I found that some people would open the tube and use a little, then put the cap on and put it back on the tray. No idea why! So I started getting the tubes in boxes. More waste, but at least it was easy to tell if the tube was used or not so we didn’t get complaints about “public” toothpaste.
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Toothpaste is a hygiene issue because people might touch their toothbrush to the top.
While we all have our “ick” triggers, a shared bar of soap is, in fact, not a hygiene problem. The whole point of soap is that it kills bacteria and deactivates viruses. And if one is concerned anyway, or finds it unappealing, it can just be held under running water for a minute to dissolve the top layer.
I’m not promoting using a large bar of soap that doesn’t get changed between guests though. I provide travel-size bars that come in a little cardboard box as well as liquid soap. I’ve found the majority of my guests never use the bar soap.
If I do find a partially used travel-size bar after check-out, I just use the rest myself- I don’t have any qualms about used bars of soap.
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When I was growing up, everyone had shower caps to protect women’s hairstyles. At least one of my friends has her hair professionally done and uses a shower cap when traveling to to keep the hairstyle dry. Black people often use shower caps, one was left behind by an Asian guest and nicer hotels still commonly have them in the bathroom toiletries assortment.
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I have long hair that tangles easily, and I usually pin it up and put on a shower cap for those showers when I’m not washing my hair. I provide dollar-store shower caps, too. We don’t go through many, but it certainly reinforces the impression that we provide “everything you need and more”. I spent about $15US on them five years ago and put them individually into little tiny ziploc bags.
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Oh, then they’ll ask for sanitary napkins, facial wipes, hand cream, sleeping mask, bath salts. Who says they should stop at travel size toothpaste?
I had guests who stole my 1l bottle of shampoo just because it was there.
I would actually consider sanitary pads or tampons to be more essential than toothpaste. You can brush your teeth without toothpaste, but short of putting a washcloth in your underwear, being caught without menstrual supplies has more of an impact.
I have a couple of sanitary pads in my “help yourself to what you need” basket that would tide a woman over until she could get to a store. I really only provide soap as far as toiletries go - that basket basically consists of things guests, visiting friends or family have left behind, or things I bought for myself that I didn’t like, not things I purchased specifically for guests. Right now there is sunscreen, shampoo, men’s shaving cream, bandaids, and some moisturizer in that basket, along with the sanitary pads, cotton balls, earplugs, and Qtips I do provide.
I wouldn’t leave an entire box of sanitary pads or tampons, though. The idea is that there are just a couple for emergency needs.
Me, Muddy! I use a shower cap all the time. If I’m taking a bath or shower, and not washing my hair during said bath or shower, I’ll have a shower cap on.
I provide one for guests but I don’t think they have been used for than a couple of times.
I found the most frequent personal hygiene type consumables that were taken by guests if put them out on offer were toothbrushes, small tubes of toothpaste, and razors. Once I saw guests almost invariably took those things, I changed my strategy. Now, I put out just one cheap toothbrush, one tube of regular size, very cheap, Ultra Brite brand toothpaste, and one very cheap disposable razor.
The toothpaste cost a dollar a tube for a regular 6 ounce tube. I found that while guests almost invariably take the travel size toothpaste, they seldom take or use the large, cheap toothpaste.
I’ve also found that they seldom use or take the cheap disposable Bic razor I put out.
Same thing with the really cheap toothbrushes. They don’t seem to get taken or used as much.
So I get credit for offering these things, and they are there for the guests who really need them, but they are seldom used or taken because they are obviously not desirable or worth adding to their luggage and taking home.
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interesting strategy.
back in the 80s my dad managed rural budget motels and they had towels in revolting colours: brown, orange, green. he told me it was because people weren’t going to steal ugly brown or orange towels. Seemed smart, even if the aesthetics were off. it was the 80s… 
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Okay, well I guess I lead a really sheltered life, as several here have said they use shower caps.
I have long hair and definitely don’t wash my hair every time I shower, but I don’t really understand why anyone needs a shower cap- I just clip my hair up and angle the shower head so my hair doesn’t get wet. Same for a bath, how would my hair get wet in a bath if it’s clipped up?
I’ll just have to file this away in the “things I’ll never understand” folder, along with why anyone uses a separate “washing up bowl” for dishes when they have a double kitchen sink. 
That they only cost 10 cents each isn’t what would concern me. I just hate buying more plastic throw-away garbage.
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That’s funny- my towels are orange, brown, and green. No guest has ever stolen one, but I don’t think it has anything to do with the colors, because some guests have commented on how they liked the color, it’s just that my guests have never stolen anything.
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The shower caps I use are the same as the ones I provide the guests. They are not disposable. They are heavy duty ones that are designed to be washed and reused.
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Reusable is good. And while you said you think only a couple of guests used them, did they take it with them, leave it out for you to wash and reuse, or throw them in the garbage?
Left it out for me to wash. It’s obvious (I think) that they are not the disposable sort.
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Check these out. Fairly obvious they aren’t meant to be trashed after one use….
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Yes, it would be obvious to me that they aren’t throw-aways. However, I’ve learned not to assume that what’s obvious to me is obvious to everyone. 
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ok, your hair still gets a little bit wet in a shower or bath, even if clipped up. and if you have hair like mine - frizzy - i can see why you’d want to protect the styling.
given you’re in the upholstery biz I’m going to say yours are nice, and also, it’s Mexico, where colourful things are expected.
I recently had a guest ask me how do you “turn on” the fire. it’s obviously a wood burning fireplace, the clue is with the pile of wood I have in a tub, and the stack of firewood outside… and of course it’s written in the listing but we all know that how that goes.
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Yes, well, they aren’t fluorescent orange or hospital green, which I would never pick, they’re burnt orange and sage green.
While Mexico is indeed colorful, some of the paint colors here are truly awful. There is a color of paint the Mexicans seem to just love, as I see it everywhere. While there are so many different shades of green in the natural world, how they managed to come up with such an unattractive green that doesn’t exist anywhere in nature is beyond me.
Being in the upholstery biz means I make stuff for lots of rentals here and while some are all painted up with too many colors and tons of tchochkes, there are others that look just like the cookie cutter “modern”, souless condos you see everywhere- everything white, beige, black and grey with nothing at all to set them apart from hundreds of others just like them.
My favorite place I’ve done work for is owned by a guy and his wife who told me he was embarrassed to admit it, but he had been a car salesman, and had been really good at selling cars. They managed a Mercedes dealership, and had renoed and redecorated the dealership. The head honchos were so impressed with what they had done that they were asked to redesign and decorate Mercedes dealerships all over the US, so he and his wife ended up doing that instead of selling cars.
They bought a place here that had belonged to some old surfers who considered tables and other furniture made of old surfboards to be really cool- the place was super tacky. These new owners transformed the place, adding on to it, and used traditional Mexican tiles (the really expensive ones) and other local building materials, but in a unique way. It has tons of character and doesn’t look like anyplace else.
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