6 ways to make your guest’s arrival to Boston unforgettable
6 Best Ways to Host guests in Boston
We strive for our furnished apartments to be a resource for our community and we love hosting South End neighbor’s family and friends. Throughout the years, we have had hundreds of guests stay with us that are visiting family and friends in the South End neighborhood and we love making their trips so convenient and special. We ensure guest’s comfort and privacy so that the person they are visiting can focus on the fun stuff. If you have reserved an apartment with us on behalf of a guest, we provide the option for the host to pick up the apartment keys on behalf of their guest. We initially developed this offer for a South End neighbor who reserved The Upton for her parents and wanted to make their late night arrival as easy as possible. However, this offering provides much more than just convenience, but the opportunity for people to host their guests in a totally new way.
1. Kick off a birthday or special occasion early with a special treat awaiting your guest
Start the off the stay on a celebratory note and drop up off a surprise at the apartment before your guest checks in. You can return their apartment keys back to their mailbox so that they will have no idea you were ever there. One of our favorite ideas is to order a cheese and wine gift box from Formaggio and leave it at the apartment awaiting your guest. If you are celebrating a birthday, you can pick up cupcakes from The Buttery located around the corner.
Custom gift box from Formaggio’s location in the South End
2. Make your guests feel at home, literally
Deck out your guest’s apartment with photos and personalized touches. This option will create an unforgettable experience for any visitor, especially for relatives who are visiting for extended stays in Boston, or visitors who are used to staying at your home. The options of how you can customize this to your visitor are endless and you can even think about bringing items from your own home that you know they love. Imagine the surprise on your visiting parents’ faces when they arrive to an apartment complete with a selection of family pictures. Many of our guests are family members who are used to staying at their South End loved one’s home. If this is the first time that your relatives are staying in the South End somewhere other than you own home, this is a quick way to get them adapted. The opportunities to make them feel at home are endless, and they will never forget this trip to Boston.
3. Stock up the refrigerator with favorites
Take advantage of the fully equipped kitchen and load up their fridge with their go-to groceries and favorite foods. Foodie’s Market is only a five minute walk from The Upton and will have everything that they need. Not only is this gesture incredibly thoughtful, but it also is extremely helpful! If you know that your visitor is arriving late at night or early in the morning, think about what meal or snacks that you could have ready for them. Having your essentials immediately available makes it much easier to feel settled and relaxed.
4. Leave a bouquet of fresh flowers or a houseplant at the apartment
Bouquet from Table & Tulip
Fresh flowers and plants are an easy way to make a big impact. Table & Tulip or Flores Mantilla are located right near The Upton’s apartments and offer a selection of beautiful flowers and customizable bouquets. Table & Tulip is accepting online orders only for fresh florals and you should view their website for updated information. Flores Mantilla is located directly across from The Upton on Tremont Street! For a guest who has a monthly reservation at our short term apartments, head to Niche and buy them a potted plant that will last the duration of their stay in Boston. Potted plants are a lovely housewarming gift!
5. Introduce your visitor to South End local small businesses
The South End neighborhood is full of local small businesses that will be new to out-of-towners. Head to Olives & Grace (currently only accepting orders online) and buy their thoughtfully curated “The Local Maker” gift box full of small-batch artisanal foods all made in MA. They also sell a “Rest and Relaxation” gift box perfect for creating an at-home spa day. If you have family visiting to help with childcare responsibilities, grab them the perfect thank you card at Gifted. Flock is a women’s clothing store on Shawmut Ave that also sells home goods which make great welcome gifts. I bought my sister who was in town for the weekend a beautiful ceramic mug that says dog mom that she used daily during her Boston visit and took home with her as the perfect souvenir. Flock also has a selection of engagement and wedding gifts that are perfected for any newly engaged visitors or bride or grooms to be.
6. Surprise them inside of the apartment
We’ll leave the extent that you surprise them to you — you could be sitting on the couch waiting for them, or hiding in the bathroom to jump out. In order to execute this plan, first retrieve the apartment keys from the mailbox and familiarize yourself with the Latch key code and keypad. We recommend taking a screen shot of the seven digit code that we provide in the arrival instructions email. Next, enter the apartment and unlock the door. Then, return the set of apartment keys back to the mailbox and lock it. Since we have a Latch Keypad, you can digitally open the locked doors by pressing the seven digit code into the Latch keypad. Each number will light up and when they are all lit you will hear the doors unhinge.