More are my guests being unreasonable?

[stayathomegardener]

I run a holiday cottage in the UK, sleeps 4 and is next to our house.

Currently have two guests staying so provided the usual 4 bath sheets when they arrived yesterday.
I received this message this morning:

Hi T*,do you have some hand towels and face cloths that you could leave for us. We will leave bath towels outside for you after use for washing and return if that's ok as we use clean towels each night,thanks."

The hand towels and face cloths are not an issue I can give them some of ours and perhaps should consider providing them anyway but daily washing/drying two bath sheets is that reasonable?

For full disclosure the listing states that there is use of a washing machine next door (in our house) and I always say to guests just let me know if you would like me to put any washing on for you.
Tempted to say help yourself to it but really don't want to have to let them in here (tidy up!)
I have yet to respond...

Out for the day now so will read later but all very interesting.

Love the virus transmission facts and the suggestion to just tumble dry and hand back; do you suppose I should Fabreeze them first?

Are people actually being serious about not using fresh towels every day?

Are you???
You wash, you are clean then you dry yourself.
Water on the towel is clean.
What a waste to wash towels after one use, surely you are joking

OP please don't febreeze
That stuff would make my DH really ill triggering his eczema

TBH you offer to wash so they politely have requested this.

If you provided a washer then fair enough.

I would just stick on a quick wash or supply more towels.

Bath sheets are a huge pain.

I'd supply smaller bath towels.

I always say to guests just let me know if you would like me to put any washing on for you.

Which they have done, they’d like the towels washed.

I am currently in a guest cottage with family and we’re staying 3 nights. No way would we expect fresh towels in that time! Our cottage owner has cleverly given us all a set of different colours - face, hand and bath towels and we can happily air these knowing which are our own. I don’t particularly like drying my face with a towel that may have been used to dry another’s genitalia 😂!

@Pinkyyy - have you considered the environmental impact of washing towels EVERY SINGLE DAY!? That's why most hotels and holiday homes only change towels once or twice a week. The detergent is bad enough, let alone the electricity, and SO unnecessary.

I would expect a bath towel and hand towel per person in self catering, bath sheet would be a bonus. It would also be good to have an additional hand towel in each bathroom or toilet and maybe the kitchen. Definitely wouldn’t expect face cloths or flannels and probably wouldn't use them if provided.

I wouldn't expect them or bedding to be changed if staying up to a week, maybe for a longer stay.

I'm buying the detergent and paying for the electricity, so I'll use it as I please. I'm not about to leave damp towels lying around and I'm not about to dry myself on anything other than a fresh, clean towel.

these guests don't like things to be tumble dried

WTF? How high maintenance! If they want clean towels every day (unnecessary and wasteful) they don’t get to dictate how you dry them.

I would provide hand towels and bath sheets but say you don’t provide face cloths, you are happy to give them clean towels twice a week (unless blood/poo etc) and tumble dry the towels. That’s more than reasonable.

@cloudyinjune don't worry I was joking, I wouldn't do either of those things and have never used Fabreeze before.

When we went away for a few nights last summer, there were two bath sheets in the property. No handtowels or other smaller ones.

This meant that after the first shower, we didn't have any dry towels, as one was necessary to put on the floor, as there wasn't a bath mat/I didn't like the idea of leaving the floor wet & slippery and the other was used by DP first, then I used it for body and hair - they didn't dry overnight, either, so we couldn't dry our hands after washing them (well, apart from the public toilet convention of wiping them on clothes, that is).

I don't think it's unreasonable to have dry towels each day in your circumstances.

Are people actually being serious about not using fresh towels every day?

Are you seriously suggesting towels can only be used once? That's just silly.

As for your 'leaving damp towels lying around' comment, I suggest hanging the towels up to dry. My towels are dry when I next use them.

Try it - ease yourself in gently: use two or three times before washing.

Send them directions to the nearest launderette CFs

where is your place op.sounds really lovely.

Uh-oh, is this going to turn into another epic battle between the legwashers and non-legwashers?

I have never had clean towels given to me in a self-catering place unless I stayed for more than a week. Washing towels every day or even every other day is environmentally irresponsible.

OP I think your wording however was not clear enough so you may need to suck it up this time but I would change it in future to say you will change towels towels once in the week (mid week) or be clear that towels are only changed in stays of a week or more. You can direct them to a laundry service if they want them washed more.

I would also not offer my washing machine or at least charge for each wash - a nominal fee - say £5.00-£7.00 a load. It will make people think before they ask for daily washing to take place but give them an easy option if they need some clothes washing etc as a one off mid week..

I have to say that if my host offered to wash my things for me, and then I found a MN thread she had started in which I was described as a CF for asking her to wash my things, I wouldn't be giving her place 5 stars.

Send them directions to the nearest launderette CFs

Depends where you are. Our nearest laundrette is about 40 miles away.

We’ve done a far amount of self catering in UK and Europe. Most times it was one bath towel and one hand towel per person, with a change of other as part of mid week ‘service’ - waste bins emptied, towels changed, quick hoover and wipe round.
Some places there was a hand towel and bath towel pp with no ‘mid-week change or other service’.
In a few there was only a pre-ordered at extra charge ‘linen pack’ (one hand one bath towel pp and bed linen) it’s no midweek service. You could save money by bringing your own towels and linen.
Some places would have a washing machine, most wouldn’t.
So lots of variation with provision, but never a clean towels daily change outside of a hotel, and even then a notice encouraging re-use to minimise environmental impact.
IMO it’s important that your clients know I advance what is offered, so you need to be absolutely clear in your booking details what is offered, to avoid this sort of situation arising.

I have a holiday cottage- for 6. I provide a bath sheet and hand towel per person per week, plus a hand towel in each bathroom, a kitchen towel and 6 tea towels. Plus all bedding. I give a change mid way if the stay is longer than a week.
There is a washing machine.

The clue is in the name: "self catering". Not "hotel ".

OP: I would consider getting a cheap washer off eBay or Facebook sellers and putting it in (perhaps in an outhouse if there isn't room). Most families won't book without one in my experience.

Very wasteful of them- one big bath sheet would do me the whole week! But you have offered a washing service so are going to honour that now really. Maybe provide smaller bath towels in future for people with no care for the environment to use.

When you pre-book towels somewhere like a Haven caravan, you get one hand towel & one bath towel per person for the length of your holiday. So that's all I'd expect to receive in a holiday cottage too. But ...

I always say to guests just let me know if you would like me to put any washing on for you.

I think you've made a rod for your own back with that statement, if they are used to clean towels every day, you've offered to do their washing for them so I'm not surprised that they asked.

Okay so I googled it

someone's done a study on towel washing in hotels

Hand towels and bath towels are standard.
Daily towel change would be expected in a five star hotel, not a holiday cottage.
I would reply

' Thank you for your message. We are very happy to provide hand towels and face towels, they will be with you today. Towels are generally changed on a weekly basis on changeover day, on this occasion I am very happy to launder them for you mid week. I hope you are enjoying your stay. Best wishes Stay'