Holiday cottage etiquette

[unlikelychump]

We are staying in a holiday cottage, never done this before. Staying 3 nights and this is our last one. We brought things with us like tea towels and washing up liquid but it was nice to find them here when we arrived. Also laid out was posh coffee, biscuits, milk, OJ and bucks fizz. We've had the OJ and milk but not the rest. There were two loo rolls. We've finished one in the downstairs loo and so there is between 2 bathrooms. 5 of us. We asked the hosts for another, they said no "it was a starter pack". It feels like we have breached the etiquette by asking.

I'm now questioning whether we are not supposed to use the other stuff... Or replace it.

Feels strange as I'd much have preferred 3 loo rolls than a pack of biscuits... I feel like going back and trying to trade :)

It is quite an upmarket cottage, lovely decos and beautifully done.

(Obviously I should have bought more loo rolls, I didn't remember it, before you all pile on my for my cheap habits)

What do you think?

Have I understood that correctly? You use one entire roll every time you have a bowel movement? How on earth do you need that much? 😱

we stay in loads of cottages, what you find upon entering is a gesture of good will. The food is usually a welcome basket that doesn’t need to be replaced, just leave behind anything you’ve not used. After the initial 2 loo rolls though you are expected to provide your own. It’s a self catering cottage not a hotel.

we stay in loads of cottages, what you find upon entering is a gesture of good will. The food is usually a welcome basket that doesn’t need to be replaced, just leave behind anything you’ve not used. After the initial 2 loo rolls though you are expected to provide your own. It’s a self catering cottage not a hotel.

We have a shepherds hut type thing that we rent out on Airbnb. Because it's rural and no shops in walking distance, we usually leave 2 loo rolls for a weekend stay, 4 for a week, it only sleeps 2 guests. Nobody has ever requested more, I guess I'd probably give them an extra roll if they did, but also let them know where the nearest village with a convenience store was, because it is a self catering place rather than a hotel. That said, if they were leaving like a day later, I'd probably give them the one roll and let it slide.

We leave guests a pint of milk in the fridge, tea bags, a few coffee pods for the nespresso machine, cooking oil, salt and pepper, clean dish cloth/sponge and a fresh kitchen roll, we usually also leave some biscuits or a cake from the farm shop, but everything else guests need to bring with them. Loo roll feels a bit basic to not be something you provide as a host at least to an extent, but if you're, erm, a heavy user, maybe bring some spares!

This

For two bathrooms I would expect a roll and a spare in each one and would then expect to buy my own.

It’s a self catering cottage, you have to provide your own.
Most hosts will provide tea, coffee, sugar and a pint of milk, packet of biscuits as a welcome gesture and a loo roll in each bathroom. I wouldn’t expect them to provide anymore than to get you started.
Ive been staying in cottages for 20 odd years

The whole point of self catering is that you self-cater. The clue is in the name!

You are meant to bring everything yourself. Anything the host provides is them being thoughtful and a bonus - with the possible exception of a loo roll or two to get you started.

In practice, many hosts do provide basics like tea, coffee etc, but it shouldn't be assumed. Nor do you need to replace anything you use.

The starter pack is yours to keep. Anything on top of that eg more loo roll you buy.

The other stuff is a welcome pack the owners leave you. Every holiday cottage I've stayed in we had to buy own toilet roll.

I take everything, toilet rolls, dishwasher tabs, soap, washing up liquid, as you never know what's provided. I once stayed in a lovely cottage but there was only one bottle of liquid soap for the whole place. Any food left out is for you to use.

It's self catered. I'd take what we were going to use for however many days we were staying-tea towels, tea and coffee, bread, toilet rolls, wine etc

If they provide biscuits, that's an added bonus.

Self catering…. You bring your own food and your other supplies.
Anything provided on arrival is an added bonus.

You sound slightly obsessed with people’s lavatory-paper usage. It’s not a lot.

Stayed in loads, and would hope for the loo roll that is currently in use, and one spare per loo. Expect handwash or a soap. Expect washing up liquid and a pan scrubber or cloth of some sort, and definitely prefer new. IRO of OP, I don't think there is anything wrong in asking (etiquette wise), equally, don't think anything wrong in them saying no. What I don't expect - washing machine materials or anything else really. Usually find it very useful if there is stuff in the cupboard (salt and pepper, cooking oil) or even more, teabags, spices etc. but I can imagine this causes an odd reaction in some people. The nice farmyard basket of local produce, biscuits, bread, milk and a bottle of wine is always going to win some over. Diverting from the main subject a bit, my fave experience recently was actually in Romania when we booked a two bed apartment in a massive unattractive looking block near Brasov for 2 nights (for fairly cheap) once you got over the appearance of the place from outside, it was fab, and they guy had not only provided the full run of cleaning materials, washing machine stuff, plenty of loo roll, tea bags and coffee, but in the fridge was a bottle of water, milk, a bottle of coke, a bottle of juice, some beers and ciders, some snacks and biscuits. We left it immaculate, and helped massively by all of the cleaning materials on offer.

