Is this unhygienic?!

[loislaneloves]

I have an Airbnb on my property. It’s basically a tiny home at the bottom of our large garden with an amazing view. Most people come for the weekend by train and I don’t want people to spend their holiday shopping for stuff like coffee, tea, milk or having to cram suitcases full of toiletries or beach towels so I provide all of those. I also provide a little evening snack (crisps usually) some wine to watch the sun set on the deck with and fruit from the garden and a croissant and jam for breakfast. People love it and I make it quite clear on my ads that these things are provided.
Just got a review from a couple who stayed with us a few days ago. They gave us a good review but took one star off and in her private message to me she said ‘We loved our stay with you but we weren’t very happy that the toiletries are in big shared bottles rather than individual use. This is obviously very unhygienic (we don’t know who has used them!!) so we had to make the trip to buy some for ourselves which was an expense and effort we weren’t expecting’.
To be clear I offer Aesop Shower Gel, Shampoo and Conditioner in the shower and Aesop Hand Wash by the sink in 500ml bottles. They get replaced when empty which is usually about every 10 months
AIBU to think this is not unhygienic?!

It’s lovely that you do all that but I can see her point. I wouldn’t like to use toiletries that past guests have used before

No they’re being daft. They don’t have to share them if they feel that way. I recently went to an air bnb and they had big pump bottles of body wash, shampoo and conditioner - I thought it was a great idea!

Perfectly normal in my book! All of that waste (and cost) if you bought individual's. Maybe include a photo of them in the listing?! Curious as to what makes them unhygienic 🙄

Can you put a wall dispenser like in a hotel or do little refill bottles, both of which can be filled out of a normal bottle? It isnt unhygienic per se but might feel a little odd and like using someone else's toiletries. They had the option to take their own and I think they were unfair to remove a star when it was their choice not to use as provided.

Your little extras sound lovely.

It’s normal for this to happen in hotels too. She’s being ridiculously fussy.

I think loads and loads of hotels now do large bottles attached to the wall that they top up rather than individual shampoos and hand wash.

So for me I wouldn’t use them either sorry 😔. But having said that I wouldn’t have removed a star from the review because of it. They could easily pack little toiletries which is what I do? Maybe you can offer those instead if it’s worth it?

I don't understand how it's unhygienic? It's also perfectly normal in my experience.

Not remotely unhygienic. What nonsense.

plenty of hotels provide large bottles of toiletries attached to the wall in the shower, next to the sink etc. I really don’t see what the problem is. I suppose if you were going to provide fresh every time the best way to do that would be to provide a solid bar of soap that’s wrapped in paper. To provide new toiletries in little individual bottles every time would be incredibly wasteful and awful for the environment.

They are pump bottles and they are sort of ‘locked’ into a shelf in the shower like you might see at a hotel.
I travel a lot for work and see this set up in fancy hotels all the time. Can’t remember when I last got those individual little bottles of plastic landfill.

Also, Aesop is extremely generous of you.

Taking a star off is ridiculous. I always bring what I know I'll want and anything nice to use at the place is a bonus.

It's absolutely idiotic. Presumably she takes a bottle of hand soap with her to use in public toilets too.

Why not, if you don't mind me asking? Past guests have only touched the outside of the bottles (which can be washed if you prefer). I can't see how this is different to using a new bottle that's been handled in shop/warehouse etc by multiple people.

Genuine question, because I'm a pretty germ-averse person and often squeamish about things that others wouldn't think twice about, but this wouldn't bother me at all.

We all have our own personal foibles. If yours is not using shared toiletries, surely you would just bring your own?

It’s a very normal hotel set up. And expecting individual toiletries for a weekend air BnB is weird imo. She should book a fancy hotel if that is what she requires.

Not unhygienic at all, maybe they're concerned that previous guest might have added things to the bottles? I would get some small travel bottles to decant into op. Nice label maker to mark the bottles.

Im Baffled. Why?
What do you do in fancy hotels and restaurants that have expensive hand wash and toiletries in pump dispensers?
I’d never even contemplated they could be seen as unhygienic!

The shared use happens in hotels and on cruise ships, so she’s being fussy. I wonder if she carries her own hand wash so that she doesn’t have to share in public loos

It's quite normal in hotels to have them in a dispenser rather than single use bottles.
If you're staying in a hotel or B&B you're effectively in a communal space anyway. 100s of people have slept in the bed, laid their head on the pillow and sat on the toilet. Yes the bedding is washed and the toilet cleaned between use but still...I think she's being very precious.

Sounds like your set up is perfect to me. She’s batshit.

How is it "unhygienic"???

A bar of soap, sure. But liquids??? You're not using something that has been on another person's body!

Some people are quite bonkers.

Please, someone who thinks this is unhygienic explain exactly WHY

Having large pump bottles sounds perfectly normal and I'd be very grateful and wouldn't think twice about using them.

I want to come and stay at your Airbnb now!

It’s not unhygienic

people use large bottles of mayo and ketchup in restaurants, that isn’t unhygienic either - and that’s being ingested.

using shampoo from a larger bottle isn’t any differ from having a smaller container and refilling it each time a guest leaves