Welcome packs

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
sas401
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Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2016 2:27 pm
Location: Wales

Welcome packs

Post by sas401 »

We are thinking of altering our welcome pack so wondered what you all put in yours?

Ours is Milk, Tea, Coffee, Sugar, Welshcakes, 6 Eggs, Fresh Flowers, and a handful of celebrations or quality street.
Karen&John
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Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2017 6:50 pm
Location: Norfolk

Post by Karen&John »

We only started in July, still learning and open to ideas.
Our welcome pack contains:
Milk, (2pint in fridge)
Tea bags, coffee sachets, sugar sticks, sweeteners, a locally produced cake, bottle of presecco (adli), a packet of haribo for each child expected and in the hot weather 6 magnums in the freezer.

K&J
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Do you cater for the groups of people that cannot eat things listed in the allergens regulations?
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
SPJ
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Post by SPJ »

I ask my guests what they want and assume nothing these days about consumption of alcohol, sugar, flour-based or dairy products. Much better to give them what they want - a "welcome" pack is anything but if it includes stuff they don't want. I learnt many, many years ago that all too often a "surprise gift" is a disaster.

Two weeks beforehand I send an email with a list of what I propose providing in our welcome pack with questions as to what they would prefer - eg "milk - is semi-skimmed ok or would you prefer non-dairy such as soya, almond, oat etc?"

My next guests, the husband is fine with semi-skimmed, his wife and daughter want non-dairy milk and are thrilled that they have been asked.

Some stuff I do provide without asking - such as teas, coffees, etc but I make sure I have a very wide selection of "normal" and herbal teas and different types of coffee - ground for a cafetiere, individual sachets of instant and senseo machine pods.

I used to provide fresh flowers, but found my guests were reluctant to throw them away when they looked sad - so I'd go in after 2 weeks and find dead flowers in a vase somewhere! I now make sure to have an attractive flowering plant that needs minimum attention - Lidl's orchids are a godsend and really cheap.
Last edited by SPJ on Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Karen&John
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Location: Norfolk

Post by Karen&John »

Do you cater for the groups of people that cannot eat things listed in the allergens regulations?
Very difficult to cater for everyone.
We had a lovely Jewish family stay who could not touch any of it (even the milk).

K&J
SPJ
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Post by SPJ »

Karen&John wrote:
Do you cater for the groups of people that cannot eat things listed in the allergens regulations?
Very difficult to cater for everyone.
We had a lovely Jewish family stay who could not touch any of it (even the milk).

K&J
Hence my comment above - ask them beforehand. Especially the milk if they don't know where it's been.
GillianF
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Location: Dordogne

Post by GillianF »

I leave a reasonable quality bottle of red wine and some 'nibbles' If there are children I add a bottle of orange juice and some biscuits by way of a welcome pack

There is salt and pepper, filters for the coffee machine, cling film and cooking foil in the cupboards.

I've rarely found anyone has not used the welcome pack - or taken it home. I find guests these days are so much more demanding and less appreciative that I keep it simple - same welcome pack we've been doing for over 20 years.

For a few years I did offer to do some shopping for a guest's arrival if they sent a list but hardly anyone bothered so I stopped offering.
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

RE the regulations. It is not difficult. The fact is it is your responsibility when supplying food for you to give notice of what the food contains. If everything is pre-wrapped then it should be ok. It is then for the person to decide if they can or cannot eat it.
Religious constraints do not come into the food regulations.
Maybe some of you should ensure you are are abiding by regulations. I suppose you have read about recent cases of death caused by some people consuming food to which they had a reaction to?
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

Can we not assume that someone with a severe food allergy would look at the label on the packaged food/drink?

I never leave anything home-made or not brought pre-packaged from a supermarket and clear out anything left by previous guests.

I might look 'mean' compared to some of the things I know other LMHers leave but I like to keep it simple.
loveka
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Post by loveka »

We now do
Milk
Orange juice
Prosecco or wine
Crisps
Ground coffee
Biscuits

We have had 2 full bottles hidden in the Woodburn though, I assume on religious grounds.

So I suppose I should ask people? This ruins the element of surprise though. People do mention this in reviews.
SPJ
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Post by SPJ »

loveka wrote:We now do

So I suppose I should ask people? This ruins the element of surprise though. People do mention this in reviews.
If people mention it and you're happy doing what you do, why change?

My lot - their surprise is when I email them and they get to choose what they want - so it's something to look forward to. I also tend to do little extras - like a bowl of peaches.
AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

Talk about religious restraints. We had an Iranian honeymoon couple staying two or three years ago. Following an LMH topic on the subject (very similar to this one), we were careful to provide only some soft drinks in the pack - absolutely no alcohol. You can imagine the surprise when our guests left, leaving us a present of a third of a bottle of gin. :D
AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

Talk about religious restraints. We had an Iranian honeymoon couple staying two or three years ago. Following an LMH topic on the subject (very similar to this one), we were careful to provide only some soft drinks in the pack - absolutely no alcohol. You can imagine the surprise when our guests left, leaving us a present of a third of a bottle of gin. :D
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

If you leave staples such as bread, milk, biscuits, coffee, tea etc etc it’s a very good idea to tell your guests so that they know what will be there on arrival. Making a detour, getting lost and having a row to try and find somewhere they can get a few fresh essentials and then finding they’ve wasted their time is not going to have the desired effect!

I don’t regard things like kitchen foil and other basics as part of a “welcome pack”, (“Nice to meet you, have some cling film...”) but again a list of what’s provided is useful for guests - including how many loo rolls :roll: (now there’s a topic!)

More expensive items are a guessing game - nothing we provide is free, the guest has paid for it; if I was “welcomed” with a bottle of prosecco or cheap wine I’d just see it as a waste of my money, but where there’s a local connection for some kind of produce (or if you happen to have your own vineyard :D ) I think that can be a nice touch. So much depends on your typical guest profile, your location and your market.

So the answer is - there is no one answer!
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CSE
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Post by CSE »

Seems the allergen regulations maybe letting through foods which may have harrowing consequences for the customer and family.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/201 ... rl-inquest
Never try to out-stubborn your guests.
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