Coffee, toothpaste, shampoo?

[Pete69]

I have a private (blocked off from rest of house) room + bath with private entrace that I'm about to go live with. I was wondering what your recommendations are for coffee and shampoo. And do you provide toothpaste? If I provide these items then I would want to provide small, sealed one-time use items, because who wants communal use supplies? A hotel would never provide communal items like this.

I've got a Mr. Coffee machine. I found individual packets of creamer and I bought sugar cubes. But I can't find any individual packets of coffee at the supermarket. I would rather have small packets than have a communal jar or bag of coffee.  Maybe I should be looking at Staples.

[Sandra126]

Hi Pete, good to hear that you are almost ready. You are not a hotel, so don't have to do what hotels do. I don't think you should provide toothpaste, but certainly schampoo and bodywash or soap. A big bottle is fine. Some guests will bring their own, but those that don't will be thrilled to see it there.

Consider the excess packaging when you think about all the little bottles and packages you want to buy!

It is expensive and unneccesary. Don't need individual creamer packets either, a nice little jug you  can refill is plenty.

[Ange2]

@Pete69   I'm with @Sandra126  on giving excess packaging a thought. It pains me to see all the bags of plastic and packaging waste and lined up on the streets on garbage night.

[Julia66]

@Sandra126. Well done, getting to the stage of being ready to open!

As @Pete69 says, there is no need for toothpaste.  I tell guests in my listing and on their arrival that if there is anything they need please ask me as I am on the premises.   I have an inside doorbell so that guests can contact me if they don't see me around.

I use a wholesaler for some items but I found that you had to buy a box of 500 or 1000 for some hot drink items and they went out of date before they were all used.   My guests are invited to help themselves to milk from my fridge  as they pass my kitchen door on the way to the guest bedrooms.   I put teabags, sugar cubes  and instant coffee in tiny containers on a table with the kettle etc between the two small bedrooms or inside the large bedroom.  (Guests only get real coffee with the breakfast I serve; your guests will love real coffee in their bedrooms!)

 When I am travelling I am always pleased to find a fridge in or near the bedroom.   I looked at the possibility of buying a small worktop fridge but the cheaper ones only had a temperature setting  suitable for drinks.   The ones suitable for storing milk were much dearer and larger.

 May I recommend giving guests cups and saucers in order to reduce spillages and also giving them a small tray, and a cloth for clearing up!

[Louise231]

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@Julia66 wrote:

 When I am travelling I am always pleased to find a fridge in or near the bedroom.   I looked at the possibility of buying a small worktop fridge but the cheaper ones only had a temperature setting  suitable for drinks.   The ones suitable for storing milk were much dearer and larger.

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Sorry Julia it's not letting me tag!

I got a Caldura Mini Fridge, because i wanted a proper fridge in the room like you, rather than a 'cool box' for drinks, but i also wanted a silent one so it's quiet so guests weren't peeved by the noise.

Have to say it's been really good. I got a medium sized one (£200 ish?) as guests don't have access to my kitchen but they do little ones for £110 ish. I got off the Caldura Website, but you can get off amazon i think and delivery was fine.

Every stay gets a new 1 pint milk of their choice (they get a message asking which before they arrive) along with bottles of water in the fridge, but it gets used alot by people putting in drinks and snacks in.

@Pete69On top of my mini fridge I leave a tray with tea/coffee/hot choc/sugar in small jars. People don't mind it's not sachets as long as they have clean cups and tea spoons to use.

As an extra i leave a couple of little porridge pots (just add hot water types) and some chocs there as well. To be honest while most people eat the chocs, not many eat the porridge pots but they tend to appriciate that they're there. (again i don't let people use my kitchen, so for 50p a pot it goes down well with the people who want some kind of breakfast)

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Pete69

I have a tube of toothpaste, and large shampoo, conditioner, body wash dispensers that I top up as needed in the guest bathroom. Actually, some budget hotels have wall mounted dispensers in the shower booth so I don't think people would mind - if they are the type to mind, they will probably travel with their own anyway. 

As most of my guests are long term, I put out a new bar of soap for each guest staying longer than 1 month but I also have smaller blocks of soap which I cut (1 bar cut into 8 blocks) and use for shorter stays. 

I also have a bunch of hotel amenities that I've accumulated during business trips so I let guests know I have extras if they should need anything. 

For coffee grinds, how about 2~3 small jars or canisters (1 jar for 1 pot of coffee) that you can refill/reuse?

