Guest says I should offer toothpaste

not here.
and I’m not providing single use amenities that people can just take for their own future travel bag (like we all do at hotels, which is why hotels no longer provide those things). i have a forget me not basket, it had a toothbrush + paste in it (which I took from a hotel! ha), which the guest didn’t see. But in this situation she actually thought I should provide toothpaste, not sure in what size tube, but small tubes are not easily available here, I found some on amazon, but that’s not normal, you can’t get small tubes in the shops, so for her to ask for toothpaste I can only assume she meant a full sized tube. I provide hand soap, hand lotion, body soap, shampoo and conditioner, all nice brands, in large bottles.

again, that’s not available here, not without a $15 shipping fee, and I’m not handing out single use toxic toothpaste. all my other supplies are organic/natural/very nice.

that’s nice… we don’t have walmart. nothing is that cheap here. this thread is devolving into “where can I find the nastiest, cheapest toothpaste for my guests” :crazy_face: which is fine, I’m ok with things going off-topic, conversation is fun.

I’ve never heard that one, I’m assuming Lincoln is on your penny?
I suppose Boomers might say “tighter than a Scotsman” cos the English will say the Scots are penny pinchers, and English culture has been very strong here up to the 60s (then we went metric and it all changed! haha), and of course, such bigotry is frowned upon nowadays, no matter that picking on each other is time-honoured tradition. I don’t know if we have any good slang for a penny pincher, I shall mull it over.

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I used to supply toothpaste we could buy in a packet with a toothbrush but I stopped years ago we had a shop nearby that sold all these bits and pieces for hotels but that closed down a while ago I never bothered since, only one guest I can remember ever asked me, we have 7/11’s every 500 metres,
My question is, How far do we go? That shop had everything like disposable razor blades shaving foam earbuds could spend a fortune,

I got a cheap bundle of Avon roll on deodorants in some neutral flavor. I figure the guests will have to be a bit desperate to go for the goopier deodorant experience, and won’t take it unless they need it.

The toothpaste is the thing most frequently taken. Sometimes it’s cheaper to get slightly bigger sizes than “travel.” Intrigued by the tablets so looking into that.

Made me suddenly recall these tabs I got from my dentist as a kid that you chewed after brushing and they turned any missed spots on your teeth bright red! Probably loaded with toxic substances . . .

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I agree. I have never seen any travel-size toothpaste put out by the companies that make natural-based toothpastes without flouride. I wonder why they seemingly haven’t thought of that.

I wouldn’t provide them for guests, but I would buy them for myself when travelling.

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Good to know small tubes of natural-based toothpaste is available-I’ve never seen them in Canada, and while some of those toothpastes are available in Mexico, never seen travel-size here either.

I found one, and I bought 6 of them, but if they get taken straight away I’m not restocking, cos I think we can all assume people would take them because they are awesome to have in your own travel kit.

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I’d be sorely tempted to take it, but I wouldn’t because I’m a good person. :rofl:

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U.S. Target customers: Tom’s of Maine non-flouride toothpaste 1 oz travel size, 99 cents.

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Mean as cat :poop:……………? 202020

Back to the OP;

It depends very much on your level of provisions in the first place and your perceived price level in your general area.
I have been to both hotels and AirBnBs that do provide travel packs of toothpaste and brush, along with other accoutrements.

My personal take, seeing as you provide soap, shampoo and conditioner, would be to include the travel size toothpaste as well. You or your cleaner can check if it has been used, even once, at check out time and either keep the unused tube/brush or bin them.

We have various levels of bathroom provisions at different locations. Our lowest level is; shower gel, shampoo, cotton buds and shower cap at economy level serviced apartments. Our top level is ; as above plus, hand soap, wet wipes, TOOTHPASTE & BRUSH, slippers, gowns, static air freshener, basic-but-pleasant cologne & perfume. We note on our description that these are provided FOC and is the guests choice whether they use them or not ( getting around the possible issue of allergies, preferences etc. ).

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You don’t provide hand soap at your economy rentals, yet provide shampoo and shower caps? That’s pretty strange. Hand soap and toilet paper are the most basic of amenities. I’ve never heard of a host not providing hand soap and I’ve never known anyone in my life who uses a shower cap.

ah, but here’s the point. People will take the toothpaste as a freebie, so basically I’m losing another $2 with each booking (and given i do 1-2 night stays, that not inconsequential when you add up all the “little” $2-5 items that are expenses). If I were doing week long stays it might be less of an expensive, but in theory i could be going through a dozen tubes per week

This was the first time a guest has asked for such a thing (and remember, there was toothpaste+brush in the basket - something i’d taken from a hotel stay), she actually thought I should provide toothpaste. Well, how about deodorant? dental floss? mouthwash? hair spray? lip balm?

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my mum! I have a shower cap in my forgetmenot basket, cos it’s something we took from a hotel… my daughter and her bf work in hotels so they will grab a few amenities for me when they can to keep my baskets topped up.

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Okay, your mom. Anyone else?

It just seems so non-essential in an “economy” str compared to hand soap, which everyone uses.

nope, that is all. I think we can safely assume that. :sweat_smile:

Also, to add to your reasoning, in an era of banning single use plastic, why are these still made?

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It just reflects what WE have been asked for the most. The shower caps get used either for their intended purpose or, we have noticed, for covering food plates/bowls in the fridge. Either way, they are usually used.
We used to put out hand soap at economy level but it was never used, whereas the higher level units do use it.

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Only you can really gauge this by your feedback and researching similar properties. If you decide to add it or anything else it goes into your asking price.

BTW, yes we do always give toilet tissue, didn’t regard that as optional.

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We’re a fly-to location and don’t have any stores easily accessible, so I expected our guests would need toothpaste frequently. We have three bedrooms, and I put a small tube out in each bedroom on a tray in an area separate from the sink.

Last year we had 40 bookings. If everyone took all the toothpaste we would have gone through 120 tubes of toothpaste. We actually went through 15, and most of those were partially used and left.

@gillian - Keep on doing what you are doing with the toothpaste in the “forget something?” basket. That’s enough, especially if you are a drive-to location.

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This reminds us that many listings are different from our own.

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I keep spare tooth brushes and single use tubes of toothpaste in the house. I expect most people would bring their own toothpaste but it’s nice there is some available if it was forgotten. I found it does get used, but VERY slowly. Personally post-pandemic me cringes at the mere thought of a “public” toothpaste. All I can think… is … GERMS. Personally I won’t use an open bar of soap either.

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