Holiday let without even a tea bag?

[notregistered]

Is this another Covid rule? Really very surprised to arrive to find nothing.. have used this company loads of times and usually get a rather lovely welcome pack.
If it is Covid related... how ridiculous.

It's a Covid thing. We stayed in a cottage recently and it was pretty much stripped bare, had to take our own bedding, towels, tea towels etc. and there were none of this usual kitchen bits that had been supplied previously. But our host did inform us of the changes, so we were prepared.

We've stayed in two holiday lets this summer and they both had welcome packs.

@BunnyLovesBananas

We stayed over somewhere last month and they told us there would be no tea, coffee or milk due to covid

I can understand the tea and coffee - they could well be left with hundreds of unusable tea bags etc - but a pint of milk could surely be provided?

Whatever their policy though, it should have been made clear to holidayers, so that they could make provision for the first few days of their stay, and bring some supplies with them. It's particularly difficult for families with children - it they get held up en route they might have nothing to eat or drink until the following day if there's nowhere close to get supplies.

Really no need for the unfunny snark. The OP might have thought Mnetters might have had holiday letting experiences and have insight into this.

I agree with parps - no need to be snitty - it's a reasonable question.

In a hotel there were no tea & coffee things in the room, this was a week after the end of July so I’m not sure if it’s all back to normalish now.
They said Covid restrictions.

I'd be surprised if the letters didn't make it clear that there'd be no welcome pack and why.

Stayed in a holiday cottage in August - we still got a welcome pack. Sounds like companies are using covid as an excuse.

Are all these places that now don't do welcome packs or where you have to take your own bedding passing their savings on to the customer?

We just stayed in a private holiday let and had tea bags, coffee, sugar, milk and a huge victoria sponge sandwich with jam and cream on a proper cake stand with a cover over it.

This company usually provide tea, coffee, sugar, milk, bread, butter and wine. Often cake. Sausages, bacon.

Is it only the Tea Bags that have pissed you off, or have they failed to stock the kitchen and fridge with the contents of Waitrose?

We stayed in August and the normal cream tea handmade had been replaced by a packaged Sainsburys finest scones, single pots of jam and single pots of clotted cream, the owner said was all due to covid. I don't think there was any tea or drinks at all but we had brought our own.

I can understand the tea and coffee - they could well be left with hundreds of unusable tea bags etc - but a pint of milk could surely be provided? What's the difference? Fresh milk goes off. Unless it was whole milk my DS would drink then it would be untouched by us, I'd only use the coffee myself.

Ours had tea and coffee and a carton of uht milk. Stuff that can be quarantined and brought back out. No games or DVDs, no leaflets etc.

Yes OP it's to do with covid but isn't anything to do with covid because you can't catch it from food and drink and therefore it is a nonsense and Visit England needs to wobble the heads of the people giving out the so-called "guidance".

Just another excuse to reduce the level of service.

Covid restrictions are just an excuse.

And if the company has previously supplied welcome packs as part of the holiday charge, what have they done to let people know that they aren't doing this? Is it on their website?

Alternatively, maybe it's just an oversight.

OP, call them. If it's an oversight, maybe they'll send someone along with a pack.

@Zaphodsotherhead

Are all these places that now don't do welcome packs or where you have to take your own bedding passing their savings on to the customer?

I doubt they're saving because of the increased cleaning. I think it's a small price to pay for a break during the current situation, as long as you know when you book. I had a very late check in (7pm) and early check out (9am), too.

And I know about a B&B where the host makes lovely cakes to welcome people and pastries for breakfast. According to their social media feed, she still is. So if she can. so can everyone.

OP, I can understand that if you usually get one , then you would expect one, and the company should have told you if they are no longer supplied, or the description should be amended etc. We stayed in an apartment and they left us a pint of milk, but that was it, and according to the details they usually leave cake but they aren't currently.

I have a client who is still putting out a full welcome pack, but I know some companies state that it should be fully sealed and no loose items.

If it was a Cadbury's or Mars' welcome pack, you just need to look harder for it. They seem to get smaller each year.

We rented two UK holiday cottages this summer and concluded that the new 'Covid rules' are up to the cottage owners, because each one was differently equipped.

Cottage 1 had no tea bags, no coffee, no sugar, no salt and pepper, no oil or herbs or anything and a shop-bought milk, bread, butter and cake.

Cottage 2 had sugar, tea bags, coffee, home-made cake, and shop-bought bread, milk and butter. No salt and pepper or oil, etc.

This company usually provide tea, coffee, sugar, milk, bread, butter and wine. Often cake. Sausages, bacon.

If this is what the company normally provides, I'd be pissed off too. This stuff is enough for me not to worry about shopping immediately, and I'd have taken it into account with my packing, thinking I had less to worry about.

So I think the sarky comments are unjustified.

One odd thing though, they put in the instructions that if you used a DVD to leave it out so they could wipe down the case, but there were card games and Jenga etc there and no mention of cleaning them. I don't get why one is a risk and the other isn't.....

We had to bag up all the bedding and towels for them and put all of the rubbish/recycling out. They left anti-bacterial handwash and WUL.

We go to a holiday cottage in a couple of weeks. Landlord has sent us the covid rules about the bins, washing up, dirty linens, late check in and early check out and an apology for there being no welcome box of bits.

It's understandable, I suppose!

Due to go to a holiday cottage next week they have said all games, DVDs , cushions, sofa throws, books and food products have been removed from the cottage . Blumming nuisance , means we have to take all those little things like oil, salt, pepper, sugar , tea bags etc that you expect to find.

I really like holiday cottages where there are bits and bobs like tins of tomatoes, packets of pasta, and random abandoned foodstuffs left in the cupboards for you to play Russian roulette with.

I fondly remember the one where there were giant catering tins of tomatoes that were so blown the tops were curved like Easter eggs. We very carefully moved them outside and left them by the bins ( not a commercial let, it was a friend of a friend)

The holiday let I stayed in during the summer had individual sealed teabags, sachets of coffee, sachets of uht milk, coffee machine pods and mini toiletries in the bathroom. Plus a bottle of hand sanitizer.

They said Hoseasons wanted them to strip most things out but they invested in a fog type machine to Fully disinfect and kill all bacteria and virus and a good cleaner instead.

What was it that Thumper used to say?

I know, I know! Ask the letting agent!!!