Toiletries options for guests

I understood what you said. I paid attention to what you said. I simply don’t agree. Perhaps it is you that do not understand what I am talking about. I am not talking about someone that uses what they need while they are in the hotel. I am talking about someone that takes everything they put out in the room and puts it in the luggage with the intent of using it somewhere else or giving it away, so the hotel will give them more, and they keep putting the unused toiletries in their luggage so the hotel keeps giving them more.

And I simply still disagree that hotels and AirBnB’s are “very different” businesses. Both of them are lodging and hospitality businesses. AirBnB wants us to think we are something very special and not hotels, and there are differences, but we still have to manage the expenses we incur when we have guests, just like hotels.

And I don’t follow your last statement - what is silly and not business-like?

3 Likes

Silly and not business like is to think like you: to not have clear understanding what you are doing in your own business and have silly expectations of your guests to not use something that you give them complimentary and then complain how not ethical it is of your guests to take these things that you yourself gave them to use and complain about “extra” cost for you because your greedy unethical guests stall from you what you yourself gave them.
Hope it’s clear now😂

Hotel doesn’t mind if guests do WHATEVER those guests want with everyday toiletries. Everyday renewed toiletries is already calculated by hotel into the cost . It’s ok to put it in you luggage, or hair or other parts of your body, hotel DOES NOT CARE.

1 Like

We started by giving our guests these small, prepackaged toiletries that we had collected at hotel stays. I started looking into buying them for our Airbnb, but I found our guests didn’t use much of what they received, so we were throwing away a lot of product. Buying them, even wholesale, would have been a pretty big expense for products people would be wasting. So instead, we provide a pump bottle of lotion in each bathroom along with body wash and shampoo. Nothing gets wasted, everyone likes them, and we spend a lot less.

2 Likes

I agree heartily about this. I have been appalled to see guest “raiding” the maids carts on their way out. What happened to personal responsibility and shame? I would discourage any friends from doing this “favor” for me. I use medium to high quality toiletries bought on sale, and refill and clean the bottles often. Never been an issue for me, and I don’t have to scrape tiny melted soaps form the floor of my shower.

3 Likes

"Raiding "maids carts are not nice but I was talking about totally different issue

I am done with this topic as it’s absolute impossible to get the point through

1 Like

@PitonView you have a point. The take everything mentality raises prices for everyone - and the more people seek to get their money’s worth the more businesses compensate by increasing prices. It’s a lose lose situation.

@yana yes the cost of having your daily toiletries is included, in a higher rate than it might be otherwise. And if the rate is reasonable today, even tomorrow, in time the rates will have to go up in order to protect profit margins. If I had guests use all the shower gel (because the whole large bottle was there) each and everytime they had a shower it would very quickly put pressure on my prices, and in time I’d have no choice but to increase them. I’ve had guests eat a whole loaf of bread because I put it out… I hated having to ration food but that’s what I had to do when guests decided getting their money’s worth was a priority.

Hotels trust their guests to be reasonable.
If a hotel is being cleared out on a daily basis we’re actually talking about a large amount of money and price rises to compensate.

2 Likes

Hotel is not being cleared out by guests using toiletries . Don’t compare yourself and your tiny budget place to hotel.
Hotel does not count on guests being reasonable. This is
Not how business are run . I ran a business (not Airbnb) or similar but retail for many years and I know that to count on your customers common sense or their integrity is nonsense .
There are established rules on how a business is run and all is calculated without "counting on " anyone’s honesty , responsibility and other silly things .

Everything is calculated by hotels, so do not worry about them
being taken advantage off. They are professionals not like us and they know exactly what they are doing

4 Likes

By that logic when I buy my cup of coffee it is entirely reasonable for me to take all the sugars, stirrers, and napkins because they’re there, factored into the cost of my coffee and although I will not use them today I will use them at some point ! And they must be factored in to the cost of my coffee because they have been left out so I can take them all. If they don’t want me to take all the sugar then they shouldn’t have put it there…

I’m pretty sure this is not what you’re arguing but it seems the same logic to me …

1 Like

Now it’s not the same .

When you take sugar for Starbucks stand that’s not good, because it was not put there just for you, more than one or two per cup. But though some people do take advantage of it and take extra for themselves but it is still calculated by Starbucks people. There is a reason why coffee there costs 5$ a cup. All is taken into consideration, these corporate people went to school for that and got degrees in buissenes analyses
But toiletries are supplied individually for you. They put EXACTLY how many one person can use. Its yours , do whatever you want with it.

5 Likes

I can see both points of view but am veering more towards Zandra. It’s a question of general attitude - don’t be greedy! Just because something is there it doesn’t mean you have to take it if you don’t need it. And greedy guests DO put up prices, whether you’re a hotel or an airbnb, no question. Plus it’s just a shitty selfish attitude and shouldn’t be encouraged imo. My issue is with breakfast - many guests don’t bother, others are like locusts. Recently two girls devoured an entire jar of peanut butter and and entire jar of chocolate spread in 1.5 days. By your logic, Yana, they were entitled to do that simply because the jars were there. But I tell you, I wasn’t impressed and my opinion of them went down a lot. Not good for humanity… lol!

