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>
SPJ
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Post by SPJ »

One further thought - as you say COYS, with apologies for topic hijack. Do you have a septic tank? I daren't leave our guests to buy what they like in the way of basics if I am to keep our "fosse septique" in good running order.
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PW in Polemi
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Post by PW in Polemi »

COYS wrote:
PW in Polemi wrote:But that's the point, coys. There weren't even a few basics and essentials!
But a 'welcome pack' was offered (in advance) as an optional extra. If not taken up I personally wouldn't 'expect' anything left for me in self catering accommodation.
To be honest we tended to leave cleaning materials more in hope than expectation.
As I obviously didn't make clear earlier, my friends wre not complaining about the lack of food. They refused to pay for the welcome pack of food and drink because they knew they could source it locally, cheaper, themselves, and buy exactly what brands/flavours they wanted.

What they were complaining about was the expectation that they leave the villa clean, with not even a sliver of soap or drizzle of general purpose cleaner, nor even a dustpan and brush or dishcloth. When you have just arrived after an hour's drive following a 4 or 4.5 hour flight, one of the first things you want to do is visit the toilet and wash your hands afterwards. Difficult with no soap at all....

Why should our guests who are often staying for a week or less, be expected to buy a litre of floor cleaner to use maybe twice, a bottle of washing up liquid or a box of dishwasher or washing machine tabs, and leave it all behind at the end of their holiday because they cannot take it with them on the plane?

I do feel that when you are in the hospitality business, you should be hospitable. I am not saying one should supply every possible cleaning substance in sufficient quantities to last the entire duration of your guests' holiday, but I strongly feel that a minimum quantity should be left, including cleaning cloths and dishcloths. We as accommodation owners moan when our guests do not leave our properties clean, but if there is nothing left for them to use, they are far less likely to do any cleaning at all.
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

PW in Polemi wrote: I do feel that when you are in the hospitality business, you should be hospitable. I am not saying one should supply every possible cleaning substance in sufficient quantities to last the entire duration of your guests' holiday, but I strongly feel that a minimum quantity should be left, including cleaning cloths and dishcloths. We as accommodation owners moan when our guests do not leave our properties clean, but if there is nothing left for them to use, they are far less likely to do any cleaning at all.
This is precisely why the description of essentials as being part of a “Welcome Pack” is nonsense.
A “Welcome Pack” is intended to make the guest feel welcome on arrival - the clue is in the name. Not providing initial consumable essentials such as basic soap, loo rolls (and the list goes on) will make the guest feel unwelcome, intentionally or otherwise.
There is a big difference between making a guest feel welcome and making the same guest feel unwelcome: a “Welcome Pack” might play a small part in making a guest feel welcome; no essentials will make them feel unwelcome.

Owners do perpetuate the problem; as soon as someone raises the question of “Welcome Pack” we get lists of provisions - soap, toilet paper, laundry tablets, a bin liner, bog cleaner... Here’s a test: imagine all of the above in a nice lined open basket, which you proudly present to your guest with a warm smile and the words “Welcome to Kozeee Kottage, here’s some bog cleaner.”

No, these items are not part of a “Welcome Pack”. They are essential consumables which the guest will need during their stay, and a bare minimum is perhaps to ensure the guest can use the toilet and wash their hands as soon as they arrive. Then they can settle down and have a cup of tea or coffee, some biscuits or whatever else you’ve included in their welcome pack.

