How much toilet paper and other supplies should we leave?

[Doug-And-Diane0]

We rent our entire home for a maximum of six guests. For guests staying for several weeks, are we expected to supply enough toilet paper and paper towels for the entire stay? We also supply other amenities like coffee beans, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, tissue, dish soap, dishwasher soap and laundry products. We usually have a fairly large supply in the house for our guests, but also usually only host guests staying for 2-6 nights.

[Tim-and-Holly0]

@Doug-And-Diane0:
You raise a question that has been asked and alluded to many times and almost always becomes a source of discussion with replies from leaving no supplies to keeping the home fully stocked during an extended stay. In our homes we provide the basics the entire time a guest stays whether it be short or long term. Although long term guests are usually offered a discount, they are still paying for the space that includes a set of essentials per our listing. We provide fully stocked coffee, cream, sugar, etc. when a guest arrives. Food items we normally do not replace during a stay. Toiletries, however, are replaced as needed because then I know exactly what is going into my sewer system. We do ask long term guest to purchase their own laundry detergent due to its high cost.

We offer to do a quick clean and replace linens and towels every seven days during a long term guest's stay. Again, the guest is paying for the space, so they need to get something of value for their money, but it also allows us permission to enter the home and check on its status every seven days.

As for quantity of toilet paper, for six people we would leave two rolls per day for seven days (14 rolls total). One roll on the hanger, two as spares in the bathroom and the rest in an accessible closet but not in the bathroom so they will not be used as readily. People will tend to use more than necessary of anything if they see there's a lot to spare.

Hopefully that will give you some ideas...

[Doug-And-Diane0]

Thank you very much. It seems that this tends to be how people lean. I do plan to leave lots of supplies. As far as the linens go, we supply plenty of extra towels and an extra set of sheets for each bed. As my husband and I live over 2 hours away, it is not practical for us to provide linen service and I don't feel it is necessary for our cleaning people to do that, although I would ask them to do so upon the request of a guest. If we lived nearby, it would be easier. This is our second home and we love it and wish we could spend more time here, but can only manage a few days a month. Thank you again for your wonderful advice! Diane

[Ward1]

I'm interested to see the replies, especially that they tend to fall on the side of "supplying everything all the time."  Also - the idea of doing a cleaning while a guest is still here kind of blows my mind.  I have one listing that is the entire place, and one listing that is shared space.  I keep the shared space fully stocked, but I personally feel that doing a "Have it ready when the guest(s) arirve" is enough.  I have rarely had long-term guests ask me to re-stock toilet paper and paper towels - but a recent request had me search out this topic.  I won't refuse a guests reques(s), but as I once shared with  someone in the shared space who asked for laundry detergent and dryer sheets -- "Really, you are supposed to bring your own."  I gave them to him, but if he had asked a second time, I would have said, "Now it's time to purchase your own. . . "  For me, this touches on the issue of balance:  I'm a superhost who supplies a lot.  Some guests don't ask for a thing, but some ask for more and more. . . It's all a balance.

[Kenneth12]

@Ward1 :  you need to supply essentials throughout the stay,   however you do that.
If you told me that I needed to bring detergent and dryer sheets,  I'd probably 1 you for being an ***.
Many,  many threads here about cleaning issues and guests who will expect cleaning daily / other hosts who think cleanign should be daily.

[Judith204]

I tend to be with @Ward1 on this in regards to laundry items.

I like to use what hotels have set forth as the standard if I can.

When I go to a hotel, I can get TP and cleaning service should I decide I need it (I know that cleaning will cost me a tip as is customary)  in the case of my Airbnb, should a guest ask for cleaning service during their stay, they would have to pay for the service.

a few other things a hotel offers is shampoo, conditioner and body wash refills

these all seem fairly low cost for the expense sheet to keep replenished, however, laundry service should always be an added fee for sure.

Landry facilities in any hotel will charge a per load fee as well as vending machine for the detergent.  They also ask all guests to please help save energy by hanging towels for reuse. That seems reasonable to me.

I agree that most guests are very happy with what we provide with them but yes, we have had the occasional guest that just keeps asking for more and more.

[Rodica12]

Even if they pay lower like $25 per night ?? thanks 

[Karen-and-Will0]

@Doug-And-Diane0, We leave what I term a “starter pack” for guests at our 2 “entire” places at the beach, one can fit 8 people the other about 9. The majority of guests stay one week in the summer.  As for toilet paper, I usually leave one on each holder and an additional 2 under the sink in the master bath.  An additional 3 or 4 rolls in the second bathroom cabinet.  I put a full role on before the guests arrive and take out partially used rolls and take them home to use so they aren’t wasted.  We use individually wrapped rolls from either Natural Value or Who Gives A Crap (a lot folks are surprised by that brand and get a chuckle).  We also supply a full bottle of dishwasher detergent, bottle of Seventh Generation laundry detergent, hand soap at all sinks, sponge, and a few other small things.

