i do a lot of long terms since the rona started. i supply them the same as i do for one night stands. more than enough of all the basics, all the bathroom and laundry stuff, coffee and tea. i used to fill the pantry with stuff from aldi, and i even used to include mini moos half-and-half. but i realized that stuff would go out of date, and that’s a liability issue, plus people weren’t using the supplies. so now i just give them plenty of tp and soaps and laundry detergent, and coffee and tea (because i’m not a barbarian). i have no trouble handing them extra sheets and blankets, there are loads of towels, and i tie dyed everything after the first year when guests repeatedly shed their mascara on the towels and hair dye on the sheets (and the bathtub mat). turning ruined items into designer touches wee hah
I have a question I thought I’d post here before starting a whole new topic since its similar in nature to this.
We AirBNB our place for anywhere from 2 nights to multiple months, with weekly and monthly discounts reflecting the length of stay.
Our listing clearly states the apartment is self-contained, with initial supplies of items given so the guests can move right in with everything they need when they arrive (noone likes going to the supermarket after a long drive/flight). We basically provide consumables like toilet paper, soaps, laundry and dishwasher detergents, garbage bags etc… to last most guests 4-7 days depending on their usage so for short stays its usually plenty, but longer stay guests are expected to purchase and use their own consumables after the initial supply runs out.
Most guests like this setup as it keeps prices down and gives them full privacy. However very occassionally, such as now, we have a guest who’s booked for 2 and a half weeks at a good weekly discount. Straight after arrival they asked for additional consumables, and whilst we explained to them that it’s usually for the guest to provide their own after the initial stocks run out we did give them a double supply as a gesture of good will.
A week later and they approached our cleaner who was in an adjacent unit and demanded more (I used that word as they weren’t polite, they just told them they need more bags and detergent, didn’t ask). The cleaner politely declined saying they weren’t authorised to give more and the guests stormed out yelling in a foreign language.
Bear in mind the listing says it’s self contained with initial supplies, and this was also explained to them on arrival when they commented they needed more (which we obliged them with).
We’ve worked very hard to get close to superhost and we’re expecting this in the next period, however if people like this give a very negative review it would definitely not help.
I’ve tried to record all interactions in the app so there is a record if we want to contest a review later, but is there any particular process where one can appeal to AirBNB in a situation like this if a negative review is given?
What a long post. 
The cleaner said no, which was the correct thing for him/her to do, and the guests didn’t like it. Move on.
It happens to all of us at some time.
I’ve had guests ask for extras but I only leave a starter pack - enough for three or four days which is the average stay.
I’ve had guests ask for extra coffee (one of them on the day after check-in), soap, paper towel, many things.
If there are some people who don’t get the concept of self-catering accommodation, there’s nothing you can do other than explain. It happens from time to time.
I agree with @jaquo - let it go for now.
Yes, you may be able to appeal to AirBnB to remove a poor review if their only complaint is the lack of necessities for a longer stay.
If AirBnB does not take it down, you can a) ignore the review or b) respond and point out that they wanted something that was not included in the price. But you’ll have to wait until their review to decide which is the best choice between a and b.
Remember that even a poor review can be a good opportunity to speak to future potential guests. Most people looking for a property look at the pictures and read some reviews. They don’t spend much time on the property description or rules.
Thanks to you both. I figured this would probably be the way to go!
Will keep hopeful that reasons prevails!
You say it’s stated in the listing that you provide “intial supplies”. If that is how it’s worded, I would be more specific, as “initial supplies” is open to interpretation.
It’s very difficult to get a review removed, unless it obviously violates the review policy. Airbnb doesn’t remove reviews just because they complain about the lack of something that the host never offered in the first place.
I use my own reasoning of what I’d consider appropriate. Our guests get a ‘starter pack’ of coffee, tee, 2 x toilet paper, paper towel roll and 3 towels per person. 99% of guests are happy with that. Guests can comfortably enjoy their first couple of days before having to stock up on those things.
1% seems to be throwing the TP straight into the trash as they go through 1 roll per day asking for more. Any guest who asks us politely will get more from us than what they ask for, let it be coffee or tea as well.
HOWEVER, at roughly 50-60$ per night, I do feel that it’s not necessary to provide every possible condiment that a human can think of to provide a fully stocked kitchen for every possible culinary experiment known to mankind.
For the kitchen we only provide sunflower oil, olive oil, salt, pepper. Again, most guests are perfectly fine with that. Sometimes we find oils that the guests bought that I didn’t even know existed.
So I feel like that there is a limit on what or how much is appropriate for a start, especially if you mention that in your listing.
This guest you have, appears to feel entitled and most likely did not fully read and/or understand your listing description. If this truly was such an important issue for them, they should have inquired before check-in to make sure whether you can arrange a larger stock or that they bring what they need straight from the beginning.
Oh yeah, and another thing, coffee (or tea for that matter). Quite regularly we notice guests NOT using our Nespresso capsules as they prefer their own. Since the Nespresso machine is mentioned in the listing and visible in the photos, some guests come prepared. Another reason not to overdo the start-up stock as several guests do have their particular preferences and we only give them a little help at the start but they WILL have to get their own stuff if they stay longer.
Another factor in how much the host supplies is whether you discount for week or month long stays. My max booking setting is 2 weeks, and I have quite a few guests who book a week-2 weeks. I provide tp, soap, etc. for the entire stay, but I don’t discount at all- my nightly rate is already a great deal.
I homeshare and guests share my kitchen, and are welcome to use my oil, salt, pepper, and spices, and I provide coffee and tea. But less than half of them actually cook, and many are up and out early, so don’t even make coffee or tea here. And the ones who cook often overbuy food they never end up using, so I get left with a lot of edible food.
