How do I say no in a nice way?

[Jalapeñomel]

So my cousin may come to visit Lima (so at this point in time this is all hypothetical), and she has talked about it since we moved here. At the time when she originally stated that she wanted to come, it was just her and her DH, and we said that it would be NBD if they crashed at our place.  

Now they have a son, and we certainly don't have room for them and a child (nor is our apartment appropriate for small children with three dogs and no child proofing at all). She mentioned to me the other day that she is still very interested in coming and asked if they could stay (assuming to save money and whatnot).  

How do I say no in a nice manner?

[wkatie]

"It would be so fun to have you three here, but I'm not sure you would be comfortable in our small space, especially given our animals. It would be quite an adjustment for us to have a baby around too! I would be worried that he could potentially be hurt by something in our (normally) child-free apartment. BUT, there is this place on VRBO (or hotel, etc), that is $___ which would work great for you. It's close by and we can still spend time together. Can't wait for your trip!"

[Deleted]

Pretend you've forgotten she was going to stay with you?
Send her a list of hotels near by that cater to families/kids?
Mention to her they're close so it will be easy for you to come and visit her without the dogs, even if kid is napping in their room. Even better if the hotel offers baby sitting so you guys can go for a kid free dinner if they want.


Or tell her what the apartment is like and that you aren't sure if it's child safe, especially given the three dogs (they don't like kids and can't keep them seperate?). But you'd be happy to research hotels for her.

[Jalapeñomel]

And it's super cheap to stay here, you can rent a one bedroom apartment for a week for about $250.


EDIT: These are excellent ideas.  I also believe she forgot that we have three dogs now, which I would imagine would be a turn off for them.  And I would be more then happy to find her cheap and decent accommodations. 

[Saint Monica]

[speckledfrog]

"I am so excited about your visit! We really wish we could have you stay but our apartment is just too small. I can definitely help find somewhere close by. You can't beat the prices down here. We are going to have so much fun!"

[Saint Monica]

[SKP82]

What Speckled said.

I wouldn't say anything along the lines of "oh you wouldn't want to stay here, it's so small!" because then she can come back and say, "Oh, we don't mind being cramped!"

[ralphlauren]

Mar 7, 2013 18:52:19 GMT -5 speckledfrog said:

"I am so excited about your visit! We really wish we could have you stay but our apartment is just too small. I can definitely help find somewhere close by. You can't beat the prices down here. We are going to have so much fun!"

That is what I would say.