How many towels should I provide for a one week stay?

[Julie143]

3 people for 7 nights.

One towel per person per day= 21 towels, which seems a bit excessive. On the other hand, the weather is going to be very hot and humid during their stay.

What is the requirement according to Airbnb and what do other hosts actually do?

[Susan151]

@Julie143  AirBNB doesn't have a requirement. However, as someone experiencing the same nasty weather conditions with guests who are here for a week, I chose to swap out the towels half way through the visit. In this weather, the  towels hardly have time to dry in between showers, and the bathmat never dries completely. I was lucky that all of their towels were in the bathroom so I didn't even have to ponder searching the rooms. And, in the future, I will actually ask my guests to do this, put their towels in the bathroom, and then I can swap out what they leave for me.

Next group is also here for a full week, so I plan on doing the same thing once again.

[Ange2]

@Julie143    I have given up trying to guess what is best. I have left extra towels and sheets ( one set of each/three days) and people have not used them, others have piled up the wet towels and used sheets in their room, not a good idea. Not sure if you live there or nearby.  I share, so now I just tell the guests to contact me if they need anything.  Or, I tell them to leave the used ones outside their room in a bag I provide, or in the bathroom as @Susan151  does, and I replace them with clean ones.

[Mark116]

@Julie143 I'd give them two towels+wash cloth each, and offer to bring in a new set on day 3/4.   

@Ange2  Yes, sopping wet towels thrown on the floor or left on the bed is one of my pet peeves, which still happens even though we have a giant set of 4 hooks on the bathroom door and we specifically tell people to leave the towels hanging on the hooks...and still, we will find them having sat for hours on the floor, which is gross. 

[Nakayama0]

We provide 3 at the check-in, put on a basket to throw into the used towels into and the big hanger to dry them up.

From the 2nd day we check the basket and resupply some. What if the guests left used towels on the bed for several days?

To prevent mold and odd smell in the room, we enter and check the used towels every day.

[Emilia42]

@Julie143 

Will you be able to refresh towels half way through their stay? If yes, I would only provide 9 or so towels and drop off some clean ones when/if the guests say the need more. I am actually surprised by the amount of my guests who do not shower everyday. 

[Rachel0]

@Julie143 I provide one large towel, 1 medium and  a face cloth per person and for a seven night stay would change them on day 4.

On a slightly different note, I have had a lot of guests from the US who stare in amazement at the towel/ladder radiator in the shower room and don't realise that it is there to hang their towels on as well as heat the room in the cold weather months.  Are they not popular in the US?  

[Emilia42]

@Rachel0, I have never heard of a towel/ladder radiator but I just googled it and what an ingenious idea! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those in the US and I wouldn't know what it was if I did.

[Kelly149]

@@Rachel. I have two of these: master bath & laundry room (they put out enough heat to dry - not heat the room!!). Wonderful! But no, they aren’t common here

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

@Julie143  I suppose this will depend on if you are on hand to re stock towels. While our space isn't shared, it is attached to our home.

For a standard 2 night stay, we leave 2 towels per person. If the stay is for longer, then 3 per person.... but no more than that! I don't like the idea of wet towels piling up. 

When they arrive, I tell them to let me know if they would like more during their stay, and that I will collect the used towels from them and swap them for fresh ones. 

We don't take bookings for longer than 7 days, but in all the time we've been hosting, I've only been asked once for fresh towels. We've had people stay for 3 or 4 days, that have only used 1 set of towels for their entire stay. 

[Ana1136]

@Michelle-And-Michael0 I leave one towel per person and I change them every 3 days, making sure that they know they can ask for additional ones if they need. No one has asked for extra towels or complained yet. 

[Nancy115]

@Julie143 My guests share my home. They can ask for more towels or use the older towels I have in the bathroom. I provide 1 towel and 1 wash cloth per guest. I switch towels and sheets out after 7 days regardless of how long they stay. I inform my guests where to hang their towels to dry. In my climate they always dry in time for the next use.

[Beth80]

@Julie143  I host in my home. Each guest gets 1 each bath towel, hand towel and face cloth. I inform them that on day three or four I will enter the room to swap out the towels and floor  mats. Then I confirm with them at breakfast that I will be doing this. No complaints yet.  

[Lizzie]

Good question @Julie143. Are you any closer to deciding how many towels to leave?

Personally, I'm a fan of a large towel and a smaller one, this way I can use the smaller one on my wet hair (to keep it under control - well kind of) / wash my face etc. 

[Julie143]

I left about 16 towels stacked in several places around the house. It’s a whole house rental without laundry access and I’m about a hour away.  Next time I have guests for a week I’m going to do things differently, but was too frazzled to think it through.