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31 Stories Of The Worst Things Guests Have Done, As Told By Users Of This Online Community
Welcoming guests into our humble abodes can be an incredibly intimate experience, so we always want to ensure that they feel as safe and comfortable as possible. Clean sheets, fresh towels, scented candles and maybe a few chocolates on their pillows are great ways to help visitors feel at home. And when it comes to being a courteous guest, much less effort is required than hosting. Just be respectful of the space and homeowners and abide by the house rules.
Apparently for some guests though, being respectful is not as straightforward as it should be. Reddit user nl1004 asked others, “What's the rudest thing a guest has ever done in your home?” and readers responded with thousands of comments citing painful stories of visitors having no regard for their houses. We’ve gathered some of the most egregious examples of guest behavior down below so you can read them and pray that your family and friends never act similarly. And then if you’re looking for even more guest horror stories, we’ve got you covered with Bored Panda’s last publication on the same topic right here.
Discover more in 35 Stories Of The Worst Things Guests Have Done, As Told By Users Of This Online Community
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#1
Everyone has a story from their childhood that still p****s them off, this is mine. I was five years old and my snotty older cousin was over at our house. I had just gotten a copy of Mike Tyson’s Punch out for my birthday. He was getting his a*s kicked by king hippo and he got so angry he rage quit. But he didn’t just rage quit, he ripped the cartridge out of the Nintendo and spit into it. Then he threw it across the room and stormed out. I told my parents what happened and they told his parents and they made him apologize, but the game was ruined. It would kind of play, but would freeze up all the time. My family barely had enough money to get me the game for my birthday never mind buying it again. I was sure I would never be able to play it again. Then for Christmas this little s**t got Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. So my older brother went over to his house and switched our ruined cartridge with his. It was awesome.
It may sound shocking that guests can ever be rude in someone else’s home. Many of us are terrified when we hear the phrase “make yourself at home!” as we would rather cower in the corner than open someone else’s refrigerator or grab a plate from their cabinet without asking for explicit permission. It can easily feel like an invasion of privacy to be in someone else’s space, even if they’ve made it clear that “what’s yours is theirs”. So how in the world can someone be bold enough to damage a friend’s property or say something that’s blatantly rude?
Maybe it’s just because hosting guests is so common, so there are bound to be some bad apples every now and then. One 2021 survey found that one in five Americans hosted someone last year, and 63% of them say they enjoy hosting friends and family. According to the answers on this list, drugs and alcohol also tend to fuel the worst guest behavior, so most visits are probably fine when guests are relatively sober.
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#2
My in-laws hated me. We invited them over for thanksgiving dinner and, upon arrival, they asked me to leave and come back a few hours later because they wanted to “follow their tradition of preparing the meal alone as a family.” They are now my ex-in-laws.
#3
Some a*****e thought it would be funny to pour vodka in my aquatic turtle tank. Pongu is ok, the dude isn't.
The same survey found that among the top 10 worst things guests can do are coming home drunk, smoking, arriving unannounced, snooping, damaging the hosts’ belongings, leaving a mess, being too loud and being too demanding. Guests also have to be mindful of overstaying their welcome, as most hosts want visitors to be on their way after no more than 3 nights in their home.
It’s not all up to the guests to make the experience positive though. Among the things hosts can do to make their guests feel more comfortable, visitors want their hosts to be helpful when they have questions, provide extra towels, provide toiletries and comfy beds, display their wifi password in the guest room, avoid making too much noise in the morning and make coffee every morning. While hosts should not always be expected to do everything, going out of their way can help avoid some conflicts. If there are extra towels in the guest room, visitors have no need to snoop around trying to find them. If you make coffee and some meals, your guests don’t need to worry about using your kitchen equipment properly and they’ll be less likely to make a mess.
