Breakfast with your guests?

[Samster]

On the topic at hand, we never eat with guests unless they are multiple repeat guests, are the only ones staying at the time and specifically request it.
Like so many have stated, we are here to serve the guests and maybe add a little camaraderie, day planning assistance, etc.
Its not that we don't develop some good friendships with folks or fear getting too "chummy", its just that the dynamic in place is that of guest and service provider first, friend or acquiantance second..

Well said!

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

On the topic at hand, we never eat with guests unless they are multiple repeat guests, are the only ones staying at the time and specifically request it.
Like so many have stated, we are here to serve the guests and maybe add a little camaraderie, day planning assistance, etc.
Its not that we don't develop some good friendships with folks or fear getting too "chummy", its just that the dynamic in place is that of guest and service provider first, friend or acquiantance second..

Well said!

.

Well said!

Thanks, it almost bordered on succinct. LOL

 

[Samster]

On the topic at hand, we never eat with guests unless they are multiple repeat guests, are the only ones staying at the time and specifically request it.
Like so many have stated, we are here to serve the guests and maybe add a little camaraderie, day planning assistance, etc.
Its not that we don't develop some good friendships with folks or fear getting too "chummy", its just that the dynamic in place is that of guest and service provider first, friend or acquiantance second..

Well said!

.

Well said!

Thanks, it almost bordered on succinct. LOL

.

Well said!

Thanks, it almost bordered on succinct. LOL

Yes, one of your best and shorter posts. tee hee...

 

[swirt]

Timing is always a balancing act. If you spend too little time with a guest it may feel like you are avoiding them or disinterested. But if you spend too much time then you are being intrusive.
I often have the same issue in the evening. Guests often ask me to build a bonfire for them and sometimes they will engage in conversation while I am getting it built (only takes a few minutes) and then the conversation often continues a bit. I realize it is supposed to be a romantic relaxed fire so I don't want to intrude, but sometimes as I am making a hasty retreat I have the impression that they are put off that I am leaving so soon.
I don't like all the second guessing...so I have taken to assembling the bonfire earlier in the day and just leaving the lighter out for them to light it themselves. They get to look like Joe survivorman and I don't have to wonder if I am engaging them enough or too much while I am making it.

 

[SweetiePie]

Depends, on lots of things; but I am surprised at the number of responses that consider sitting down with guests to be an absolute No-No. My set up sounds somewhat like Bree's, kitchen open to dining area and separated only by a counter, actually a bar one can sit at. I get a little frustrated at the number of guests who think it is O.K. to enter and do what ever they want in my kitchen. I tell them to stay out of the kitchen area when I'm busy with last minute preparation right before breakfast is set out, but at other times I just put up with it. I also have a hard time keeping the majority of my guest from clearing the table even though I tell them, "that's my job, please just relax and enjoy yourself". I can't clear everything at once and as soon as I take one plate to the sink people are up trying to help.
My guests eat family style at one or two table that will each seat 6 or 8 in a pinch. And, sometime if the weather is nice some folks can sit on the deck if they prefer. After I have made sure everyone has everything they need and breakfast is well along I quite often sit down with my guests and nibble on a bit of food, not necessarily all they are having. Most folks seem to enjoy the opportunity to ask questions and talk about their plans for the day with me. If my guests are having a great conversation among themselves, as they usually do, I would not jump in the middle of it; but i also don't consider myself to just be the "dumb waiter". After all these people are sitting at a common table with other folks they don't know, unless they are a group and do know each other. They have just met, or maybe they met the evening before, and there we all sit at the breakfast table having an equal opportunity conversation which is usually peasant, informative and about a variety of subjects, sometimes even including politics.
I don't think any of my guests have ever been offended to have me sit and chat with them at the breakfast table, but maybe I'm wrong and they are just too polite to even act put out in the slightest. I don't do it if it seems inappropriate which depending on the guests present sometimes it does.. But more often than not it seems a very natural and comfortable thing to do for all involved..

I don't think any of my guests have ever been offended to have me sit and chat with them at the breakfast table, but maybe I'm wrong and they are just too polite to even act put out in the slightest. I don't do it if it seems inappropriate which depending on the guests present sometimes it does.. But more often than not it seems a very natural and comfortable thing to do for all involved.

