Basic essentials

[Davide665]

Do you think a good host in a [luxury] property should provide basic things like toilet paper, bin bags and possibly clothes washing powder (assuming machine is included). When I go to a hotel, I don’t expect to provide those things so why shouldn’t a host expect to provide (and factor the expense in the rental price)? I am not expecting something for nothing but rather wondering if an AirBnB holiday experience should be like a hotel or like a bare bones type experience.

[Gwen386]

@Davide665 I can only speak for myself. I don’t view my rental as a luxury rental, but a very nice one indeed; and I do provide all the essentials and I believe most of my fellow hosts do too. 

[Amanda660]

I too include toilet roll, kitchen paper, bin bags, shampoo, body wash, dishwasher pods, laundry liquid, dish soap, softener, cleaning products and build the costs into my nightly rate.  

I rented a villa once in Florida that included one each laundry tab, dishwasher tab and a bin bag and thought it was really cheapskate of the host. 

[Anonymous]

@Davide665   If a host is advertising a rental as "luxury," I'd find it hilarious to walk in and see no toilet paper, bin bags, or soap. Even Airbnbs at the low end of the budget spectrum usually provide at least enough of those things to get guests through the first day or two of their stay. 

But if you're staying in a hotel, the housekeepers will come in and restock the TP and soap every day. Whereas in a self-contained Airbnb home, I don't expect or want there to be any interim housekeeping, so I figure that at some point during my stay I'll be restocking my own basic consumables. 

I don't think there's one fixed standard for how an Airbnb holiday experience should be - the accommodation can be anything from some guy's living room sofa to a whole 17th century chateau. What's important is that the listing accurately informs guests about what kind of experience and amenities will be provided. There's nothing wrong with offering a bare-bones experience, especially in budget listings, but if there aren't 24/7 shopping options near the property, the listing should be explicit about the fact that guests need to bring their own provisions. 

[Ted307]

@Davide665 

I agree with @Anonymous  that the listing should explain how the host handles these amenities.

When we rent a vacation cabin in the mountains for a month or two, we expect to go shopping for these things. If we are just getting away for 2-3 days, we expect that these are provided by our host. Some listings are very basic, and we just tend to not choose those places. In our Bunkhouse, most guests are here for a weekend break. We provide everything, even breakfast items in the frig, coffee, tea, etc. We do not want our guests to have to go to the store right away just to have breakfast in the morning.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Davide665 we recently spent £2500 on a weeks stay in Devon. 1 toilet roll per bathroom and 3 dishwasher tablets just felt penny pinching. Ok it only cost us a few pounds to buy them but I really think hosts do themselves a disservice if they don't provide them for stays of a fortnight or less.

For longer stays I think it is acceptable for the guest to buy these items but would struggle to articulate my logic!

[Huma0]

@Davide665 

I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0 . Even in a basic rental, I would be shocked if there was no toilet paper. In a 'luxury' one, I'd expect a reasonable stock of it, or I'd assume the host was a cheap skate and it would not create a great impression. Likewise if there were no bin bags, unless it was a short stay.

As @Anonymous mentioned, hotels, and certainly, the higher end ones, absolutely supply toilet paper, soap and a bunch of other things. I stay in many of them due to my job and the very least you expect is toilet paper, soap, shampoo and body wash, but there's usually quite a few other things, especially toiletries. 

While some hosts with more basic, budget accommodations might be tempted to scrimp on these things, I think it's a bad idea if you are marketing somewhere as 'luxury'.

[Anonymous]

@Huma0   I've stayed in some nice Airbnbs that didn't supply stuff like shampoo and body wash, and these days I think the seasoned traveler intuitively knows to equip themselves with their preferred toiletries. Part of me feels like I'm failing at life if I planned so poorly that I have to use hotel soap on my body.

But I agree, when you arrive at your accommodation you've gotta have toilet paper or a bum gun. You're on holiday, you don't want to be frantically running to a shop just so you can go to the bathroom.

