Holiday cottage welcome pack

[kennycat]

I realise im
sounding massively spoilt but I’m really disappointed with my holiday cottage.

the main thing that annoyed me from the outset was the welcome pack, or lack theereof.
There was a little packet with
2 teabags
2 coffee sachets
4 uht milk sticks
2 sugar sachets
4 lotus biscuits

not even a pint of actual milk in the fridge.

what would you expect as a minimum? I’ve never had this small amount if
aruff. I was rather hoping for at least a small bottle of wine and/or a little pack of supermarket own biscuits.

am I being a spoilt brat?

ih and the internet is utterly hopeless, the telly needs reboot g on an hourly basis and the oven is at least 30 years old. It’s not as wide as a frozen pizza!!

Worst I've had was a small bottle of milk and nothing else.

Best was Milk/tea/coffee, plus freshly baked scones/jam/clotted cream.

I'm always delighted if there's any biscuits/cake. I think it's pretty tight not to leave something given the 100s spent on the cottage.

The best welcome pack ever was at a large country cottage in Fife we stayed in years ago. They had a farm shop and so there was milk, butter, jams, freshly made scones, all from the farm shop. Absolutely delicious. We had a really good selection at the last place we stayed at in Angus, we arrived late and there was milk, butter, orange juice, jam, crisps, biscuits, bread so stuff to snack on and enough for a basic breakfast.

What I'd like is all the dairy stuff you can't carry with you if travelling far so milk and butter are top of the list. I also like to get enough dishwasher tablets and washing powder but now take my own because so often you get 2 tablets for a weeks stay. It's a pain having to buy a new box each time (hence taking them from home).

While I love wine I'm not convinced it really is a good idea to leave it as a welcome gift in a holiday cottage. Almost 5% of the population in the UK have a problem with alcohol.

Norfolk Air b and b host here, we leave cakes masses of coffee pods , sugar, s and p mills full, oil , vinegar,teabags and herb tea , crisps and nibbles plus a bottle of apple juice or similar, ( no booze )you are not legally meant to
also kitchen roll tinfoil cling film etc sandwich bags , masses of loo roll and washing machine liquid , washing up liquid , shower gel hand soap shampoo conditioner and so on
however even though our night rate is very reasonable, and we are super hosts
people still ask for discounts
most folk are great guests but seriously, who takes home a full bottle of vanish stain remover and the laundry liquid!!!
the housekeeping cleaning costs are huge , people turn on the heating go out and leave windows open etc
the work and costs involved are huge , honestly thinking of stopping tbh
oh and this season we have had hair dye on
Beautiful white luxury tiles weird purple stains on Chris White linen which needed to be thrown away please don’t underestimate how much these things cost.
I asked for the state of the place sometimes unbelievable.

When I go to stay in a holiday cottage/air bnb type place, we’d always arrange for a food delivery on arrival or take food with us, and we’d always take our own essentials like milk, tea/coffee as you never know what will be left.

To be honest I see a welcome basket as a nice bonus. Some places have left wine and nice biscuits or cakes, and that’s always lovely as an extra, but I’d never explicitly expect it.

the price that is charged these days I expect a few biscuits, pt of milk, some bread and stuff for several cups tea and coffee

I would also expect salt and pepper (vinegar at sea side) and possibly even ketchup sachets is fine.

I think it really depends on where you are - hiking holiday maybe some fruit cake as well

In town maybe a bottle of wine

Somewhere remote I would expect more than in town with a co-op on the corner.

My favourite left a home made sourdough loaf, pot of butter, plenty of fire logs and tea and coffee stuff.

The thing is we all have different expectations, it's impossible to please everyone I guess.

For example, I'd expect there to be washing up stuff (including enough dishwasher tabs for my stay) but I wouldn't expect more than a couple of toilet rolls. Hand soap but not toiletries. After we stayed in one cottage where absolutely nothing was provided, no washing up liquid or cloths or anything (and we were miles from a shop), I never assume and always bring everything just in case.

I don't really need milk, as I will have brought or ordered some, but some extra lovely treats always go down well (bonus if they are local). Best ever welcome pack was last Easter when we got Easter eggs, Easter cakes, homemade bread, marmalade and local apple juice.

I wouldn’t expect more than what you had tbh.
A lot/most(?) of the places we stayed at had a bottle of milk, tea and coffee. I dont feel this is necessary. I always bring those with me and certainly dint expect the host to provide them for the whole week.
I much prefer to find toilet roll, oil, salt, pepper, dishwasher tablet and washing machine powder. Mainly because if you buy some, you’ll never use it all and an open bottle of oil is a pain to transport.

Ive had the whole bottle of wine, biscuits etc… but that’s because it was the week before Christmas I think.
It felt really nice and invitting. I wasn’t expecting it though.

Absolutely nothing at a property in Lyme Regis for which we paid £1500 for 3 nights.

And in a much cheaper, but more lovely, cottage in Northumberland, a basket with fresh local bread, biscuits, milk, butter, bottle of wine, dog treats, blanket and a toy. Plus there were also ample dishwasher tablets, coffee pods logs for the log burner and gorgeous toiletries and bathrobes.

I only really want:

Loo rolls and kitchen roll
Bin liners
Foil
Washing up liquid and sponge/brush
Dishwasher tablets (if there is a dishwasher)
Washing tabs or liquid if there is a washing machine
Hand soap in the bathrooms

Plus a tea towel or two.

It can be so wasteful, so long as the property is clean with plenty of loo roll, dishwasher tabs etc.