I have never told an innkeeper - Do you mind leaving the table, we are having a conversation here, or we don't want you to eat with us. I didn't like it, however, and won't go back to that particular inn.
I also don't like grandkids running through an inn and having to barricade ourselves in our room, did I say anything? No. I am not that fond of innkeepers sitting on the porch drinking with their guests either. There seems to be a line that is crossed in my estimation. But really we can all do whatever we deem fits us, our personalities and our inns. But someone asked this question - so we are all giving honest replies.
Many guests love innkeeper interaction, this is why they stay at small B&B's! I am opposed to having to "entertain" guests with a song and dance. True story: Guests checked out today and I kid you not, she actually said in parting "Thank you for entertaining us" now in her mind, that was a compliment and in mine...well nuff said. Apparently some people do not get out much and our conversation WAS entertaining to her.
.

"she actually said in parting 'Thank you for entertaining us' now in her mind, that was a compliment and in mine...well nuff said. Apparently some people do not get out much and our conversation WAS entertaining to her."
It simply could have been a matter of semantics. Some people use the word "entertain" to mean show hospitality to.

 

[Proud Texan]

Depends, on lots of things; but I am surprised at the number of responses that consider sitting down with guests to be an absolute No-No. My set up sounds somewhat like Bree's, kitchen open to dining area and separated only by a counter, actually a bar one can sit at. I get a little frustrated at the number of guests who think it is O.K. to enter and do what ever they want in my kitchen. I tell them to stay out of the kitchen area when I'm busy with last minute preparation right before breakfast is set out, but at other times I just put up with it. I also have a hard time keeping the majority of my guest from clearing the table even though I tell them, "that's my job, please just relax and enjoy yourself". I can't clear everything at once and as soon as I take one plate to the sink people are up trying to help.
My guests eat family style at one or two table that will each seat 6 or 8 in a pinch. And, sometime if the weather is nice some folks can sit on the deck if they prefer. After I have made sure everyone has everything they need and breakfast is well along I quite often sit down with my guests and nibble on a bit of food, not necessarily all they are having. Most folks seem to enjoy the opportunity to ask questions and talk about their plans for the day with me. If my guests are having a great conversation among themselves, as they usually do, I would not jump in the middle of it; but i also don't consider myself to just be the "dumb waiter". After all these people are sitting at a common table with other folks they don't know, unless they are a group and do know each other. They have just met, or maybe they met the evening before, and there we all sit at the breakfast table having an equal opportunity conversation which is usually peasant, informative and about a variety of subjects, sometimes even including politics.
I don't think any of my guests have ever been offended to have me sit and chat with them at the breakfast table, but maybe I'm wrong and they are just too polite to even act put out in the slightest. I don't do it if it seems inappropriate which depending on the guests present sometimes it does.. But more often than not it seems a very natural and comfortable thing to do for all involved..

I don't think any of my guests have ever been offended to have me sit and chat with them at the breakfast table, but maybe I'm wrong and they are just too polite to even act put out in the slightest. I don't do it if it seems inappropriate which depending on the guests present sometimes it does.. But more often than not it seems a very natural and comfortable thing to do for all involved.

I have never told an innkeeper - Do you mind leaving the table, we are having a conversation here, or we don't want you to eat with us. I didn't like it, however, and won't go back to that particular inn.
I also don't like grandkids running through an inn and having to barricade ourselves in our room, did I say anything? No. I am not that fond of innkeepers sitting on the porch drinking with their guests either. There seems to be a line that is crossed in my estimation. But really we can all do whatever we deem fits us, our personalities and our inns. But someone asked this question - so we are all giving honest replies.
Many guests love innkeeper interaction, this is why they stay at small B&B's! I am opposed to having to "entertain" guests with a song and dance. True story: Guests checked out today and I kid you not, she actually said in parting "Thank you for entertaining us" now in her mind, that was a compliment and in mine...well nuff said. Apparently some people do not get out much and our conversation WAS entertaining to her.
.

"she actually said in parting 'Thank you for entertaining us' now in her mind, that was a compliment and in mine...well nuff said. Apparently some people do not get out much and our conversation WAS entertaining to her."
It simply could have been a matter of semantics. Some people use the word "entertain" to mean show hospitality to.
.

"she actually said in parting 'Thank you for entertaining us' now in her mind, that was a compliment and in mine...well nuff said. Apparently some people do not get out much and our conversation WAS entertaining to her."
It simply could have been a matter of semantics. Some people use the word "entertain" to mean show hospitality to.

We had one guest who was so "entertained" that she told us we needed to write a book about our exploits. Is she kidding?! We're Mom and Pop Boring.

But, that goes toward what has been said in other threads, many of our guests come from lives where they are invisible. We (this group as a whole) offer them a brief respite from that. Our interaction with them may be the only attention these folks ever get.
"Commit random acts of kindness and senseless beauty!"

