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?!

Your guest has probably read something like this ....

https://www.smartertravel.com/refillable-hotel-toiletries-safety/

https://www.nine.com.au/travel/hotel-room-bacteria-dirtiest-thing-in-the-bathroom-20260205-p5nztd.html

I have to say I'm not crazy about them either and always bring my own stuff since hotels stopped stocking bathrooms with mini versions.

Mental. She does realise that the shower cubicle isn't re-tiled between stays, right? And that each new incumbent doesn't get their own, box fresh, loo seat? That they're just, you know, cleaned - which presumably the bottles are too as they're part of the shower.

I take a paper towel to open the door.

Some people just like to have something negative to say. No different to many hotels and in fact probably more luxurious given it's aesop! Different if it was a hairy bar of soap 😂

Can you comment publicly on their feedback explaining the set up?

Edit: Sorry forgot to quote you @ThisISmycircusandtheseAREmymonkeys (great user name!)
"Because they can be opened and you don’t know if someone has put something in there I guess.."

Why would someone put something in the shower gel dispenser for the next customer?

Never thought about it really. I always use hand sanitiser before eating, after I've sat down anyway. I have an immune compromised person in my house, so I'm pretty conscientious about that sort of thing.

There is no point. They have a right to think what they think, and 4 stars is hardly bad.

Besides, most people read reviews carefully, and it would be up to them to decide if they find it ridiculous or not. If they don’t then it’s simply good and useful information.

I do favour paper towels but most bathrooms don't see to have them where I go.

It's no different to a large pump bottle attached to the wall of a hotel, she is being precious. I'd include a picture though on your posting so people know to expect a large bottle not tiny individual ones. People can then decide themselves if they want to pack their own toiletries.
I don't personally think it's a big deal and as long as they are wiped down/cleaned between guests I think it's fine. Your little extras sound lovely!

I’ve sadly noticed this too. I hate the dryer fan things.

🙄 I think you are really overthinking this. Do you leave your bag outside the public toilets or do you take it in with you? Bizarre comment

They should've brought their own then...

Do they? Not in the UK they don't.

What nonsense! There’s a very fancy 5 star hotel I stay at when I’m in New York and they have those same Aesop bottles. Or course it’s not unhygienic to touch something that other people have touched. Does she think everything in the room is brand new for every guest?!

Germs are everywhere anyway.
You've got staph on your skin having a blast right now. You've got microscopic arachnids thriving on your eyelashes. There's a colony of bacteria in your body. Germs are not the enemy, they're just a fact of life.
If we were to get sick each time we were in contact with a microbe, we wouldn't survive 10 minutes.

How it unhygienic - it's literally soap??!

I wouldn't expect things like that to be provided (and I'd be v happy if I found Aesop products somewhere I was staying) but I'd be less impressed if I found loads of individually-wrapped things as it's so wasteful.

Person wipes bottom then presses pump to release the soap.

Nothing unhygienic about using a large bottle.
I'd be pissed off that she took a star off your review but messaged you privately to say why. This message would've been better for public view so that other potential customers could see that she'd dropped a star due to a non issue.

I have a couple of top rated Airbnb's and we have started providing Faith in Nature toiletries in pump bottles. We get lots of lovely comments about them. I would simply respond to say that the toiletries are in refillable bottles due to this being more environmentally friendly, and stress the bottles/dispensers are cleaned between guests. We do the same with hand wash - surely guests wouldn't expect an individual hand wash for each stay? Your Airbnb sounds really lovely.

You’d be amazed at what some people do in a bathroom when they are either bored, drunk or think no one will find out it’s them. I say this as someone who’s worked in a hospital, a pub and been a cleaner in a male dominated office environment.

And then washes their hands, therefore washing any transferred germs off their hands.

I’m just back from a stay in a 5* hotel which had refillable dispensers!
A lot of people on MN complain about things being “unhygenic” who clearly have no scientific background or understanding of how infection is spread.

Clue: you can’t get an infection from a soap dispenser or a bar of soap 🤦‍♀️

some people are neurotic. I don’t know how they get through life. I never worry about stuff like this including touching the handles on a public toilet and I’m never ill. I haven’t even had a cold in years

In theory what you're doing is fine OP, but probably wouldn't be keen on using shared stuff, but only because I've read (on MN I believe) that some people, or should I say men, get a kick out of adding certain bodily substances to such containers knowing that others will use them.