A new guide to etiquette promises help for those sharing a home with the owner through a holiday let. Jaine Blackman takes a closer look

People opening the doors of their home to paying guests in Oxford and around the county are welcoming a guide from the guardians of etiquette, Debrett’s.

There’s a growing trend for homeowners to let out spare rooms and with plenty of eager visitors, hundreds of people in the city are joining in to earn some extra income.

When you’re hosting guests, or going to stay at someone’s house, you’d think certain codes of behaviour would go without saying – keeping the toilet roll replenished for hosts, taking muddy shoes off guests. Or so you would think.

Turns out that’s not always the case and after house sharing website Airbnb conducted a survey into the issue, it teamed up with the time-honoured etiquette experts to offer advice to both parties.

The Debrett’s Guide to Home Sharing Etiquette is aimed at smoothing relations between guests and hosts.

It aims to mix 'guidance rooted in centuries of British etiquette, including rules on punctuality and how to make the perfect introduction, with advice on modern predicaments like smartphones and social media at the dinner table, and smoking electronic cigarettes indoors'.

“The Debrett’s guide is such a good idea because it lets everyone know the expectation on both sides,” says teacher Susan Robson, 60, who rents out a shepherd’s hut at Brightwell cum Sotwell, Oxfordshire, through Airbnb.

“This can stop any misunderstanding or problems before they arise.”

The advice is clearly overdue, considering research by Airbnb (airbnb.co.uk) found more than 68 per cent of people think social etiquette is on the decline.

Even basic standards like getting too drunk, wearing dirty shoes, poking around uninvited and announcing special dietary requirements at the last minute came up as potential guest pitfalls, while a failure to have clean bedding, provide toilet rolls and offer a cuppa were common howlers of the host.

James McClure, general manager of Airbnb UK says the survey results are 'interesting'.

"They dovetail with our advice that manners are there to make everyone feel welcome, remove any anxiety and minimise social difficulties or awkwardness."

Sue says: "Personally we have found all our visitors to be very polite and respectful of our space anyway. However, the one point that some people don't appreciate is the importance of is punctuality.

"If people say they are coming at 3pm and don't arrive until 5 we will have stayed in waiting all that time. In these days of modern technology it's so easy to just send a text if you get held up." Luckily most people do and I now ask people to let me know if they are held up. It certainly hasn’t taken away from the huge enjoyment of meeting people from all over the world and from different walks of life.”