When I moved to my new apartment I didn't have any money to buy an extra bed for my guests. So, I invested in a comfortable inflatable double mattress. Most of my friends thought that it was great. They felt like they were on a camping trip in my lounge room. As a joke, I even set up my tent for them. These days I have a sofa bed which, together with the inflatable mattress, allows me to accommodate up to 5 visitors in my apartment. What kind of sleeping arrangements do you have when your family or friends, who live far away, want to come and visit you?
People can be very flexible according to what they are used to. Airbeds are very useful and the sofa bed or now they do chair beds too that fold out into a single mattress. I find it's more about the bedding that matters and always give them a nice pillow and comfy duvet and blanket. Those are the things that make people feel comfortable.
Inflatable mattresses are always a good idea. We've got one of those as well, and it's perfect for when people come round. They don't take up a lot of space, and more importantly, it saves a lot of money. People generally feel pretty comfortable using them as well, so the guests are kept happy too. Sofa beds are a good idea too, however they're more expensive, so we don't use them.
This reminds me of our plan to extend our kitchen. We drew up a sketch of the architecture of the kitchen. There is a remaining space of about 3x3 meters that will serve as a guest room. Maybe we would install an air conditioner and put in a small tv set. Good plan. When the plan was executed, everything went fine with the construction. But when it was done, that guest room became a stock room, huh. That is where we put extra items like sack of rice, cases of softdrinks, etc.
When we're at home and have guests, we often hook our RV into the house electric & water system and let the guests stay in the RV. If they must stay inside, our 'office' room has a futon, my daughter's room has a trundle bed under her bed, and we have one of those double-height air mattresses.
I've never had much luck with the inflatable beds, personally. Each one we bought always seemed to have leaks in it somewhere and by the morning, whomever was sleeping on it was laying on a flat bed. This is especially problematic if the person(s) are heavier set. If possible, I think a futon or fold out bed is a better option. Even something like an indoor cot which can be fold up and put away might be a better option. You could always dress it up with some thick blankets and pillows to make it more comfortable. There are even foldable beds on wheels which are similar to cots but offer more support and padding, if you're willing to pay a little more, plus you can fold them up and put them into a closet for storage. If space is a priority and is limited, then twin size beds of whatever variety will give you more flexibility in terms of the layout of your apartment. A king size inflatable bed may sound nice at first but you need to verify you have enough room to inflate it first. Plus, if there are two people who aren't married or partnered, they may not want to be sharing a bed together.
I also use a sofa bed in my guest room to save space since it's not very big and preferably you would want to use it as more than just a bedroom during the daytime if you are staying there as a guest so it's a good enough compromise for me even if I personally don't find the bed that comfortable whether it is on sofa mode or bed mode. I also keep a lot of cushions and pillows in the closet so whenever we have company it's easy to make guests feel comfortable and welcome.
