Am I unreasonable?

[Janet989]

I have a "welcome kit" --fresh pineapple, coffee, eggs, milk, butter, baguette, orange juice and beers in an amount for the group size.  My assumption is if someone arrives after a long trip, they will at least be able to make an easy meal that night or before going to the store in the morning.

I also provide condiments --mayo, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and a broad assortment of herbs, dry grains like rice, beans, etc.  Some I buy intentional, some are left by other guests.  We check for freshness, expiration dates, capacity, and clean the containers.  I've never had any complaints, one time a guest asked if they could clear the fridge completely as they only age raw and nothing processed-- no big deal.  I put it in a bag and moved it to my own on the adjacent property

In our area, many things are difficult to find or very expensive.  Chili powder does not exist within 100 miles, and dijon mustard is about $7 a small jar.  

I am wondering if I got a weird group or have i just been extremely lucky the past 8 years?  Am i nuts, unreasonable or both??

My last guest cleaned out everything, and i mean everything, from the fridge.  Because they had guests from the local area come by frequently, i wrote to ask if possibly they had been taken in error.  They wrote back that they expected the fridge to be empty, so threw everything in the garbage upon arrival.   Of course, I learned this 12 days later.  Arghhhh

Toilet paper is a sensitive subject, we hang a roll, and provide 2 extra on the caddy in every bathroom.  Our 4 bedroom villa has 6 baths, and if someone asks for it, i refill to the original capacity of 3 new rolls.  My last group of 8 adults and 4 kids used 45 rolls of paper in 12 days.  Besides the expense, we are on a septic system at sea level which began to concern me.

In the rooms, each guest has 2 bath towels, 1 face towel, and a washcloth.  We also provide beach towels (1 per guest) at the pool and sarongs (1 per guest) for beach use.  It's difficult to dry things in our humidity, but we provide towel racks under cover on each of the decks, in addition to the normal towel racks in bathrooms.  About half the guests requested dry towels nearly every day.  At check out, i counted more than 50 towels, not including face or hand, nor including any that I laundered during their stay.

We provide a locally made shampoo, conditioner, shower gel in the shower, and small soaps, lotion and insect repellent at the vanity.  As well as make-up remover cloths (primarily to save my towels) and a reef safe sun-screen (because it's important!) upon request.   We don't refill during a stay, these guests requested it pretty frequently.

Pardon, the lengthy back-story, i'm just trying to figure out what "normal" is.  I feel like some things a hotel offers as standard is not equivalent in a vacation rental.  I've stayed at many AirBnB's and have never asked for refills of anything during my stay of 3 days or 3 weeks.   Give me some perspective, folks, i'm open to feedback.  

[Sarah977]

This group were the entitled, wasteful, use as much as you can types. No, not normal, IMO.  You just got a group that acts like royalty. But while 45 rolls of toilet paper sounds like a huge amount (I go through about a roll a week myself), 12 people for 12 days, that's like 1 person for 144 days. So it doesn't sound excessive. But if your septic system can't handle that, why do you host so many people at once?

I've also heard of guests who threw out all the food in the fridge meant for them to use. Some people are like that. You should make it clear to guests, if you don't already, that the food there is provided for their use, and ask before they arrive if they would prefer that the fridge be empty. And I don't think you should be leaving left over condiments for guests while we are in the midst of a pandemic.

As for expecting clean towels on a daily basis, you need to make it clear to guests how often you provide clean towels, and that they need to look after the ones they use, hang them to dry, as more won't be provided just because they threw the ones they were given in a wet pile on the floor.

I was looking after a neighbor's Airbnb for one changeover they had while out of the country. My neighbor had told me when to find clean piles of towels to set out for the incoming guests, but when I looked there, the shelves were bare. Then I looked in the laundry room- the 2 guys who were staying there had managed to go through all 17 bath towels in 1 week, and left them all in a damp pile by the washing machine.

@Janet989

[Mark116]

@Janet989  The world is full of awful people....I hope you give them the review they deserve.  In future, maybe put some language in a welcome/arrival message that clarifies that these items are for guest use, and you are happy to remove if they wish to have things empty.  I would limit the towels and other supplies and  just tell them that you provide enough for a week and if they can't live within that they should buy their own.  

[Lorna170]

@Janet989   My goodness, you are an outstanding host!   It sounds as if I would feel very pampered at your property.

