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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:
loislaneloves · 23/07/2026 08:12

I’m definitely NOT offering individual bottles due to the plastic waste and product waste.
I clean the place myself and I am proudly meticulous. The bottles get cleaned in an antibacterial spray between guests anyway.
Im devastated as we work really hard to ensure our guests have a nice time and my 5 star rating ive held for a year has now dropped to 4.8.

OP posts:
Didimum · 23/07/2026 08:11

An idea OP – decant shower gels/shampoos/conditioners into opaque reusable pump bottles. Then no one will be able to tell.

Sartre · 23/07/2026 08:11

I don’t understand how it’s unhygienic at all. Does she think people get the full bottle and rub the pump all over their genitals or something? I seriously don’t understand. It’s perfectly usual for hotels to offer large pump bottles rather than tiny individual ones which are awful for the planet anyway. She’s being ridiculous.

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 08:10

chirrupybird · 23/07/2026 08:09

It would be nice if you wiped the bottles over with disinfectant between guests, for dirty hands otherwise fine. I guess they are used to hotels where you get the little individual bottles.

And work? Cafes? Public toilets?

OvernightBloats · 23/07/2026 08:10

This is a classic case of, 'You can't please everybody all the time.' They are being ridiculously fussy and I would read their review and just think that they are demanding twats.

If they want this kind of attention to detail, pandering to their individual tastes, then they should fork out the money for a very, very expensive hotel with concierge service.

PatioDwellers · 23/07/2026 08:10

No different from most hotels I've stayed in, the little individual bottles seem so wasteful. That's a bizzare reason to take a star off. And if I was that worried about it I'd travel with my own toiletries. Maybe add a picture of the big bottles to your listing so it's clear (with a subtitle saying that for environmental reasons little bottles aren't used) (for weirdos).

SnowFrogJelly · 23/07/2026 08:10

Of course it’s not unhygienic! Most Airbnb do this

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 08:10

BMW58 · 23/07/2026 08:06

How is it "unhygienic"???

A bar of soap, sure. But liquids??? You're not using something that has been on another person's body!

Some people are quite bonkers.

Please, someone who thinks this is unhygienic explain exactly WHY

Why would sharing SOAP be unhygienic? It's soap ....

Like it literally cleans 😂😂😂

Pinksalamanda · 23/07/2026 08:10

jeaux90 · 23/07/2026 08:06

Sounds like your set up is perfect to me. She’s batshit.

Yes, this does sound idillic. If you’re brave enough to share a link (or some details about where you are) I’d love to check it out!

chirrupybird · 23/07/2026 08:09

It would be nice if you wiped the bottles over with disinfectant between guests, for dirty hands otherwise fine. I guess they are used to hotels where you get the little individual bottles.

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 08:09

The PPs who wouldn't use the toiletries.

How do wash your hands when out at places like cafes, shops, work and public toilets etc?

Didimum · 23/07/2026 08:08

It’s not unhygienic to me (or factually, I’d imagine), but the perils of running an Airbnb mean you have to accept this sort of this. Just graciously move on.

Limer · 23/07/2026 08:08

Your guest is wrong, it's not unhygienic.

MagpiePi · 23/07/2026 08:08

NorrisToenail · 23/07/2026 08:04

Not unhygienic at all, maybe they're concerned that previous guest might have added things to the bottles? I would get some small travel bottles to decant into op. Nice label maker to mark the bottles.

Who goes to the trouble of adding things to bottles of toiletries? That's one twisted imagination you've got there...

Oscillating · 23/07/2026 08:08

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

How do you cope in public toilets?

Or hotels?

Or work?

Yetanothername3 · 23/07/2026 08:07

Well hotels provide the same in pump bottles, so I do not see what is wrong with your offering. I strongly suspect that your place gets cleaned far more thoroughly than a hotel room anyway.

TourdeCrema · 23/07/2026 08:07

It’s not unhygienic

people use large bottles of mayo and ketchup in restaurants, that isn’t unhygienic either - and that’s being ingested.

using shampoo from a larger bottle isn’t any differ from having a smaller container and refilling it each time a guest leaves

MagpiePi · 23/07/2026 08:06

Having large pump bottles sounds perfectly normal and I'd be very grateful and wouldn't think twice about using them.

I want to come and stay at your Airbnb now!

BMW58 · 23/07/2026 08:06

How is it "unhygienic"???

A bar of soap, sure. But liquids??? You're not using something that has been on another person's body!

Some people are quite bonkers.

Please, someone who thinks this is unhygienic explain exactly WHY

jeaux90 · 23/07/2026 08:06

Sounds like your set up is perfect to me. She’s batshit.

amylou8 · 23/07/2026 08:06

It's quite normal in hotels to have them in a dispenser rather than single use bottles.
If you're staying in a hotel or B&B you're effectively in a communal space anyway. 100s of people have slept in the bed, laid their head on the pillow and sat on the toilet. Yes the bedding is washed and the toilet cleaned between use but still...I think she's being very precious.

PersephoneParlormaid · 23/07/2026 08:06

The shared use happens in hotels and on cruise ships, so she’s being fussy. I wonder if she carries her own hand wash so that she doesn’t have to share in public loos

loislaneloves · 23/07/2026 08:05

Yogafiend · 23/07/2026 08:00

So for me I wouldn’t use them either sorry 😔. But having said that I wouldn’t have removed a star from the review because of it. They could easily pack little toiletries which is what I do? Maybe you can offer those instead if it’s worth it?

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!

OP posts:
NorrisToenail · 23/07/2026 08:04

Not unhygienic at all, maybe they're concerned that previous guest might have added things to the bottles? I would get some small travel bottles to decant into op. Nice label maker to mark the bottles.

WhatAMarvelousTune · 23/07/2026 08:04

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.

It’s a very normal hotel set up. And expecting individual toiletries for a weekend air BnB is weird imo. She should book a fancy hotel if that is what she requires.