What consumable do you provide your guests, in you short term rentals?

Question

What consumables do you provide your guests in your short-term rentals? Obviously, TP and hand soap are a must. Shampoo and Conditioner seem to be pretty common. I've seen some that provide coffee. What else do you provide?

What about salt, pepper, hot sauce, other long life or nonperishable condiments? I feel these are basics, though I've seen mixed opinions elsewhere about salt and pepper. Some seem to think people will tamper with them, if they are not individually packed, like you would get at a fast-food restaurant.

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Aaron Washington. Good question.

I am the opposite of @JD Martin. Our kitchen is fully stocked with about 50 spices and seasonings. Salt and pepper grinders. Bag of flour and sugar. Bulk salt, oils, vinegars and tons more.

TP, paper towels, small soaps and shampoos, coffee pods, tea, creamers, Splenda and sugar packets, disposable cups, inexpensive food containers to take food home, Ziplocs, aluminum foil, parchment paper, plastic wrap....on and on.

I believe is providing a lot of stuff like that for guests. Mainly to be a good host but also because our home is way out of town so it isn't easy to just go get something.

I have never had a guest comment on the open spices or anything like that other than happy to have a great selection to cook with.

I am sure there are some folks that just don't use them but I put the info in the listing so folks don't need to pack a ton of kitchen stuff for a 5 day stay.

JD Martin · Answer

No food items that aren't sealed and individually packaged. That includes salt and pepper shakers. Guests have definitely gotten more against it since COVID.

Lauren Kormylo · Answer

I supply toilet paper, paper towels, liquid hand soap at all sinks, dishdetergent, dishwasher pods, one new dishwashing sponge, spray oil, salt & pepper (I buy the plastic disposable ones for picnics so they can't be refilled) and a few other spices, trash bags, some cleaning supplies such as Simple Green and microfiber cloths, coffee filters, plastic wrap, ziploc baggies, laundry detergent, and dryer sheets.

Guests are asked to bring their own shampoo, conditioner, personal soap for showers, sugar, creamer and coffee.  I don't supply shampoo etc because most women have their own they prefer, and it's wasteful for little bottles and much more work for the cleaners to refill the big dispensers, and they break.  I am in an area that traditionally makes guests bring EVERYTHING I just mentioned in both paragraphs above, including sheets and towels, so they are happy with what I provide.

I don't leave any liquid type food things like ketchup, hot sauce, mustard, mayo or anything like that.  I wouldn't want to see open containers of those if I were a guest.

JD Martin · Answer

I think because we're in the Disney area we get a lot of foreigners that aren't comfortable with opened anything. Having been in the Navy and to some places where hygiene and food safety is more of a suggestion than a rule, I think it's something of a cultural thing. Also, we are 1/2 mile from 2 major grocery stores and all of the home delivery you could want, whereas I'm guessing that's not the case up at the lake. I imagine it would probably be a royal PITA to drag everything you might need up there!

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Yep, I do it like Mike...

Lisa Graesser · Answer

Spices, sugar, oils, cooking sprays, teas, all left by previous guests. I supply paper products, coffee, hand soap and cleaning products. And guest are informed that they can leave any non perishables that were never opened.

Nathan M kiefer · Answer

We leave tp and spices, we purge all spices yearly and and provide a few and at the end of the year there is always a good blend. We repeat this cycle every year when we do a deep clean and seems to work great

January Johnson · Answer

Coffee pods, powdered creamers, a variety of sugars/substitutes

Plus all the expected tp, paper towels, dishwasher and laundry pods, basic spices, etc.

Andrew Steffens · Answer

2x roll of TP per bathroom

2x Paper Towel

2x Dishwasher Pod

2x Laundry Pod

Filled hand soap as well as filled shampoo and bodywash dispensers in each bath

Sponge

2X Kitchen Trash bags 1x in each bath

1x small dish soap

Jon Martin · Answer

I wouldn't bother with condiments. Those jars/bottles can still get gross, and it ends up another item in a long list that you have to keep up with. For coffee I have 2.5 oz packets of ground coffee, sugar packets and creamer pods. Food wise I just do olive oil, spice rack, table salt, black peppercorns with grinder, baking soda & powder, and microwave popcorn.

Think about the basic items you need to make a few meals that you wouldn't want to buy for a short stay because you would never finish them. I don't do large containers of flour or sugar because I know that someone will make a cake and wipe it out, leaving me with yet another item to worry about. Someone used a ton of creamer pods a few weeks ago and my only explanation was that they used it for Alfredo sauce or something. If they want it that bad they have to earn it!

What consumable do you provide your guests, in you short term rentals?

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