#4
I had just moved into a new house. I invited my one friend over for celebratory drinks cause hey, I just got a house. Things were going great, we were tipsy and having fun. My boyfriend was coming home so I made her a bed on my pull out couch. Boyfriend came home and we all went to bed. Around 2 am he heard rustling around, he thought nothing of it. He just assumed she was drunk and playing with the cats. I woke up around 4am and got a bad feeling and woke up my boyfriend. We went upstairs and noticed the bed hadn’t even been touched. Pillows and blankets still folded. I turned the lights on and noticed my front door was open and all the cats were gone. Further more into looking around we noticed his wallet was open and over a 100$ in money had been taken out, our change bowl was empty and his Xbox and brand new elite Xbox controller was gone, as well as my laptop. She stole his medicinal marijuana and broke glasses .I called her freaking out and she said “I left cause I didn’t want to hear you guys having s*x (which we never had) and she let my cat out to run away because she didn’t like cats. She then proceeded to say my partner was a piece of s**t who was cheating on me (she had never met him until that night). We called the cops. She denied stealing anything. I messaged her fiancé saying what she had done and what she had stolen, he messaged me text screenshots of her asking how much she could get for his Xbox and Xbox elite controller, thus proving she did steal it. Sent all these screenshots to the cops and they went to her house a couple times and eventually find her hiding in there not answering the door on purpose. She got charged with petty theft and they found out she committed fraud against her fiancé and her dad. It was a shitshow.
#5
A Christian missionary and his wife were invited to our home as a guest of my partner; he'd known them in grade school. The husband kicked my dog when he was scared by the fireworks so barked during the story he was telling about being in Africa helping kids. What a juxtaposition of morals! We immediately told them to leave. They acted very confused about it.
#6
I’m p****d just typing this even though it has been years. Some of my wife’s family came to visit. The idea was that on their way to the Smokey mountains they would stop and visit with us for a day or two since we seldom see each other and our house is on the way. Turns out that was total **, they just wanted to use our house as a free hotel. Which, to a degree, is fine. I don’t mind lending a room to a family member. But they were not even remotely cool about it. First, they called and asked if we could have something for them to eat because it would be late when they arrived and had no time to stop. So I decided I would make a lasagna since I’m kind of known for that in the family. So I spent like $60 and several hours to make two big pans of lasagna since it would have to feed several people. They showed up with chic fil a bags and said they had already eaten. Then they went immediately to their rooms upstairs, not to sleep but to watch tv (TVs in the bedroom) without hardly saying a thing to us besides “hi hows it going”. Then in the middle of the night one of them got cold and turned the thermostat up to like 77 degrees which means the heater ran non stop for hours and hours and we woke up d**n near in a sweat. When they woke up they asked if I normally cook breakfast. I said no, not on weekdays because I have to go to work. They gave dejected looks so I was like, fine, I can make breakfast. Would you guys like waffles or eggs and bacon? They said eggs so I made a s**t ton of eggs and bacon and left it for them because I had to go to work. When I got home they hadn’t even touched the food I made, the kitchen was an absolute disaster because they decided they wanted waffles instead and helped themselves, without even asking, dirtying every d**n dish in the house and ruining my waffle iron because they left it on until it auto shut off but by then had burned the batter until it was fused to the thing and the whole hous reeked of burnt waffles for two days. They also clearly scratched my wife’s car as they left because it was in the driveway and coincidentally had huge scratch where maroon paint had rubbed off and guess what color their van was. I asked them about it and they said they had no idea how it got there.
Most guest etiquette has been obvious for centuries, but as with anything else, we can always learn new advancements. One particular faux pas that our parents probably did not warn us to avoid is asking for the wifi password immediately upon entering a friend’s home. According to a survey from the Sun of residents in the UK, 90% of respondents found it rude to ask for the wifi password within the first 30 minutes of arriving at a host’s home. Manners expert William Hanson referred to this as a “modern manners sin” and said, “Unless there is a very good reason to use your host’s Wi-Fi, you are there to socialize with your host and their family, not the people on your phone.” If you’re visiting a friend for just an evening, you can definitely manage without checking your email. And even if you’re staying for several days, you’re likely on vacation and don’t need to have access to the internet very often. Take staying at a friend’s home as an opportunity to disconnect from your smartphone and to take advantage of the time you get to spend with them.
#7
This is about an undisciplined kid. I hate those. My mum attempted to hold piano classes in our house once, and there was this one time when a mum and her young (like 7 years old) daughter came for an inquiry. All the time the mum and my mum were standing and talking, and the daughter was walking around touching everything, opening all the containers, looking in, playing with things... And the mum acted like she didn't see a thing. The daughter opened a container above our piano, and pulled out sheets of stickers. MY stickers. She really liked them and turned around to ask her mum, "Mum, can I take these?" To which her mum replied, "Yeah, sure!" As if it's THEIRS!! My mum didn't say much and shy as I was I didn't say anything either. Over a decade later I am still angry about the incident. The focken girl just went ahead and took my stickers!
