To switch to miniature toiletries

[HolidayLetter]

I have always provided naice hand-soaps, shower gels etc in large (refillable) bottles, but have recently been toying with the idea of switching to hotel-style miniatures on the grounds that I was always very excited by miniature soaps in the olden days, when I went on holiday rather than providing them. However, I'm now thinking that this might irritate some guests on environmental grounds. AIBU to switch to miniatures?

Of course you're being unreasonable! All that single-use plastic is hugely irresponsible from an environmental perspective. Do you not have any appreciation of the need for us all to avoid using so much plastic?

Big waste of plastic. I wouldn't

These are bad for the environment.

Do you mean house guests or do you run a business?

I much prefer using refillables in hotels, as there’s no excessive plastic waste or waste of half empty small bottles. Also, with arthritis in my wrist it can be hard opening tiny lids.

Massive waste of plastic!! I'm sure there are places where you can buy loose miniature bar soaps if you wish.

Unanimous so far, then!

I do appreciate that, BIWI. I have been recycling plastic bags for 30 years (not the same ones, obviously ), so I'm an old hand at the environmental stuff. However, I also want to give guests what they want.

And if they overwhelmingly don't want single-use plastics, that's fine by me.

Um. Still unanimous, then.

Purple, I run a business (have done for 25 yrs, so pre-Air BnBloodyB).

Pineapple, I have found some paper-wrapped small hand soaps, which I had been going to buy in bulk. I was wavering about the shower gels etc, though.

Mini bar soaps could be ok if you can find some without plastic packaging.

I wouldn't want to share a large bar soap with previous guests though.

Soon, that's a very good point about arthritis (fellow sufferer in wrists and elsewhere, unfortunately).

Not really clear, do you mean in your bathroom? If so you are unreasonable. If you mean in a business, less so, but still not very environmentally friendly.

I am assuming you run a holiday let?

We have stayed in dozens of self-catering places across the UK and I wouldn't expect shower gel, lotions or other toiletries. Yes to soap in the loos and kitchen though.

Sorry, cross post.

Spidey, sorry for the lack of clarity. I mean in properties that I let out happy with my manky bars of Imperial Leather at home

Mini soaps and shampoo bottles etc always seemed wasteful to me. You never get to use everything before they go in the bin when you go home.

PS I own a holiday let, all I provide is a bog standard size of handwash in both the bathroom and kitchen, otherwise guests bring their own.

Thank you, Pineapple. Very useful to have feedback from someone who stays in holiday properties!

I agree with pineapple. I wouldn’t expect toiletries in a holiday flat.

That's interesting, Spidey. Mine are possibly slightly different, in that they are at the 'alternative to boutique hotel' end of the spectrum, so guests tend to expect a hotel-type experience (for half the price of the hotel next door - and I don't blame them!)

Yeah, you can put small plastic bottles in the recylcing, but they aren't going to get recycled (too small for most processing plants). YABU!

I knew I could rely on MN to tell me I was BU, if that's what I was being.

What guests expect will probably depend on where they're coming from I think! Based on my own experience, if I'm travelling to somewhere in the UK in the car, I'd pack my own shampoo/shower gel/conditioner. But if I'm flying to the US/Australia/South Africa then I really wouldn't want to have to pack those things, so having them provided would be a real benefit to me. Obviously you can (and we have) go out and buy your own, but it's annoying to have to buy big bottles of stuff you're not going to use during your stay.

I've just stayed at a naice boutique hotel - they had bottles of posh shower gel available in a holder in the shower and I appreciated that, I care about the environment more than the idea that someone else might have touched it with their naked body nearby. They had single handsoaps in cardboard boxes too. I wouldn't bother with shampoo and conditioner unless you can source luxury ones.

I agree with pineapple. I wouldn’t expect toiletries in a holiday flat.
I would expect soap, either ias bar or handwash at a sink in any property

I would only provide a small bar of soap in the bathroom and the kitchen.

We stayed in a hotel recently and there were 6 small bottles of shampoo, conditioner and showergel (2 of each), plus toothbrushes with miniature toothpaste tubes, and 2 plastic wrapped combs. We had packed our own wash-kits anyway, so I donated all the hotel toiletries to the local homeless shelter. At least they were appreciated there.

The cleaner at the hotel told us that the toiletries, even if unused, would be thrown away after our stay, which seemed like a colossal waste of money, not to mention all the single use plastic involved.

We have our own villa we let out, and I tend to provide a large bottle of shampoo and shower gel - up to people if they want to use it. However, we went to an apartment to stay recently, and they had wall mounted push button dispensers in the shower which I really liked (until I accidentally pulled it off the wall). I am really tempted to go down that route now. I have having to hold a bottle when i am in the shower - much easier to push a button and shampoo and gel comes out