Happy hosting 🙂

[Bryan10]

I'd agree with no toothpaste, but shampoo and bathroom stuff could be a good and relatively cheap option. It's correct that fussy folk will being their own, so don't bother with an expensive brand. There's a place to list what you offer on your profile listing, so be specific there. It's generally better to under-promise and over-deliver, to get better reviews. Happy hosting! 

[Gordon0]

No toothpaste (yuk for a used tube!), I provide Aessop body wash/shampoo (easy to re-fill/top up) and Nespresso pods.

Good luck. 

[Sarah977]

I do not provide toothpaste or shampoo, I find most guests come equipped with their own, but I do have a basket in the guests bathroom for toiletry items other guests have left behind- sunscreen and bug spray, shampoo, body wash, hair products, etc. which I point out to guests when they check in- that they're welcome to use or use up any of those items. I find a lot of guests will leave that kind of stuff behind, rather than pack it if they are heading home, so I end up with a lot of extra. I always make sure to wipe down the outside of the container, and if there's a screw-top, the rim of the bottles, with anti-bacterial wipes before leaving in the basket, so they are, and look, superclean- no fingerprints, product dripped down the side, or crud around the rim.

For soap, I use liquid soap- have a small pump container which I refill from large, economical sizes. I also have a couple refillable water bottles to offer guests if they don't travel with their own, which they can refill from the large jug in the kitchen. Yes, trying to do right by the planet. 

[Birgitt7]

I agree.  Although, I draw the line with recycled bottle water.  

[Sarah977]

@Birgitt7   I think you misunderstood. The water bottles I provide my guests if they don't travel with their own are stainless steel or the approved safe heavy duty plastic. Ones that can be washed with hot water and soap and sterilized if need be. I would never recycle those little plastic bottles water comes in from the store.

[Birgitt7]

I agree.  I think air bnb provides many great opportunities and experiences.  I think some things like individual small soaps,and favorite shampoos can be brought by the guests.  I am ok with a open bag of Petes or Starbucks.  I love coffee in the morning.  

[Louise231]

@Pete69Actually I'm going to dissagree with people over the toothpaste.

Like most of you I used to think eew no, i won't leave one. But a guest bought one while they were staying and left it, It was barely used and a big tube, so i put it into the basket of 'spares' i leave for guests and i noticed that it got used as much as the shampoo/conditioner did.

Also randomly, i had a guest stay who arrived late on a sunday and asked where he could buy a toothbrush as he'd forgot his. Late on sunday most shops are closed, so when i went over to grab some stuff for myself i got a cheap multipack of brushes that were the only ones left in the store, knowing the guest was going to struggle to find some at midnight on a sunday. After he left i put the packet with the unused ones in the basket. And the rest were gone within a month...

Turns out toothbrushes and toothpaste is the most common thing people forget? Now i just buy the cheapest multipack toothbrushes and leave them in the basket for people who forgot and just need something for 2 nights, then it goes in the bin.

And if you've got nothing people really don't care about sharing a tube of toothpaste.

[Sarah977]

I agree with you @Louise231.  Leaving partially used products in a basket for the guests to help themselves if they need something, as long as the containers look clean, is fine. I don't think I'd leave a partial tube of toothpaste out on the counter with the clean towels and fresh bar of soap for a guest when they check in, but having those things available if a guest needs or wants to use them is fine. If they find it unpalatable, they are free not to use, their choice. Some people are pretty laid back about those things, others fastidious and easily grossed out.

My visiting daughter freaked when I used her razor one day to shave my legs, yet had no qualms about sleeping on bedding that a guest had slept on (I told her to wait while I changed the sheets, but she said she was too tired, and didn't care). No figuring out why or what people find acceptable or not in terms of personal hygiene.

[Louise231]

Yeah @Sarah977 I'm not going to lie this is the most random basket of products you'll ever see.

It started out as just where i kept the guest shampoo/conditioner/soaps, because most guests bring their own and i didn't want to clutter the shower if they already had.

But people kept adding random things to it, stuff they bought but only used once or from a multi-packet. It's now got baby wipes, hair spray, fake tan, facemasks, spray deoderants, toothbrushes and toothpaste, along with about 6 different brands of shampoo's/conditioners/shower gels.

Sometimes i see guests looking at it and i have to let them know other guests left them (i'm really not that weird!), feel free to use... and people do. I've seen the fake tan out on the sink several times at the end of their stays. lol.