#9
Wasn’t home when this happened but some family friend I’ve never met and their kid comes over one afternoon. Kid gets bored and decided it’s a great idea to disassemble every LEGO build I’ve kept over the last 10 years. Almost everything was built from imagination so no instructions to rebuild again. I was devastated when I got home seeing LEGO pieces spread across the entire floor of my room.
The same survey from The Sun found that wiping greasy hands on a couch, propping feet up on furniture and passing gas are the biggest no-no’s guests can commit. And if you have a sailor’s mouth, it’s best to control yourself when in someone else’s home. Only a quarter of respondents think it is acceptable to curse as a guest. Apparently 26% of people in the UK have even banned a guest for inappropriate behavior in their house, and 23% have had a negative experience with a host that caused them to decide they would never return to that home again. And while running behind may be a common struggle, that doesn't make it any less rude. “Nothing is more annoying than guests who turn up late,” said William Hanson. “Possibly ruining the host's timings for the meal and protracting their effort.”
#10
Had some relatives over, and despite very, very clear instructions to not flush feminine products down the toilet, they did anyways. Destroyed our septic field, almost $10000 in damages overall. When confronted, they just denied it, despite the fact that the 32 pads that where pulled out of the system matches the brand that they had while they were over.
#11
They broke our one TV and didn't pay for a replacement. My family has always been dirt poor and my mom busted her a*s to buy that s****y tube TV, too.
#12
Dyed her hair red in our bathroom sink - staining the brand new granite countertop, then dripped onto the new tile floor, then dripped onto the hardwood floor in the hallway, and ultimately slept in our guest bed with wet, freshly dyed red hair - staining the sheets and pillowcase.
The pandemic definitely had a great effect on how often guests are invited over, but as the world has begun returning to normal, people who love hosting have been able to return to their cherished positions in the home baking cookies and making coffee for their guests. According to one survey from August 2021, 39% of Brits planned to have guests stay over once lockdown restrictions loosened up. But everyone has their own specifications of who is allowed to visit and for how long. The average host allows guests to stay for about 3.11 days, while only 17% would allow visitors to stay for 5 nights or more. And 51% of hosts in the UK welcomed guests with children and/or pets to come visit. Not everyone was a fan of animals though, with 10% of respondents citing that cleaning up pet hair was a downside of allowing furry visitors.
#13
I had a friend over and we were eating some of my moms chili. He took one bite, pushed the bowl away, and said very loudly at the dinner table “this is not good. Do you have anything else for me to eat?” Needless to say we weren’t friends after that. No one insults moms chili...
#15
My husband let a former coworker crash on the couch because he had been drinking and we didn't want him to drive. Woke up the next morning and he had stolen our computer, a cell phone, a little bit of cash, and our cigarettes. Turns out he had a drug problem. We got our computer back. Had a drunk friend puke on my son's bedroom floor, he thought it was the bathroom. (My son wasn't home, thank goodness. ) Had a different drunk friend pee all over my bathroom floor- which I discovered by walking into the bathroom the next morning- while wearing socks. I need to stop letting drunk people stay over...
Hosting can be exhausting though, as the average person takes about 5 hours to prepare for their overnight guests. Even 21% of people said they spend 7 hours or more preparing for visitors. I’d love to see the stops those hosts are pulling out! It can also cost a chunk of change to have visitors though, with most hosts spending about £32 on things like food, bedding and entertainment for their visitors. 22% of hosts in the UK even spend upwards of £50 making sure their guests feel at home. While it's certainly possible to host on a budget, just keep in mind that you might want to set aside a little extra money for more extravagant breakfasts, a bouquet of flowers and some fancy chocolates the next time your loved ones come to stay.
#16
My roommate and I used to make dinner for friends every Monday. Everyone knew and I never spread the word, a bunch of random people would just show up each week. One guy never missed it even though I didn’t actually know him that well, just tangentially through co workers, and didn’t really like him much to be honest. One night he got there very late and helped himself to the food which was pasta that night, cooked al dente. As soon as he tried it he started b******g, “This is the most under-cooked pasta I’ve ever had, it tastes terrible, someone needs to show you how to cook pasta” etc. I just took it without saying anything, thinking to myself “Sorry it’s not my fault your mom has over cooked your macaroni your entire life”. But after that my motivation for doing the weekly dinners died, and I stopped. Personally I would never ever say anything bad about someone’s cooking as a guest at their house even if it was terrible.