You need to make what you do and do not provide very clear to your guests.  My rental properties, and many of the US properties that I have rented, do not leave anything in the refrigerator or cabinets beyond spices and coffee filters; guests are told in advance to be prepared to purchase food and cooking needs.  Personally, I would not use anything that I found in the refrigerator or cabinets, but if I was travelling to a fly to location and was advised in advance that you leave those items, I would have the opportunity to ask that they be removed, or I would simply leave them alone (as long as I had enough room for my own purchases).  I do love the idea of your guest welcome kit, especially for foreign guests flying in.  My properties are drive to locations, and most of my guests stop at the local grocery before checking in. 

With regard to the towels and toilet paper, guests will walk all over you if you are accommodating in providing extra towels and TP.  I would make sure that there are enough towels for the registered guests and do what the hotels do; inform the guests that these are the towels for their stay, that new towels will be every 4th day, and that extra towels may be had for a laundry fee.  That should stop the towel madness.  I have had guests who use towels sparingly, and guests who will use every towel they can find - two ladies staying for 2 days used 12 towels, hand towels and washcloths!!!   

You have 6 bathrooms.  At one new roll per bathroom per day, your last guests could have used 75 rolls during their 12 days visit, especially as there were 12 guests!  Yes, 45 rolls is a lot, but you have 6 bathrooms!

With all of the personal products you supply, no wonder your guests asked for more -- you are caring for them as if you were a hotel!  Package those items in a pretty bag labeled "For Your Stay", so that they know it is a once and done; the maid is not going to replenish those products every day.  You could add a card advising them that they can buy a second bag of these wonderful local products for a fee.  

[Kia272]

@Janet989  You sound like a wonderful host, but you have to set boundaries. We all want our guests to enjoy our property- which means supplying what they need- but people will definitely take advantage. I would figure out what entails "reasonable use" for your property, and make clear what you supply, and what can be done or supplied for an extra fee. 

As to the welcome kit, I think you should offer that as a paid amenity. Figure out the overall cost of this basic meal for the number in the guest party, and ask ahead of time if they are interested in having you supply this service. I would be very specific about the items you are supplying, rather than have them give you a grocery list. If they indicate they'd like it, request the money ahead of time. 

As to condiments and other things- it's particularly touchy during the pandemic. Common sense says that if something is left in the fridge, they don't have to touch or use it if they don't want, but I think it makes sense to let people choose if they want a completely empty fridge, or don't mind having these things left. 

I understand that Costa Rica is open to foreign travel again, but I'm still amazed that people actually want to get on a plane during the pandemic (assuming that these folks were not domestic travelers.) Anyway, good luck with your future guests and setting some guidelines for the property. Kia

[Debra300]

@Janet989,

I've been to Puerto Viejo, and the Limon district a few times.  I understand why you are offering the welcome basket, because shopping isn't always easily available.  For my guesthouse in St. Lucia, the government now requires that hosts provide grocery delivery/pick up for guests.  This is a new guideline, and I will charge a nominal $5-10USD fee per instance, because time, fuel, and electricity resources will be used. 

Setting expectations early on with guests will help avoid any frustration about what's provided, and what/how much can be used/consumed.  In my greeting messages, I state which items we provide, and what needs to remain after they checkout.  I send guests the online ordering link for our local grocery stores to place their orders, which are usually fulfilled within two days.  Since payment has to be made at the time of pickup, I require that guests pay me via Airbnb's resolution center before I will do the pickup.

We provide bed linens, towels, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc., but do not offer any cleaning service during the stay.  Each guest gets two complete bath sets (bath, hand, and face towels), a beach towel, one set of bed linens for each bed, along with a few kitchen and cleaning towels for the apartment.  There are washers and dryers in the spaces, and guests are welcome to wash their towels and linens, as needed.  I calculate the amount of toilet paper to provide as one large roll per two guests/per week, and one large roll of paper towels and two fresh sponges per stay.  Guests are informed that they will need to purchase more, if necessary.  The same goes for the bath toiletries, coffee, tea, condiments, spices, dishwashing soap, cleaning and laundry supplies.  These items will not be replenished during their stay.  I also recommend that they bring with them foods which are expensive or difficult to find on island, such as nuts, cereal, almond/coconut flour, monk fruit sugar, extra virgin oil, and their favorite coffee or tea.

[Debra300]

@Janet989,

One more thing that I need to start doing given that travel restrictions can be abruptly imposed is inform guests that there will be no refunds on any groceries they've purchased, and are unable to consume due to a change in travel plans (can't come, have to reschedule, or need to leave early).

[Jill963]

I don't provide excessive amounts of TP. I provide 3 total per bathroom and about 10 total towels. Guests can use my laundry so they can wash them if need be.  I think it's crazy how much they used.