Advise Needed-Towels (I know-weird topic)

[Summer64]

When I started Airbnb-I read someplace that the advice was to do all white towels. I do have a black little wash clothe with "Make Up" monogrammed on it for female guests. Anyway, so lately over the past couple of months, I've had a lot of ruined white towels. Stains that are orange/brownish which honestly looks like blood or fecal matter.  I've sprayed on stain remover, then bleached, and still ruined.

The towels I buy are about $8 each, so when 1 out of 3 guests starts staining them (the big towels, not the wash clothes) it gets pricey. 

So....couple of questions/advice: 

1. Do you use white towels? If so, are you having this issue?

2. Is there a cheap place you're buying your towels?

3. Would you switch to a darker colored towel so that these stains aren't visible if they don't come out?

Would love to get some advice from some experienced hosts about this.

[Jill-And-Ron0]

We do all white bath linen with the black cosmetic towels.  We have the same issues but it comes with the territory.  We factor in towel waste as part of our budget.  We purchase our bed and bath linens in bulk for hospitality customers so the pricing is less.  Personally I would not stay anywhere with colored towels.  

As a vacation rental owner you should be able to purchase towels at hospitality pricing.  We get ours from American Standard.  We are also part of a vacation rental buying group called HostGPO that enables us to get better pricing.  I hope this helps. 

[Emiel1]

@Summer64 

Some guests ruin towels and the everybody have to pay for it (increases price per night).

It is the general costs of doing business...

I use towels of different color, also white. The all get stained after some time.

But the basic sized towels cost only Euro 3,50 , the larger ones 5 Euro.

TIP Use anti-mould spray (the stuff used in a shower room) on stains in white (only pure white !) towels . Stains will disappear, for sure if they are organic. (Works also on stains on white walls, like blood, pastasauce etc)

[Brian2036]

@Summer64 

I don’t see anything wrong with colored towels.

Limited-time deal: Bedsure Turkish Bath Towel Set - 8 Piece 600GSM Cotton Towel Sets Luxury Grey Towels Soft Bathroom Towels Includes 2 Bath Towels, 2 Hand Towels, 4 Washcloths (100% Turkish Cotton) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BCKB58M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_dl_EJ308025H1M80BNQHRNM?_encoding=U...

Full set is $31.44.

Or you can buy the cheap white ones for less than $4 each.

[Brian2036]

@Summer64 

https://www.overstock.com/Bedding-Bath/Ultrasoft-Cotton-Towel-Set-Set-of-24-Multi-sized-towels/30693...

Or these from Overstock.com for $55

[Summer64]

Thanks everyone for the feedback-really appreciated!

[Mark116]

@Summer64  Even with bleach, for whatever reason, we can't keep white towels looking really fresh for too long.  We use grey, and get them at Marshalls or at Macy's on sale.  

We're just about to embark on our first attempt to dye some of these towels that have been bleached out by acne or other beauty products.

We also provide black and white [super cheap] wash clothes rolled up in the bathroom for make-up removal and for longer stays we also provide make up wipes.

[Kelly149]

Those functional, but no longer perfect, towels dry my family, in our real house, just fine. When we have more than we need then the animal shelter is always grateful to have them. 

we too use the ‘any shade of grey’ strategy. If you mix/match enough then it looks like personality vs who messed up the set 

[Colleen253]

@Summer64 I am over the white towel thing. They are the bane of my existence. Moving to grey and currently trying to source. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

I have all sorts of fun colors - maroon, blues, greens, grey, black, cream, and even white, all sets. And sometimes I combine different colors on the rack just for fun. 

[Kia272]

@Summer64  It occurred to me as I was setting up shop, that if I got a bunch of towels all of the same color, my guests would have a hard time telling their used towels apart. So I bought some different colored sets and end up setting out towels in four different colors if I have 4 guests coming. 2 guests- two colors. 

White towels seem like a disaster waiting to happen. I'm also on a septic system so I don't use bleach. I've been pretty lucky so far. The only ones that have been ruined are the yellow ones- the lightest color I bought. 

I bought some cheap cotton washcloths from Ikea that I keep in a basket by the sink. They are soft and perfectly adequate for face washing or little kid hands. They are dark blue and have already lasted longer than I expected. 

Just experiment a bit and figure out what works for you. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Summer64 

I do the same as @Kia272  with different color towels for the guests, for the same reason.

[Jenny349]

I’m curious @Jill-And-Ron0 ! Why wouldn’t you stay anywhere with coloured towels? I use coloured towels, and this is a marketing hurdle I hadn’t expected! Thanks for the heads-up! 

[Fiona256]

@Jill-And-Ron0 And how would you know what colours the towels are before you book, as they are not always photographed? Do you ask the host before booking? If I received a question like that I would decline the booking.

[Sarah977]

@Jenny349  I've heard people say that they don't trust that towels are clean unless they are white. Which is totally absurd to me. Clean bedding and towels smell and look clean, no matter what color they are.