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guest feedback:
i should provide toothpaste. She thought as i provide soap, s&c and even hand lotion that toothpaste was also included.
me:
so I’m not opposed to this, although i think most guests will not appreciate it (and i’ll see how my American hosts in another forum like this idea, lol), and there’s the thought of cleaning the tube each time, ugh, how fiddly.
I have a “forget me not” basket with various items, including toothbrush/paste.
I’ve never stayed in a hotel or airbnb that had a tube of toothpaste, so this guest request is odd (has she never travelled??) but as i say, I’m not opposed to it.
But would it be considered a bit gross? I think if the tube was clean looking i’d be ok with it, and pragmatic enough to realise that in our modern world of “eco friendly” sharing a tube of toothpaste is ok (given the very clean pristine bathroom i provide)
do i want to offer this? NO. but as i have 4 bathrooms i could trial it and do a case study?
We provide toothpaste since we’re a fly-to location and are a ways away from a store.
I’d never leave a big tube out. You can get single-use packages (like the take-out ketchup at McDonalds), or travel-sized tubes.
I get the travel-sized tubes since most of our guests stay a week. I buy the ones in boxes - that way I know if they’ve been opened since I discovered some guests would use the tube then put it back on the toiletry tray (no where near the sink).
But we are also a pretty expensive place and our business model is to supply just about everything the guest needs.
I don’t tend to be squeamish about sharing stuff (deodorant even) at all but for some reason, I draw the line at toothpaste. Maybe it’s because you kind of have to scrape your (used) toothbrush on the cap to get the paste on. And because I know that sometimes I brush my teeth for a while and then go back for more toothpaste with my sloppy brush (gross, right?). I don’t even share toothpaste with my husband.
Anyway, we provide those little travel tubes, also in a box as @PitonView described. I even spring for the fancy Italian stuff that comes in all the cool flavors (so be nice when you book or you might get the licorice one ).
I could see how it may become not eco-friendly or too expensive but it only rarely gets taken, in my experience, so that hasn’t happened. Like many other semi-luxury goodies that we supply, we always get “credit” from the guests for supplying them, even though the guests don’t often use them. It’s been a win-win for us.
Also, when it does get used, it gets taken with the guest, so I don’t think it’s being wasted either (but most of our guests arrive by car).
I’m glad you’re considering this carefully but it seems to me that your offering it in your ‘forget me not’ basket is enough.
I agree with @PitonView that if you did provide them that it’d only be the traveler size, and even then, I think they’d need to be new/unopened for each arrival.
We recently had a guest who in their checkout message mentioned that they had bought and left toilet rolls so that we were ‘[all taken care of in that respect’. Well, we had plenty of toilet paper though we promise just a starter pack.
Maybe the thing to do is remind folks of the starter pack promise when(if) you mention where the local grocery stores are. Maybe add “Remember, we give you a starter pack of two rolls each of toilet paper and paper towels, but you might want to include paper products, toiletries in your shop.”
I was looking recently at Airbnbs in Boston. I happened upon one where the Host said that they keep things ‘simple’ and so do not provide any paper products or toiletries, spelling out that there is no soap, shampoo, toilet paper, anything – we keep it simple.
Well, all but one reviewers gave them a ‘5,’ the one complaining that it did not feel welcoming. I’m not going to go this Host’s ‘simple’ route but I’m also not supplying toothpaste as anything other than a last resort supply basket.
I wouldn’t call mine a last resort basket, but I don’t promise toothpaste, either. I just list it on the “Villa Supply” document I send a week before arrival and say we probably will have some.
Exactly. I have an odds and sods basket of toiletries in the guest bathroom that have some things I provided, some other things guests left behind, and I sterilize the containers and make sure they aren’t goopy under the lid, but used toothpaste, no way.
And because I don’t do single-use items, I don’t provide small tubes, either.
@gillian I’d look at this as one of those things hosts don’t need to take onboard just because one guest asked for it. The most I’d do is have a couple travel-size tubes on hand in case a guest asks for some, but not just always provide them.
I provide tooth paste and tooth brushes. I get them at the dollar store so it’s not a big expensive. Also the min stay is 5 nights and six guests. If it was just one or two guests and just a short stay, I don’t think I would provide it. Some guests use it and others don’t. I think it’s nice to have just in case someone forgot to pack a toothbrush.
Short answer: No. Longer answer: No, though like hotels you might provide it on request by keeping it a secret box in a cupboard, or under the bathroom sink, and let them know where it is if asked. Then again I provide period napkins and tampons for free but that is to prevent blood on the bed sheets.
I don’t offer travel size toothpaste, mainly because my dental hygienist doesn’t give them to me anymore😂 However, it doesn’t hurt to have a couple on hand, as they’re cheap… (And I will be adding this to my “forget something?” basket.
My husband stayed at a pretty nice hotel in Vegas recently, & had forgotten his dop kit. He gets to the room, & no soap, shampoo, nothin! Calls the front desk, & within 5 min. they bring him amenities to supply an army! End result being, I’ve now got bathroom supplies for my guests for eternity!
I once forgot to pack my business suit on a business trip to Japan and had to buy a new one in Tokyo. Should I have just asked the hotel if they could give me one?
sorry I have now clarified. She didn’t “forget” toothpaste, she assumed I offered it as an amenity so didn’t bring any. and there was a small one in the basket but she didn’t look.
Ah, okay, well it makes perfect sense that we should anticipate people’s assumptions.
Did you tell her there was one in the basket that she didn’t bother to look in? I guess she wanted it gift wrapped on the counter, next to the complementary bottle of $60 anti-aging serum.
I do, too. It’s not convenient to get from our property to the nearest store, so it could be a day or two before someone could get their own. I buy boxes of the dollar store brand and maybe two or three boxes a year get used.
this also isn’t our responsibility, although I do provide a few supplies as well.
but having an accident can still happen, which is why I provide bed pads. I’ve raised 3 teens, who all had accidents… i taught them to sleep with a towel the first few nights, then I found bed pads (Aldi sells them a few times a year and I bought a bunch one year). I’ve never had a guest use one though, but also thankfully never had an accident to deal with. In my situation of romantic w/end getaways, I guess most women time their weekend away carefully.
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