We have listed our place as a no pet policy. We just have n...
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We have listed our place as a no pet policy. We just have never wanted to deal with issues concerning pets. But recently it...
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We are considering using a dispenser for toiletries rather than the single-use bottles. Has anyone had any success with these, or had any negative comments regarding them?
Also, has anyone ever bought from Pineapple Hospitality? We were unsure if they were a legit brand or not.
If anyone has any recommendations for dispensers, products or maybe single-use toiletries that are plastic yet still affordable, please let us know! We greatly appreciate any advice.
Hi @New-Street0
Refillable bottles for soaps, lotions, etc. work very well. Two things to think through:
1) The actual dispenser (top) parts of the bottles are usually made of plastic, but on some bottles they aren't the best quality. Fancy coloured or metallic-looking dispenser tops can look good at first, but the colour comes off quickly near the spout and then the plastic looks terrible underneath (the whole idea is that the bottle should last). White plastic dispenser tops sometimes stain to the colour of the liquid inside. Black tops seem to be best for looking fairly new through a number of refills. Maybe this helps you to choose a brand?
2) Another issue is see-through bottles vs. opaque. See-through is great in that one knows immediately what needs to be refilled and what doesn't, saving time. But on a day that you're really pressed for time, opaque bottles make it possible to skip the refill if only a little bit was used. You can't skip refilling with see-through bottles, they look very wrong standing next to each other with different levels of liquid in them. Who knows how to pick your battle on this one?
So there you go, my entire wealth of knowledge on the topic!
Hi @Shelley159 !
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! We will be sure to keep that in mind about the opaque vs clear bottles. Good point about the colors of the tops as well. Thanks again!
(ps. your listings are beautiful!)
Hi, @New-Street0. I have been using the Modern Shampoo and Conditioner Dispenser, No-Drill Wall Mounted Shower Soap Dispenser, Refillable Amber Pump Bottles for Bathroom (UPC 635638715790) from Amazon. Been using for 7 months and they are still doing well. I like that they are between clear and opaque, so I can see when refill is needed and yet doesn’t look weird when soap levels are different between bottles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1V85KTR/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
HTH
I am looking into latherhotel.com as they have wonderful products. They do have a refillable option but I do not have the storage space. Their bottles although opaque do have a clear space to see when to replace. They also have dispenser options.
Hello @New-Street0,
Great question! I see other hosts have shared a few suggestions with you, and in addition to those I thought you might find the following discussions interesting:
🌱How we promote sustainability in our listings
I'd love to know if you decide to go ahead and implement some changes in your listing in the end. 😊
Excellent consideration, in all senses bar one, but we'll come to the latter later.
Sustainability? 100% yes.
Recycling? 100% yes
- and in both of those alone, everyone should be taking that direction, and refilling the bottles they already have (and with everything else they provide as well) but to get back to toiletries - yes, yes, yes!
OK so let's look at the refilling of bottles - and incidentally, there's a world of difference between bottles that sit on shelves/surfaces and are in/on dispensers.
For years I had provided bottles which sat in wall-mounted brackets, but also had a couple of bottles not held in brackets, and all were much appreciated by our Guests.
If one has the time to do the topping up oneself, then yes, I would say that that's the best way to handle changeovers.
If external Cleaners are involved, then for bottles with pump heads, by far the easiest way to top them up, is to not do that, but rather, that there should be a supply of full bottles ,vdo that ones Cleaner(s) will be able to swap an empty, or partly used bottle for a full one.
Someone at some time, however, will have to top up the store of partly-used bottles, otherwise one day, one's Cleaners may well send an SOS message "we've run out of bottles!"
Now, about the containers of the top-up toiletries. You'll have to stop and think! -
a). How many toiletries do you usually provide?
b). Do you have somewhere to store the refill bottles?
c). Do you have somewhere where you'll be able to easily top up the bottles?
d). The cost of each full container of the refill fluid.
e). Whether you have a steady hand!
To put those questions into context, we originally provided 5 toiletries (hand wash; hand lotion; shower wash; body lotion; shampoo), and it was usual for everyone to use most of the items, so whether 1, 2, 3 or more bottles, they had to be replaced at every changeover.
