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?!

I’ve been a cleaner in a hotel and had to clean a room where someone had pissed in the shower gel. The bottle could be unscrewed from the pump for refilling. Ever since it’s put me off using communal toiletries. I wouldn’t knock a point off but would have brought my own as whilst most people are very normal every once in a while, you will have a weirdo who likes to add something “special”

Indeed.

Sounds like a proper idiot. Some people love to moan.

I have an idea that this is an EU regulation, in order to reduce waste and for sustainability. I may be wrong.

I have an Airbnb and this type of slightly odd review is just part of the territory. There will always be one. I would just move on and not make a thing of it. Just enjoy all the people who have a great time in your place. And don't get too hung up on the review issue. It is deeply flawed and everyone knows it.

I just want to add that you are in business so you really can't be taking things personally so you would feel "devastated" and "foolish". People drop stars for, odd, reasonable as well as the most ridiculous reasons for any business. It's not personal. It's just dealing with general public

Maybe they haven’t been to a hotel/gym for a long time? It used to be the norm to have little bottles, but obviously it’s terribly wasteful. It’s now the norm to have big bottles and sometimes offer for people to buy full ones from them (lol no one does, but it’s to placate those who insist that taking bottles of shower gel is their right).

some places do still do minis but it’s not expected!

It’s what many hotels do now, including premium ones. Much better environmentally than all the tiny individual plastic bottles. You sound like a lovely host!

Personally I wouldn’t think so, but there is the risk that people have messed with them. People do weird things to hotel toiletries like piss in them or add hair removal cream to shampoo. Or perverts who mix their semen into them…

However I also think if she’s worried about it that’s her problem and she can just buy her own as she did.

You could put them in a lockable cage so people can’t open the tops.

This is why I don’t have the patience to deal with an air b and b - dealing with people like this. So precious and ridiculous. I would not be able to stay polite! YANBU in any way.

But even if attached to the wall, the arsey-hand would still have to touch the bottle to get more out.

The drop in rating is really frustrating. How irritating for you. Can you leave her a similar review so that her rating as a customer drops a bit? I have a 4.8 rating on Vinted due to some stupid woman being furious I wouldn't send exact measurements of some skirts she bought and she had to risk her £4 for three skirts! Lost my 5star rating for that.

How bloody precious. In the absolute grottiest of public toilets people use the hand-wash!

I wouldn't use the toiletries either. If I'm staying in a hotel that has that set up I ask for brand new bottles. I think it's nice you provide these things but not everyone will think it's nice to use bottles that other people have done for knows what with.

She is being ridiculous, in restaurant bathrooms does she use her own soap or from the dispenser?

I would consider leaving a small bar of soap, wrapped but don’t start with little bottles, honestly I think your approach is great and your property sounds lovely.

I’d put a piece in your “folder” in small letters at the back

if there is something not quite to your liking, please do let us know during your stay and don’t wait until you’ve left

that way your come back is L, to a message like this - you didn’t let us know so we never even got the chance to amend it if we could have - as written in our literature

stick it up your jumper, you silly customer

Resort to a few of the little instant sachets rather than a full jar.
Your venue sounds lovely!

Most hotels (even nice ones!) do this so the reviewer seems out of touch with reality.

I wouldn’t use them, but I’m funny about shampoo/conditioner/bodywash, and assume they’ll be cheap or not as good as what I use (even nice bottles can be cheaply refilled!) but I can’t imagine it ever featuring in my review of a property.

So what?

It's Soap. It cleans. So if you did touch it,you'd literally have soap on your hand in one second and could...you know...wash your hands....

And also, the OP presumably wipes the bottles clean between each visit?

And also you would also be touching it with your own arsey-hand, and then touch it again after to do your legs or whatever....

There used to be an advert for a home soap dispenser with a no-touch mechanism - 'Never touch a dirty bottle again' or somesuch. The most pointless idea ever, as self-evidently the first thing you do after touching one is wash your hands!

I wonder if the reviewer had read the blog of someone who'd found that someone else had shat in (or otherwise got poo into) the shower gel dispenser at their gym showers.

Anyway they should have brought their own. Don't get hung up on it.

😂 why?

Do you think they actually give you brand new bottles?

Vile!!

And how on earth has someone even done that, the ones I've seen have been up at eye-level.

Some humans are just disgusting aren't they!

Well Cunard P&O MSC Royal Caribbean are all unhygienic cruise lines then. Silly cow!

I had similar. There was some light bobbling on a skirt I sold for m £1. It was a £60 skirt new!

There's always someone complaining about something OP. You are an unusually generous hist. The last Airbnb I stayed in offered nothing, not evrn teabags or salt and pepper. Stick some photos up of the shower get etc, and wait to see what other nitpicking you get.