What do you put in the fridge for guests?

[Casey-And-Dane-lle0]

Hello there. I’m a new host and have been reading all the informative posts on here. My space is a private guest house with kitchen. I have a mini fridge in the space that I put waters in.

Are there any other must haves I should put in there? I leave snacks on the table, but wanted to know if others have had good feedback on other things. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 

-Dane’lle 

[Alexandra316]

@Casey-And-Dane-lle0Do you offer coffee and/or tea? If so, it might be nice to include cream and milk. Other than that, I'm not sure anything else is really required. If you wanted to leave something else, I've found eggs and fruit have gone over well, but again, I definitely don't think it's required. 

*[Moved from duplicate topic]

[Casey-And-Dane-lle0]

Thank you for the reply.  I do have a coffe pot and coffe plus an assortment of teas.  I like the idea of cream or milk.  I have the powdered stuff, but the real thing is nice. 🙂

[Emily568]

Good brands of

Water 

Tea or and or herbal tea

Coffee packs

Hot chocolate or soup packets

Cookies

Bottle of cheap - but not too cheap - local wine

Milk- as we dont have any local stores open late

Only if they are paying over 50,000huf for their stay...as otherwise it starts to eat into my profit

Fruit Juice

Fresh Fruit - like a bag of apples or some plumbs

Crips or crackers 

Couple of cans of good beer

Coke can

A fresh lemon

Bread  - as there is no where open late to buy it - you have to walk 20mins

Usally guests will only take 1/3 of what I offer - water is always taken as its hot here! Then coffe is the next big thing to be used, then beer, wine, coke. 

I dont adviestise that theplace has a mini bar and everything is free for the guests - it is meant as a nice suprise, sweetner when they arrive.

[John1080]

@Casey-And-Dane-lle0, I would not do more than water, and then only a few bottles. I learned from others on this and other forums when I was just getting started that the more you do with regards to extras, the more room there is for guests to complain if they don't like the brand of snacks or something of the sort. 

Also, the more you provide with regards to extras like food and water, the more it eats into your profit margin over time. 

I would provide coffee in a glass canister, filters, oils, spices and whatever condiments people leave behind in the fridge. 

[Casey-And-Dane-lle0]

Good advice. Thank you

[An-Maré0]

Agree - only water. For a guest staying more than 6 daya - I offer a bottle of white wine. So far all my guests appreciate the freebe.

[Jennifer940]

Isn't wine/alcohol a liability issue? If a guest were to have an accident, drive impaired, get sick from drinking alcohol provided by host?

[Sarah977]

@Jennifer940  I think there would only be a liability issue if the guest were underage or it could be proven that you served the guest alcohol when they were already clearly intoxicated and then went on to have an accident. If an adult drinks to the point where they get sick, or get in their car and drive impaired, well, they're adults, they have to take responsibility for their own behavior. When someone gets busted for driving under the influence, the police don't bother investigating where the guest had been drinking, because adult drinking isn't illegal. It's the alcohol-induced behavior that's illegal.

[Jennifer940]

I hope you are right but not sure if that is true. Bars are responsible if they overserve patrons. And we aren't a liquor store or bar with a license to provide alcohol- but we are a business providing a service, and I just want to be sure there is no potential legal jeopardy to providing wine, seasonal beer, etc. Hoping an attorney/host might have a general answer for US hosts. 

[Sarah977]

@Jennifer940  No, I couldn't answer that definitively as far as how the law reads, which I imagine varies by state or country. But I see a difference regarding bars and liquor stores in that they are selling the product, and have stringent laws they must follow. So if a bar continues to serve an overly intoxicated customer, rather than cutting him off, they are behaving irresponsibly, putting profit before safety.

That's way different than offering a guest a glass of wine or a beer or gifting them with a bottle of wine just because they've been delightful, or as an "I'm sorry for the inconvenience" because your Wifi went out for a few hours. I wouldn't be concerned about that at all, personally. If you were actually selling alcohol to your guests without a license, or advertised in your listing that you offered it for sale, that would definitely be illegal.

If one of my upholstery clients comes to my studio, a home-based business, and I happen to be having a beer when they arrive and I offer them one, I can't imagine I could be held responsible if that led to an accident.  They're paying for their upholstery work, just like guests are paying for accomodation, but the offered drink is just a friendly aside. 

Hopefully some other hosts who may be legal eagles can answer.

[Teresa-And-Dan0]

Then in your case don't provide any alcoholic beverages.

[Artrell0]

@Jennifer0The rules that you refer to are regarding a business with an alcohol license serving alcohol to patrons. You are not serving alcohol, you are providing them with a gift. If they drink it and do something stupid, that's on them.    

[Mitch-and-Kelly0]

I like the wine idea, if host are concerned about liability... do sparkling juice.

[Tina183]

This is exactly what I do.  I actually had someone complain when there was fresh food in the space (eggs) that they felt like they had to clean up after past guests.