#17
Not sure if this would be considered rude but for sure not a good thing to do. I had 2 australian kids staying at my house for a baseball tournament one time. One of them was a chronic bed-wetter but never told us. He stayed for 5 nights and peed the bed each night without telling us. Instead each night he pushed whatever he peed on to the end of the bed. First night the sheets, second night the actual mattress protector to stop any pee from getting to it. (It was a bunk bed my brothers and I slept on as children) and lastly he peed directly on the mattress for 3 nights. Ruined the mattress and we had no idea till he left. The real kicker though is when he took a nap on our new couch. Peed all over it and then fled the scene and we assumed the dog had done it, until we saw the bed that is... I think that is something you should tell people who open their home to you so they can prepare. And please, dont sleep on the couch if ya know ya got a problem. Also, not trying to shame anyone for this kinda stuff. I feel like its more common then most people realize and I honestly just feel bad for him. Just wish he could have been honest with us so we could have helped him out a bit.
#18
Uncle tried to fix our computer. (It wasnt broken.) He then broke it. Did the same to our perfectly working dishwasher. Then he denied everything
When it comes to what hosts expect from their guests, it turns out that most don’t ask for much in return. 74% of Brits said they would never ask their visitors to pitch in for the cost of food and drinks. And many hosts are very generous with the amenities they provide as well, with the top ten offerings being bedside lamps, towels, toiletries, bedding, storage, plugs, a house key and toothbrushes. Apparently, handing a visitor a new toothbrush is always a good idea too, as 21% of Brits said they would borror their host’s toothbrush if they had forgotten their own.
#19
Stlole my dads methadone for chronic pain. My dad was hospitalized until his script was refilled. This was an older "friend" that i thought was cool. Luckily his a*s got arrested. I felt so guilty brinfknf that pos into my home.
#20
Puked in our washing machine and didn’t tell anyone. Found it a couple days later when we went to do laundry...
#21
My wife's sister was traveling through the area where we live on a cross-country trip. My wife hadn't seen her in 10 years, (and hasn't seen her since, this was 8 years ago). She gets a hotel a few miles from our house, updates her facebook, and doesn't call. My wife has to basically guilt her into meeting us somewhere or stopping by. She decided to stop by, and she brought her tiny loud dog with her. It p****d and s**t all over the house while we briefly visited (less than an hour). She didn't offer to help clean it up. I've been married to my wife for 15 years, and it remains the only time I've ever met that sister. Seems like a decent trade.
Most hosts are concerned about cleanliness before their guests arrive too, as 61% of them said they do a deep clean always or at least some of the time before guests come to visit. Most don’t expect their visitors to do much cleaning though, as 75% of respondents said they don’t expect guests to clean up at all before they leave. One thing to keep in mind though is making sure they have packed up all of their belongings before heading out. Apparently, 15% of hosts had found dirty underwear left from a visitor in their homes before. To avoid that embarrassing situation (or to avoid losing your favorite pair of tighty-whities!), never forget to do a thorough search through the guest room before leaving anywhere.
#22
Sat at my kitchen table saying racist things about black football players. Never invited back.
#23
One of my best mates came to spend the night, so my folks decided to splash out and get Chinese takeout for everyone. I come from a family of seven, so he made eight. We got 5-6 dishes and two big tubs of fried rice. My mate helped himself to the ENTIRE first tub and, when confronted about it by me, helpfully pointed out that there was still another tub. For the seven of us.
#24
One of my friends in kindergarten wanted a beanie baby I had and when I told her she couldn’t have it, she took it away from me and tried to flush it down the toilet. Then, when the toilet started overflowing and my mom came in, she started crying and said I did it. We did not stay friends
When it comes to the things hosts love the least, cooking for everyone is at the top of the list for men. However, for women, cleaning is the least desirable aspect of hosting. Not far behind is having to entertain, all of the expenses, pretending to like guests they don’t like, laughing at unfunny jokes and cleaning up pet hair. 28% of respondents had no complaints about hosting though, so you don’t need to be paranoid that you’re always imposing on your friends or relatives whenever you stay over. Maybe you can just offer to help out with the cooking and cleaning to lighten the load on your generous hosts.