 

[Morticia]

We do not have breakfast with the guests. Too busy prepping, cooking, serving and clearing promptly. DH will often have a casual cup of coffee with them while breakfast is in progress, to see to needs I can't, while in the kitchen. We aim for good food and prompt, efficient but non-obtrusive service. I also want to get the bulk of the clean up accomplished before one of the guests wanders in to the kitchen afterward to make a comment or ask a question. (door not yet installed) I usually make it. We make it look easy.

-KathleenM.

Not sure how sloppy a cook you are but our kitchen is completely open to the dining room and guest see the whole thing all the time. We just have to accept that part and we try to keep things as neat as possible during the serving of brekkie. Still, guests will come right up and want to fill water bottles in the completely full of dishes sink and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. Makes me batty, so I take the water bottles and fill them myself!
All that to say, unless it routinely looks like a bomb went off, most guests just don't care about the same things we do. We have to do the cleanup in full view of everyone and sometimes guests will just gather at the counter to talk while hubs puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans up the counters and then scrubs the floor on hands & knees. Guests are still talking but now hubs is crawling around on the floor. So, seriously, a lot of people are just happy to have someone to talk to about their pet peeves and they don't care what else is going on.
.

Not sure how sloppy a cook you are but our kitchen is completely open to the dining room and guest see the whole thing all the time. We just have to accept that part and we try to keep things as neat as possible during the serving of brekkie. Still, guests will come right up and want to fill water bottles in the completely full of dishes sink and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. Makes me batty, so I take the water bottles and fill them myself!
All that to say, unless it routinely looks like a bomb went off, most guests just don't care about the same things we do. We have to do the cleanup in full view of everyone and sometimes guests will just gather at the counter to talk while hubs puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans up the counters and then scrubs the floor on hands & knees. Guests are still talking but now hubs is crawling around on the floor. So, seriously, a lot of people are just happy to have someone to talk to about their pet peeves and they don't care what else is going on.

It is uncanny how similar some of our experiences are.
I don't care how many times I brag to our guests about our wonderful well water is, a fact that is confirmed by the lab it gets tested by every quarter, water bottles can only be washed, rinsed five times and refilled AT the kitchen sink right when we both are up to our elbows in dirty dishes, foodstuffs, etc..
Its not like they all are water snobs either insisting on only filling from the reverse osmosis filter. The water coming out of the kitchen faucet is no different than the one in their bathroom.
Or the only time the "lonely puppy" guest who is looking for anything with a pulse to talk to, will find me is when I have fifteen other things to do.
.

Actually, here they are better off filling water bottles in the kitchen because that water is filtered. Otherwise our water is highy chlorinated.
Next time you get a 'chatty cathy (or charlie)' try this on them...glance at your watch and yell, 'Time to leap into action!' and then jump up. It works like a charm for hubs. Most of the time he will chat, tho, unless he's having one of his bad days. (Disabled vet, he sometimes just can't stand the pain.)
.

Actually, here they are better off filling water bottles in the kitchen because that water is filtered. Otherwise our water is highy chlorinated.
Next time you get a 'chatty cathy (or charlie)' try this on them...glance at your watch and yell, 'Time to leap into action!' and then jump up. It works like a charm for hubs. Most of the time he will chat, tho, unless he's having one of his bad days. (Disabled vet, he sometimes just can't stand the pain.)

All of our water is filtered and we understand the "routine" for some, but its the timing that sucks. Unless they use the reverse osmosis faucet in the kitchen, the water coming out of their bathroom sink is exactly the same pure, sweet, well water as in the kitchen.
Our open kitchen format appears to not be unique or without its challenges as far as keeping folks from getting "too at home" but we try to make it work as best we can.
The cabinet rummagers, stealth cookers when we're not around, seem to take us for idiots. We know our stuff, its proper places and know when somebody has been rooting around.
Our "salad" is not a meal guests took the cake though. Our local health code forbids guests from using the kitchen to make any "meals" for both hygienic and safety reasons. These two would come back each night, go through all the cabinets, draws, etc. for whatever they needed and make themselves a huge dinner salad. Sure, they modestly cleaned up after themselves, but it was the principle of the thing, that they thought the "semantics" argument would actually fly with us.
Thankfully, we don't get very many folks who can't tell the difference between a vacation rental with ful lkitchen privileges and a B&B with whatever local regulations it must follow.
.

