toiletries

[Sam397]

Hello everyone, I would like some suggestions or opinions on the subject of toiletries. I provide things  like soap,shampoo and toothpaste and I have just been buying regular sized bottles of shampoo and didnt think that it would be a problem if a guest used shampoo out of an opened bottle. But I just had a guest tell me in their review that that was unsanitary. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with it but I can understand why some people would not like that. Obviously I cant throw out a full bottle of shampoo after a guest leaves and I checked into single serving shampoos but they cost almost as much as the regular sized bottles of shampoo. So my question is would a dispenser be considered unsanitary? Any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated.  

[Delwyn3]

I would ignore it.   In my opinion there is nothing wrong with using an open bottle of shampoo.  To say it is unsanitary is ridiculous.    

[Shaun282]

I wonder about this also.  I have the large bottles just like you.

[Shaun282]

My wife travels often for work.  She tells me hotels are doing away with the single-use toiletries because of environmental concerns and instead using a dispenser systems.

[Emilia42]

@Shaun282 @Sam397 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/22/business/accor-hotels-toiletries-plastic-usage/index.html

[Mark116]

@Sam397   Ugh.  Some people are such jerks.  If this guest mentioned the shampoo in a public review I would diplomatically mention in your response that single use items are incredibly bad for the environment and that is why you do not offer them.

We also provide large sized bottles of shampoo/conditioner/shower gel.  When they get near the half way point, we top them off so that guests will always be seeing a bottle that is 2/3 full.  No one has ever complained in 4 years, so my guess is your guest is an outlier/relic.

[Emilia42]

@Sam397When I first started hosting I used the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner.  Then one day I thought about how ridiculous that was. It was costly for me, horrible for the environment, and annoying for the guest because they would only get like a teaspoon of shampoo each. Now I stock regular size bottles and wouldn't have it any other way. I think this lady is a little crazy. I see no difference from squirting dish soap or laundry detergent from an open bottle available to all guests. Is that 'unsanitary' too?

[Helen350]

@Sam397 I provide shampoo/conditioner/shower gel in 1 ltr bottles WITH A PUMP. I figure this is even more hygienic than an old fashioned screw off cap. By shopping around  in bargain stores, I pay no more for bottles with a pump, than regular bottles.

Ridiculous that your guests complained. It's Airbnb, not a hotel!

[Maia29]

As other posters have mentioned, single use toiletries aren't good for the environment. Plus, it isn't economical for the host to keep purchasing them. If the guest doesn't like the toiletries that you provide, they can bring their own. That is a ridiculous guest request.

[Kath9]

@Sam397, I agree with everyone else here - it's a completely ridiculous complaint. What is 'unsanitary' is single-use plastic. The cost of single-use shampoo and conditioner isn't even the issue, it's the environmental impact that is the main problem. For the sake of our planet, people need to get over their obsession with hygiene.

Regarding your public response to her review, while it was polite and respectful, I recommend never bringing up things that the guest did not mention publicly - you are just drawing attention to it. You could have just left your public response at the first sentence. If you wished to respond to the private part of the review, you could have simply sent her a message, explaining that you prefer not to use single-use plastic - maybe she would have learnt something. On the subject of single-use waste, coffee pods (which you mention in your public response) are up there on the scale of bad things. Billions of these end up in landfill every year in America alone and they take up to 500 years to break down. Perhaps you could consider changing your coffee machine to one that uses ground coffee. Just a suggestion!

[Linda-And-Richard0]

@Sam397  We provide travel size bath soap in each bathroom along with the pump dispenser for hand soap.  Travel size packets of makeup removers are available.  If guests don't want to use what is provided, they should bring their own toiletries.

[Dee-And-Efrain0]

We used to purchase sachets, recently switched to pump bottles that we refill. I ve had no complaints.

Dee

Sacred Valley , PERU

[Ilan-and-Anna0]

Dear Sam, I personally wouldn't mind but I can still see the point from a guest perspective. We're competing with hotels and guests have certain expectations. We buy large shampoo canisters (10 liter) from a company that supplies to hair dressers, etc. which cost a fraction of what you pay at your local store...(you can find it on amazon) we refill our stylish brown glass bottles every time before a new guest checks in.

[Daniela1586]

Sam@397 . I leave toiletries as well along with full bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.  Nobody has mentioned that they are unsanitary.  Don't let one guest dictate what you do.  I think it's a nice added feature.  

[Sam397]

Thanks everybody, I appreciate the input.  @Kathy9 thank you for your advice about not commenting on stuff that was said in the private comments, you know I have only replied to a couple of my reviews but never realized I was commenting on stuff that only I saw. I knew the stuff was written in private but it never registered. Thanks for pointing that out and I absolutely agree with what you said and wont be doing that again..