If we were speaking of a single person whose name is Smith, we would simply add an apostrophe-s (known among grammarians as a clitic) to the end of the name: “Welcome to Smith’s home,” or “Welcome to Smith’s.” However, in reference to a family, all of whom share the last name Smith, we of course pluralize the name to indicate multiple persons in the family, as in the sentence “The Smiths are coming for...
If we were speaking of a single person whose name is Smith, we would simply add an apostrophe-s (known among grammarians as a clitic) to the end of the name: “Welcome to Smith’s home,” or “Welcome to Smith’s.” However, in reference to a family, all of whom share the last name Smith, we of course pluralize the name to indicate multiple persons in the family, as in the sentence “The Smiths are coming for dinner.”
Grammatically, when creating a plural possessive, it is correct to place a single apostrophe after the pluralized word. So the correct form would be Welcome to the Smiths’. This is perhaps easier to envision if we make explicit that which is implied in the phrase, that is, “Welcome to the Smiths’ home.”
If we did implement your other option, Welcome to the Smiths, it would entirely change the meaning of the sentence. In this case we could assume that The Smiths was a place with a pluralized name, like Beverly Hills or The Alps. In this case the object of the preposition takes on a locative identity, and loses the implication of home that exists in the first option. It is no longer a possessive modifier but the object itself.
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