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?!

Hey there, I understand your intwntions and this is not a criticism. From professional experience, towels, wash scrubs etc are not to be shared and the stigma is assigned to addicts however; can you hand on heatt say that the shared containers are wiped down and disinfected after every single use? Light switches, door handles etc. Covid is an easy example however Hepatitis is easily transmitted via such things. So either the complainant was OCD or had another concern yet did not clarify. All said and done I have seen sooo so many people who do not wash their hands after bathroom use or wash with water soap/no soap yet actively contaminate areas out of laziness with the attitude "that's what they get paid for" hope you understand and don't take offence. Simply another perspective. Much love!

When you go to clean yourself having used a shared product; a) you dont know what this person was doing b) infections/visruses can be shared by simple contact or shared product contact c) the whole point of cleaning is because we were dirty, therefore touched something 'already' dirty!

When you use a shared cleaning product, you press the pump button with one hand, get the clean soapy stuff in your other hand, rub your hands together to clean them and use the lather to clean yourself.

Maybe stop licking the bottle.

They are not all pumps and secondly the inane comment of licking the bottle is something believe it or not some addicts tend to do, Covid was crazy for hand gel. Guess you speak from experience. Nothing dramatic in what I said, simple science and women can be the worst for lacking in personal hygiene e.g. not washing hands after using the bathroom, touching hand soap dispensers, door handles, playing with period then touching tv remotes etc. Excuse the pun but get a grip! Dont like the comment, say less and stay dirty then imagine who makes your food...

Anyone who would complain about Aesop toiletries would be unhappy with whatever was provided. Some people are just idiots.

Yes. It’s really common in hotels now. Seeing less and less of the tiny single use bottles, which are pretty wasteful. You’re not unreasonable at all IMO. But just goes to show whatever you do there will always be someone who it doesn’t work for, I’d chalk it up to one of those things. You can’t please everyone, it’s just life.

Coincidentally, yesterday I passed an Aesop store. I've never seen one before so this thread made me go in. Jeeze, but that stuff is expensive! It's incredibly generous for you to provide it @loislaneloves . Most of my bathroom stuff is Baylis and Harding 😅

I used to work in tourism, and this sort of feedback is often called a good negative review.

Imagine how good the rest of her experience with you much have been, for her to write you a paragraph about soap bottle sizes.

Basically that feedback tells you, and anyone who reads it, that there was nothing wrong with her stay. Because otherwise she would have had something more important than soap to complain about.

People are bloody mental about "hygiene"

Honestly your life is so much easier when you don't give a shit about such non-problems

Ridiculous. Other people touch the taps but they don’t insist on new taps for every guest do they?

As long as you / your cleaners give the bottles a wipe between guests it’s the same as someone using a doorknob / tap / cupboard handle!!!!

Some people have no critical thinking skills

They should bring their own stuff then, it’s a bonus surely and it’s better for the environment

They are being ridiculous. Most hotels these days (including the nice ones!) have larger bottles that are refilled. I'm sure this saves money but also is more environmentally friendly than little plastic bottles that are either taken home or chucked in the bin.
What snobs! There is no pleasing some people. Your place sounds lovely.

@EmailsaysOOO They weren’t intrusive or upsetting - but it’s nice that you checked. For me it’s just so not a big deal and more of a preference - it’s not a compulsion. I can use them I just rather not to. I like to have my own toiletries. I’m happy to share my toiletries it doesn’t bother me (I mean with my family) and until this thread it was not even on my radar of things that are weird about me! Clearly that has to change now 🤣🤣 (joking). If I’m out and don’t have soap in my bag because I forgot to refill I use the one in the restaurants but I prefer to have my own.

Back from a tiny place in France recently where the on the wall dispensers were all Fragonard.
Larger bottles much more environmentally friendly.

Completely bonkers

How is touching a shampoo dispenser that others have used any different from touching a shower control knob that others have used

Presumably both get washed between guests as part of cleaning the shower (the outside of the shampoo bottle, I don’t mean cleaning out the whole bottle)

I must admit, I couldn't use those bottles and I don't, but I have no reasonable explanation for it.
But I definitely would not lose a star and I wouldn't say anything.

No not unhygienic it’s in a pump, also I wouldn’t expect to like or want to use complimentary toiletries, I always take my own. I don’t think it’s necessary to splash out on high end either as you’ve found, people don’t appreciate it.

None of what you say negates the fact the soap comes out of the bottles which cleans your hands as you use the product. Therefore any "danger" from someone else having previously touched the bottle is immediately washed away.

And if women are wiping their period blood all over the TV remote, the fact someone else has used the hand wash before you is irrelevant.

Yeah, you could use those bottles. You choose not to.

i suppose the logic is it could of been tampered with or filled with anything
this outlook is extreme bordering paranoia
but if that’s how they feel that’s how they feel
but it’s unreasonable to mark you down as if this is the norm

I’ve been to Air BnBs that offered this, but always by car so had my own supplies, don’t see a problem with it at all. Not unhygienic in my opinion.