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?!

Ok then the note could say that single use toiletries are available and just ask - but still make the point that they don;t encourage use due to environmental reasons. Most people won;t bother to ask.

She either has no idea about what's hygienic, or she wanted freebies to take home.
Probably the latter.

• Airbnb does not regard shampoo and conditioner as mandatory
• If you buy ceramic bottles they will simply get nicked.
• If you don’t provide s & c and they’re not listed on your amenities then no one can complain

It’s the norm in £500 a night hotels as well!

So did the reviewers put their reasons in their review or just took a star off and private messaged you? If its the former then others will look at the review individually and make their own minds up. Personally, I look at the low ratings first and often have seen that the reasons are petty or inconsequential to me so I ignore them. You are rightly very proud of your rating and before long, if people are aware of the method of dispensing the toiletries 🙄then hopefully your ratings will get back up there in time.

Tbf some hotels still do the miniature ones - husband just brought back a little bottle of l'occitane from a hotel stay that I was very happy with!

My first thought was that no, don't really like shared toiletries. But then I remembered I'd just come back from somewhere that had shared pump bottles in the shower and I'd used the body wash without a thought about it. So I guess I don't care after all.

I admit I don't always use the soap dispensers in public toilets though. I use water then sanitise afterwards.

It sounds like you do a lovely job managing your air B and B with great care OP. I'm sure the guests appreciate it.

Ridiculous
The little bottles are a waste of plastic and they're often too much for one night but not enough for two nights so the toiletries get wasted.
Take a photo of the toiletries and include it in your listing
What on earth does she do when she goes to the toilet in a pub / cafe/ work?

That is ironically very unhygienic! Alcohol sanitisers do not kill viruses like norovirus. Soap does! Even soap from public toilets 🤣

We stay in some 5* holiday homes and most do what you do.
Pump bottles, some attached so they can't be removed and some not, but just refilled. Many of the places we stay in use ceramic or glass bottles and refill them.

I do see what she means - sort of- because after using the loo if the first thing you touch is the top of the pump dispenser when you wash your hands, it may not be germ-free. But then you are washing your hands!

However, providing smaller bottles (as some posh hotels do) is a waste of plastic and most people will take them home anyway.

At the same time, I take my own shower stuff- Molton Brown 30mls bottles that I refill from my larger ones at home.

There is no risk from soap dispensers in shared spaces. It's fine to use.

With regard to the "individual use" bottles.
A few years ago we had a family trip to Eurodisney and each room was provided with individual "Mickey Soap", "Donald Shampoo", etc. all with the Disney characters on them.
One morning we were leaving our room and the cleaners were starting their shift and left a trolley out in the corridor whilst they were sorting out a room.
As soon as they disappeared a family came out of their room and ransacked the lot off the trolley !

How ridiculous. Can you appeal to get her review removed?
I hope you left her a negative one. Small toiletries are a waste and bad for the environment as you've said. Don't let them stay again.

Why is this unhygienic. Its no different from using hand soap dispensers. I don't get it. Sorry.

There is unless you wash your hands carefully.
The soap dispenser is the first thing people touch after using the loo.

@loislaneloves I think covid has a lot to do with this. She's probably still wiping down her groceries.

I’d take a photo of what’s provided and add it to the site.

TBH many people will read that review and discard.

People have very different opinions when it comes to hygiene and what is hygienic. My mother has IMHO mysophobia, it dominated my childhood and is incredibly restrictive for her. It’s not particularly rooted in science either. She wouldn’t use shared items, she’d also say that ‘people’ could put ‘stuff’ into the bottles. One sibling is similar, the rest of us, very rebellious in that regard.

So you wash your hands and rinse them, then dry them. It's not unhygienic.

No, the flush handle is and hopefully you also touch it after using the toilet. And of course you should be washing your hands very carefully after using any toilet.

I don't poop in public toilets. I flush with a fresh piece of toilet paper. I cover my hands with my sleeve before touching the tap. I don't like the idea of everyone's poopy hands all over that stuff. Works for me.

For reference, in some public loos the soap and water dispensers are now 'action sensitive' so you just put your hands under the one for soap and as if by magic the soap comes onto your hand- without touching anything. Ditto for the water and hand dryer.

I suspect the guest's comment may have not been directly about germs but instead a twee way of hinting that someone (a man) may have relieved/pleasured themself into the bottle (if it wasn't in a locked unit). Less opportunity for this in a cafe or hairdressers, so I don't think germs on shared bottles is the real issue.

I must admit, before the OP clarified, I thought she was referring to a communal bottle of Radox shower gel, which has been the star of many an A&E X-ray.

But agree with PPs about this being unlikely Everyone knows it's the TV remote control that looks like a plasterer's radio under a blue light!

Saw this in France this week at a snail farm. I would love one!

You should be washing your hands carefully anyway

Er... thats nonsensical.

It's a plastic bottle. You object to touching a plastic bottle that someone else has touched?

So if you go to a restaurant do you take your own knife and fork and plate?