I tend to use Airbnb in fairly remote parts of Scotland, so our journey there is always planned via a supermarket. We take everything we need for our time there. I think welcome packs are quite sweet, but I would rather have everything working. I really don’t like being left cheap bottles of wine. We bring decent stuff with us. WiFi isn’t always working and we accept this but would rather be told in advance.

I have a large holiday let (sleeps 12) and I leave local milk, butter and shortbread, homemade marmalade, a bottle of fizz, large packet of posh crisps, tea, ground coffee (for the 2 large cafetières) + pods for the machine, some chocolate/sweets and a packet of dog treats. My idea being that guests have travelled many miles and may well want a cup of tea before unpacking the car, and it also immediately puts them in a good mood. No-one has ever complained about it, and usually it is all used/taken home. It is frequently mentioned (in a positive light) in reviews.

I also provide all cleaning stuff, fairy liquid, dishwasher pods and laundry detergent, plus foil, cling-film, baking parchment, bin bags etc. And a good selection of books and games.

I want my guests to have a wonderful stress free holiday.

It's interesting reading the comments.

We have eggs, and for regular guests leave them, our honey, sometimes meat.

The problem I find is I don't want to irritate new guests, balanced with waste. That's why I've tried to stay with staples and local or eco friendly.

Personally, we only GO on self catering holidays. I wouldn't mind being asked if I like blue green or red or other milk. Allergies, dietary requirements. Others would be furious at this and find it unnecessary.

So you leave milk eggs etc at risk someone is allergic or vegan.

I try so hard to create that warm, welcoming environment without pissing people off with millions of personal questions, or indeed wasting fresh produce which I also hate.

Would you like to be asked?

Would it work with a tick sheet?

A bit like when you go in a café sometimes they will have a '5 item' breakfast and you pick the 5 items you want.

So milk of various types, including oat
cake or biscuits or scones
butter or vegan butter
bread options sliced or crusty or bread rolls

If I ever am in the position to run a holiday cottage I will have a cupboard permanently stocked with toilet rolls, cleaning products and washing up items.

I agree about wanting to save waste, we have stayed at places with lavish welcome packs and felt guilty if we waste things, rude if we leave them etc but a ticklist makes it seem rather transactional and as if you are paying for it at which point I'd feel like responding that I'd rather have a discount and go and buy my own things with the saved money. We always try and find a local shop when we arrive or the next morning and enjoy choosing local products (we don't tend to stay anywhere particularly remote).

OTOH I have stayed at places where welcome packs are paid-for extras and you do choose which if any you want and the cost is added to the bill, I think that's a good way of doing it.

Surely if it’s all dry goods (biscuits, tea, coffee, beer/wine, chocolate) etc then if you don’t want it you just leave it. I wasn’t expecting a full fridge of fresh organic food, just a pint of milk, a pack of biscuits and enough tea and coffee for the evening and morning before we can get to the shops.

For many, self catering means takeaway/restaurant meals every day so getting a shop delivery wouldn’t be worth it for them. We’ve never got a shop delivery because we like exploring the local shops for our food, which you can’t do at 7pm
after a 7 hour journey to
get to holiday!

OP

You can still explore the local shops whilst sticking a few tea bags and some helpings of coffee and sugar into a few tupperwares to bring, then calling into a garage for some milk in the nearest town to the cottage.

Though I agree they half arsed it, not leaving enough sachets for the number of people staying!

Same with cleaning products etc. We arrived late to our holiday accommodation because our flight was delayed. Got here around 10.30pm, too late fir the supermarket. We were happy to find a selection of food that meant we could have breakfast the next morning (including long life milk fir tea/coffee) ....but no cloth, washing up liquid or dishwasher tabs to wash up afterwards....until a visit to the supermarket.(luckily they left loo rolls!)
I'm unsure why stuff like that can't be replenished as and when needed. I would be fine to find half a bottle of fairy liquid or an opened pack of dishwasher tablets and use what i needed. And can't a cleaning cloth could be laundered in the same way tea towels and towels are? (Ours were changed part way through our stay)

Oh absolutely re cleaning products and basic "helpful" goods. Bags, clingfilm, Tin foil, soap, toilet rolls, kitchen roll, washing up, washing clothes pods, cleaning products, a clean and empty hoover (yuck at finding a full one) ice, washing up liquid.

It's more the milk and fresh things as a host I wonder about. I couldn't care less and would prefer to be asked as a guest, but just feel it's an over step to ask people such questions before I meet them?

The general public can go one way or the other

a clean and empty hoover (yuck at finding a full one)

That’s a new one! I never hoover an Airbnb cos they have a cleaning charge…

Just come back from 3 day break in Cumbria. Fab cottage and there was milk, some really tasty biscuits and eggs. Also teabags, instant coffee and badic cooking stuff - salt, pepper, vinegar , sunflower oil.

Agree @SheilaFentiman

That is such an odd one.
When I am having a few days away, I am not vacuuming the place.
The cleaning is paid for in the cost of hiring the place (or, in someAir BnBs they even specifically add it on).
I wouldn't have a clue where the vacuum is, let alone how full the bag is

Expect nothing - that's the point of self catering!

When i started doing self catering I absolutely expected nothing but then as I did more and more of them I realised they all provided some things. More than this one, and we never go spendy on holidays!

Something that always confuses me though is why is there always an iron and ironing board? I have never ironed on holiday! And I absolutely love ironing in real life.

I think it's like at nice extra! Some people in life like to help more than others. I guess the same is true for cottage owners!