It is normal for Refill bottles to contain 5L of the respective liquids, and not only that, but the bottles are heavy, unwieldy, and when topping-up smaller bottles, one needs to have worked out a "top-up strategy" - with enough space in which to move around, in order to transfer liquid from a big container, into whichever sized bottle one leaves out for Guests (we use the 250ml size)
The big refill bottles are usually provided with an equally big, pump dispenser.
As one gets used to topping up smaller bottles from such a large container, one does get more proficient at it, but at first, topping-up can sometimes because hit-or-miss exercise, so please have something to catch any "overflow" on the floor, as well as kitchen roll paper on hand to wipe away any fluid from around the neck of the bottle being topped up (having a wet wipe to wipe away anything soap related, will only make the mess worse, so in such instances it would be better - after screwing the pump-head firmly back onto the Guests' bottles - to put the filled bottles under a tap, just to remove any overflows, and then to dry the bottles individually.
Whilst all of the above might sound like a lot of work, etc, it is, but then once one gets into the rhythm of top-ups, not only will the actions get a lot easier to do, but one will discover how much one push of the big pump in the refill bottle will deliver into the Guests bottles, but far more beneficial will be the savings one will make by buying the 5L refill containers, instead of lots of 250ml bottles!
Yes, the 5L containers will cost more, but will still save one lots of money in comparison to purchasing individual 250ml bottles, or even providing complimentary 50ml (or smaller) bottles.
Think plastic. Think reycling. Think plastic cannot be recycled without some of it ending up in water or land.
Think our children's future.
All the best with whatever one does, but it's definitely the best way to keep down one's costs, as well as to help both the environment and the world
Apologies the above is so long, but we all need to go into such. Hanged with our eyes open wide, especially with the nitty-gritties!
Hi @John2406 !
Thank you for your response. All great questions to consider. May I ask where you've purchased your wall mounted refillable bottles and the refills from before?
Hi @New-Street0, and thanks for asking. I'm just so glad my previous reply was useful for you.
Now I am based in the UK, and so I therefore was able to contact and purchase from both the Manufacturer as well, as from Wholesalers exactly what I wanted, but you should be able to do exactly the same over there.
In my case I had seen and used within a Restaurant's facilities a range of good quality toiletries, and had made a note of both the trade name of the products, as well as of the various types provided.
I therefore made contact with the manufacturer (Details were online) and enquired whether they would be able to supply me direct, or whether they might have Stockists of their products from whom I could purchase. I also let them know that I'd be requiring wall mounted dispensers.
From the information they provided to me I was able to go to Hotel requisites websites and see the ranges of products they stocked, and what the minimum order quantity would be, as well as what the prices would be for various quantities.
Most such Companies are usually very helpful, and if you haven't determined upon any particular toiletry (eg hand-wash), such Companies often sell sample bottles, where one is able to purchase more than one or two of them, for you to find out which your Guests would prefer (the wall-mounted brackets however aren't available in sample sizes!)
The Manufacturer I dealt with, does actually supply luxury Hotels world-wide, so I would assume still does, although in more recent years I have primarily purchasing what I require from Wholesalers; one benefit of doing so, being that the price to me was far less expensive than buying at the retail price.
I doubt I'd be allowed to provide the name or other details of the brand name on here, but in essence whichever brand you decide to run with, the outline of what I've already mentioned should be enough for you to purchase a suitable range UV toiletries for your own place.
All the best to you.
Hello @New-Street0 👋
I'm just checking back in and wondered what you decided to do? Did you manage to find some plastic free alternatives or shower dispensers?
You've also got some wonderful support here from some of our Hosts. Have any of the answers helped?
If so, it's always a lovely gesture to pop a like on the comments 👍 and mark a top answer ☑️ . It's like a big virtual hug to the members who supported you and the best answer also supports other Hosts who may have similar questions in the future. 😊
@New-Street0 great post and question! I am looking to step up my options next year. I am located in the US and latherhotel.com is where I plan to purchase sustainable products. Although I don’t want wall mounted products, I am curious about refills. It’s a matter of where to store the large containers of shampoo, body wash, and hair conditioner. I really love their products!