On towels: I’ve recently bought and am putting out for guests those microfibre towels for hair that are shaped like turbans, as I always use one myself and they’ve been very much appreciatd by female guests.
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Thanks All !!!
Lots of great feedback and a few interesting tangents 
What it comes down to is this: I respect the environment. AND do not want to put nice thick towels through unnecessary wash cycles, waste water and overuse my washing machine. If I had small thin towels, I could see it, but I do not.
I prefer to offer large
upscale thick towels and have our guests hang them to dry between uses and I have plenty of towel racks and fresh farm air!
3-4 days per towel is reasonable in my book, I use mine more ( I am drying a clean body and clean long hair).
Going forward I will offer 2 bath towels per guest per week. Long term folks can always go to the local laundromat to meet their standards and if they want to be wasteful. I always offer plenty of hand towels and kitchen towels.
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Devil’s advocate here but… I’m just picturing some dude who has bathed and is relatively clean. But he steps out of the shower onto a rug or surface that might not be clean. He then dries his feet. He has acne pimples, a spot on his back gets scratched and is oozing. He coughs into the towel. He spits in the toilet then wipes his mouth, he farts and wipes his… well, you get the picture. Pubes are left clinging to the towel.
The next day he goes in and uses the same towel. Rinse and repeat for 3 days. In between uses the towel is dried in magical farm air. It would be interesting to test for microbes on a towel used 3 days in a row.
Okay, the dude would be stepping out of the shower/bath onto a clean bath mat on a clean tile floor. He can squeeze his zits and oozing pus from his back onto a tissue (box on the bathroom counter) and his fart can go unwiped (who wipes their farts?). If he spits into the toilet, what is there to wipe? I can’t believe where this has gone…
Furthermore, your own flora is just that, your own! There is way too much emphasis on over cleansing. This is not Walmart’s floor, it’s the guests flora and contributes to a good immune system, which is very important. I am an RN and I’m all about offering a sanitized and clean property. It takes me hours to clean my property when guests leave and I am proud of what we offer.
I will not encourage wastefulness. Our world needs more folks that respect it and decrease wastefulness. Most upscale hotels now encourage the reuse of towels for this very same reason.
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We are in agreement on that. May all your guests be in perfect agreement with the choices you’ve made for them. Namaste.
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Haha!! We once had these very nice German ladies staying. They plugged the toilet once & my hubby went over and unclogged it for them. A couple days later we get a message that the toilet was clogged again. We were out having dinner and asked them if it could wait 30-45 minutes and we would come fix it. They said that was fine and we told them DON’T TRY TO FLUSH!!!. About 20 minutes later we get a text saying, “Toilet run over, help!!!” So we ended up having to rush home, they had used some of our nice bath towels to sop things up. They are the only guests we’ve ever had that clogged the toilet, and they did it twice. They were very nice fortunately or we would have been really irritated.
Same here. My only consolation was that this woman did not use the nice new fluffy towel I supplied. She used a thinner, old one that I put as a second one and two bath mats. I also didn’t take any chances I had a plumber out same day. Having feces on my things really disgusted me. I wish I could imagine that it never gets on anything like some people do. I hosed them off, soaked them and then laundered twice. If they had been towels I probably would have just tossed them. I wish I could imagine that it never gets on anything like some people do.
We also had a plumber out and I can’t remember if he actually found anything or not, but we haven’t had a clog since. We bleached the towels but they’ve become cleaning rags/dog towels. I just couldn’t, psychologically have guests use them.
checks calendar, begrudgingly puts bath towel in washing machine
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We have a snake which we use if needed. So far, only once have we had a problem. Clearly someone put something down the toilet that didn’t belong there.
I have a snake as well but since the shut off valve also needed replacement I called a plumber. They also replaced the siphon valve inside the toilet. He made a convincing argument for why it needed to be done and the explanation jibed with the other problem of the occasional constant running of the water in the toilet. He also explained how the dysfunctional valve contributes to toilet clogs. So…I paid and will deduct from taxes. I think it was $220 well spent. Some things I like to do myself, some things I don’t
They often do… and they aren’t always wrong.
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Since hotels have experience in these areas, I tend to follow the hotel model.
Hotels generally provide 2 towels per person.
Since we have a washer and dryer, I figure the guest can wash their towels if they need more.
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My cleaning lady used to leave all towels available, but found that guests abuse this and dirty every towel that they can. So now they get 2 towels per person.
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Hi @Corinne I understand what you are saying.
Since our bodies are accustomed to our flora and in general we aren’t contaminated by our own germs—they are already there. Germs like flu are the exception because we can reinfect ourselves by using the same toothbrush.
I’m ok with a little wastefulness if it keeps my guest happy.
I do think Hamam towels provide good extras as they are funky and really quick drying.
2 towels per person per night?
Never heard of Hamam towels but will look into it.
A towel per 2-3 days seems reasonable. Having an extra for hair is also reasonable. Having an illness would be an exception and I’m always willing to accommodate the guest’s needs.
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Have only been asked once. The guy (developer from big Rocky Mountain city, ages ago) was trying to be a pain. He also told me on leaving, he recommended I give guests bar soap and fluffier towels. He had a notion that he was in the Four Seasons for $60 a night. I said, “I’m offering a value accommodation, and not trying to compete with hotels in any way shape or form. Plus, I have SCADS of NICE bar soap, your the first one to not prefer body wash, but I’ll leave some out going forward.”
Anyway, I gave him his second towel.
Over the years, since then, I give 1 towel per person plus 1 towel extra for each person with long hair, or especially tall guests. I also ask, “Is 1 towel enough?” if the guest has short hair or average stature. 100% of the time, my guests say yes. Literally no exceptions. I conclude with," OK if you change your mind, there are extra towels in your closet."
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