If part of your trip is with a friend or relative and the rest is in hotels, the clearest accommodation plan is a dated timeline showing exactly where you intend to sleep each night. Use the host's invitation or accommodation documents for the nights at their home, and genuine hotel reservations for the nights you plan to spend in paid accommodation. Do not use a hotel booking to cover nights when you will actually be staying with someone else.
Start with the nights, not the documents
Imagine a ten-night trip to Italy. You arrive in Milan on 4 May, stay with your cousin for three nights, take the train to Florence on 7 May, spend four nights in a hotel, then return to Milan for three nights before flying home on 14 May. Your accommodation timeline could be:
Dates City Planned accommodation ------------ ---------- ----------------------- 4--7 May Milan Cousin's home 7--11 May Florence Hotel reservation 11--14 May Milan Hotel reservation
This structure makes the trip easy to follow. The arrival date and first accommodation period match, the transfer to Florence is visible, and the final hotel ends on the departure date. There is no need to create a hotel stay for the first three nights if you are genuinely staying with your cousin.
The same method works for a weekend in Paris followed by a week with friends in Lyon, or a business visit that begins at a colleague's home and continues in a hotel near an event venue.