2 Likes

You are mixing up things, you and others .
Shitty attitude is to blame your guests and have bad opinion about them for something that you did wrong. I wish people had ability to learn from their mistakes.
Hotels do not make these mistakes because they are professionals and know what they are doing .

Jars situation/ why you put out the whole jar? How can you predict how much each guest will eat? Maybe they were hungry or just big eaters? And now they collected your bad opinion , not that they care I hope

And yes if the jar was there and you never told them
How much you want them to eat they were entitled to eat as much as they wanted.

Again going back to my first guest’s, 2 Belgians 6 feet tall guys with tons of muscles on them .
Because I was stupid and inexperienced and could not imagine that someone can eat so much I also put jars in front of them and loads of bread and the whole refrigerator .
They cleaned me out for sure. Am I making the same stupid gesture again? Of course not . These guys did not probably even thought twice about how much they ate … because this is how they eat… they don’t know any other way .

3 Likes

Oh Yana. I put out jars because I offer breakfast to my guests in my home. 99.9% of guests understand that this is a shared environment and treat it as such. I will not use those little packet things that cheap hotels use because it’s a) expensive and b) environmentally bad and I care about these things. It’s not a problem that my last guests ate all the peanut butter because the previous guests ate none so cost-wise, it’s fine - it balances out. I was talking about general attitudes. And I maintain that the greedy entitled attitude of “I paid so I can do what I want” stinks on all levels.

1 Like

. In this case who is greedy: them or you? They are because they liked it or were hungry or may be Came from. Culture where they would never think badly of you if you ate the whole jar of peanut butter but quite the opposite/ that you liked what they offered and they would be pleased with themselves . Or you who noticed it and formed your bad opinion about th girls?

For example if you came to my grandma house she would be terribly offended if you did not eat a lot. That would mean to her that her cooking is not appreciated .

This All talk about attitudes and greediness and other trates of human nature is really pointless when it comes to business . Calculate! And calculate well , and leave behind the unnecessary negative emotions toward your guests .

2 Likes

Oh come on, this is getting silly now. There is a big difference between eating up all your grandma’s dinner to show your appreciation when you visit and scoffing an entire jar of peanut butter as an airbnb guest just because it’s there. I don’t have “unnecessary negative emotions” to my guests. In fact, I think you and me (and jacquo) seem to be the most sanguine hosts on here!

2 Likes

BTW, lucky you if your grandmother is a good cook. Me, not so much :frowning:

@Magwitch. I don’t give guests full jars, bottles, etc, for several reasons. As you note, some guests eat a lot, others not so much. With a larger jar, I can’t know if a guest licked their spoon and then went into the jar a second time. So, when I offer things from a larger container, I portion it out into reusable glass jars. To be honest, I want my guests to have the breakfast that they need, so if they ask for 6 eggs instead of the normal two and a double portion of granola, so that they have the right energy to run a marathon, of course, I give them more food.

But, I also have a menu, and they are welcome to select two items. Younger folks often request three, while others only want one. This averages out.

I did one of those safe-food courses required of everyone cooking in NYCity in the 70’s, I think it is called Serv-Safe nowadays, and one of the cardinal rules is, once you have given food to a guest/customer, you can never use it for another guest again.

I am rambling now. I have 4 and 8 oz Ball canning jars with cute labels for some items, and even cuter glass bottles for the dairy products. When someone is staying for more than 5 days, then they get entire containers so I don’t control portions as much.

Happy to discuss how to manage your pantry via PM if you wish to continue this discussion.

3 Likes

It was silly from
The very beginning when someone said that take toiletries from hotel is theft .

2 Likes

I just actually read an article that states that 73% of travelers take home toiletries. Not only hotels dont call it stealing, but they in fact want guests to take these items home as it will remind people of the hotel and plus its an advertising for the brand.

3 Likes

This thread has certainly gone off course. Yana says this turned into a silly discussion from the very beginning when someone said that taking toiletries from a hotel is theft. Definitely so…it is more than silly…it is a ridiculous pronouncement to call it theft or greed. It most certainly is not but for those of you who believe it is, then don’t avail yourself of the toiletries that the hotel offers in your room for your convenience and use. Just leave them.

We have gone from the OP’s original question of which vendor to purchase mini-toiletries from, to whether it is okay to take the mini-toiletries provided in hotels during a guest stay, to guests emptying a peanut butter jar in a private rental.

Geez-Louise!!

5 Likes

[quote=“smtucker, post:79, topic:14204”]
I don’t give guests full jars, bottles, etc, for several reasons
[/quote] I suddenly got a flood of reply notifications and see that I missed this one. I appreciate your offer but honestly, I’m old-school airbnb. People rent a room in my home and they have to take it as it is. We all use the jars of peanut butter etc, guests are invited to SHARE things not have exclusive access to special super-sanitised sealed guest stuff. It has worked fine so far. Every now and again you get someone who looks like you just farted every time you explain things throughout the tour but that’s their problem. Everything is super clear in my listing and I emphasise throughout the communication process what they can expect.

So yeah, the eating of an entire jar of peanut butter AND chocolate spread within 48 hours raised an eyebrow because it doesn’t happen often. Particularly when it is patently obvious that it is a shared resource.

And they were American, btw @Yana !

1 Like