Fair comments again. I smiled at the TP comment as we’ve had it a couple of times where people asked for more toilet paper after a day or two and I always wondered how they can go through those rolls so fast.
I thought it would seem too long winded to list everything specifically and quantities supplies on the listing, basically our goal is for most people staying a few days that they shouldn’t need to restock unless they’re using a really large amount. Maybe that’s something I need to consider though for the future.
Every once in a while guests ask for additional supplies, and usually we’ll restock them what they ask but just mention that in future it really is up to the guests to restock after initial supplies run out and they’re completely OK with this and very appreciative for the extra items. This is the only time I remember off the top of my head of people actually getting this agro and demanding about it.
Agree totally on this weekly/monthly discounting which we utilise at our place. We actually offered these guests an option to pay the regular nightly rate instead of the weekly discounted amount they’d booked and have the apartment cleaned and fully restocked each week but they declined.
Thanks again.
I find this also. Many people are very, very pickly about the type of coffee they prefer. As I am. I travel with decaffeinated which no rental I have ever stayed in has provided. The decaffeinated I provide in our rentals is never used.
So many guests bring their own coffee so I have a cafetiere in both rentals for them to use.
Another observation is that they always bring ground, not beans. I’ve never been asked for a grinder.
I would assume they bring ground coffee because they don’t want to arrive to find out there’s no coffee grinder.
I use beans and a grinder, but since the electric goes out here quite a bit in the stormy rainy season, I keep a stash of already ground in the fridge, since waking up one morning to find the electric off. And no morning coffee makes me 
I provide Keurig cups… but i would love to leave the french press i have in the kitchen too, but am concerned about how it is cleaned out. I would fear emptying into the kitchen drain would ultimately mean a clog from dried grounds.
I have always used a French press and while I don’t always dump it down the drain, sometimes putting it instead on the garden or in the compost, I used to always dump the grounds down the drain, like daily for many years.
Because they are loose, wet grounds, rather than a packed clump like what gets knocked out of an espresso maker grounds holder, it never ever plugged up the drain.
I started dumping them down the drain in the first place because I had read that coffee grounds actually scour grease from the drains and help them to not get clogged.
If you were worried about it, though, you could always put a small pail under the sink and tell guests to put their grounds in there.
Not according to professor Google: " Unlike most foods, coffee grounds clump together in water rather than breaking down. With time, the grounds can build up inside your sink drains, creating clogs that can prohibit the drains from doing their job . Coffee grounds should always go in the garbage can or compost."
My issue is if guests dump into the drain…
Well, I offered my personal experience, regardless of what Google says.
And why wouldn’t the grounds just wash down the drains, instead if sitting in them?
I can assure you that when I dump out the old grains to clean the French press, the grains are not even slightly clumped together. And you aren’t supposed to use fine grind in a French press anyway- finely ground coffee would possibly clump.
I find a bunch of stuff you read online makes strange and false basic assumptions. Like the claim that dishwashers use way less water than washing dishes by hand. Like that dishwashers use about 9.5 liters and washing by hand uses up to 60 liters. That’s absurd. I can only assume that the people who make those statements think everyone washes dishes by hand under constantly running water.
I fill one side of my double sink with soapy water (about 5 liters) and rinse them under a small flow of running water, with a dishpan under it to catch the rinse water (maybe another 5 liters) which I use to water my plants.
It’s interesting how our own experiences shape the way we perceive and run our business.
We offer decaf, regular and Espresso capsules for all guests as a standard selection. Even when recently staying in an Airbnb we found a basket of Nespresso capsules of all kinds.
I couldn’t say whether this was more of a European thing or we just got ‘lucky’ with the choice of coffee offered?
In fact, we noticed that guests didn’t have an issue with the flavors we offered but the brand! They ended up leaving unused Starbucks capsules behind. That’s why I said that we simply can’t provide all and every type of stock for our guests. They do have to get their own stuff. We just get them started for a day or two.
I wish I could offer decaf (I don’t drink caffeinated after 1 pm), but the local grocery only has Sanka (undrinkable!). I did find some decaf beans at a local larger store (like a Costco/Sams), but I don’t have a coffee grinder. No Keurig at our place - no pods available.
But - I’m setting up a dedicated coffee armoire in my new kitchen. Maybe I’ll have room for a grinder there and can leave some decaf beans in the future.
OMG, I haven’t thought of Sanka in 50 years. That was what my dad drank. Obviously not a coffee connoisseur.
Now of course, there are lots of places in Mexico to get a good cup of coffee, and beans and ground for sale in stores, especially in touristy towns like the one I live in, but back in my 20s, when I used to come to Mexico, “coffee” was a jar of instant Nescafe on the table.
I’ve recently had 2 contractors staying with me Mon-Fri for past 5 months. I continue to supply loo roll, shampoo & shower gel, tea, coffee, sugar and individual servings of long-life milk. I buy loo roll, tea, coffee and long-life milk portions in bulk, so pretty inexpensive. I buy shampoo & shower gel at Aldi or Lidl (£1 or less per bottle). I reckon that having the place booked long term is far better than back to back short stays, as it makes it much easier for me to schedule cleaning, plus it is guaranteed income. I’m happy to provide the above consumables to keep the contractos happy, and if someone wants fancy branded stuff they are welcome to buy their own, I only supply “basic” / generic versions.
I wouldn’t supply other things like make-up remover wipes, I’m sure most people prefer their own brand, and I don’t supply snacks.
I have sometimes given a guest a toothbrush or toothpaste if they have forgotten theirs and it’s too late for them to buy one or they’ve had a long journey, and guests invariably offer to pay. I don’t charge them and get a nice review.