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?!

Well hotels provide the same in pump bottles, so I do not see what is wrong with your offering. I strongly suspect that your place gets cleaned far more thoroughly than a hotel room anyway.

How do you cope in public toilets?

Or hotels?

Or work?

Who goes to the trouble of adding things to bottles of toiletries? That's one twisted imagination you've got there...

Your guest is wrong, it's not unhygienic.

It’s not unhygienic to me (or factually, I’d imagine), but the perils of running an Airbnb mean you have to accept this sort of this. Just graciously move on.

The PPs who wouldn't use the toiletries.

How do wash your hands when out at places like cafes, shops, work and public toilets etc?

It would be nice if you wiped the bottles over with disinfectant between guests, for dirty hands otherwise fine. I guess they are used to hotels where you get the little individual bottles.

Yes, this does sound idillic. If you’re brave enough to share a link (or some details about where you are) I’d love to check it out!

Why would sharing SOAP be unhygienic? It's soap ....

Like it literally cleans 😂😂😂

Of course it’s not unhygienic! Most Airbnb do this

No different from most hotels I've stayed in, the little individual bottles seem so wasteful. That's a bizzare reason to take a star off. And if I was that worried about it I'd travel with my own toiletries. Maybe add a picture of the big bottles to your listing so it's clear (with a subtitle saying that for environmental reasons little bottles aren't used) (for weirdos).

This is a classic case of, 'You can't please everybody all the time.' They are being ridiculously fussy and I would read their review and just think that they are demanding twats.

If they want this kind of attention to detail, pandering to their individual tastes, then they should fork out the money for a very, very expensive hotel with concierge service.

And work? Cafes? Public toilets?

I don’t understand how it’s unhygienic at all. Does she think people get the full bottle and rub the pump all over their genitals or something? I seriously don’t understand. It’s perfectly usual for hotels to offer large pump bottles rather than tiny individual ones which are awful for the planet anyway. She’s being ridiculous.

An idea OP – decant shower gels/shampoos/conditioners into opaque reusable pump bottles. Then no one will be able to tell.

I’m definitely NOT offering individual bottles due to the plastic waste and product waste.
I clean the place myself and I am proudly meticulous. The bottles get cleaned in an antibacterial spray between guests anyway.
Im devastated as we work really hard to ensure our guests have a nice time and my 5 star rating ive held for a year has now dropped to 4.8.

I donuse hotel's large bottles either. And REALLY sniff and rinse and boil kettles if I use them. People are fucking rank idiots. Hotels usually have small individual soap bar which might be good to add here? Most people will leave them so it's no large cost as well but good alternative option.

But I would absolutely not take star off for that. It's personal preference.

Oh soap is a different ballgame. I’m sorry to say but I’ve never understood soap users. Some people will literally rub the bar all over themselves rather than rubbing some into their hands or onto their flannel. Let’s not go there, it’s really gross though.

Just fill the bottles up to the top before each visit to give the impression it’s new. Presentationally I think that would look better anyway.

When I see the bottles part used it gives me a funny irrational feeling but I certainly get over it!

I don’t know if I would call them unhygienic per se if I’m honest. But I just don’t like the thought of using others toiletries. I don’t even use them in hotels either. I also pack my own. Even the hand wash I have a little molton brown with a pump in my hand luggage 🤣 so I can take it out straight away once we arrive. Yes - I’m aware I’m a bit extra - happy with that - but also I don’t visit it on other people. As I said I wouldn’t have expected or removed a star from it. I suppose that’s the problem with running an Airbnb - you will one time or another have to deal with people who are extra.

No it's not, she's being very picky. Individual toiletries are bad for the environment, I haven't seen them even in hotels for a long time.

This is what we have to contend with, people knocking a star off because of personal preference rather than there being something genuinely wrong with the property.

I'd put a photo of the bottles on your listing just to mitigate against it happening in the future. Also if she mentioned it in the review put a reply along the lines of not using single use plastic because of the environmental impact.

I stayed somewhere last week, they had left shampoo, conditioner and shower gel in the shared bathroom

I didn’t actually use them as I have my own and I didn’t know what the shared products were ( for me it’s smell of the shower gel and shampoo is how it leaves my hair whether it’s silicon free etc). It was a lively Airbnb and breakfast was a big sit down event with croissant, home made jams, coffee etc. Some people go to a lot of effort and I didn’t like one thing about the place - but I still gave them 10/10 as you’ll never actually going to please all the people all the time

the place I’m staying in now has a few cobwebs and dust but is clean enough, perfect location and lots of character/ cheap as chips. It’ll probably get an 8/10 from me when I leave

If they are that fussy about hygiene, I'm surprised they left their house in the first place! They sound batshit and the cynic in me thinks they possibly leave similar reviews everywhere they visit in the hope of some sort of 'compensation'.

Good for you. Can you add a comment to her review? I would if so explaining why she dropped a star and also explaining why you offer and will continue to offer reusable toiletries to guests.

Yeah its weird. So when they are at work or needing the loo at someone elses house, they're taking hand wash with them in their handbag and not using the liquid soap provided?
Seems very extreme to me. The hairdressers usually has massive bottles of shampoo and she wouldnt know who had used it there, would she?