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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think there should be more than one toilet roll in a holiday let?

110 replies

LastToBePicked · 18/06/2023 08:09

We’re staying in an Airbnb for the weekend. It’s a nice well equipped flat, though we had to bring our own towels and bed sheets - which is fine, we were warned and it’s very reasonably priced.

However this morning the loo roll has run out, and there are no spares.

AIBU to think providing just one loo roll in holiday let us unreasonably stingy?

Or should I have predicted this and brought my own toilet roll for a weekend away?

OP posts:
WolfFoxHare · 18/06/2023 20:07

Oysterbabe · 18/06/2023 09:19

£1100 is not very much for a holiday house for a week. I just paid more than that for a caravan.

Yeah, £1100 for a week in a holiday let big enough for 7 people is not expensive! We paid £1800 the week after half term for a 2 bed apartment in Cornwall and I thought that was really well priced! Often we pay around £2k. And I absolutely don’t expect more than ‘starter’ washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs, washing tabs etc. Or loo roll for that matter.

Bromptotoo · 18/06/2023 20:14

My thought in self catering is along the lines of key word being self.

I'd hope to find enough toilet paper to last 24-48 hours from arrival. We've spent a lot of time holidaying in an area in Scotland where the (Christian) Sabbath is 100% observed so arrive late Saturday and no shop for bog roll until 08:00 Monday.

More generally, I think SC is a Self Help environment. If something like bog roll, WU liquid, cooking oil or washing powder is there but you finish it you get some more and leave it for the next residents.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 18/06/2023 20:15

Dh and I once arrived at a holiday let with 2 loos - and no loo roll! And I was bursting for a wee. Thank goodness there was a shop a short walk away - dh was sent immediately on an errand of mercy.
Yes, I did complain to the holiday let company. Not good enough!!

amicissimma · 18/06/2023 20:17

If I had to bring my own linen I would strongly suspect a shortage of loo roll.

But, in a general holiday rental, it drives me mad when there's no spare loo roll. It's bulky so a nuisance to bring or fetch from a local shop. Just charge an extra £5 and give us one roll per person per week, plus some hand soap, washing up liquid (a third of a bottle per week is fine) and salt and pepper. And, if there's a dishwasher, a tablet per day.

Passthecatspaw · 18/06/2023 20:23

WolfFoxHare · 18/06/2023 20:07

Yeah, £1100 for a week in a holiday let big enough for 7 people is not expensive! We paid £1800 the week after half term for a 2 bed apartment in Cornwall and I thought that was really well priced! Often we pay around £2k. And I absolutely don’t expect more than ‘starter’ washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs, washing tabs etc. Or loo roll for that matter.

This isn't a thread about how much my holiday cost. It's about minimal supplies in self catering properties. I'd be happy to help you find a holiday in inland Northumberland in late November for less than you paid in another place at another time of year of you want 🤦‍♀️

You might be fine with a label telling you not to take a half bottle of washing up liquid home, I think it's ridiculous.

speluncean · 18/06/2023 20:23

It's self catering though? I'd expect one per loo and to have to bring my own or buy at a shop locally.

EmeraldFox · 18/06/2023 20:26

LastToBePicked · 18/06/2023 19:58

Sure, I was just pointing out that for us one full roll would normally be ample. To have finished a roll I guess either it wasn’t a full roll or else something happened when the DC were with the babysitter.

Oh, I see. I guess it was a leave the started roll for the next guests as a courtesy kind of set up.

Youknowaboutthepaint · 18/06/2023 20:33

I would expect more usually but if I'd had to take towels and sheets I'd have taken loo rolls too.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 18/06/2023 20:34

I would probably expect there to be the one in use and a second as a back up, but no more. For a week's holiday I would expect to buy more, along with other provisions, the same as they may provide enough tea bags, milk and biscuits for your first cuppa on arriving . It's the providing your own bed linen and towels I would find unusual - only place I've ever had to do that was Pontins !

CabbageKale · 18/06/2023 21:02

One thing I absolutely hate is when there is a bottle of Fairy, and a bottle of hand wash at the sink, but there is only a dribble in the bottom and the bottle looks used. Obviously just filled up from a large bottle which has been taken away.

