DISCOVERY : All the Comforts of Home : Bed and breakfast lodgings are a convenient solution for people with insufficient room for out-of-town guests.

When Mom and Dad move in for an extended summer stay, rolling out the welcome mat is probably unavoidable. But when those twice-removed cousins show up with their kids and some sleeping bags, redirecting their compass may be in everyone’s best interests.

Fortunately, pricey hotels and seedy motels aren’t the only options. One of the best compromises between your fold-out couch and a bed with Magic Fingers is a room for rent in a bed and breakfast or private home.

This type of arrangement, also known as a homestay, is a European-rooted tradition. Some facilities accommodate only a single guest or family unit. In homestay arrangements, travelers stay at a private home. The accommodation may be a single room, an entire floor or wing, or an entire guest house separate from the main dwelling. Guests are given keys to come and go as they please, and nearly all hosts serve some form of breakfast to their guests.

The San Fernando Valley is home to an unknown number of rooms for rent (many are listed with agencies and referral services or are publicized almost solely by word of mouth). Prices range from $45 for one room to $210 for a large suite with a wood-burning fireplace in the living room and a private whirlpool tub with a view of a Japanese fern garden.

“The majority of our calls are from people who are expecting visitors and don’t have a place for them,” says Trudi Alexy, owner of California Houseguests International, a bed and breakfast-homestay reservation service in Tarzana. Alexy can help with national homestay arrangements through her extensive referral service, and she has about 25 San Fernando Valley homes listed in her host bank.

Many travelers who try the homestay concept never return to a hotel, Alexy says. There are several advantages. Women traveling alone may feel safer in a homey atmosphere. Discreet reservation systems better protect the privacy of celebrities and other high-profile guests who may not want to risk being mauled for autographs in a crowded hotel lobby.

Homestays may be cheaper than motel rooms in some instances. They are particularly appealing to visitors on extended holidays since some facilities even offer attractive discounts to travelers staying seven days or more. Checkout times are often more flexible than those at hotels. One of the most appealing factors involves the opportunity for guests to experience the local, or possibly historic, personality unavailable at generically designed hotel or motel chains.

“The non-commercial environment appeals to our guests, and it’s kind of like a private club,” says Megan Timothy, who runs La Maida House, a bed and breakfast inn located unobtrusively on a quiet residential street in North Hollywood. The 7,000-square-foot villa, the former estate of Italian expatriate Antonio La Maida, was built in 1926 and has since been subdivided.

The main house features a gorgeous mahogany staircase leading to 11 individually decorated rooms (three of which are suites) that can accommodate a total of 22 guests. The home’s spacious living/sitting room features a high ceiling, a marble fireplace and an 1881 grand piano that once belonged to bandleader Horace Heidt. Elaborate gardens further add to the charm of the grounds, which include a small gym and a swimming pool. House cats lend further warmth to the homespun ambience.

Complimentary fresh flowers, toiletries and homemade breakfasts are standard fare at La Maida. Wine and appetizers are served before the dinner hour. Evening meals are available through special arrangement, and early risers may receive coffee and a newspaper delivered to their room before breakfast. An extensive travel library--including local guidebooks and maps--is also available to guests. (Timothy has been known to photocopy Thomas Guide pages and highlight treks for puzzled out-of-town navigators.) Rooms at La Maida range from $80 with a suite topping out at $210.

Unlike Alexy’s experience with local bookings, Timothy says Valley residents who haven’t heard of her establishment are often wary of it because of its location.

“People freak out, they call up and tell my guests they can’t possibly stay in North Hollywood--they’re thinking kinky motels and used car dealers,” Timothy says. But family members staying at La Maida often end up inviting relatives to the inn to relax in the spacious parlor-style rooms.

Visitors who have arranged for stays via Alexy often reciprocate their hospitality by inviting former hosts for visits. In most homestay arrangements, surprisingly few places are off limits to visitors (owners’ bathrooms and bedrooms excepted), although rules differ from home to home.

Alexy says that while she isn’t in the business of heavily screening would-be guests, she has turned away some clients--a group of nudists who wanted a house all to themselves were rejected recently. Alexy’s primary reason for turning away guests is that numbers of six or more can rarely be accommodated under the same roof.

There are some other drawbacks to homestay arrangements. Guests in private homes often pay in advance and receive directions to a place only after payments have been made. This procedure, designed to protect the client’s privacy, means that visitors may not be able to dispatch relatives to check out the digs in advance of payment. Last-minute accommodations may be harder to secure than in hotels or motels. A two-week notice is preferred, but guests can occasionally be accommodated at the last minute.

Another important factor: Some people simply may not feel comfortable staying in the home of someone they barely know. Individuals who don’t want to bother with keeping noise in check during the wee hours should also probably look elsewhere. Luggage assistance, room service, private bathrooms, chocolates on the pillow and other hotel amenities may not be available in homestay situations.

Smoking may be restricted or completely prohibited. Pets are usually not welcome either, but at La Maida, where animal activist Timothy has been known to take in strays, guests have permanently adopted some of her pets.

Along with unusual benefits come some quirky rules. At La Maida, fur coats are off limits on the premises, a request that is clearly spelled out in Timothy’s brochure.

For most homestayers, advantages outweigh restrictions so much they even make the arrangement look better than camping out with friends or relatives. Lone tourists or visitors on their own while loved ones are at work often make friends with fellow “roomies” when eating breakfast or sipping afternoon wine or tea together.

“We’ve had large groups of people who have met here go out together for several days and nights in a row,” Timothy says. Uninterrupted private time is another coveted advantage.

“You can close the door and you are on your own,” says Alexy, pointing out that homestays offer the best of both hotel and home. “It is like being a guest in someone’s house without having any of the social obligations.”