Self catering welcome pack - yes or no?

[Malteser71]

So I’m wondering about our holiday let in Cornwall and ether it’s worth continuing to provide a ‘welcome pack’ of goodies.

It generally costs us about £15 per changeover. We include tea/coffee/milk/sugar/biscuits and crisps.

Thing is, when I’m a guest myself, I dont drink tea and I don’t take sugar. Lots of people have food allergies/intolerances.

What do you all think? Do you appreciate these welcome gifts on arrival? What goods do you like ?

Personally having stayed in glamping/air BNB places ... little welcome hamper with biscuits etc. is very welcome but all I am actually invested in is the tea, coffee, milk and maybe basic cooking stuff like oil, salt and pepper.

This was my recommend. The Tassimo machine has tea pods as well.

Not anymore. A couple of fruit teas perhaps but not English breakfast, Earl grey etc.

No thanks, I don’t want cheap shitty coffee or teabags from a catering pack. I bring my own supplies.
I would be happy with scones with jam & clotted cream if I was renting a Cornish holiday home.

I wouldn’t do it if you are at the low end of the market, but if you have a decent margin then yes - a nice thing. Milk, bread, butter and a packet of biscuits is enough though - and you can ask if they are vegan and get alternatives if they are. Tea and sugar could surely just be in a dispenser that just gets filled up, and if they are that picky they don’t have to use it. This shouldn’t cost so much, even if you are buying local.

I love some sort of welcome gift but we don’t drink tea or coffee and I’m not sure crisps are very luxurious.
I’d rather a £6 bottle of Prosecco in the fridge or a breakfast pack as an optional extra. Somewhere we’ve stayed a few times include breakfast items but ask you to tell them if there’s anything you don’t want so it doesn’t get wasted

We appreciated scones, jam and cream on arrival at our Cornwall cottage ..there was enough to make a pot of tea too but not full packs. We thought it was a nice touch. At other cottages have been left a home made loaf and once a bottle of wine. All appreciated.

It's always nice after a long drive, to have tea and coffee available, however, could you not just do a little "emergency pack" type thing? Maybe just a couple of tea bags and a couple of coffee and sugar sachets? Maybe some of those little pods of milk? Or just pop a pint of milk in the fridge? Would that work out any cheaper? Also, id imagine people with allergies would bring they're own variety of milk/tea/coffee. I wouldn't expect my holiday land lord to cater for my every dietary need.

Thanks again everyone. Such varied opinions.

Some want prosecco, some definitely don’t. It’s impossible isn’t it?

What about, 2 pints semi skimmed in the fridge, coffee pods, supply of tea, sugar, oil, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar.

Plus toilet roll, a few dishwasher tabs, bin bags, washing up liquid?

Oh and biscuits!!

I love them, wine , nice biscuits or cake, chocolate or sweets for the kids, milk in the fridge and a fruit bowl. Tea coffee, and sugar should just be as standard in the cupboard along with oil , salt pepper etc.

coffee pods, supply of tea, sugar, oil, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar.

Plus toilet roll, a few dishwasher tabs, bin bags, washing up liquid?
None of these are “welcome pack items , just bog standard items that should be in a holiday cottage.
A welcome pack is the “luxury” extras.

I don’t mind if there isn’t one. I like washing up liquid, some dishwasher tabs, loo roll, oil, salt and pepper and tea towels. I wouldn’t drink Prosecco and always take my own milk, tea and coffee. A welcome packet of Cornish biscuits would be nice.

Yes- a welcome pack is always such a sign of good hospitality and the children get so excited over them

You see my problem.

The last two posters could equally be my guests.

Personally I’d like milk, filter coffee and a Cornish cream tea. However my experience of this as a guest is that the scones tend not to be very fresh and in fact I’ve thrown them away.

I wasn’t suggesting that salt and pepper was in the welcome pack, just that it should be there.

I’m not that thick!

£110 for the clean?!

I like everything in your post from 00:09, apart from the herbs, which I think most people would sort for themselves and can be a bit specific.