I think it's a bit tight to provide only 2 loo rolls. I wouldn't expect to have to go and do another shop if I was only there for 3 nights. I think they could have given you another.

I would expect one spare roll for each toilet - it sounds really tight of them not to provide it.

Oh that's interesting. I bet you're right. We've had more AirBnBs lately and been generously supplied. AirBnBs also seem to be more inclined on the whole to leave you bits and bobs like open bottles of oil, washing up liquid, shower gel etc.though as guests I guess we only ever see a tiny sample of properties.

There is no etiquette. I’ve experienced everything from one roll to enough to last a couple of weeks. You just have to deal with what you find.
I have a holiday cottage and offer all the consumables the whole group will need for the whole stay as most people arrive by public transport, eat out and I don’t want people to feel they have lug toilet paper etc around or do a shop for washing up liquid or coffee etc. I get my reward in reviews!
Two toilet rolls seems very tight. How much is a pack of 6 seriously compared to how much you are spending? Having said that many hosts don’t want to have piles of toilet rolls sitting around as they take up space and some worry they are going to be misused or overused.
The welcome pack is yours to take

If you've chosen to go self-catering, you're self-catering - regardless of how long you're staying there.

Presumably you don't expect them to have left enough food for you for three days' worth of meals for everybody, just because you aren't staying for a whole week?

I think a lot of people are approaching this from the wrong angle. You're self-catering, which means that you bring/buy all of your own groceries and items such as toilet rolls, shampoo etc.

Out of kindness - because they know that people will often arrive and need to go to the toilet first thing, as well as likely being in an unfamiliar place and thus maybe won't know where the local shops are - they provide a small amount for the first hour or so; to enable everybody to have a wee, unpack, settle in and then go to the shops for what they need (if they haven't already brought everything with them from home).

It's much better to think of it as an emergency amount, with any extra being a bonus - rather than expecting to not have to go to the shop for more at all (when you buy your food) whilst you're there.

I get that it's a bit trickier to rationalise when they leave nice but absolutely not essential (or even wanted) things as a welcome pack; but that's part of the experience, and the kind of thing that will look like they care and be mentioned positively in reviews. Bog roll is 'meh' and not likely to impress or delight people, even if they left a huge 24-pack... which a great many people would just nick anyway when leaving, telling themselves that 'we've paid for it'.

If you use one entire roll per poo, you must realise that that's far, far more than average (no judgment) and thus routinely take a big stock with you, or otherwise stop off at the local supermarket just before you get there?

Just like we always check very carefully in advance if they have any bedding with feathers in, owing to an allergy; whereas most people - with nobody in the party with a similar allergy - would neither think nor care to ask as the 'norm'.

I run a holiday let and am on a national forum for owners / managers where these are common topics. The "Welcome basket" is a marketing practice if you like, part of the experience, and legally it's considered to be included in the cost. Rules for holiday lets in the UK are complicated, and it's not always clear what's law and what's advice. The UK self-catering trade body PASC tends to be cautious re liability as the law is sometimes unclear and subject to different interpretations by local councils. Here is their PASC Guidance on welcome baskets Natasha's Law re allergies - you should not leave any food/drink that's been opened and that's not clearly labelled.
Alcohol cannot be provided in the welcome basket without a licence.

Re loo rolls and other consumables, self-catering is a different offer from hotels; if you want to be provided with everything you need on a day to day basis then a hotel provides that, while self-catering is a "home from home". The property and furniture is there for you to use, but all consumables you buy, just as you do at home. I provide one or two rolls per loo so they're not caught short on arrival, then they can pick up what they need with their food shop. We are close to shops.
I do provide plenty of dishwasher tablets, some laundry detergent, tea towels, and cleaning supplies, but this is not industry standard and I tell guests beforehand what is provided, so they don't have to bring stuff unnecessarily. My thinking is that these things come in big packs so it would be a faff for them to go out and buy a pack then have leftovers to take home in a crowded car. Providing cleaning supplies and decent vacuum etc is in my interest as helps them look after the property!

My bookings mostly come through an independent agency which specifies what we should provide, including kitchen equipment and consumables. I found this very helpful when setting up.

This ‘out of kindness’ ‘as a goodwill gesture’ thing is disingenuous IMO. It’s economics - competition, supply/demand etc.

No but I expect the basics: loo rolls, salt and pepper, cooking oil, tea, coffee and sugar, maybe milk. We stayed in one in Spain and it was a pain to go and buy a bottle of olive oil for a few nights and then leave it there as didn’t want it in the suitcase.