I've never asked guests to remove shoes in our home. And we ourselves alternate wearing shoes or socks or slippers around the house.
This reminds me of when I had to spend a few hours at a (former) boss's apartment to do some work. When I rang the bell, she asked me to remove my shoes outside the door and then brush the "soot" from them with a big brush and to put the shoes in a box separate from where the family placed their shoes just inside the door. This was not a cultural thing - she was just very fastidious about her home, which was fine (she was actually a pleasant person, just a high maintenance type, and she even confided to me that she had an anxiety disorder and I appreciated her candor). Anyway, I had brought some small toys for her young daughters as gifts. While we were working on the couch, all of a sudden the daughters started running through the livingroom completely naked and screaming and my boss didn’t bat an eyelash. This went on for quite a while and she was completely oblivious. I said hi to the girls of course, and after a while, they both jumped and collapsed onto my lap where I had a bunch of papers. Even then, my boss said nothing as she continued concentrating on work right next to me. I got up with the girls and took out the toy gifts to distract them. They unwrapped the toys and started playing quietly; my boss arose from the couch and asked the girls to put the toys back in the gift bag, saying to me, “I’m very sorry but the girls do not play with toys. My husband and I do not approve of toys. Thank you but please take them back home when you leave.” At which point the housekeeper was called in to take the girls to another room (crying hysterically). Prissiest and strangest household I’ve ever visited. At least the girls did not have shoes on - or anything else!
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