How many towels do you leave your guests?

[Alexandra316]

I just had some guests who went through a crazy number of towels, and it got me wondering if I'm providing enough. 

Per person, I'm leaving: 

2 bath sheets - very large

2 hand towels

1 face cloth, with some extras left

1 bath mat - regular hotel style, not extra heavy/fluffy

There's also tons of towel bars and hooks in the bathroom to hang them up so they dry properly between uses. My Airbnb is a private self-catering apartment. Most of my stays are 1 to 3 days, but if they're staying longer, I change them out every 4 days.  

How many towels do you leave your guests? What have you found works for you?

[John1080]

@Alexandra316, I have a max of 4 guests and we started out leaving 4 sets of towels out. 

I have since gone up to six, as sometimes I’ll allow up to 6 guests. This allows us to remotely host without having to communicate “leave out four sets” or “six sets this time” to the cleaning staff. 

I also feel it looks a bit less stingy and psychologically, the guests think of it as an extra detail that has been looked after if there are a few more out.

Even if they do use them all, it isn’t much more to wash 6 vs 4. 

[Letti0]

@Alexandra316  A female will use one for her hair and one for her body usually. I leave the same as you except 4 makeup washclothes, 2 washclothes, 1 beach towel and 1 bath mat. Then I do have extras stored in the linen closet. I swap out on the 4th day also. 

[Suzanne302]

I have a max of 2 guests and I leave one bath towel and hand towel per person. I put 4 washcloths in a basket on the sink.

I also have 4 extra bath towels under the sink, along with 4 extra washcloths. My guests rarely touch the extras, but I also have a  6 night limit on stays so most of my guests are here for 2-4 days only.

[Sandra126]

You already leave a lot.  I leave a rolled stack of the larger towels to be roughly 2 per person, but it is extremely rare that anyone uses more than one. But it is there in case. Sometimes every last towel is used.

My towels are not of the very large variety, but rather one size down. Means faster drying and not such a big load to wash. Perhaps you could try one large, one medium instead of all extra large? Then the hair can be dried with the medium. Personally I find huge bathsheets really annoying, the smaller the towel the better, as it is not so heavy to dry yourself with.

[Pete69]

How many I place in the bathroom depends on how many guests (1 or 2) and how long the stay. I leave as many as 4 hand towels, 4 bath towels, 2 wash cloths in the bathroom. I have many more towels stored in the hallway for them to use if needed. I also leave a laundry basket in the hallway with a little label that says towels.

[Sarah977]

Some guests will use up as many towels as are available. They throw a bath towel on the floor after one shower and take a fresh one off the stack 6 hours later for the next shower.

I was co-hosting for a friend and 2 guys managed to go through 17 bath towels in a week. Every towel on the shelves.

I get mostly 1-2 week stay guests. As I have a limited water supply and can't just throw in a load of wash daily, guests get 2 bath towels, 1 hand towel, and a washcloth per week. I ask them to bring their own beach towel, but if they forget, or have luggage limits, I have a some I can provide. If they are here for 10 days, I'll offer clean towels at the halfway mark, 5 days. I do tell the guests that if for some reason they need more towels, to just let me know. No guest has complained so far.

[Mel101]

Out of curiosity, do you also offer a sheet change at the half way point? I will have my first 10 day stay in September. I mostly host 2-3 nights, so I'm interested in what to expect. 

Sorry, the tagging function doesn't bring up your profile.

Cheers, 

Mel

[Alexandra316]

@Mel101 I do, yes. However, a lot of people don't take it, I've found. 

[Mel101]

Thanks @Alexandra316. I'll make the offer. I hope that the guests, like yours, decline. 🙂

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

I ask guests to reuse towels a couple times, and guests seem to use 3 hand 2 bath towels per week on average. We host mostly long-term guests staying at least a few weeks up to 4 months so Henry usually keeps the guest cabinet stocked with 2 hand+2 bath towels, then checks every 3~5 days to leave new towels in the cabinet while collecting the used ones for laundry.

[Carol597 · Accepted solution]

I leave one set per person but have extra's in the closet.  For longer stays people are able to use the laundery in our basement so they can wash as needed (I should say this is for  an apartment rental with in our house).  I've even had guest wash all their own sheets and towels and remake the beds before they checked out... got to love those kind of guests

[Alexandra316]

@Carol597We have the same setup. I'd actually prefer that people don't launder their own sheets and towels, though: we use a service. I'd prefer that people only use the washer dryer for personal laundry. 

[Sally10]

Yes I have has guest do the same so sweet and kind .Love them but I don't ever expect that. 

[Suzanne302]

Ahhh, and just after I post my response above, this...

I have two sweet, young girls staying with me who have been here exactly one night so far. They just asked if they could do laundry because they've already gone through all 6 bath towels and 2 beach towels.

If they weren't so sweet I'd be upset. Pretty sure I've only heard them take two showers each so far....But I still wonder, what are they doing that takes up so many towels??!! I put the towels in the laundry myself and they are just damp, not stained or anything. Oh my!