If I'm paying 2-3k for a week in a cottage I expect the owners to have left more than 5p worth of Fairy liquid!

Absolute cheapskates!!

WolfFoxHare · 18/06/2023 21:03

Passthecatspaw · 18/06/2023 20:23

This isn't a thread about how much my holiday cost. It's about minimal supplies in self catering properties. I'd be happy to help you find a holiday in inland Northumberland in late November for less than you paid in another place at another time of year of you want 🤦‍♀️

You might be fine with a label telling you not to take a half bottle of washing up liquid home, I think it's ridiculous.

Presumably people have stolen it in the past and they don’t want that to keep happening. I’ve stayed in some
nice hotels which have big bottles of
Molton Brown toiletries - there’s usually a little sign somewhere saying if you walk off with them, you’ll get billed. I don’t get my knickers in a twist about it. And if you’re going to talk about how expensive and luxurious your holidays are, don’t be surprised if other people point out it’s not much money at all.

Passthecatspaw · 18/06/2023 21:13

WolfFoxHare · 18/06/2023 21:03

Presumably people have stolen it in the past and they don’t want that to keep happening. I’ve stayed in some
nice hotels which have big bottles of
Molton Brown toiletries - there’s usually a little sign somewhere saying if you walk off with them, you’ll get billed. I don’t get my knickers in a twist about it. And if you’re going to talk about how expensive and luxurious your holidays are, don’t be surprised if other people point out it’s not much money at all.

Take about missing the point... The washing up liquid costs probably £1, so in the context of £1100 (which is the only reason I mentioned the cost), it's a tiny expense to replace, but it's so small minded.

Your point about me 'talking about my expensive and luxurious holidays' did make me laugh though, the comparisons were very amusing, but also very MN Grin

WaitingForSunnyDays · 18/06/2023 21:21

In many of the large self-catering companies in France it's absolutely standard to have either no loo roll or just one. And, no cleaning supplies, dishwasher tablets or washing up liquid. Also to pay extra to hire linen. Which is a pain, but once you know you just deal with it (roll of loo paper and tablets in luggage, and quick trip to the nearest supermarket for cheap everything else!) I think it's because the vast majority of people are driving from elsewhere in France or northern Europe and are used to just sticking all that in the car.

WolfFoxHare · 18/06/2023 21:51

Passthecatspaw · 18/06/2023 21:13

Take about missing the point... The washing up liquid costs probably £1, so in the context of £1100 (which is the only reason I mentioned the cost), it's a tiny expense to replace, but it's so small minded.

Your point about me 'talking about my expensive and luxurious holidays' did make me laugh though, the comparisons were very amusing, but also very MN Grin

You literally called it a luxurious house. And I’m not missing your point, I’m disagreeing with it. I think stealing from both cheap and ‘expensive’ rentals is tacky as fuck, you seem to think it would be fine because you’d spent a whopping £1100. Do you honestly think because you’ve spent £1k on a week’s holiday, it’s ok to take stuff from the house?! And if not, what’s your problem?

Havanananana · 18/06/2023 22:20

"In many of the large self-catering companies in France it's absolutely standard to have either no loo roll or just one. And, no cleaning supplies, dishwasher tablets or washing up liquid. Also to pay extra to hire linen... I think it's because the vast majority of people are driving from elsewhere in France or northern Europe and are used to just sticking all that in the car."

For context - In some European countries, property rentals fall into various categories and various tax brackets. Where I live in Europe (not France) "Private Rentals" are strictly for the accommodation only - any landlord providing towels, linen and "supplies" risks being classified as a "Commercial Rental" and being charged for all sorts of license fees, taxes and certifications. This all originates from the days post-WW2 when farmers began renting out spare rooms and turning outbuildings into dorms and later into apartments, and hoteliers were keen to make sure that these did not become too attractive and take custom away from the hotels. In some places, "Commercial Rentals" are banned in residential apartment blocks, but "Private Rentals" may be allowed depending on any covenants and local by-laws.