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

Well, perhaps you and I are organised. I bring my own toiletries. In fact, I have a kit with travel sized bottles permanently packed because, pre-COVID, I travelled constantly for work. So, that's just my habit.

However, I just feel like it's worth the small investment to supply a few more 'essentials'. The guests who haven't packed their own and maybe don't want to go straight to the shops or feel just a bit disorientated and unsure where to buy such stuff, will appreciate it. Even the guests who don't need it are often impressed that it's provided.

Sure, with a budget listing, perhaps you could forgo a lot of that, but if you are advertising 'luxury', I think it's well worth the investment. If one is worried about guests helping themselves to too much, it's not that difficult to have dispenser bottles attached to the wall, for example.

A 5* hotel I stayed in in Paris supplied Clarins toiletries (PS you shouldn't be scared of the hotel soap if it's a 'luxury' hotel), but like this, which is obviously more sustainable/less wasteful than the minis. I've stayed in a few hotels that do this now.

I am not saying it has to be Clarins, or whatever. It can be something much more budget friendly than that. Refilling the bottles honestly costs me next to nothing because most guests do end up buying their own and so many guests leave behind almost full bottles of the stuff. But, it's often these small things that can give a guest the perception of 'value'. Recent guests even mentioned it in their review.

As for toilet paper, I would be horrified to arrive at an Airbnb and find none, let alone when the listing was marketed as 'luxury'.

[Helen744]

@Mike-And -Jane . if you stayed with me for a week you would have seven , count em , toilet rolls . say no more H

[Sudsrung0]

I think that is being a real Cheap Charlie not supplying anything,

We have everything they need we even put water and soft drinks in the fridge, Tea Coffee.

In high season when people are paying top $ I usually provide a basket of fruit and a bottle of wine and some beers in the fridge,

Because of covid we have dropped our prices to stay full so far so good, 

I remember getting a message at 2 am from a guest asking where's the toothbrushes, 

[Helen744]

@David 665 We are not hotels at all David and you will find an "amenity" which tells you if the 'host' provides 'essentials' most do . Toilet paper and a great many other essentials are provided under this . i am not sure about your phrasing , do you mean 'should or shoulnt ' because they have opposite meanings and depending also if you are asking as a guest or a host. I do not think in a modern country any human needs to travel with toilet rolls attached , but you never know unless the host has 'essentials provided ' ticked. H

[Eileen0]

@Davide665  nothing worse than 'toilet-paper anxiety' when staying at an ABB! 

If I was a host who was thinking of not supplying these items, I would make sure the guests knew well in advance, and make sure it was mentioned in the listing and would send an email  a week beforehand letting them know that they will need to bring in all these supplies, and then a text reminder 24 hours before checking in

While this isn't my idea of hospitality, it might suit some guests especially if not supplying these items meant the price was kept low

I've stayed in some places in the past where just 1 roll of toilet paper was supplied for 2 people for 3 days, and I thought it was just mean. My friend who was staying as well, was so annoyed she used the kitchen roll instead!

[Anonymous]

@Eileen0  It's funny, I've stayed in some very basic no-frills Airbnbs but I've never been in one that neglected to stock toilet paper. But as more and more properties are hosted remotely by investors without any sense for hospitality, I suspect that sort of thing is becoming more common.

[Michael5047]

@Davide665 

I have a luxury apartment and this is what I provide:

-2 rolls of toilet paper per bathroom
-Regular Coffee for 2 days
-Decaf Coffee for 2 days
-About 10 packages of sugar
-About 10 packages of stevia
-10 coffee filters
-2 laundry pods
-1 full hand soap dispenser in each bathroom
-One trash bag for the kitchen's trashcan 2 extra bags under the sink
-2 dishwasher pods under the kitchen sink
-1 full laundry detergent dispenser and one sponge next to the kitchen sink.
-1 roll of paper towels in the kitchen
-1 kitchen towel
-Broom and dustpan
-One set of sheets per bed
-One blanket per bed
-Two pillows per bed
-One set of towels per guest