Help! I'm seeing a spike in complaints about guests "having" to drink tap water / bathroom water

[Mary1211]

Private room host, no guest access to the kitchen.

I've had 3+ negative reviews the past couple of months, and more guests who didn't say anything in reviews but did say things in person, complaining about effectively having to drink water from the tap. The most recent review said this -

" This means that if you want water it will only be from a pre-used gallon jug that is left in the closet or you can get some from the bathroom sink. "

Another guest used the phrase "forced to drink water from the bathroom," in their review.

Like... OK? I advertise myself as ecologically minded in my listing title.   leave a one gallon jug of filtered water next to the k cup coffee machine in the guest for guest convenience, both for drinking and for refilling the coffee maker. And since when is anything wrong with bathroom water? What do guests do in hotels? Should I just start leaving 14 dollar bottles of VOSS in my guest room?

I've also had guests go to the kitchen and when I was like "Uh what? That's a private area" they're like "but I need filtered water."

I'm seriously at a loss, what am I even supposed to do to manage these expectations? Does anyone else get this and how do they manage? It's really making me feel depressed and defeated as a host that I can't do anything right.  Even leaving the gallon of filtered water in the guest room was because guests were complaining about how it was hard to fill the coffee maker, and the coffee maker was because guests were complaining there was no coffee maker (even though I didn't advertise one), and then I've also had other complaints about the coffee maker like "It's broken," "Not enough coffee and tea choices," "it ran out of water," etc. It seems like no matter what I do, there will always be something wrong 😞 

[Mary1211]

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I think you have had a few nutters.   Chin up.

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Seems like it. Thankfully I was able to get the negative review removed, as I had offered them an earlier check in, they just didn't like the terms.  

[Sarah977]

@Dimitar27  That's exactly right. Many children, when they're trying to stall lights-out time, will tell their parent "I'm thirsty" and the parent dutifully goes off to get them a glass of water. If the parent goes into the bathroom to get it, the child will often say "That's bathroom water, I want kitchen water". When the parent points out that its the same water, the child will say "It tastes different". It could be a way to prolong the bedtime, but I think what you're talking about is a big factor. My kids did it, and I remember doing it myself as a child.

My dog loves drinking out of the running hose when I'm watering my plants far more than she likes drinking out of her water bowl, even though I keep it clean and the water hasn't been sitting in it for more than a few hours.

[Ken28]

@Sarah977 , @Dimitar27  hit the nail on the head. There's no indication to the guest how long the water has set in the container.

I rarely use hotel glasses for the same reason. I have no idea that whether the glasses are clean or if everyone in the past week has left them sit. Maybe the previous guest had the flu, but didn't use the glasses. The room service then leaves flu-virus-covered glasses for the next guest.

Unless the guest has the ability to watch the water come fresh from the tap into a clean container, there is little you can do to convince them that the water is fresh and potable.

Bathrooms also have a reputation for being unsanitary places. If you've ever had a spare bathroom that is cleaned, but then sits unused for a long period of time, you'll better understand appreciate that reputation. I have two bathrooms in my house that rarely get used. They're cleaned every few weeks and is almost always spotless, but if the toilet water sits stagnant for more than a week without flushing, it starts to get a film on the water surface (probably mildew, but that's irrelevant here). This 'bathrooms are unsanitary' stigma is perfectly justified, especially when a bathroom is shared with previous guests. A kitchen, while it may also see some unsanitary situations, is more 'in motion', which helps keep the 'stale' feeling at bay.

My recommendation: allow the guests to fill a pitcher from the kitchen tap on their own as needed.

P.S.

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@Sarah977 wrote:

My dog loves drinking out of the running hose when I'm watering my plants far more than she likes drinking out of her water bowl, even though I keep it clean and the water hasn't been sitting in it for more than a few hours.

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This is TOTALLY accurate! What's funny is humans are the same way. This Quora answer sums it up perfectly: https://www.quora.com/Why-do-the-majority-of-humans-prefer-ice-cold-water-to-room-temperature-water-...

[Sally221]

      Did any of you see the suggestion within one of the latest "How to be a Super de Dooper Host" on making sure to offer bottled, still & mineral water as every one has their preference?

