Guest dinged us for no shampoo

[Alana114]

Is shampoo standard to provide?  It seems to me that most folks would really want their own for heir particular hair type, etc.   

He also complained that there was no ice (we have a wet bar, not a kitchen), no kleenex and no napkins.   The latter two I will start providing but shampoo?    And he complained that the bars of soap were tiny.  Don’t other hosts use hotel size bars?   It would be extremely wasteful to toss a regular size bar adter every guest.  

Thanks for input 

[Louise0]

Yes, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and hand wash are commonly assumed to be provided, as are toilet paper, kleenex, napkins and paper towels.  It's up to you whether you provide bar soap.  I provide both, and yes, I provide full size bars.  Around 50% of guests don't even open the soap.  Of those who do, some take it with them and some leave it behind. 

The leftover soap isn't thrown out.  I use it to make aphid spray for the garden, to put in drawers to deter moths, for washing silks and woolens and for our own use.  It doesn't bother me that it's been used by someone else first.  It's soap, any contaminants just wash off.

[Sudsrung0]

@Alana114 

You might be right about guest buying their own shampoo, when we go on holiday I always buy my own brand and for my husband,

It seems many Airbnb guest have become accustomed to the host supplying everything, I have been asked for toothbrushes, 

It's up to you how much you want to add to your listing, add a few $$$ to your rates.

We do supply tissues, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, washing up liquid and we buy Hair and Body shampoo for the bathrooms, it's not expensive but keeps them happy,

We also supply bottles of water in the fridge along with a few soft drinks,

We used to supply a welcome pack but to much was getting wasted so I stopped that,

The only thing I will do now when high season come I will give a basket of local fruit, that always goes down well, 

I saw the other day in a FB group people supplying Tampons, 

[Alana114]

Thank you all so much.  Im guessing you purchase sample bottles of shampoo and conditioner.  This is the first guest in over a hundred that has complained about this, or really any of the things he complained about.  I suspect he was just a grumpy person looking to nitpick.    I couldn’t let him come early as he requested because we had a guest leaving that morning and maybe that made him mad.  Also he could have texted fir any of these things and he even walked past us several times in the driveway and never mentioned any thing.     

I just can’t buy full size soap bars — that is just too wasteful and environmentally irresponsible in our case because we have 1-2 guests every week, sometimes more.  Theres no way I can use up all that soap.  I can provide the small shampoo bottles, I guess, but the reason we are always totally booked is that our listing is very reasonably priced.  To keep it that way I don’t want to add bottles of shampoo etc   (of course we always have toilet paper, etc) or I’ll need to raise the price.   I think since most guests have left great reviews they prefer the lower price without some of the bells and whistles. 

[Helen3]

It really depends on whether you ticked the box on your listing to say you provide essentials @Alana114 

Essential include shampoo and is a basic you should include.

Paper towels etc are optional./

[Louise0]

Don't buy those little plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner, they are an environmental disaster. I use a Simple Human 3 bay wall mounted dispenser in one shower and refillable pump packs of shampoo, conditioner, body wash in the others.   There's no wastage and little plastic waste.

[Huma0]

@Alana114 

I think the guest complaining even though you supplied soap, just not full sized bars, is just nit picking and I also think it's wasteful. 

However, I think that shampoo and body wash are pretty common in a lot of Airbnbs so, even if you have not listed them as amenities, some guests might feel like you are scrimping if you don't include them. The last Airbnb I stayed at stated that shampoo and conditioner were included, but there were no toiletries in the bathroom other than liquid hand soap. It didn't bother me enough to rate the host down for it, but it was slightly annoying as we didn't bring our own, having expected these things to be supplied. There were no shops that close by, so it was a hassle. Again, no big deal for me (I just used the hand soap to shower!) but it's the kind of thing that some guests will rate down on.

I supply body wash, shampoo, conditioner and hand soap (both bar and liquid) in the bathrooms. To be honest, not much of it gets used as most guests do bring their own, but there are the odd few that appreciate it and I guess some others that might complain if it was not there.

It's really up to you though. If it's such a rare complaint, I wouldn't pay too much attention to it. If it's not specified as an amenity on your listing, then you don't need to supply it.

[Gwen386]

@Alana114 As long as things like shampoo, hair conditioner, iron are not listed in your amenities, don’t even think of supplying it. I do provide full size bars of soap—Ivory and Irish Spring. But like someone else said, I think only 1 or 2 guests used it. 

[Jennifer1897]

@Alana114  I reviewed your listing and see that shampoo was not something listed under amenities. However, most guest do not take the time to read everything in a listing and go on to assume things. Is it fair? No, but it happens. However, you can mitigate some of these smaller issues for a relatively low cost. I think it is assumed in most accommodations, Airbnb's and Hotels that basics (Shampoo,/Conditioner/Soap) are provided. 

Personally,  I bought one of those dispensers that holds shampoo, conditioner and body wash.  It is  more sanitary, and cheaper to fill. Also, it prevents guest from taking things with them as it is mounted to the wall vs in bottles.  Honestly, I probably fill it maybe one every couple months, so it has provided to be low cost and guest appreciate having those items available to them. 

[Alana114]

Like the idea of the wall mounted dispensers—I will definitely check into that.   For now I put two new full size bottles of shampoo and conditioner in there.  Personally, I view most conventional products as endocrine disrupters and environmentally harmful as well, so make my own products and would never use what a hotel or airbnb supplied.  But I realize most people aren’t me.