If your home doesn’t have a dedicated guest room, you might think you can’t host overnight guests. But with just a little advanced preparation and the help of some useful products, you can make your guests feel comfortable in your home even if you don’t have an abundance of space.

Discuss details with your guest

If you will be hosting an overnight guest, it makes sense to reach out to them before they arrive to make sure they will be comfortable with their sleeping arrangements, especially if you don’t have an extra bed for them or if their sleeping quarters won’t be in a private room.

Guest accommodations

One option when you don’t have a dedicated guest room is to ask your visitor to share a bedroom with someone in your household or to have two household members double up in a bedroom to give your guest their own private sleeping quarters. You could let your guest sleep on your couch, of course, but you could also try these options:

• Sofa bed: Pulling out a sofa bed is a time-honored way to host an overnight guest. You could keep your sofa bed in your living room, family room, finished basement, or even your home office. For a small space, you can get a mini sofa bed that is about the size of an upholstered chair but folds out into a bed for one person.
• Air mattress: An air mattress is a convenient way to host an overnight guest, as it can be stored out of the way when it’s not needed and inflated just before your guest retires for the night. You can place the air mattress wherever you have a comfortable free space in your home. This air mattress incudes its own pillow, pump, and USB charger.
• Roll-out mattress: A roll-out mattress that can be set out as needed and stored elsewhere when not in use is another convenient option.
• Room divider: If the sleeping accommodations you set up are in an open area of your home, you can set up a temporary room divider to provide some privacy.

Finishing touches

Once you have established a place for your guest to sleep, you can add a few extras to make their stay more comfortable.

• Sheets, pillows, and blankets: Make their bed with crisp linens and perhaps spritz the sheets with a soothing lavender aromatherapy spray.
• Toiletries: Be sure to provide soap, shampoo, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a towel for your guest. You could place these in a gift basket and maybe add a magazine or book to read, a healthy snack, and a bottle of water.
• Night table: If you don’t have a night table your guest could use, you could set up an end table or coffee table as one instead. Be sure to add a lamp and perhaps a wireless charger to power their electronic devices.
• Folding luggage rack: If you can, provide a place for your guest to store their clothes. You could use a collapsible ottoman like this one or a folding luggage rack for their suitcase.

Other considerations

Tailor your accommodations to your guest. While younger friends and family might not mind crashing on the couch or sleeping on an air mattress, this option might not work well for everyone. Also, be sure to treat the space you reserve for your guest as a bedroom, being as considerate of their privacy as you can. You may also want to let your guest know where they can get a cup of coffee or tea and something to eat in the morning if their schedule is different from yours.

Hosting alternatives

Finally, if hosting a guest in your home isn’t feasible, try to help your friend or family member find lodging in a nearby Airbnb or hotel—your guest might even prefer lodging nearby than bunking in your home. You could also offer to chip in for or cover the cost of their room.