Towels Towels Towels! How many should I provide?

[Paul1255]

Question about towels: I started hosting about 6 months ago and bought several ‘bath sheet’ sized towels for guest use- from a leading supermarket in a light grey colour.

They wash and wear well, but after having stayed in a hotel last night which had wonderful fluffy white towels I wonder what other hosts do??

I’m loathe to purchase white towels 😲 but wonder if this is what other hosts do or would expect from an Airbnb stay.

I provide 1 towel per guest but also wonder if a should provide a smaller size and a face cloth size.

Hosts- what do you do that works ?!

[Suzanne302]

@Paul1255

I have three sets of towels. None of them are white!  I have one set of dark grey, and the other two are a blue/green color.

White fluffy towels are nice and I guess if they are bright white it makes them seem "cleaner" but I don't think towel color will make or break a listing. I think only one of the ABB's I've stayed at had white towels.

PS - I provide one bath towel and one hand towel per guest, plus four extra bath towels under the sink and a stack of 6-8 washcloths.

[Paul1255]

Fab! I think I may stick to non-white colours then and do as you do and have a supply in the bathroom as extra is they’re needed. 

[Pro-Tips-For-You0]

one towel for one guest is best. normally in 5 star hotels there is only 1 bath towel in bathroom. 

Source: **

**[Link removed due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Jeffrey201]

My self catering properties are by the sea in Sennen Cove.  I do not provide bath or beach towels.  However, I offer towels for hire if required.  12 Towels a week laundered are a big cost and a large bulky item.  Out of 60 weeks of bookings only 2 bookings requested towels.  I also make it clear to every enquiry "All linen is provided except bath and beach  towels."  Problem solved.

[Victoria567]

@Paul0

I provide a 100% cotton bath sheet, a face cloth and a cotton bath mat per guest.

White.

I buy thick quality towels from Markies or TK Maax.

[Paul1255]

And I didn’t even think of TK Maax for towels! I’m going to have a shop tomorrow...thanks so much for the tips on towels and the rest :)))

[Victoria567 · Accepted solution]

@Paul0

I also provide a packet of hypoallergenic make up removal wipes, a pack of cotton pads a box of Kleenex, for the guest who has their own own make up remover solution....stops guests using towels instead to remove make up.

Ditto provide some sanitary pads and tampons and disposal bags, which saves likelihood of accidents on your bedlinens, if guest caught short, by time of the month.

[Paul1255]

thanks so much for the tips! Would you say to keep all of those items in the bathroom cabinet and then update the house manual?

I had a guest caught short at the time of the month last week and luckily everything washed out fine but I did wonder about what I could do to prevent worries ahead of time.

[Victoria567]

@Pau9l

I have a wicker basket full of toiletries either Boots, Tesco or Superdrug.

I choose non fragranced if possible, but if you want hypoallergenic try Sanex as it does both male and female.

1 bottle of Hand/body wash.

1 bottle shampoo

1 bottle conditioner

1 bottle shower gel

1 tin of hair mousse

1 mini toothpaste

a couple of night time sanitary towels.

a couple of tampax super plus

a packet of disposal bags for used sanitary items

1 packet of cotton pads for make up removal

1 packet of make up wipes for sensitive skin or hypoallergenic.

1 bottle of body lotion

a couple of nail files the sandpaper type ones

a tub of tooth floss

1 Boots brand Hairdryer

I lay the basket on top of the folded towels, bath mats, face cloths, on the bed.

A box of Kleenex on one bedside table plus a tray with 2 crystal glasses and 2 bottles Highland Spring and chocolates.

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255  I had a boyfriend once who always kept a supply of tampons in his bathroom cabinet (he wasn't hosting or anything). When I commented on how unusual that was, he said he just considered it a thoughtful thing for a guy to do 🙂 He grew up with 3 sisters, maybe they turned him on to that.

You'll find hosts on here who swear by white everything, sheets, towels, duvet covers, and sometimes they even try to insinuate that all hosts should do that. And others who go with color. It's all over the map and there's no right or wrong and I doubt many guests give a hoot as long as everything smells clean and fresh, they're not frayed or super thin, and there aren't any noticeable stains .

I'm in the color camp myself- I have a set of sage green and a set of rust color. But even the set thing can go by the wayside if a guest stains, steals, or loses a towel. I don't see anything wrong with everything not matching- One guest took one of my bath towels on a booze cruise and grabbed someone else's towel when they docked- a towel I don't consider nice enough for guests. I couldn't find a match to buy, but found a patterned one in sage green, so it all still looks nice together. If you like the grey look, you could actually have several different shades of grey, some grey and white or black stripes, it will all still look co-ordinated and purposeful.

One bath towel isn't really enough to provide guests, IMO. I give each guest 2 bath towels, a hand towel and a washcloth. Women generally like 2 towels after they wash their hair- one for their body and one to wrap around their hair. Also women tend to use washcloths more often than men, but some men do use them.

[Sandra126]

I find white best, I do have a few other ones so groups don't all have the same colour. But I sun-dry during summer, and the colours fade. White is absolutely the best and easiest, also looks fresh.

I don't have the gigantic bath size, rather one size down. But I provide a pile, so people can use two if they wish. They don't, unless they have long hair or stay for long. Facewasher, handtowel, bathmat.

[Paul1255]

Fab! I did wonder if providing loads of towels would mean they would all get used and then generate a lot more washing, but this makes sense! Thanks so much 🙂 

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255  Yes, some guests are total towel wasters. They use a towel once after showering, drop it on the floor and take a clean one 5 hours later when they have another shower. Don't leave piles if you don't want this to happen- give them what you feel will be adequate for their stay and they stay for a week or more, give them clean ones once a week minimum.(some hosts replace more often) I was looking after my neighbor's whole house rental and 2 guys managed to go through 17 bath towels in a week. But I've had guests who when I offered them clean towels after 6 days, said it wasn't necessary, they still hadn't used the second one I had given them.

[Suzanne302]

@Paul1255

Guests can be funny...Only once have I had a guest pull from the "extras" towel pile. And I'd say only about 50% of my guests use the washcloths!

I did have a weird experience with sheets once. I keep an extra set in the guest room closet and one guest who was staying only two nights changed the sheets. There were no stains and the sheets weren't wet, so I can't figure out why she did that!