Guest expectations set to change?

[Giddy Goat]

On another thread:

and the blurring of lines with hotels is the future.

I have American guests at the moment - in France for just a week. After a day or so, this email arrived:

"The only request we have is for an extra set of bath towels as we think that having just one bath towel and one handtowel per person is very minimal. We would be most appreciative if you could take care of this small matter."

Would you consider this a reasonable request? In a hotel recently (of a a respected chain we stayed at), our towels were changed on Day 3. However our property is not a hotel, it's a self-catering holiday home of course. We provide a washing machine and a tumble dryer if people feel strongly about needing fresh towels during their week long stay. (We deliver fresh towels weekly ....)

Do you supply two lots of bath towels per person per week, and two hand towels? We obliged, to maintain the good will, but I agree with Margaret above. What next?

[Normandie]

B&B but...

I supply a bath sheet and a bath towel per person. Bath sheet to wrap up in after shower or bath and bath towel to wrap round head after hairwash, etc. They get changed on day 4 unless someone wants them changed sooner. There are separate hand towels in each bathroom and loo and they get changed daily or at least every two days.

As mentioned elsewhere, we had Dutch guests who liked to use a smaller towel (bath towel or large hand towel size) which they wanted washed daily - which I did willingly.

So in your situation, GG, I would probably supply extra bath towels for hair use but I would not expect, in a self-catering property, to have towels changed mid week; clean towels mid-a-2 week stay would be nice... which is what you do.

[lorca]

We do the same as you GG - have not had a problem

We don´t get the chance to go away often ourselves (the odd weekend break). Interestingly though, in two or three ( good quality, although not 5 star) hotels we´ve stayed in more recently here in Spain have asked that we leave the towels that we´d like changed in the bath - rather than automatically providing clean ones daily.

[B&B netherlands]

B&B here as well - nobody has ever asked me that! though i do find bath towels casually dropped on the floor, by people for a 2 or 3 night stay - i say nothing and hang them up to dry... ('hotel syndrome' i call it)

americans tend to shower more than once a day. that might explain their request. and they're on holiday, maybe not wanting to do household chores like washing...? our european machines are different, sooooo slow they say. my canadian friends had a washing machine doing a whole cycle in 25 minutes!

the totally opposite is the older dutch generation (sometimes) not taking a shower at all... 'we might mess up your lovely bathroom'... and normandie, that kind of dutch B&B-guests as you had, i get as well!

i surely am willing to supply whatever people find 'necessary', but my house is too small to stock up gigantic numbers of bath towels... i have 12 sets of 2, 6 handtowels and an assortment of washing cloths and 'washandjes' for the dutch guests. i also have 8 sets of duvet covers and as they dry not too fast, 10 fitted sheets of thick cotton, you can imagine the piles in my closet... i can sleep 4 people.

for hair drying - a separate towel??? blimey. i supply cheap hairdryers in both bathrooms. only problem is that the place of the socket to plug them in, has been designed for the tall dutchies, and not for the so much smaller non-dutchies

the custom to provide boxes of tissues has luckily not yet found ground in the netherlands hospitality business (except maybe 5 star hotels mainly catering for americans).

many of my older dutch guests still use cotton hankies... i've found quite a few left under the pillows!

traditions as our guests bring them to us, can't the lot of us make a nice funny thread about that?

i would like to start one:

'taking off your shoes when you enter.'

i NEVER do that anywhere myself, except in albania, where it is 'tradition' and the guest gets a pair of worn slippers. the streets outside town centers are pretty muddy...

italians do it, when they enter my house. cyclists ALWAYS take off their shoes (as they're muddy or contain grass)

i've provided lovely soft bath slippers in the past... were never used! as were the bathrobes... do i hang them in the wrong place - namely the bathroom???

thread creep - i know...

[lorca]

Forgot to mention that (particularly with larger groups) guests will not always use all the towels - and will occasionally mention that they´ve left these folded on a chair (we always wash them if we´re not sure!)

I do think many (women at least) wouldn´t be happy if there wasn´t an extra towel to dry their hair with (bath or hand). It would take me a week to dry my hair with a hairdryer if I couldn´t towel-dry it first!

[Nemo]

Many years ago, staying with relatives in USA, I was amazed to find that clean towels were given every day. Therefore the washing machine & dryer were in daily use to keep up with this usage. Maybe things have changed a little, certainly hotels now ask you to put towels into the bath for changing rather than an automatic change.

So I would accommodate a request for an extra set but I wouldn't change from the standard that you have set.

[rentalagent]

Americans do seem to go through a lot of towels. I've had two groups this year (self-catering) who wanted towels changed every other day and linen twice a week. I said I could do it but at cost price to me for the laundrette as only one set of clean linen and towels is included in the price and they were very unhappy...

Every guest seems to have different expectations and I agree those expectations are getting higher year by year.

Most guest are happy with the basic welcome pack (bin bags, dishwasher tablets, fairy liquid and two loo rolls per bathroom), one set of clean linen a week and weekly cleaning. This year however I've had groups of guests saying the minimum they expect is anything from daily cleaning to twice weekly cleaning, daily or twice weekly linen change, even fresh fruit, champagne and flowers on arrival!

