Guest Policies

House Votes

Non-Sasona Residents may sleep overnight in common space on 3 conditions:

1. They are sponsored by a Sasona Resident

2. The Sasona Resident emails the house the night of the stay or before, saying they are sponsoring the person sleeping over, and tells the house where the person is sleeping. (updated 6/19/2016 by 9-0-3

3. The person leaves the place they slept just as clean as or cleaner than when they found

If the person sleeping over is a Sasona Associate, and any of the above 3 conditions are not met, the Sasona Associate can be no-showed.

If the person sleeping over is a non-Sasona-affiliated person and any of the above 3 conditions are not met, the Sasona Resident responsible for the guest can be no-showed. (motion passed 5/26/13)

With the penalty of a 2-lump no-show, no parking on the curb around Sasona, including the loading zone. (The loading Zone may still be used for loading/unloading.) Members are liable for their guests parking ie. A member could a no-show for a guests’ car being improperly parked. (motion passed 5/26/13)

A member cannot have more than 2 different guests a month sleep in common areas, unless decided otherwise by a meeting. (House vote, 2-12-06)

HouseRules

5. Guests

A guest is defined as a person invited by a member to visit, and may stay overnight if the member so wishes. There is no cost to the member or to the guests other than meals eaten. The intent of this policy is to allow the member and the guest enough flexibility to enjoy the use of the house, and yet preclude non-members from living in, and using the facilities of, the house without proper legal authority.

5.1. Duration and Frequency:

5.2. Alternatives: If a guests wishes to stay longer than that described above, then that person should apply for a guest or associate contract and follow all the guidelines concerning those contracts.

5.3. Assessments: Members will be assessed the cost of food and other items as related to their guest.

5.4. Responsibility: Member's are completely responsible for their guests actions, including any damages done by the guest, and any untoward behavior committed shown by the guest.

5.5. House Authority: The House has a right to request that a guest behave responsibly.

Rules of Thumb

(This has not been voted on)

House Rule 5.1.1 ("Guests may stay no longer than 3 consecutive nights") has been understood traditionally to mean that guests may not stay in common areas (for example, sleeping on the couch) more than 3 consecutive nights. If someone is staying in your room, such as a significant other, it's understood that they can stay pretty much indefinitely, especially if they have their own place to stay. We're not going to police how often your sweety pie spends the night.

Any time you have a guest visiting, you should let the house know in advance who is visiting and how long they will be here. If you would like to have someone stay longer than 3 consecutive nights in a common area, you should ask for the house's permission.

There has been a distinction drawn between a guest who has their own house and one who is otherwise homeless. Guests who are homeless have traditionally been given less leeway to stay here, since they are not a guest so much as a couchsurfer.

Guests should pay $3 for each guest meal (over and above the traditional one free guest meal a week allowed to members) while they are staying here.

The most important thing is not to piss off your fellow coopers. If your guest is polite and pays for their meals and doesn't make a mess, the house might not have a problem with letting them stay more than a few nights on a couch.

[The above is just my personal understanding of the subject, not to be construed as official policy. - Parker, Steward/Membership Coordinator, Aug. 2007]

During Sasona house meeting discussion on 12/4/2011 (no motions were made): "Guests may stay no longer than 3 consecutive nights" and "Guests may not stay more than twice a month" are intended to indicate that any one individual may not stay in common areas more than six days in any given month, regardless of how many house members agree to sponsor the guest.

Couchsurfing

There has been a good deal of debate about allowing guests from couchsurfing.org. Here are some options that have been discussed, which have not been voted on and are offered for informative purposes:

1. Allow all couchsurfing without voting on it. In other words, don't ask for house approval, and people just invite couchsurfers over. Continue the status quo.

2. Allow all couchsurfing with a single house vote. In other words, make a motion that "Sasona allows couchsurfing" and pass it.

3. Allow couchsurfing that conforms to certain criteria. Some possible criteria:

4. Allow couchsurfing on a case by case basis, by house vote. In other words, if I want to invite Fred from Fredland to come stay here, I have to get house approval at a meeting. Each time a couchsurfer is invited, the house must vote to allow it. That would require between 3 to 9 days' advance notice from the couchsurfer in order to get it on the agenda in time, depending on what night they want to stay here (3 days advance notice to stay on Monday, 9 days advance notice to stay on Sunday). (I have asked Chris if that's too much advance notice to expect and am awaiting an answer.)

5. Do not allow couchsurfing.

(added by parker, from email discussions April 2011)

SasonaWiki: GuestPolicies (last edited 2016-06-25 17:31:53 by claytonjaym)