In my guidebook it says “Extra toothbrush, tooth paste, small bottle of mouthwash, soap, etc. can be found in the master bedroom bath if you need them.  Please use what you need – but leave what you don’t.  To ensure you get settled in and have a great start to your stay with us, we have provided an initial supply of toilet paper along with a few extra rolls under each bathroom sink but these may not be enough for your entire stay and you may need to purchase additional supplies.”  These statements were added after reading here in the CC about various pitfalls and where a host was negatively reviewed by a guest for not providing enough toilet paper for a guest’s whole stay.  So I wanted to make it clear to my guests it wasn’t an endless supply since I’m not around to easily resupply.  I also put a slightly modified version in my message to guests a few days before their check-in, again trying to set their expectations.  Hope this info is helpful.

[Doug-And-Diane0]

Thanks, Karen and Will. We may end up having some kind of dialogue with the guests prior to their arrival to make sure we are both clear on expectations. I love all the support and answers we have been receiving. We were leaning in this direction and it's so nice to have some backup. Thanks again! Diane

[Olha10]

This is brilliant! thank you for your post. I do hope you would not mind if I copy your perfect statement - to be added to my listing.

[Believe0]

This was very helpful to read Karen. I appreciate the suggestion of the language to use in setting expectations and will use this on my listings as well. I lean more on the "we are not a hotel" side of things because like you said, some of us are not around as easily to resupply upon needed. Some guests don't keep this in mind at all. Thanks again for your commentary on here. Take care!

[Laura2210]

Hi.   I have a current guest who was supplied with 1-3/4  rolls upon arrival on Friday and was alone until Saturday evening when she was joined by an additional pre-booked guest.  On Monday afternoon she asked for more paper and I gave them an additional 2 x rolls, but on Tuesday afternoon, literally 24 hours later, they requested more paper.     I was so shocked that when I gave her the additional 2 x rolls I asked if they were "chewing the paper", because I did not see the rationale behind there being enough paper for 2 x people until Monday afternoon, and then when refilling with 2 x new rolls that was not sufficient for one night and a full day!!    I am now being accused of stating that 'toiletries' are supplied in my listing on Air BnB and that therefore it is my duty to supply toilet paper when needed (in this case it seems they want an unlimited supply) because of this item in my listing.    I believe you are absolutely right, this is a BnB and NOT an hotel, and people should appreciate that a 'starter' pack is more than enough in the way of 4 x toilet rolls, but to tell me that I have now ruined their stay by commenting that they must be 'chewing' the paper because it runs out so quickly, is not seeing my side of things at all.     Of course, this particular guest will be sure to make comment in their review.     I will definitely make a note in my 'house rules' that the toilet paper should be sufficient to see them through as a starter pack and that should they require more, they need to purchase their own.    BTW, I do supply a roll of kitchen paper towel as a courtesy and only one of my previous guests has asked for a replacement roll, which I gladly supplied.    I just think its an affrontry to expect us to have unlimited supplies during a 6 night stay, for two people.

[Peter1072]

I think that it would be nice to supply "paper towels" if people use the kitchen for meals.  The paper towels would be used also as napkins, wiping up spills, drying off fruit after you wash it.  If unrelated people are sharing the kitchen, I think it should be provided as an incentive to keep surfaces clean, and sometimes to dry individual items if the dishwasher isn't available.  But I have limited experience in the rental market, but I use a lot of paper towels at home (even though I separately purchase paper napkins).

[Doug-And-Diane0]

Thank you, Peter. We do have paper towels and tissue for our guests, as well as personal wipes, makup removers, Q-Tips, lotion, shampoo, conditioner & body wash, etc. Our house is stocked like our home, because it is our second home. We have quite a few international and other guests who fly into our local airport and we hope to lighten their luggage loads. We have solved the issue with regard to how much paper products to leave for long-term guests; we have the cleaning service put sufficient rolls in bathroom and kitchen cabinets. So far, we have been successful.

Thanks again for your reply. Good luck with your rental.

Diane

[Erin-and-Austin0]

 We generally leave about 5 rolls of toilet paper for a 2-3 bedroom studio with the expectation that long term guests will replenish the stock as needed. We have a long term guest (2+ months) that has continually asked for toilet paper and we finally told them today that the expectation is that we give them enough to get started and they take it from there. For reference, we offer a generous 35% discount on stays of one month or more with the understanding that our $60 cleaning fee won’t come close to covering the number of hours it takes to clean after a 2-3 month guest leaves and we expect them to supply their own essentials, like toilet paper and paper towels. Also, long term guests often think they are beyond the rules of your listing...ours clearly states no dogs yet we were asked if a guest’s friend could bring her “crate trained” dog. We have two dogs that are never, NEVER allowed in the space as clearly advertised and  we refused the request for the friend to bring a dog.  I think hosts need to look out for themselves and other hosts and hold true to the content of the listing. That said, I gave my guest two rolls of toilet paper but also sent a message indicating we supply enough to get started but expect the long term guest to supply their own paper goods after that. The guest was also outraged at the $60  I requested when asked for an additional cleaning (our standard cleaning fee).  It is stated in our listing that extra cleanings will be charged. We have to pay our cleaner...period.  Finally, at $35/night for stays over 30 days the expectation should not be that the host continues to supply everything. At what point should the guest buy their own wine and orange juice??