Ah, you and I get the same guests...if you read back far enough you know we put baby locks on our kitchen cabinets to keep the rooters out. It helped so much. And then we got guests who rooted in the cabinets we thought we 'safe' to leave unlocked.
The ones who sarcastically kept using the kitchen after being told 3 times to get out were the worst. And how do you use a kitchen sarcatically you might ask? When you get caught you take a 'giant step' out of the kitchen and say, 'Oh, so sorry, I'm in your kitchen again aren't I?'
They were the ones who piled up the sink with all their dirty dishes and said we shouldn't worry they'd take care of it in the morning. Hubs blew up at that point and said they'd better be down in the kitchen at 5 AM so it was ready for him at 5:30.

 

[Mary at Bridgewater Inn and Cottage]

I have 2 B&B cottage type units.Breakfast comes up on a tray and the guest very often end up eating in bed.........NO I have never eaten with them...

Mary in Bridgewater Va..

I have 2 B&B cottage type units.Breakfast comes up on a tray and the guest very often end up eating in bed.........NO I have never eaten with them...

Mary in Bridgewater Va.

It would make us all wonder if you had.....

.

Hey...know how I know which guest eat B'fast in bed ? 1 or 2 forks in serving dishes..never use a plate or plates. Saves Cottage kitchen clean up work for me and no mess on the sheets...yet.....Mary at www.townofbridgewatervirginia.com

 

[YellowSocks]

We do not have breakfast with the guests. Too busy prepping, cooking, serving and clearing promptly. DH will often have a casual cup of coffee with them while breakfast is in progress, to see to needs I can't, while in the kitchen. We aim for good food and prompt, efficient but non-obtrusive service. I also want to get the bulk of the clean up accomplished before one of the guests wanders in to the kitchen afterward to make a comment or ask a question. (door not yet installed) I usually make it. We make it look easy.

-KathleenM.

Not sure how sloppy a cook you are but our kitchen is completely open to the dining room and guest see the whole thing all the time. We just have to accept that part and we try to keep things as neat as possible during the serving of brekkie. Still, guests will come right up and want to fill water bottles in the completely full of dishes sink and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. Makes me batty, so I take the water bottles and fill them myself!
All that to say, unless it routinely looks like a bomb went off, most guests just don't care about the same things we do. We have to do the cleanup in full view of everyone and sometimes guests will just gather at the counter to talk while hubs puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans up the counters and then scrubs the floor on hands & knees. Guests are still talking but now hubs is crawling around on the floor. So, seriously, a lot of people are just happy to have someone to talk to about their pet peeves and they don't care what else is going on.
.

Not sure how sloppy a cook you are but our kitchen is completely open to the dining room and guest see the whole thing all the time. We just have to accept that part and we try to keep things as neat as possible during the serving of brekkie. Still, guests will come right up and want to fill water bottles in the completely full of dishes sink and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. Makes me batty, so I take the water bottles and fill them myself!
All that to say, unless it routinely looks like a bomb went off, most guests just don't care about the same things we do. We have to do the cleanup in full view of everyone and sometimes guests will just gather at the counter to talk while hubs puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans up the counters and then scrubs the floor on hands & knees. Guests are still talking but now hubs is crawling around on the floor. So, seriously, a lot of people are just happy to have someone to talk to about their pet peeves and they don't care what else is going on.

It is uncanny how similar some of our experiences are.
I don't care how many times I brag to our guests about our wonderful well water is, a fact that is confirmed by the lab it gets tested by every quarter, water bottles can only be washed, rinsed five times and refilled AT the kitchen sink right when we both are up to our elbows in dirty dishes, foodstuffs, etc..
Its not like they all are water snobs either insisting on only filling from the reverse osmosis filter. The water coming out of the kitchen faucet is no different than the one in their bathroom.
Or the only time the "lonely puppy" guest who is looking for anything with a pulse to talk to, will find me is when I have fifteen other things to do.
.

Actually, here they are better off filling water bottles in the kitchen because that water is filtered. Otherwise our water is highy chlorinated.
Next time you get a 'chatty cathy (or charlie)' try this on them...glance at your watch and yell, 'Time to leap into action!' and then jump up. It works like a charm for hubs. Most of the time he will chat, tho, unless he's having one of his bad days. (Disabled vet, he sometimes just can't stand the pain.)
.

Actually, here they are better off filling water bottles in the kitchen because that water is filtered. Otherwise our water is highy chlorinated.
Next time you get a 'chatty cathy (or charlie)' try this on them...glance at your watch and yell, 'Time to leap into action!' and then jump up. It works like a charm for hubs. Most of the time he will chat, tho, unless he's having one of his bad days. (Disabled vet, he sometimes just can't stand the pain.)