As a PP said, they’re sort of basic items.

Then you can offer an optional say, breakfast hamper or afternoon tea hamper with various goodies.

Sorry, which would be chargeable

I always feel grateful when there is a small carton of milk in the fridge - only needs to be 1 pint. Otherwise, the essentials for me are:

Tea bags
Bin bags
Dishwasher tabs
Washing tabs
Washing up liquid
Olive oil
Loo roll (1 per day of stay)

I think self catering places should have all the above as standard, but sadly many I’ve stayed in haven’t.

The couple of times I’ve been given a proper welcome pack has really stayed with me. At an air bnb in Kent we were given a lovely hamper of local products - sourdough loaf, apple juice, biscuits, honey etc. Must have easily cost £15. The whole house was well cared for and beautifully decorated so the hamper was an extension of that. It was such good value too. I’ve recommended it to many people!

Hmm. Talking with no experience here! I assume with sugar sachets etc you can't reuse if untouched cos covid?

I love the biccies etc. Only drink coffee and never enough!

If they meet someone when they arrive? Then they can get asked preferences and have a bespoke pack... Makes people feel super special and saves giving stuff that won't be used.

Or.
Have 3 standard packs.
Like. Tea coffee and bics. Mineral water and crisps. Half bottle of wine and some kind of snack.

People love choosing makes them feel special.

Dunno if that helps.

If I could say yay coffee that's all I care about then I'd be dead chuffed to get lots.

I'd take basics with me but I'd appreciate a small bunch of flowers, a bottle of wine or a local pack of biscuits/local delicacy.

I would expect bog roll and at least a bit of washing up liquid dishwasher tabs etc.

We have stayed in a fair few aparthotel type places and they are really important.

You're on hols in a place you don't know. Tronking to supermarket is meh.

Everywhere I've been bog roll, washing up liquid, and 1 or 2 dishwasher tabs and same for washing machine have been provided.

I'd rather have that or even more of that than crisps etc.

Buying washing up liquid on holiday is way more depressing than choosing nice crisps etc. Also those things can be expensive if you go to local shop etc.

A pint of milk is nice, ds and I decaff (dh is not) so we have our "makings" with us as I wouldnt expect to find that.

I'd far rather have enough loo roll and DW tabs to last the week than fancy foods, one of the things we enjoy on holiday is finding local farm shops or similar so we can choose some treats but having to buy a whole pack of DW tabs is annoying.

I think tea, coffee, pint of semi-skimmed (plant alternatives offered) and a pack of local biscuits is plenty.

What I want more than any fancy biscuits and prosecco is a heads up re: what's actually in your cottage so I know what I don't need to bring.

So, if you're supplying milk then let me know because I will have done a shop on the way.

I routinely pack toilet paper, washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs, cafetiere, coffee, tea, sharp knives, oil, salt, pepper grinder, herbs, milk & stuff for the first night and breakfast. If I don't need to bring some of these things then I'd like to know.

I don't know why an inventory doesn't seem to be a routine item. Much handier than a welcome pack.

I don't mind one, especially if it contains biscuits, but I also won't rely on one or miss one.

We always shop just before arriving so I have all essentials like milk with me and I am extremely fussy with tea so I always have my own bags.

But there is something about coming in, seeing some nice biscuits and making a cup of tea while relaxing before unpacking. Often said biscuits also make it into a picnic on a day. out and in more than one case we bought more of the brand to take home with us.

If you do it, keep it to something special. Just milk/tea/sugar is not really anything to brag about and you are getting charged quite a lot for it in my opinion.

Coffee pods - I would advertise it so people can bring their own pods in addition to some you may provide. But I would be vary if you have guests who break the machine and then you have a dispute to get compensation.

I’d love a couple of artisan bits and bobs, especially bread and biscuits. Perhaps some jam.
Some tea and coffee and milk would be nice but doesn’t need to be loads.
I wouldn’t use sugar but some small sachets will probably be helpful for those that use it.