When people talk about sofa beds, many people are often quick to dismiss them and you can usually generally hear two arguments that always come-up. The first being that people sometimes think its rude or bad manners for a host to make the guest sleep in a living room on a temporary bed and that the guest should be offered a nice bedroom (if not the best bed in the house). I think this opinion is pure traditional nonsense because in the modern clean age, no-one wants to sleep someone elses bed among their possessions even if they have changed all the bed sheets and covers with brand new ones.
The second argument that is often put forward against sofa beds is that they look awful and cheap. In my opinion I think this may be true of sofa beds of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s often came in horrible colors and looked like camp beds, but nowadays you just need to look around your local furniture store to see that the designers have learned their lessons and there are some wonderful designs that dont impose on the living room that will fit into even the most strictly designed living room.
So if you havent got a spare room, you should definitely purchase a sofa bed and let all your family and friends stay round.