All of our water is filtered and we understand the "routine" for some, but its the timing that sucks. Unless they use the reverse osmosis faucet in the kitchen, the water coming out of their bathroom sink is exactly the same pure, sweet, well water as in the kitchen.
Our open kitchen format appears to not be unique or without its challenges as far as keeping folks from getting "too at home" but we try to make it work as best we can.
The cabinet rummagers, stealth cookers when we're not around, seem to take us for idiots. We know our stuff, its proper places and know when somebody has been rooting around.
Our "salad" is not a meal guests took the cake though. Our local health code forbids guests from using the kitchen to make any "meals" for both hygienic and safety reasons. These two would come back each night, go through all the cabinets, draws, etc. for whatever they needed and make themselves a huge dinner salad. Sure, they modestly cleaned up after themselves, but it was the principle of the thing, that they thought the "semantics" argument would actually fly with us.
Thankfully, we don't get very many folks who can't tell the difference between a vacation rental with ful lkitchen privileges and a B&B with whatever local regulations it must follow.
.

Ah, you and I get the same guests...if you read back far enough you know we put baby locks on our kitchen cabinets to keep the rooters out. It helped so much. And then we got guests who rooted in the cabinets we thought we 'safe' to leave unlocked.
The ones who sarcastically kept using the kitchen after being told 3 times to get out were the worst. And how do you use a kitchen sarcatically you might ask? When you get caught you take a 'giant step' out of the kitchen and say, 'Oh, so sorry, I'm in your kitchen again aren't I?'
They were the ones who piled up the sink with all their dirty dishes and said we shouldn't worry they'd take care of it in the morning. Hubs blew up at that point and said they'd better be down in the kitchen at 5 AM so it was ready for him at 5:30.
.

They were the ones who piled up the sink with all their dirty dishes and said we shouldn't worry they'd take care of it in the morning. Hubs blew up at that point and said they'd better be down in the kitchen at 5 AM so it was ready for him at 5:30.

He blew up at guests? Did they stop coming? Was it awkward in the morning? What happened next?
=/
Kk.

 

[Morticia]

We do not have breakfast with the guests. Too busy prepping, cooking, serving and clearing promptly. DH will often have a casual cup of coffee with them while breakfast is in progress, to see to needs I can't, while in the kitchen. We aim for good food and prompt, efficient but non-obtrusive service. I also want to get the bulk of the clean up accomplished before one of the guests wanders in to the kitchen afterward to make a comment or ask a question. (door not yet installed) I usually make it. We make it look easy.

-KathleenM.

Not sure how sloppy a cook you are but our kitchen is completely open to the dining room and guest see the whole thing all the time. We just have to accept that part and we try to keep things as neat as possible during the serving of brekkie. Still, guests will come right up and want to fill water bottles in the completely full of dishes sink and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. Makes me batty, so I take the water bottles and fill them myself!
All that to say, unless it routinely looks like a bomb went off, most guests just don't care about the same things we do. We have to do the cleanup in full view of everyone and sometimes guests will just gather at the counter to talk while hubs puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans up the counters and then scrubs the floor on hands & knees. Guests are still talking but now hubs is crawling around on the floor. So, seriously, a lot of people are just happy to have someone to talk to about their pet peeves and they don't care what else is going on.
.

Not sure how sloppy a cook you are but our kitchen is completely open to the dining room and guest see the whole thing all the time. We just have to accept that part and we try to keep things as neat as possible during the serving of brekkie. Still, guests will come right up and want to fill water bottles in the completely full of dishes sink and it doesn't seem to faze them at all. Makes me batty, so I take the water bottles and fill them myself!
All that to say, unless it routinely looks like a bomb went off, most guests just don't care about the same things we do. We have to do the cleanup in full view of everyone and sometimes guests will just gather at the counter to talk while hubs puts the dishes in the dishwasher, cleans up the counters and then scrubs the floor on hands & knees. Guests are still talking but now hubs is crawling around on the floor. So, seriously, a lot of people are just happy to have someone to talk to about their pet peeves and they don't care what else is going on.

It is uncanny how similar some of our experiences are.
I don't care how many times I brag to our guests about our wonderful well water is, a fact that is confirmed by the lab it gets tested by every quarter, water bottles can only be washed, rinsed five times and refilled AT the kitchen sink right when we both are up to our elbows in dirty dishes, foodstuffs, etc..
Its not like they all are water snobs either insisting on only filling from the reverse osmosis filter. The water coming out of the kitchen faucet is no different than the one in their bathroom.
Or the only time the "lonely puppy" guest who is looking for anything with a pulse to talk to, will find me is when I have fifteen other things to do.
.

