August means the winding down of summer and the race to fit in all those last minute outings and beach trips. I came across this question on one of my favorite blogs: Emily Post’s Etiquette Daily and I thought it might be helpful to some of you with vacation homes and even for your own home.
Excerpt from Emily Post’s Etiquette Daily
Q: Last year, we let some friends use our beach house ““ but they ate everything in sight and left the place a mess! They’ve asked for a weekend this year. Can we say no without hurting the friendship?
A: You have every right to ban these sloppy folks from using your home. Be diplomatic and it won’t be a friendship-ender. Politely say “We’re not able to have people use our place this year, but we can give you the number of a nice B&B nearby.” This approach won’t single them out, but they’ll get the hint and maybe think twice about their manners.