Is ice considered open food?

[Inna22]

I just received a long rant (accompanied by pictures!) about an open bag of ice and how they felt it meant my freezer has not been cleaned. I do not leave any food in the fridge from previous guests and ask guests to take with them/throw out what they brought with them. I instruct my cleaner not to  take anything open home with them if the guests end up leaving food behind. 

I do have ice makers in my fridges but some people like a lot of ice. It never occurred to me to throw it out but I guess technically it is open food? Does this mean I need to refresh all the ice made by the ice maker?

[Brian2036]

I think you’re dealing with someone who is desperately looking for something to complain about.

 I would tell them that the refrigerator was cleaned thoroughly and the ice was left there for their convenience and if they don’t want it they can dispose of it.

Same thing with the machine made ice.

I don’t believe ice qualifies as food. It has no nutritional value and it can’t spoil. (Although now that I think about it, a McDonalds hamburger meets the same criteria.)

Anyway, I would suggest to them that they contact Airbnb and ask for a refund. They are probably going to be a huge pain.

[Robert5501]

Great answer!

[M199]

@Inna22 

Perspective😞 My Superhost Guest complained that there were no ice or icecube trays in a 4.3 cubic ft mini bar fridge. Lol

[Mark116]

@Inna22  It's a weird thing to rant about, no?  It's ice, it's frozen, why not just throw it out if they don't think it's sanitary, why the need to take pictures??  

I would tell them that the ice was left as a convenience, if they don't feel comfortable using it, they can throw it out and use ice from the ice maker.  I would also say something along the lines of you want guests to be happy and comfortable and if they feel that the open bag of ice will ruin their stay, that they can cancel.  You already know these people are going to be trouble.  Taking photos of a bag of ice is OTT.

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  WTF? I could understand that guests might not want to use an open bag of ice, I mean people do reach in there and grab ice with their bare hands, but so what- they don't have to use it, and if it offends them, all they have to do is throw it in the sink and let it melt.

I like Mark's suggested response.

[Kath9]

@Inna22  just when you think you've heard it all. What on earth is wrong with people??? They just have to find something to complain about, don't they? How about sending them some footage of Kabul to give them perspective?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Inna22  did they complain about salt, pepper, sugar, condiments, oil, vinegar ... as well? Should we provide individual packages?  Or even better - provide nothing and save time to check, clean, buy and refill?

As time goes by we are getting closer and closer to essential minimalism 🙂

[Brian1613]

Anything left by the guests should be disposed of.  Think about the bag the plastic bag that the ice is in. Truthfully, beyond COVID-19,  people bring in ice in bags that have been left in some pretty unsanitary locations in cars, fishing coolers, etc. All of which can drag bacteria and dirt into your freezer.

You can’t assume that any box, bag, etc. that the guests left behind is sanitary.  If you wiped out the freezer, and put the ice into a plastic container, you probably would have heard nothing from the guest about it. 

While some of the replies are amusing, and venting, it’s not about right, wrong, or the moral high ground. This is the hospitality business. Everything is about perception. If the guests perceive your place to be dirty, and right reviews to that effect, it negatively impacts your business.  It takes less time, and energy, to be thorough, and keep everything super clean.

Pleased Patron’s Perception of Pristine=Profit

Good question!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Well, we don't have an ice maker so either we would leave a few open ice containers in the freezer or they will have to fill it with water by themselves and wait till the next day to have ice.

I refuse to pollute our only planet with plastic ice bags for each group of guests

[Ann783]

An open bag of ice should be thrown out. But the guest complaining about this has a screw loose also.

[Mark116]

We are also 'old school' and or refrigerator has no ice maker, we used to fill the ice trays before each guest, but since the pandemic, now they're empty.  If guests want ice, they can buy it or make it.  

But logically, even if someone touched the ice, or the bag, or ice trays....it's all frozen in a freezer, which, cold temperature kills bacteria....so it not really unsanitary in a meaningful way.

[Brian2036]

@Mark116 

Even if the bag was unopened, does anyone seriously believe that the bag and its  contents are perfectly sterile?

Do they believe that ANYTHING they buy at a grocery store is sterile?

 I know that the big stores put on a show and hire people to go around constantly wiping things at our expense, but I also know that there are hordes of kids with snot and worse things hanging all out of them scurrying around handling everything they can reach.

We are surrounded by microbes, covered with them inside and outside, and if you could kill them all you would surely die.

People really need to GET OVER IT and quit worrying about insignificant risks.

Or stay home and seal themselves into a ziplock bag. Air contains germs. Best thing you can do is stop breathing.

My great grandfather used to say, as he wiped the cow manure off his hands onto his pants, grabbed a warm egg out of the nest and sucked it down raw, “Everybody has to eat a peck of dirt before they die.”

I’m pretty sure he got more than his share and he lived to be 98 years old.

[Sarah977]

@Mark116 "cold temperature kills bacteria....so it not really unsanitary in a meaningful way."

That isn't true. Common misconception. Look it up.

[Dimitar27]

I'm using icebags.