Actually, here they are better off filling water bottles in the kitchen because that water is filtered. Otherwise our water is highy chlorinated.
Next time you get a 'chatty cathy (or charlie)' try this on them...glance at your watch and yell, 'Time to leap into action!' and then jump up. It works like a charm for hubs. Most of the time he will chat, tho, unless he's having one of his bad days. (Disabled vet, he sometimes just can't stand the pain.)
.

Actually, here they are better off filling water bottles in the kitchen because that water is filtered. Otherwise our water is highy chlorinated.
Next time you get a 'chatty cathy (or charlie)' try this on them...glance at your watch and yell, 'Time to leap into action!' and then jump up. It works like a charm for hubs. Most of the time he will chat, tho, unless he's having one of his bad days. (Disabled vet, he sometimes just can't stand the pain.)

All of our water is filtered and we understand the "routine" for some, but its the timing that sucks. Unless they use the reverse osmosis faucet in the kitchen, the water coming out of their bathroom sink is exactly the same pure, sweet, well water as in the kitchen.
Our open kitchen format appears to not be unique or without its challenges as far as keeping folks from getting "too at home" but we try to make it work as best we can.
The cabinet rummagers, stealth cookers when we're not around, seem to take us for idiots. We know our stuff, its proper places and know when somebody has been rooting around.
Our "salad" is not a meal guests took the cake though. Our local health code forbids guests from using the kitchen to make any "meals" for both hygienic and safety reasons. These two would come back each night, go through all the cabinets, draws, etc. for whatever they needed and make themselves a huge dinner salad. Sure, they modestly cleaned up after themselves, but it was the principle of the thing, that they thought the "semantics" argument would actually fly with us.
Thankfully, we don't get very many folks who can't tell the difference between a vacation rental with ful lkitchen privileges and a B&B with whatever local regulations it must follow.
.

Ah, you and I get the same guests...if you read back far enough you know we put baby locks on our kitchen cabinets to keep the rooters out. It helped so much. And then we got guests who rooted in the cabinets we thought we 'safe' to leave unlocked.
The ones who sarcastically kept using the kitchen after being told 3 times to get out were the worst. And how do you use a kitchen sarcatically you might ask? When you get caught you take a 'giant step' out of the kitchen and say, 'Oh, so sorry, I'm in your kitchen again aren't I?'
They were the ones who piled up the sink with all their dirty dishes and said we shouldn't worry they'd take care of it in the morning. Hubs blew up at that point and said they'd better be down in the kitchen at 5 AM so it was ready for him at 5:30.
.

They were the ones who piled up the sink with all their dirty dishes and said we shouldn't worry they'd take care of it in the morning. Hubs blew up at that point and said they'd better be down in the kitchen at 5 AM so it was ready for him at 5:30.

He blew up at guests? Did they stop coming? Was it awkward in the morning? What happened next?
=/
Kk.
.

Yes. Yes. No. They loved that we had gone out of our way to make a gluten-free meal for one of their party of 7. She cried that someone cared enough to do that for her.
Seriously? We had told them 3 times not to go into the kitchen after finding them in there each time. They were taking plates and silverware, using the micro and the fridge and then filling the sink up with dirty dishes. I mean piled high. When I accosted them at the micro, one of them said, 'Then here, YOU do the work,' and shoved all the food at me to heat up. She was also the one who took the 'giant step' out of the kitchen with a sneer at me. This was when we had 2 different floors in the kitchen area so all she did was step from the vinyl to the carpet, but she stood with her toes right on the 'line'.
We did the heating up because they were long time guests of the POs and we had already heard for MONTHS how the POs let anyone do anything. It wasn't their fault that we would not let them use the kitchen, but, at the same time, we told them no and they would not listen. Anyone who had that relationship with the POs left after the first time with us.
We would not tolerate the messes they were creating or chance that they'd grab all the breakfast food, or at the worst just paw thru it and leave it for morning.
This sort of thing was the impetus for many of the changes we made to the guest area when we did the remodel. And still we get the guests who walk past the 'Stop' sign and go in and out of the fridge even tho there is also a sign on the fridge to please use the guest fridge only. We almost put a lock on the fridge but the 'Stop' sign has slowed the kitchen traffic to a crawl.