Hosting Tips for Plastic-Free and Greener Vacations

[Jennifer3225]

#PlasticFreeJuly: For me, a great way to think about how to reduce waste for guests is to start with what my guests are packing in their cars. In a tourist town, I often see travellers with their cars full of supplies for their vacation time and some consistent items appear over and over again.

Can you guess what people pack to go on a trip?

• Bottled Water
• Plastic knives and forks
• Paper plates
• Cases of pop/soda
• Plastic bags of groceries
• Plastic floating devices ( like air mattresses or pool noodles)
• Lots and lots of take out garbage.
  
  

So how can I help as a sustainable Host?  

Most recently I had a guest who did not read the listing information and she packed up big bags of toilet paper, paper towels and tons and tons of water. The only thing is : I could have avoided her having to pack all of that, if I had just taken some extra time to point out what she did NOT need to bring.

Myth: Water at rental locations is not drinkable/potable.

Truth : Often the water is drinkable and filtration systems are in place. And in many locations, the hosts also vacation there. So just letting guests know that they can drink the water, and encourage reusable water bottles, saves a ton of room in the car.

If the water is good enough, maybe include a soda stream, so guests can make their own pop?

How else can I help our guests to reduce their load of supplies that they bring with them?

Sometimes I have to make it super clear to our guests what we have in our listing. Hence, I like to make sure guests know what I offer. I inform them that I supply toilet paper, paper towels and dishes. So Guidebooks are a great way to help outline just what is available in your listing

Here is a link to my guidebook. Perhaps you can also get some ideas here! 

[Although I am a Host Advisory Board member, these articles are written based on own my personal experiences and opinions as a sustainable Host]

[Karen1100]

#plasticfreejuly

@Jennifer3225 I agree we need to STOP the madness of Plastic everything, everywhere! 
Love All the Ideas!  I will share some of mine with you all!  
The idea of telling guests ahead of time that our Water is great to drink is brilliant!  I haven't done that in the past, I will now! 
  

• Offer Reusable Cloth Grocery Bags to use During their Stay.
• Have Travel Mugs and Water Bottles for Guests to Use
• Let guests use our SUPs, so hopefully they don't need to buy Disposable Water Toys.
• We Do not have a Washer or Dryer so it Helps with Guests reusing Towels, and Outdoor towel hooks to air dry.
  
• I have Glass and Tupperware Storage Containers vs using Disposable Plastic Wrap.
  
  
  One Fun Sustainable Idea...I will offer a plant seedling that comes from our own plants, or at times I have had tree seedlings to give my guests to take home as a souvenir. 
  

[Francisco-and-Yajaira-Ho0]

HI Jennifer, 

What an incredible and informative post! I'm delighted to share the amenities I provide to guests, all contributing to the reduction of plastic usage.

Firstly, we offer drinking water through 5-gallon water jugs and provide information on where they can conveniently refill at a more affordable price. Moreover, I provide reusable grocery bags to make their shopping trips more eco-friendly.

To enhance the comfort of my guests, I'm pleased to offer complimentary cleaning and linen change services twice a week, which not only makes their stay more pleasant but also helps to minimize the impact on the environment by reducing washing machine usage. Since we are blessed with ample sunlight here in the Dominican Republic, we don't have clothes dryers available in our apartments. Instead, we offer portable clotheslines and clothespins, making it easy for guests to dry their clothes naturally.

Our garden has various delicious tropical fruits such as coconuts, soursop, mangoes, and crops of bananas and some vegetables, which all our guests are welcome to enjoy as part of their experience in our place.

[Till-and-Jutta0]

We provide one free glass bottle of sparkling water at check-in.

And our Guide Book contains this information, to clearly state the water quality:

Guide Book

As a guest I would find it very helpful to know about the water quality without asking first - to be sure that it's safe to drink.

=> Please give that info to your guests pro-actively!

[Tatiya0]

This is great. Thanks for sharing!!! I have filtered water tap for drinking at my house. And I put two IKEA glass bottle in the guest room. And told them they could refill anytime.