What’s good enough?

I love your red subway tiles! Beautiful.

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We use a dispenser for TP. The unused portion of the roll has been untouched by the last guest, and there is a spare roll ready for use.

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Can you explain that a little more? Thanks.

Unless a host has prep people who they’ve used successfully for years, the host or co-host should always do a final walkthrough before the guests arrive.

I thought all hosts used the partly used rolls, both loo and paper towels. I certainly use the booze that guests have left because they can’t take it on the plane.

:wink: :wine_glass:

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Thank you. We love glass tile.

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Nope, I don’t expect brand new rolls of TP. Even when we stay at a Marriott or something similar, there are always partial rolls in the holder.

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I can totally understand some people thinking about the “someone-else’s-fecal-matter” thing. But then, on the other hand (ha!) we all use public restrooms, and just deal with it, usually by just unraveling the first full rotation of TP, then using the new stuff underneath. I imagine if guests were super concerned about it, they could always grab one of my new rolls and use it.

All I meant with the location thing is that since we are all in different cities, and different countries, there might be different expectations from guests. (Kinda like the bedding differences.) Even in my two rentals (one in California, one in Utah) the guest personalities seem to be different by locations. My Utah location is full of families, and they just don’t seem to be too picky about stuff like full rolls of TP, whereas different cities/countries might have a different expectation.

Ha! and yes, I 100% use the booze they leave :slight_smile:

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I’d say that it’s more the type of guests one attracts, which indeed can have something to do with location. If you have a simple, inexpensive place that attracts travelers who’ve stayed in a grotty hotel room in Dehli, or a mud hut in some African village, with no running water, they likely aren’t going to be fussed about finding a partial roll of toilet paper. If you have an upscale rental, that attracts guests who can also afford to stay at the Four Seasons, they would likely have higher expectations.

True, and mine definitely qualifies as those first two examples you’ve given. So…no one seems to care about the TP roll. :roll_eyes:

A member of my cleaning team stayed at an expensive STR for a wedding.
She was appalled!
There was not a single paper product, no TP, paper towels, tissues….nothing.
And she looked under the beds! Looked like tHe vacuum didn’t reach under the beds ever.
It was so funny when she came home ……We would never ever present a listing like that!
Unfortunately she wasn’t the booking guest, but they took all the supplies purchased home with them😄

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Ah, I get it - thanks for explaining.

There are those though who no matter where they are (mud hut in Timbuktu or whatever) would definitely notice if everything wasn’t perfect when they arrives. First impressions… etc.

@muddy has a good point too about the price point - “We’re paying $250 a night and they can’t even give us a new loo roll?”

I love the fact that they can’t take liquids on the plane. I get posh shampoo, salon-quality conditioners, perfumes … in addition to the gin, beer, wine, vodka and so on.

:slight_smile:

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I’ve used this kind of rig in public restrooms and I had to touch the roll to get TP. Often I have to reach up into the dispenser and futz with the roll to get TP. This would certainly work to partially protect the roll from getting feces contamination and toilet plume on it. In terms of the home aesthetic I try to keep some semblance of, I don’t find it appealing.

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I guess I wasn’t clear. I don’t think many guests think about it at all. The few who do, great. I think about it now, but I didn’t prior to coming on this forum, so it matters to the high standard I imagine myself having.

But as far as the guests, I think it’s subliminal which means they aren’t thinking about any one particular thing but their first impression of the bathroom is “this is nice.” Most my guests are driving in and I expect a high percentage of them go in the bathroom before anything else. I don’t have a kitchen or any lounge space. Another host might leave a basket of snacks or buy upgraded furniture to get a similar first impression.

As I’ve read the posts and typed about it I’ve realized that I care about it and since it costs nothing extra and I like the idea, that’s enough.

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I personally (as a guest) wouldn’t be too bothered by the issues you mentioned. If the place is nice and as pictured and described in the listing, something as small as a not-full TP roll or a throw pillow on the wrong bed, even if I noticed it, would not impact my stay or my rating.

My situation is that I have a housekeeper that takes care of everything since our property is in a different country from me. She doesn’t do everything the way I want it (she puts throw pillows on their corners and I hate that!), but I’ve learned to not worry about those little items. I certainly would not fail to go on vacation because of worry over a TP roll!

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I hate that too! I once had a cleaner (in my own house, not a rental) and he always did that too.

It’s one of those things - like should the loo roll pull from the back or the front? If you prefer something a certain way and someone does it differently, it can drive you nuts. It does me, anyway…

:crazy_face:

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That somehow became one of those home decor trends several years ago and I also dislike it. As an upholsterer who makes throw pillows, it also makes me cringe because it squishes down the corners of the pillow stuffing so they will eventually look empty or lumpy and there’s nothing you can do to make them look good again.

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Back to the original question, “What’s good enough?”

Well, I don’t think “good enough” IS good enough. As we review our rooms and shared spaces, we both end up saying “Great!” or something like that.

The concept of “good enough” doesn’t work for me, except in an area I don’t really care about.

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Y’all may not agree, but I try to keep in mind the difference between the psychic satisfaction of excellence or perfection vs. investment (time and brain-space, not just $) in services and amenities to maximize revenue. Bounded by legal requirements and operating within your principles of course.

For example, I quit supplying nutritionally sound snacks. To my surprise, my guests, based on consumption, prefer PopTarts and processed cereals. I was spending extra on an amenity that I thought would bring better reviews (that’s my proxy for generating higher revenue) but didn’t make any difference.

On the other hand, I use recycled paper and plastic products in my Airbnb – more expensive and the guests don’t even notice, but that’s principles-based.

Airbnb loooves for us to knock ourselves out impressing the guests. But I’ve concluded that providing high-level attributes for my non-luxury suite is a waste of business income. I get the revenue and ratings without that.

If you use mega rolls of TP, you can get away with making that little point on the end of the remaining roll if there’s half left.

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A lot of this stuff is the result of hosts trying to emulate a 5 star hotel, which is something I think has gotten out of hand (in no small part due to Airbnb wanting us to cater to anything a guest might want) . Doing so just unreasonably raises expectations of Airbnbs. Guests should be thinking “Nice, they provided paper towels, we don’t have to buy any”, not “Looks like someone already used a quarter of the paper towel roll.”

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I strive to do better than hotels, especially in regards to cleanliness which is 100% in my control.

RR

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