How much to expect to be included within a holiday cottage?

[luckysdadsway]

We are currently away for 7 nights in a beautiful holiday cottage. We paid £2000 for the week.

Little things have really irritated me. There is a dishwasher for example but not a single dishwasher tablet included, a washing machine but no wash tablet, a fancy coffee machine but not coffee pods for it. No washing up liquid, the only bin bag included was the one in the bin. For a family of 5 for the week, one bin bag wouldn't be enough!

The instructions clearly say leave as you found it. I'm happy to do that, but surely if they want me to clean then they'd at least provide a dish cloth and some surface spray? Perhaps I've been spoilt in the past, however I'm sure even a haven caravan we've stayed in had a little cleaning bundle with a dish cloth, washing up liquid etc.

What would you expect to be included at that price point?

If it didn’t say they were included then I guess they have no obligation to leave them but everything is getting so expensive but generally service is getting worse and it’s awful. £2000 is so much money that £5 worth of stuff would be so appreciated wouldn’t it? I would most likely mention it politely in my review and hope they got the hint.

I find AirBnB much better for finding bits like this left. Older cottage websites' places are more likely to clear out every scrap of what previous guests left behind, which is so irritating.

You're not even asking for them to supply these things, just to leave what previous guests have left behind rather than clearing it all out..Some of these places must be binning oil, washing up liquid etc very regularly.

I bring things like DW tabs, teabags, loo roll everywhere.

The tightness is definitely more a feature of UK holidaying IME. We have just come back from Germany, stayed in a 4 star hotel and were told we could have limitless wine and beer in the evening, evening snack food and desserts that were provided in a separate bar, dining area and soft drinks all day or hot drinks from a coffee machine, biscuits in packets and fruit that we could collect ourselves using the key to access this room. We didn't know any of this before arrival, it isn't an all inclusive as more like a city break. DH and I were saying back home you'd have to be in an exclusive hotel for £1000s for those offerings as a perk.

We go back to the same cottage a few times a year and whilst there is nothing too fancy (no dish washer or coffee maker for example) there is always been an abundance of cleaning products / cloths / bin bags. Which we rarely touch.

We always have a food delivery the day we arrive and I'll buy a cheap antibacterial spray, washing up liquid, extra toilet rolls, kitchen rolls etc (spend about a tenner) and we leave the surplus.

I bring a few washing tabs, a few black bags, a clear recycling bag and other odds and sods from home.

We also pay a lot less for this cottage.

That’s all a bit odd and never had that in much cheaper properties -

apart from one bin bag which if there is recycling available should be enough surely - perhaps that’s a different thread

it’s annoying about the coffee pods as they’re hard to take with you as different machines use different pods and nespresso, for example, aren’t that easy to order (in small quantities for a week).
I’ve found myself scanning and enlarging photos of accommodation to see what machine it is and therefore whether the pods we have at home would fit.
What it effectively means, though, is that you just can’t use the machine.

We are a couple and typically get a cottage once a year, usually a different one.

We pay £500 to £600. All of those things bar coffee machine are usually included.

We have had welcome baskets include homemade marmalade, cakes, luxury crisps and locally made chocolates.

Having been caught out in the past. I always take a couple of spare loo rolls, olive oil, washing up liquid, cloths, anti bac spray, dishwasher tabs, tea and coffee as a minimum. But often all or many of these things are provided but I would hate to be caught out.

Experiencing this right now too

I have an Airbnb and given it’s the kind of place people come to on public transport for the weekend I provide all the consumables my guests might need for the whole stay. I’d hate to think they’d wasted their holiday time and money having to pick up dishwasher tabs and loo roll particularly when the only options are massive packs that they won’t use or will have to drag home. I provide
A bowl full of various Nespresso pods, a jar full of coffee, box of tea, 5 types of flavoured teas, hot choc, enough milk for coffee and cereals, slab of butter, chilled water, oil, herbs and spices, cupboard full of loo rolls, full box of washing powder and conditioner in the laundry, tub full of dish tabs, all the cleaning products, rolls of bin bags by each bin. Also new toothbrushes and toothpaste, Nurofen, face wipes, sanitary products in the bathroom for anyone who forgets theirs.
This costs me about $10 NZD a stay which is a tiny amount compared to how much people pay and how much more they can enjoy their stay. No one has ever stolen stuff or filled their suitcase and I get amazing reviews.
We didn’t put our cottage with a management company because they all refused to keep these stocked up so do it all ourselves as it’s not a compromise I’m willing to make.
I think all these should be provided as standard in all holiday homes tbh. You pay enough!

For those saying they don’t know what coffee machine is provided- in fact any of the things mentioned- why not just contact the owner (all the OTAs have a messaging system) and ask?
I regularly get messages from guests asking about stuff. Dutch guests in particular always ask about the coffee machine! I don’t mind- it’s my job!

But that doesn't solve the problem of sourcing pods for a machine that doesn't match yours at home. For instance, you can only order Nespresso pods in multiples of 50 and I'm not going to do that when I'll be left with loads left over.
Anyway, it's not a deal-breaker (for us) as we're not massive coffee freaks. A jar of instant would do for the duration.

£2000 for a week is a LOT. I wouod definitely expect all the bells and whistles. I would be furious. Leave a review saying what you think. The most we have ever paid for a week SC was £1400 and that had everything including bottle of wine. Usually owners leave some nice things , but at that price you expect the works. Where is the cottage?

In the last place we rented, 2 weeks ago, they left copious amounts of loo roll, nice towels, bathrobes for the hot tub, 2 bottles of local cider, but only enough milk for one person’s cereal. No coffee tea. They did, however, leave lots of logs for the hot tub/woodburner. They used the standard Airbnb blurb re leaving basic cooking supplies (oil, salt, pepper), but no oil. Multiple spices, tho.

