few nights, but the couch wasn't good enough. She expected the friend's roommates to give up a room so she could have "more privacy" and feel more comfortable. This situation became a cautionary tale in overestimating your friend's hospitality by expecting them to bend over backwards.

Friendship means helping each other out in a time of need, and hosting a pal overnight is not such a big deal. In fact, most Americans say they like (41%) or even love (20%) having overnight guests, such as friends or family, according to a YouGov poll.

But there is another side to the coin of letting people crash at your place. When Joybird asked Americans who the worst houseguests are, 26% said it's usually their friends. The three biggest sins they commit are:

Being messy;
Not helping to clean up;
And being rude to the host, family, or roommates.

The friend in this story hasn't even arrived at her friend's apartment, but is dictating her rules and disrespecting the friend's roommates. A house guest, according to certified etiquette trainer Mariah Grumet Humbert, should be flexible.

"Remember that you are entering someone else's space," she emphasizes. "They may do things differently in their home than you do in yours. You don't have to compromise your needs, of course, but be mindful of respecting the way your host and their family function inside the comfort of their own home."

In the end, the host is doing their friend a favor. If the conditions of the stay are not satisfactory, a person can always stay at a hotel. Comfort and privacy will be guaranteed!

A guest should make themselves almost invisible and cause as little inconvenience as possible

Image credits: pexels (not the actual photo)

Hotels or Airbnbs are not always an option for people. Staying at your friend's can be a great way to save money, but you'll have to keep in mind that you might need to sacrifice some things. For example, privacy and comfort were so important to the lady in this story.

Travel reporter and founder of the Map Happy blog Erica Ho has some advice and rules for couch surfers.

Be as inconspicuous as possible. When you're crashing on somebody's couch, you want to make yourself almost invisible. That's why leaving around dirty dishes and just a general mess is not just inconsiderate, but, frankly, rude.
Clean up after yourself. That includes the already-mentioned dishes as well as sheets. When your friend doesn't have a guest room or a separate bed, you're most likely sleeping in a common area. Tidying up the sheets every day so other people can sit on the couch is something a considerate guest would do.
No extra guests are allowed. Just because a friend lets you stay at their place for free for a few days doesn't mean you can start bringing your friends—or worse, dates who would be spending the night. Respect all the people who live there and their homes, not just your friend,, the host.
Say "Thank you," and we don't mean just verbally. Contribute something while you're staying at your friend's place, be it making dinner, baking a "Thank you" pie for all the roommates, or even ordering pizza. Just show you appreciate the help.
Don't overstay your welcome. Most people say there's a three-day rule, which is how long you usually crash with friends for free. But Ho has a different kind of metric: one you get asked about contributing to utilities, know it's your sign to leave.