One could set up a mini bar, with mini bar pricing , if folks are really hankering for the hotel experience.

          I did get a Brita filter pitcher for guests even though they are actually more prone to issues than tap water- our is quite good & I got some flack for having the Brita from our engineer son in law- he works for the municipal water utility and is proud of our ratings..   We are hosting our last guest today, blocked calendar going forward & hoping we are not accidentally unblocked again!

[Sarah977]

@Sally221  Yes, I did see that. How environmentally uncaring of them. Disgusting, really. Shall we also offer 6 different brands and types of shampoo and soap and toilet paper and coffee, since everyone has their preference?

[Jody79]

In the November's issue of Consumer Reports there was an article on bottled water.  It stated that 64% of bottled water comes from municipal tap water.  So essentially (at least here in the US) you are paying extra for what you can essentially get out of your tap.  Furthermore, there is far less oversight of contaminates in bottled water then there are in tap water.  Spring Hill Dairy Farm in Massachusetts recently closed down its bottled water operations due to high levels of PFAS chemicals found in its spring water.

[Sarah977]

@Mary1211  I've been saying that for years, ever since this bottled water craze started. People are so gullible- I bet most of them envision their bottled water comes from some pristine mountain spring, when in fact, they have no idea where it comes from. 

People jump on one craze after another, without knowing anything about it. Like gluten-free. People seem to now think that gluten is some kind of poison, to be avoided at all costs. I've even seen shampoo and conditioner with Gluten Free! on the label. As if washing your hair has anything to do with your ability to digest gluten.

No wonder advertising execs and marketers are laughing all the way to the bank.

[Mary1211]

@Sarah977  you should give this a read, TLDR tap water is safer and more regulated than water filters 

https://www.thrillist.com/health/nation/do-brita-pitcher-water-filters-purifiers-work

[Sarah977]

@Mary1211  Thanks for the link- I'll check it out.

Where I live, in the summer we have torrential downpours. I have water spouts that drain the water off the roof and upstairs balcony. I wait until it's been pouring rain for about an hour, so anything that was dirty up there has long washed off, then put my 5 gallon water jugs under the spout. I drink that rain water all summer- it's really good. The rest of the year I buy water in those 5 gallon jugs- it's tap water, but is purified by reverse osmosis. But I like the rain water better. You absolutely can't drink the tap water where I live.

Another really good water filtration system are Berkey's, and I've been thinking of getting one so I can stop buying water. They're nothing like those Brita filters. 

[Sarah977]

@Mary1211  I read that link- very interesting about the bacteria buildup in the Britas. I just read another article the other day about bacteria buildup in those Keurig and Nespresso machines. Said the hot water passes through so briefly that there isn'teough chance to kill bacteria. I use a French press myself- glass, clean, no parts to clean out, no one-use plastic and aluminum K cups. I honestly don't get the Keurig craze either- I think they're an environmental disaster.

One thing I didn't understand in that link- it said that Britas filter out zinc, but zinc is actually good for us and apparently most people are deficient in it, so why would anyone want to filter it out?

[Dimitar27]

I'm trying to keep the things simple, bewaring from the "Overchoice" phenomenon.

Water from the shop- at least 10 types of natural mineral water. Another 4-5 - product of different types of chemical or physical treatment and more types of mixed water - mineral+treated.
One natural mineral water spring - 300-400m. west from the apartment. The water is not hot- near 20°C. (68 F). 15 minutes by walk, east - another mineral water spring - hot- 46°C (115 F). The "tap"water comes from completely different location-mountain springs, miles away from the city.

I'm just trying to stay away from the "water" theme with my guests.I hope, that you will understand why... 🙂

[Mary1211]

@Dimitar27 none of it naturally sparkling? Barbarian. 🙃

[Dimitar27]

Naturally carbonated-only from the shop. The source is very far-200 km away.

Fortunately, the bottling company is not world famous.

[Luana130]

Hi,

Can´t you make a filter available for guests? I have a four story house that I divided into smaller units, for the bottom three floors I put individual filters in the units, but for the top floor I put a filter in the corridor so that guests can refil the water bottles when they wish. 

[Mary1211]

@Luana130 my water already is filtered at a pre tap point.