Because I had to buy bigger mugs on arrival elsewhere (they had teeny ancient cups), I packed our usual cups, a cafetière, pre-ground coffee from our supplies plus our favourite glasses having encountered either pint glasses or massive tumblers.

Given the prices, I think owners should leave basic cleaning products, washing up liquid, particularly if there’s a septic, plenty of loo roll, milk, oil, hand soap, a few dishwasher tabs. I can understand why they might not leave lots of stuff, because I imagine some people might just take it home!

Sounds great and most of us don’t abuse it either, my kids would love that and it would be like a little mini adventure / part of our routine every day to go get a drink and small snack, it’s the sort of thing that makes you return. We do lodges in the UK mostly because I have an autistic child and it’s easier but in 8 years we’ve noticed such a decline in everything, even cleanliness isn’t what it used to be. I remember arriving years ago at a lodge that had a small box of chocolates from a local chocolatier and I told everyone! I thought it was such a lovely touch and left a glowing review. These things matter but then I suppose I’m not a business owner so I don’t know how much their margins have been squeezed. But £2000 for a week is a lot, it seems unlikely that a small gesture would kill their profit.

I stayed in one recently that had very little provided and a few quirks in the property that I think were probably dangerous. I also think the description was not entirely accurate. The strange thing is previous customers had left reviews sharing their views on how the property was lacking but I didn't see them because I booked via Airbnb but the property was hosted by another organisation similar to Airbnb and that's where the negative reviews were. I hadn't thought to look at those reviews. The Airbnb reviews were positive but there's were very few reviews.

We left the washing up liquid and hand soap we bought but somehow I think the next guests won't see them.

Only thing you can do is leave a review so next guests are pre warned

Its annoying when you have no idea if anything will be provided or not. I stayed in a cheap holiday cottage in Penzance earlier this year (500 per week) and they provided everything I could need incl dishwasher tabs, washing up liquid, cleaning supplies, toilet roll, salt, pepper and olive oil, a pint of milk in the fridge and even some scones and clotted cream! I didnt expect any of it so was a nice surprise! In contrast, I'm staying in a caravan in Dorset at the moment and absolutely nothing is provided other than a single toilet roll in the bathroom.

Yes, I definitely agree on that, it wasn't abused, people had what was a reasonable amount in the evening. That was something my teen enjoyed doing, going to get her soft drink and snack especially after a swim. It was hot for us though early 30s so more soft drinks were bad than food. The food was tasty casseroles to snack on but given the temperatures a majority had very small portions. The desserts in the evening were mini Apple strudels, cheesecake etc. loads of sweets in jars to take freely like cola bottles but again nobody really had much of that.

We did lodges in UK regularly since my eldest was born in the 00s and definitely a decline in things provided since COVID id say. I think if you are paying what the OP is you'd think the owners would appreciate there is an expectation with that price.

Washing up liquid, sponge and cloth, and one loo roll as a minimum. Plus bins lined with bin bags.

On holiday I pack:
Wooden spoon
Frying pan
Oven tray
Foil
Loo roll
Kitchen roll
Dishwasher tablets
Washing up brush, sponge, dishcloths
Hand towels
Tea towels
Laundry liquid
Washing up liquid
Bin bags
Knife
Vegetable peeler
Salt pepper vinegar chilli powder
Oil
Milk
Frozen veg(keeps milk cold)
Some of it lives in the suitcase all year.

I left behind a bottle of oil this year as taking it home is more trouble than it is worth.

Self catering places usually have cleaners lined up so I put the bin bag out and strip the bedding if asked but I am not prepared to do much more. Some years ago we stayed in Canterbury and the owners lived nearby. The man usually called and had a coffee with us that he had provided and his point of view is his guests are on holiday and so they should relax .He called in to see if anything was needed. He and his wife had got tons of kitchen items as they had done a big list of what people would want . . .Sadly he has sold his holiday flats and spends his time now going on holiday, he was the best host and he loved to hear where we had been each day.

I am in a holiday cottage now. This one is lovely and has everything we have needed though we are only here for a few days and only cooking very basic things, but it does vary. Earlier in the summer we returned to a place we stayed last year where nothing was provided (no tea/ coffee, nothing to wash up or clean up with) but this year they had improved and everything we needed was there and a welcome pack including nice biscuits and wine, so, even if you have been there before, it’s hard to know what to take. I don’t drive so we travel by train and I have to carry everything for 3 of us, so can’t bring extra cleaning products and toilet rolls etc just in case or carry them home if I had to buy them there.

It does make me roll my eyes a bit when the handbook to a holiday let bangs on about the need to leave it clean, and then there are no cleaning products. Frequently there's no dustpan/broom and the hoover is locked away. Same with the bins - detailed instructions on managing bin day and taking out waste on the day of departure, but no spare liner.

And I completely agree that owners' meanness brings out my meanness. If I've travelled by car and had to pick up washing up liquid, bin liners etc you bet I'm taking every scrap of it home with me.

We stayed in an air bnb once and we were the first guests. It was obvious they had no experience of running, or even staying, in a self catering accomodation. It looked like they had furnished it from Facebook market place of things people were giving away free.

I left a polite and quite long list of basic stuff they needed....like bedside tables and a corkscrew!

If I were an owner, I'd be buying hand soap etc to actively avoid leftover half bars of soap etc!

It just creates a tidy up job that isn't needed.

I have made myself a holiday cottage box though - everything I would stock a holiday cottage with, ready to just put in the car. Everything from a tin opener to salt to oil to bin bags to ketchup.

ETA - I did used to clean holiday lets as a teen, so it might be where this comes from!

YANBU. Incredibly stingy of a self catering cottage.