#25
While my husband and I were gone at work my mother-in-law took it upon herself to clean our house and "organize" our things. Twice. Yeah, she's only allowed in the house on an invitation only basis now. Edit: My MIL is really a super kind and generous lady! I forgave her and harbor no ill will towards her for doing this in the past. She has worked really hard to respect our boundaries and privacy since this all happened a few years ago. As far as the "organize" thing, that wasn't meant to imply she stole from us. She just moved our stuff around so we couldn't find anything for a few weeks. Also, RIP inbox.
#26
stole medicine out of my bathroom after eating my food, and smoking all my cigs that were on the table. i know they stole the medicine because of the blood curdling scream that come out of the bathroom because the medicine they ingested was the pills from a UTI. they numb your biz but make you p**s bright red. dumbass thought he was dying. i didn't even invite him, he was a roommates guest.
#27
This may not get read, but whatever it meant a lot to me at the time. I was a pretty recent college student who at the time was willing to give people a chance. Still do, but less trusting now. I had this one roommate who was just a massive narcissist and borderline psychopath (purposely manipulated people, tried to toy with their emotions to get a rise out of them...the whole thing). And the only reason I put up with him was my other roommate who was a great friend. Mr. Ponytail narcissist decides to bring his friends (plural) over for something he liked to call “getting Wednesday’d”; which was a ritual of getting s*******d in the middle of the week. Well, us productive members of college don’t usually do this. I try and ignore it per usual and fall asleep. Next morning I found out one of his extremely overweight and equally as s****y human friends decides to try and fight everyone at the party for trying to calm him down because he’s loud and its a Wednesday, people are trying to sleep (crazy concept, right?). Well, I find out they finally restrain him and he goes to sleep....on my futon that I love. This giant tub of lard decided to open up his bowels. All. Over. My futon. P**s and p**p everywhere. I’m still bitter about it today.
Being a great guest is really not rocket science. Be mindful of how much space you take up and how much noise you make, and don't demand too much of your hosts. It's always a good idea to leave a bottle of wine, some flowers or gift card when you leave too, to make sure your hosts know how grateful you are. And if you do accidentally commit a visiting faux pas, own up to it and apologize. There's no need for a relationship to be ruined because you refused to pay for the replacement of a dish you broke. (But it's not a bad idea to hide your most valuable possessions before having visitors, just in case...) Enjoy reading the rest of this list, and don't forget to upvote the stories you find the most shocking. Then if you have any horror stories of guests you've hosted, we'd love to hear them in the comments below!
#28
A guy came in, and when no one was looking, took a single bite out of every single apple in the counter basket.
#29
One time a younger guest went on my parents iPad and bought around $70-$80 worth of in app transactions. They were young but the response after getting caught was along the lines of “The guest should be given nice things.” They were young so maybe they didn’t know better. Edit: Many people have asked some questions about *the guest*. They were 5-6 years old at the time. I don’t remember if the family paid the money back, however I’m pretty sure the kid got punished severely. We gave the kid the iPad and left him alone and in hindsight yes, that was pretty stupid.
#30
We had a bunch of pizza in the fridge we'd ordered the night before they arrived. There were three other families already there, so we had ordered a lot and there were many much leftovers, and everyone who was there at the time had pitched in to pay. The one family who hadn't been there for pizza arrived the morning after and were talking about going out to eat. The families were all okay with this, thinking it'd be great to have lunch in individual families and get back together for dinner. Everyone was loading up, including the most recent arrival family, but when we drove off, they unloaded, went back inside and ate all the pizza. We would've told them it was fine if they had said, yo, could we eat that pizza for lunch, but pretending they were going someplace and then sneaking back inside and eating it was so shady. Edit: FAQ 1. They aren't poor, just really cheap. 2. This was my uncle and his family. 3. This was at my grandma's house. She had just passed and everyone was getting together for the funeral. My mom was basically in charge, and, since I'm the oldest grandchild at 24, I was heavily involved as well. 4. We locked the door, but every family had a key. 5. We did not confront them. It isn't worth it to get into it with them when we barely see them anyway. I think my mom would prefer to build a stronger bond with him and his family, since he is her little brother. P.S. They're staying at our house right now. Lol
#31
Stole my forks. Such an odd thing to take from someone but they stole them. They weren’t even fancy ones. Literally cheap forks you buy at Walmart. Like the ones that are like 4 for a couple bucks.
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