Rental hosts - do you leave dishwasher tablets?

[tribalmango]

If so, how many?
One per day?
A few?

I haven't stayed in this type of accommodation for a few years now. However we often did when the kids were younger. When you are self catering (for a wide variety of reasons) and often rurally, the last thing you need is the host to have skimped on the kitchen essentials.

Make life easier for your guests: washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, a few washing machine tablets/powder, sponge, dishcloth, tea towel etc soap, some surface cleaner, loo cleaner, bleach, bin bags. Basic store cupboard: salt, pepper, herbs, some oil, teabags/coffee. The list could go on.

I'm not saying branded everything - Aldi&Lidl rule - and I'm not saying leave a full box/bottle that you're worried will be taken back by your guests. If you are charging £100-£200+ per night then I'm sure that can stretch to some basics that guests don't need to either bring with them or purchase unnecessarily while there perhaps going out of their way to do so.

Most rentals I've been to do. Surely it makes sense? It doesn't cost much to get cleaning supplies in Lidl or Aldi. Guests are more likely to leave your place in a decent state if you give them what they need to wash up and do basic cleaning!

I stayed at a lodge in June which provided more dishwasher tablets than nights stayed, we only used a couple. I've also stayed at an air b&b where they didn't provide any dishwasher tablets. In that scenario I assumed we weren't meantto use the dishwasher, so didn't

I leave a good handful, probably about 2 a day. My house sleeps 12 so the poor dishwasher works very hard. Also leave plenty of cleaning stuff, foil, cling film and laundry detergent. Plus tea, coffee, milk etc. I want my guests to feel they are on holiday and not to have to stress about anything - there are at least double the amount of all glasses and crockery as well and plenty of decent sized pans and sharp knives.

It’s always appreciated by my guests.

I am usually left dishwasher tablets, washing pods and lots of other things to clean. You would think owners would leave all these so the holidaymakers can clear up after themselves. Only once have I not been left dishwasher tablets and I tried to put fairy liquid in the slot. I won’t repeat this again!

Why on earth didn’t you put the pans in the dishwasher? Why couldn’t the pans be dishwashed? Who made that rule up?

Yes it is always good to have extra crockery. You might save electricity this wsy as people don’t have to run half full dishwashers

You sound delightful!

There are still a few 1940s low end boarding house style ‘hosts’ out there but thankfully we have rarely encountered accommodation that hasn’t included these basics. Generally places where the owner is stingy with things like dishwasher tablets are uncomfortable and cheap looking, which you can often tell from the photographs.

All the places I've stayed in have left at least a couple to get you started, recently most leave a box. Most also usually leave washing pods these days too.
I always take my own but hardly ever need them

It would probably blow your mind to know that we've stayed in holiday homes where not only have they provided all manner of cleaning supplies (both for the home and the occupants), but they've also provided a small selection of pods for the coffee machine! (Though judging by your grabby comments, you probably havn't provided a coffee machine!). In the drawers, there've even been a couple of spare batteries for the TV remote (bet you don't do that either!).

I can only imagine the "welcome pack" you reluctantly leave your new guests. Probably the smallest milk possible (no doubt close to use by date), along with 4 Nescafe coffee sachets and 4 of the cheapest possible teabags, along with a cheap catering pack of 2 biscuits. Basically the bare minimum to justify you claiming you supply a welcome pack in your online listing!

Agreed, we stayed in an airBnB recently that did allow pets (we had our dog with us), they specified very clearly in capitals that the place must be hoovered before leaving especially any dog hair, fair enough I thought. Got the vacuum cleaner out the last morning and it was an awful heavy ancient thing that hardly picked anything up! Did the best I could with a bad back but it was a bit of a joke really!

Because it is wasteful to force people to buy a whole pack of tablets for a short break and the dishes will be washed much better if people use the dishwasher compared to by hand. Your next guests wouldn’t be happy if the last guests had only given the dishes a token rinse in the sink.

We've just checked out of an Airbnb which had the biggest array of cleaning products I've ever seen in a rental.

It was the cleanest we've ever left a rental.

As a general rule I'd say the harder hosts make it for guests to clean up after themselves the worse state they will leave it in

I'm not a host, but always take my own dishwasher tablets - they've never been left in any accommodation we've stayed in.
I was going to leave my spare ones behind but the cleaners tend to completely clear everything, so I didn't in the end.

It annoys me actually. We provide high quality everything in our rental. Include all the essentials plus loads of nice extra. Yet when we go and stay anywhere it usually costs us twice as much, and we get half as much for the price.

our current guests also had homemade scones, and basket of homegrown tomatoes. Plus usual welcome basket they get of packet coffee pods, tea, local apple juice, biscuits. I add Haribo if kids on booking, and a couple organic baby fruit pouches if baby/ toddlers.

It’s so frustrating when you are in an Air bnb and there aren’t any cleaning products. I don’t want to spend the first day of my holiday in the local supermarket buying a load of stuff that I will have to leave behind anyway.

We’ve just been in an Air bnb that didn’t have a dishwasher but at least they left washing up liquid and a sponge. However they didn’t leave any cleaning spray, or any other cleaning products, so it was difficult to clean the kitchen properly. Not ideal when you are there for a week….

I've been an Airbnb host for 10 years. I provide a large pack (50-70) of dishwasher tabs, - no counting them out.

I suspect you have recurring bookings from one year to the next though. Because people feel welcome when they arrive.

I think it depends a lot on how you see your business.
Shoe string, not too expensive hols let - minimum cleaning products
ore expensive, nicer hols let - then you need to provide value for money. That incl more than1 DWT and no cleaning spray etc….

(Even though I had to smile at the last hols ,et we went to that had way more cleaning products than I have in my own kitchen. Though we are also very minimalist in that regard)

Op here. We are here 11 nights. 6 tablets. I will need to buy more. We're pretty rural and nearest supermarket is 20 mins away. I'll give them to DS (I don't have a dishwasher).
I've mostly always been left enough for the duration. It just seems so easy to do and IMO part of what should be included if you list dishwasher as included.

Not a big deal.

Pretty stingy OP.

@MtClair - yes we do, and good reviews. We are already filling up for summer 2025.

Still annoys me that next time we visit family in uk, even with paying loads and reading reviews we often end up in places with issues that bug me. Last time for example we booked a 2 bed place and bedroom two had no blinds or curtains (including on loft high windows), so my then 3 year old couldn’t sleep in there as woken at 4am by the sunrise!

If you leave pods of any kind make sure they are up high in a clipped shut secure box so kids can't get at them.

I'm thinking she maybe just grabbed a handful for the pot when she was getting the place ready. It's a lovely house.

What's the point in leaving a dishwasher and not the tablets?

Do you expect them to bring their own water and electricity?