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AIBU?

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Is this unhygienic?!

766 replies

loislaneloves · 23/07/2026 07:55

I have an Airbnb on my property. It’s basically a tiny home at the bottom of our large garden with an amazing view. Most people come for the weekend by train and I don’t want people to spend their holiday shopping for stuff like coffee, tea, milk or having to cram suitcases full of toiletries or beach towels so I provide all of those. I also provide a little evening snack (crisps usually) some wine to watch the sun set on the deck with and fruit from the garden and a croissant and jam for breakfast. People love it and I make it quite clear on my ads that these things are provided.
Just got a review from a couple who stayed with us a few days ago. They gave us a good review but took one star off and in her private message to me she said ‘We loved our stay with you but we weren’t very happy that the toiletries are in big shared bottles rather than individual use. This is obviously very unhygienic (we don’t know who has used them!!) so we had to make the trip to buy some for ourselves which was an expense and effort we weren’t expecting’.
To be clear I offer Aesop Shower Gel, Shampoo and Conditioner in the shower and Aesop Hand Wash by the sink in 500ml bottles. They get replaced when empty which is usually about every 10 months
AIBU to think this is not unhygienic?!

OP posts:
Highlandschmiland · 23/07/2026 13:37

loislaneloves · 23/07/2026 08:02

They are pump bottles and they are sort of ‘locked’ into a shelf in the shower like you might see at a hotel.
I travel a lot for work and see this set up in fancy hotels all the time. Can’t remember when I last got those individual little bottles of plastic landfill.

I was just thinking that they usually bolt a pump style bottle to the walls in a hotel. Perhaps you could offer individual for a supplement in future. They sound snobby to me!

LiuBei · 23/07/2026 13:37

comofn · 23/07/2026 07:57

It’s lovely that you do all that but I can see her point. I wouldn’t like to use toiletries that past guests have used before

Could I ask why? You worry that someone has put something inside one of the bottles?

MotherofPufflings · 23/07/2026 13:23

@loislaneloves

Perhaps you should add something to the listing to clarify that you check that the big bottles haven't been pissed or wanted in by the previous guest?

Reallyneedsaholiday · 23/07/2026 13:23

Initially I read your OP as you leaving a bottle of L’Oréal shampoo on the side of the bath, and thought it was a bit odd. But the set up as you describe it sounds perfect. Just a thought, I’m assuming that you have photographs on the website, could you make sure that the bathroom picture covers the items, so no one could claim they were unaware?

idrinkandiknowthings · 23/07/2026 13:22

FFS, does she carry her own soap into public toilets? What a knobber.

I think what you provide goes above and beyond, a lovely gesture x

LostThestral · 23/07/2026 13:22

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 13:20

Loads of cafes and shops and stuff just have bottles of soap sitting on the sink.... So do you use those?

yes but they are unlikely to have men wanking into them seeing as it would be the ladies loo and not to mention in the public area

Duvetdayneeded · 23/07/2026 13:21

They are bat shit crazy as the majority of hotels are now moving to big bottles

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 13:20

LostThestral · 23/07/2026 13:15

no because no one else can generally get into the dispenser

I've heard awful stories of men depositing extras in places they shouldn't for a laugh

I would think OP's dispensers are perfectly fine though as
you can't just unscrew the top

Loads of cafes and shops and stuff just have bottles of soap sitting on the sink.... So do you use those?

MaturingCheeseball · 23/07/2026 13:17

Not hygiene related, but I remember aeons ago on MN a poster receiving an email from the b&b where she’d stayed requesting return/reimbursement for the high-end toiletries the OP had taken. Posters were up in arms on her behalf… and then it transpired she’d helped herself to three big 500ml bottles. Still some posters were outraged - I guess this was before it was the norm to provide refillable bottles instead of individual ones, but still - do people really snaffle the big bottles?

EatMoreChocolate44 · 23/07/2026 13:17

They are being ridiculous and it is also so so bad for the environment. Lots of hotels have now moved from mini bottles to big static bottles. YANBU

LostThestral · 23/07/2026 13:15

WeirdyBeardyMarrowBabyLady · 23/07/2026 13:11

To those who say it’s unhygienic do you bring your own soap to wash your hands in public loos? Soap is always communal there.

no because no one else can generally get into the dispenser

I've heard awful stories of men depositing extras in places they shouldn't for a laugh

I would think OP's dispensers are perfectly fine though as
you can't just unscrew the top

WeirdyBeardyMarrowBabyLady · 23/07/2026 13:11

To those who say it’s unhygienic do you bring your own soap to wash your hands in public loos? Soap is always communal there.

