Is this unhygienic?!

@loislaneloves I think covid has a lot to do with this. She's probably still wiping down her groceries.

There is unless you wash your hands carefully.
The soap dispenser is the first thing people touch after using the loo.

Why is this unhygienic. Its no different from using hand soap dispensers. I don't get it. Sorry.

How ridiculous. Can you appeal to get her review removed?
I hope you left her a negative one. Small toiletries are a waste and bad for the environment as you've said. Don't let them stay again.

With regard to the "individual use" bottles.
A few years ago we had a family trip to Eurodisney and each room was provided with individual "Mickey Soap", "Donald Shampoo", etc. all with the Disney characters on them.
One morning we were leaving our room and the cleaners were starting their shift and left a trolley out in the corridor whilst they were sorting out a room.
As soon as they disappeared a family came out of their room and ransacked the lot off the trolley !

There is no risk from soap dispensers in shared spaces. It's fine to use.

We stay in some 5* holiday homes and most do what you do.
Pump bottles, some attached so they can't be removed and some not, but just refilled. Many of the places we stay in use ceramic or glass bottles and refill them.

I do see what she means - sort of- because after using the loo if the first thing you touch is the top of the pump dispenser when you wash your hands, it may not be germ-free. But then you are washing your hands!

However, providing smaller bottles (as some posh hotels do) is a waste of plastic and most people will take them home anyway.

At the same time, I take my own shower stuff- Molton Brown 30mls bottles that I refill from my larger ones at home.

That is ironically very unhygienic! Alcohol sanitisers do not kill viruses like norovirus. Soap does! Even soap from public toilets 🤣

Ridiculous
The little bottles are a waste of plastic and they're often too much for one night but not enough for two nights so the toiletries get wasted.
Take a photo of the toiletries and include it in your listing
What on earth does she do when she goes to the toilet in a pub / cafe/ work?

My first thought was that no, don't really like shared toiletries. But then I remembered I'd just come back from somewhere that had shared pump bottles in the shower and I'd used the body wash without a thought about it. So I guess I don't care after all.

I admit I don't always use the soap dispensers in public toilets though. I use water then sanitise afterwards.

It sounds like you do a lovely job managing your air B and B with great care OP. I'm sure the guests appreciate it.

Tbf some hotels still do the miniature ones - husband just brought back a little bottle of l'occitane from a hotel stay that I was very happy with!

So did the reviewers put their reasons in their review or just took a star off and private messaged you? If its the former then others will look at the review individually and make their own minds up. Personally, I look at the low ratings first and often have seen that the reasons are petty or inconsequential to me so I ignore them. You are rightly very proud of your rating and before long, if people are aware of the method of dispensing the toiletries 🙄then hopefully your ratings will get back up there in time.

It’s the norm in £500 a night hotels as well!

• Airbnb does not regard shampoo and conditioner as mandatory
• If you buy ceramic bottles they will simply get nicked.
• If you don’t provide s & c and they’re not listed on your amenities then no one can complain

She either has no idea about what's hygienic, or she wanted freebies to take home.
Probably the latter.

Ok then the note could say that single use toiletries are available and just ask - but still make the point that they don;t encourage use due to environmental reasons. Most people won;t bother to ask.

sorry, I didn't see your earlier link.
Well I stand corrected then. Apologies.

What does she do when she’s washing her hands in public toilets, other people’s houses, toilets at work?!

I feel that if you are that particular about sharing soap, you need to bring all of your own toiletries, or ask in advance, exactly what is provided.

But then people would use the toiletries provided in the pump but take the individual use ones with them when they go. OP would be paying for two lots.

do those who think it's unhygienic think people have a shower and then somehow scrape the shower gel off their bodies and put it back in the bottle. Nuts!

Not so much a snob, more a weirdo

Sure.
Washing your hands, with ANY soap for a minute or so is unlikely to matter too much if it dries out your skin, smells wrong, is different from that you are used to, or even that which you are being informed it contains.

Washing your hair in the shower takes longer, can irritate your scalp, dry out your hair etc (similar for body). So I take my own stuff... because no matter what a (refillable) bottle says on the outside, you do not know what is on the inside.

Not insinuating the op has bad morals in any way - I know some people do.
Aesop may be on the outside of the bottle. Tesco saver might be on the inside.

I have had thoughts about what could have been done with opened toiletries in accommodation I've stayed in. I know it's an irrational me problem so I wouldn't downgrade a review for it but I definitely have a preference for mini individual toiletries.

You'll never please everyone OP.
Just look at some of the hysterical replies because you do the same thing a hotel does.
People like to say the opposite of perfectly reasonable things to be controversial. I'm sure some are serious and difficult individuals offline as well as on here.

Mumsnet has a way of weeding out some of the most bizarre individuals worldwide. Hands down.

I literally just stayed in a Marriott that had large pump bottles by the sink and in the shower - didn't even cross my mind that it wasn't hygienic - because it wasn't!

I think what she meant to write was: “l wanted to takeaway Aesop mini bottles but l don’t have the stones to take a big bottle”. Nothing unhygienic about the set up you have described on here