Joel Stein: My Home Is Your Castle

A hospitality professional prepares me for a visit from my mom

Getty Images (2); Illustration by Tomasz Walenta for TIME

I love guests. If it were up to me, I'd have friends over for dinner every night, and our spare room would never be empty. But there are two things preventing that: my lovely wife Cassandra and guests. Because I am not a very good host.

That's partly because I'm an excellent guest. I eat anything, find everyone interesting and have even willingly chosen to stay in an eco-hotel, which is the European term for "no toilet paper." When people ask me if a bed was comfortable, I am confused by the question, since I cannot tell if things are comfortable...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!