Here's an extract from an email from a recently departed Russian guest "We've been traveling for many years. We rented houses in Spain, France, Italy, Sicily, Corsica, Croatia, Montenegro ... normally if you rent villa of the same size and the same price, the cleaning once or 2 times a week (not to mentioning the change of bed linen) is complimentary. Customer-oriented company usually welcome its guests with compliments such as champagne and fruits, on arrival"


I try to explain to unhappy guests who feel they're not getting enough service that I can provide anything they want at cost price to me. I tell them that there is no such thing as "complimentary" cleans, towels, champagne and that where these things are offered as "free" on other holidays they may have had, the cost is buried in the basic villa price and they have in fact already paid for them. I explain I don't want to include them in the basic rental price as I prefer to keep prices low for my guests who want to count the pennies rather than force them to pay for services they don't want or need. Those who DO want them can order them at cost price to me. Does it help? Nope, not a bit, they don't seem to get it!

I won't be including the extra services in my prices as I don't want to price myself out of a very competitive market, and as I said, I don't want to force guests to pay for items or services if they don't want them. Imagine how those Russians would have felt if I'd sent them an invoice for the villa rental on booking listing the rental price, together with an obligatory 150€ contribution for a "complimentary" champagne and fruit basket reception. I'm sure they would have been furious and felt like I was trying to put one over on them (as would I), yet that is basically exactly what they were saying constitutes good customer service (just done in a slightly more subtle way)

It's horrible to have your service criticised like that and to feel like you're not looking after your guests properly, but I think it's a case of taking it on the chin when it does happen and remembering that 99 times out of 100 guests are happy with the basics (as long as they're done well)... after all, as you say, that's what they should expect from self-catering as opposed to hotels or B&B's!

[CSE]

Change them on day 3 or 4, depending on condition, sometimes sooner
In hotels it is normal to put towels on the floor if you want them changed. Also often these days there is a notice about wasting water blah blah blah so please do not put towels on the floor.

[B&B netherlands]

lorca, if you have lots and lots of hair, i can understand completely!

most of my guests seem to use the bath towel and/or the handtowel and then sometimes the hairdryer - or just don't care and come down with wet hair. pretty acceptable in the netherlands, it seems!

though i've NEVER encountered a woman in paris (street, metro, bus) early in the morning with wet hair...

my hairdresser is used to the fact that i just want a haircut, she only gets a chance to use a hairdryer in winter, as most dutch women don't give a bit about leaving the house with half dry hair. they cycle, it dries...

honestly, if guests expect lush fruit baskets and champagne, they should have booked 5 star hotels. at a price.

self catering and B&B's are for some markets (russians) completely new. the netherlands had decades of 'center parcs' bungalow park booking possibilities and nothing else. many of my guests had never slept before in a B&B! (hence the 'hotel behaviour' i mentioned in another thread)

we DO look after our guests, not only 'properly', i would say. people have gotten used to chain hotels, which is a concept i hate.

we give attention, we give hospitality as the word says. it's just our guests who have to see that and they will, i'm sure.

the internet is full of 'cheap offers', 'best price', and the like.

9 euro for a hotel room. some shelters for the homeless in amsterdam charge more...

[Normandie]

for hair drying - a separate towel??? blimey. i supply cheap hairdryers in both bathrooms. only problem is that the place of the socket to plug them in, has been designed for the tall dutchies, and not for the so much smaller non-dutchies

LOL! I love how we are all different. Yes, a separate towel to wrap round my hair when I've washed it, please - while I dry the rest of me with another towel. How could that not be normal?

And I have long-ish hair and never ever bother to use a hairdryer.

[Essar]

Most chaps with a waning hairline just need a flannel - does both jobs at once; wash & dry!

[Normandy Cow]

Simple. We dont provide any towels.
(apart from tea towels)

[Margaret]

The level of service has a lot to do with being on site or not. In Bavaria, we offer guests a towel change every 3 days but give them the option of less frequently or not at all. For 2 week guests we provide the option of clean bedding and cleaning once a week (there is a form to order all this - very easy!) But we are on site.

At our UK house it is 1 set of towels each and no option for bedding and cleaning and no washing machine (massively abused in the past!). Admittedly, no 2 week bookings this year.

Our high maintenance American family of the year (most are great) expected to be able to ask non-urgent questions at 9.30 pm - that I do get a bit tetchy about as we specifically say not after 7pm unless an emergency, but still manage the smile.

[Fleur]

Simple. We dont provide any towels.
(apart from tea towels)

ditto

self catering = self catering

[la vache!]

Simple. We dont provide any towels.
(apart from tea towels)

ditto

self catering = self catering

For me, self catering is that guests provide their own food. I coudln't imagine staying somewhere if towels weren't provided now. The last thing I'd want to do is take my own and have to lake a choice between not taking a shower on the last morning or packing damp towels for the return trip. I wouldn't want either.