As for loo rolls, having in the past managed a number of holiday rental apartments, I can confirm that very often guests take anything and everything with them when they leave, including the extra loo rolls, dishwasher tabs, washing-up liquid, towels and odd items of cutlery - "just a knife and spoon for the journey home." [But I always made sure that there were at least 2 rolls for a weekend let].

Vitriolinsanity · 18/06/2023 22:36

If I knew I had to bring linen, I'd chuck in a spare loo roll too.

On a side note, a loo roll lasts at least a week in each of our loos.

KingofCats · 18/06/2023 22:51

Ugh. Hate this. Had half a loo roll in a holiday cottage once. 3
adults staying 2 nights. Night one at midnight on a Sunday in rural area we discovered there was no spare and I was having a very heavy period. I do bring loo roll if I’m staying somewhere for a week but for some reason a luxury cottage for a weekend it wasn’t on my radar. Not even I did message the women and she said it was a mistake and she would have normally left one per night.

notesbookspapersmemos · 18/06/2023 22:59

We stayed in a gorgeous holiday cottage a few years ago. Stunning views, great location, beautifully furnished, high quality linens, a lovely welcome basket of tasty goodies.
It had a traditional visitors' book for guests to write their comments in. A few years before someone was VERY cross about what they considered an inadequate supply of loo roll and it was the only thing they wrote about. At length. Some of it in CAPITALS. They came across as a complete knob.

Almost every person in the subsequent years, as well as commenting on how lovely the place was, picked up the thread and it turned into a running joke including quite complicated maths, averages and probability calculations.

I'm sure the OP isn't a knob and if they felt there really was an issue to be fed back to the owners they would do it privately.

Bayleaf25 · 18/06/2023 23:09

Huga · 18/06/2023 08:12

How many of you are there? Surlwy one roll would be enough for a weekend?

I'd expect there to be spares though.

You obviously haven’t been away with me family!

mayorofcasterbridge · 18/06/2023 23:22

Sux2buthen · 18/06/2023 08:20

🤣🤣barely enough for a day in this house

The comment made me laugh!! I swear to god someone is eating the damn stuff! There's five adults living here and I have a severe bowel condition but I'm sure we easily go through 2 a day (Cushelle or Andrex not own brand even!!)

I think there should have been more than one. I always pack a couple wherever I am going because the idea of being left with none brings me out in a rash!

mayorofcasterbridge · 18/06/2023 23:23

Vitriolinsanity · 18/06/2023 22:36

If I knew I had to bring linen, I'd chuck in a spare loo roll too.

On a side note, a loo roll lasts at least a week in each of our loos.

😁😅😂I wish!!!

Bunny44 · 18/06/2023 23:30

I Air b&b my house and provide practically everything! I'd feel weird about letting it out without sheets, towels etc... probably why I have only 5 star reviews though.

It doesn't cost that much to provide toilet roll, although it has surprised me how much some people have got through at times!

Bunnybeeee · 19/06/2023 07:09

If I'm expected to take all that, I might as well save the money on the hotel and take a tent 🤣

Winchester100 · 19/06/2023 07:18

But it’s self catering. That means they don’t cater for your shopping. You’re expected to provide your own food, so when you go shopping you buy the things you need, surely.

I own a pretty high end holiday let and we leave two toilet rolls per bathroom, but I’d be happy with one.

I once stayed in a self catering apartment in Portugal that didn’t leave a single toilet roll, owned by British people who surely understood that, having driven from the airport at midnight, you may not have had opportunity to go shopping. I gave the place a good review but was lambasted for mentioning it needed toilet roll.

knittingaddict · 19/06/2023 07:27

We usually stay in holiday cottages using airbnb and cottages.com. We've been doing that for 40 years and have never had to take our own towels and sheets. I know it was a thing donkeys years ago, but I haven't seen it advertised in a very long time.

I would personally avoid it as I think it would indicate a lack of customer service. I would also hate having to make my own bed on a precious weekend away.

One loo roll sounds about right for a holiday let that doesn't supply other essentials.

I hope it was very cheap.