LostThestral · 23/07/2026 13:09

loislaneloves · 23/07/2026 08:02

They are pump bottles and they are sort of ‘locked’ into a shelf in the shower like you might see at a hotel.
I travel a lot for work and see this set up in fancy hotels all the time. Can’t remember when I last got those individual little bottles of plastic landfill.

if they are fixed then I don't think it's a problem but if loose I would think twice about using them. People do all sorts of weird things

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 23/07/2026 13:08

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 13:02

How do wash your hands at work/in public?

There's a lot less chance that someones going to have had time in a public toilet to get it off the wall, open the container and have a wank into it then there is is the privacy of an airbnb

Andshesoffatatrot · 23/07/2026 13:06

You have the hygiene fanatics - people rip out bathrooms in houses just because they are 'used'. Honestly posh hotels have this all the time.

You can't please all the people all the time OP, I'd not try to.

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 13:02

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 23/07/2026 13:01

I'm another who wouldn't use them, I always take my own toiletries with me for that reason.

The problem for me is that I don't know what's in them. Has the host cheaped out and replaced them with something else, with different ingredients, or have they watered them down.

Or more concerningly, has a previous guest been able to access them. There's some sick fucks out there, and while the chance is unlikely, theres always a possibility that someone has opened them up and spat, pissed or jizzed in it as some kind of sexual fetish.

I'd rather not take the risk.

How do wash your hands at work/in public?

Bigcat25 · 23/07/2026 13:02

Just stayed in an air bnb and they also had giant pump bottles. I was just happy they were provided. It's not unhygenic unless you think someone would tamper with them which is very unlikely. It isn;t shared food so |I don't see the problem.

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 13:02

Simonjt · 23/07/2026 12:57

I’m not concerned about a soap dispenser, I never have been and I have never claimed to be, so why are you saying I am worried about a soap dispenser?

I’m not a giant toddler smearing my hands everywhere 🤣

My Mistake

VimesandhisCardboardBoots · 23/07/2026 13:01

loislaneloves · 23/07/2026 08:05

Im Baffled. Why?
What do you do in fancy hotels and restaurants that have expensive hand wash and toiletries in pump dispensers?
I’d never even contemplated they could be seen as unhygienic!

I'm another who wouldn't use them, I always take my own toiletries with me for that reason.

The problem for me is that I don't know what's in them. Has the host cheaped out and replaced them with something else, with different ingredients, or have they watered them down.

Or more concerningly, has a previous guest been able to access them. There's some sick fucks out there, and while the chance is unlikely, theres always a possibility that someone has opened them up and spat, pissed or jizzed in it as some kind of sexual fetish.

I'd rather not take the risk.

KilkennyCats · 23/07/2026 13:01

Simonjt · 23/07/2026 12:42

I had beem replying to a poster who refuses to touch communal soap dispensers, but is happy to route around in their bag for some soap after using a public toilet. I thought it was odd that someone would be happy to put dirty hands in their bag and all over their belongings in the name of hygiene.

Ah, ok. Fair enough.

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 13:01

My mistake

shhblackbag · 23/07/2026 12:57

I'm the same as PP. I don't use them and always bring my own. But I wouldn't take stars off a review.

TheBluebird · 23/07/2026 12:57

ThisISmycircusandtheseAREmymonkeys · 23/07/2026 11:58

There is no point. They have a right to think what they think, and 4 stars is hardly bad.

Besides, most people read reviews carefully, and it would be up to them to decide if they find it ridiculous or not. If they don’t then it’s simply good and useful information.

The OP said that they weren't specific in the review, just complained about hygiene. The details about the shower gel weren't in the review but emailed separately.

Simonjt · 23/07/2026 12:57

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 12:53

yes, but in that 45 minutes you will have possibly touched your previously dirty bag, handles, your face, walls/doors/tables, other people, cutlery, menus, handrails etc.... then you haven't washed your hands for 45 mins+, then you sling your dirty bag on your back, go to toilet touching more dirty things, wash your hands and then immediately touch door handles, maybe your bag, other people, hand rails etc etc

But you're worried about a soap dispenser pump, and that's a germ too far?? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Edited

I’m not concerned about a soap dispenser, I never have been and I have never claimed to be, so why are you saying I am worried about a soap dispenser?

I’m not a giant toddler smearing my hands everywhere 🤣

ByTheSeas · 23/07/2026 12:56

I was reading something a while ago, maybe Dr Mark Porter in The Times who said the dirtiest part of a shared sink/ loo is the taps, and the door when you leave the room.

People tend to turn taps on with dirty hands before washing their hands. That's the old style that are not activated automatically.
That's why when drs scrub up they turn the tap off with their elbow or get someone else to do it.

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