What to do with a unexpected visitor from Germany?

[beckycat]

If you go on roomsaver.com or Hotwire you can get coupons for cheap hotel stays. We stayed at the Homestead in off Capitol for $39 a night with a kitchen. They even had others at $35 a night. The other options may be better though. That'll teach you to say "yes" again! LOL Keep us informed!

[Made in Germany]

Hey Pat,

I am from Germany, too and I am sorry to hear about your dilemma. It surprises me that Frank actually took your offer to stay at your place for that long if you're not even friends!? I would not feel comfortable staying with people I barely know for that long.

It sounds to me that he's trying to take advantage of your hospitality (whether concious or subconcious) and that's total bs. I personally think that a youth hostel is the best option because they are cheap plus he get's to interact with people from all over the globe which is a fab experience, right?

Three plus weeks is a long time and I totally understand that you are not at ease leaving him alone at your place, I wouldn't either! Germans are very straight forward so I would explain honestly that you think it's great he's here but you never considered having him visit you for this long, maybe just a couple of days. You don't feel like you're that close and that he needs to find another place to stay at (youth hostel.... address....) for the last two weeks or whatever...

Hope it helps, good luck with Frank

Smiles

*Jeannie

Originally Posted by spambert

Help! Help!

We have one heckuva problem folks -- ANY help or advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

We have a friend (let's call him "Frank") from Germany whom we barely know (a friend of a friend) who asked us a while back if he could visit us here in Durham, North Carolina if he ever got to the U.S.

At the time we said "sure, no problem" --- figuring if he came he'd be here for a few days, maybe a week at the outside.

Well, we just discovered Frank booked his trip for 3+ weeks and wants to stay with us the entire time! To make things worse, my husband and I are going to to be out of the state working for 2 of those 3 weeks!

We want to be friendly to this person but we're now scrambling to set him up with places to go, things to see, etc., while he's here. And since we barely know him, we don't feel comfortable leaving him in our house for those two weeks we'll be gone.

Frank is about 55 years old and has only been to the states once before when he was in his 20s. He speaks just a little English and is not well-off, so his travel budget is very limited. We asked him how much he could afford to spend for hotels and he said "less than $50/night I hope" ... <sigh>.

So, we're desperate for any advice on where to send a friendly but short-on-cash German with very little English skills for 2+ weeks! Down to the beach, perhaps? Up to the mountains? With his extremely limited budget, maybe to a youth hostel? Seriously, we're at wits end and the money thing is the real kicker, because decent hotels anywhere seem to run $100/night, often more and that's really not something he can afford.

Any insight or advice you can provide will be GREATLY appreciated, as Frank is flying in later this week. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR HELP. MY THERAPIST THANKS YOU TOO!!!

- Pat