Decide what you want to provide as essential consumables, which may well be influenced by your own agenda (eg septic tank), before arrival send the guest a list of the things you provide, then provide the things you list. No surprises.
COYS
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Post by COYS »

Agreed greenbarn. No surprises, no problem.
But as (yet another) side issue let's not pretend that when we do provide all of the requisite products, tools etc. our guests routinely choose to use them. I know, and suspect we all know that this often isn't the case, especially on hot, sticky beach holidays. Nothing much surprises me these days but the way some choose to 'live' whilst on holiday never fails to raise the eyebrows. If the past 15 odd years, especially the last few, has taught me anything it's that the utopian holiday rental business is a fruitless pursuit no matter how hospitable you are or however much you/we provide.
And don't get me started on the dark side of the septic tank come service time :shock:
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greenbarn
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Post by greenbarn »

Indeed COYS. You can tell a guest that water exists, you could even go so far as to lead them to it, but... :roll:
AppletreeGlamping
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Post by AppletreeGlamping »

The minimum we leave is tea/coffee/sugar/milk and being in Wales, Welsh cakes :) If we know its a special occasion a bottle of sparkling wine and a card. Then foil, washing up liquid, a sponge and a scourer. Bleach by the toilet, hand wash and toilet roll.

We consider those the basics so our guests can arrive and be comfortable for the first night.

For everything else we use https://www.myroomservice.uk which provides a mini-store for our property. We send a link to the guests and they can see extras available and order products for their arrival. We've found its the bulky things that guests don't mind paying extra for. I've done a roaring trade in bbq briquettes this summer and we sold quite a few romance hampers that my wife puts together. I'm hoping to do well with coal and wood this winter, fingers crossed.

On septic tanks, I was very nervous initially about what can go into it but I contacted various manufacturers and they said with environmental laws these days, all their cleaning products are safe for a septic tank!? so we stopped using the Ecover products which didn't work so well anyway and its emptied by tanker every few months anyway, so without wanting to jinx it, we've not had any issues so far!
Last edited by AppletreeGlamping on Fri Oct 26, 2018 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
newtimber
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Post by newtimber »

AppletreeGlamping wrote:
On septic tanks, I was very nervous initially about what can go into it but I contacted various manufacturers and they said with environmental laws these days, all their cleaning products are safe for a septic tank!? so we stopped using the Ecover products which didn't work so well anyway and its emptied by tanker every few months anyway, so without wanting to jinx it, we've not had any issues so far!
It's things like bleach and toilet cleaners and anything that kills 99.9% of bacteria that aren't good for septic tanks - but a septic tank shouldn't need emptying that often unless it's the wrong size.
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Moliere
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Post by Moliere »

I do believe the market, or more particularly the punters, have changed in recent years.

We used to leave a welcome pack sufficient for an simple evening meal and a bottle of wine, no probs. Soap for bathrooms, of course. Cleaning substances-wise was a bit like spices and condiments and such; we started it all off with a supply of everything, then the idea was that when a guest used the last of something they bought a replacement, so over a season everyone enjoyed the use of other people's purchases and topped up the supply with their own buys when needed. Most of the time it worked really smoothly (it is called self-catering, remember). There's always the occasional sociopath - I won't bore you all again with the story of the Paisley couple who stripped everything from the kitchen cupboards and packed it in their cases - but most people are, or were, quite ready to join in and it worked well for years.

I seem to detect that nowadays, guests want a hotel-type service with everything supplied and waiting for them. I can only say it's an unfortunate turn for our industry.

Mols
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GillianF
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Post by GillianF »

Indeed Moliere. The guests/society have changed.

Guests used to ooh and aah when they walked into accommodation, thank us for the small welcome pack and ask about hot water.

Now, guests march in, glance round and ask for the Wifi code.

It is a sadder world now ………...
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

We have decided to discontinue giving our guests a welcome pack this year. This for the first time ever since we opened 13 years ago.

Our decision was based mainly on the fact that the locals here bring their own food with them from their preferred supermarket and often the milk/bread/butter/cheese, etc. we have bought for them is not to their liking and they either leave the items unopened behind, or just throw them away in the bin.

If the guests are coming from abroad, then we will give them a gift of a hamper of local products, as they most probably won't have any food with them. But we don't give these to guests staying a couple of nights, as these are large €30 hampers.

If they are not getting the hamper then we are leaving a couple of bottles of wine instead. But even though we have begun to give better quality wines (we have never given supermarket branded wines - couldn't imagine giving someone wine with CO-OP on the label!) we sometimes find the wine left unopened and empty bottles of very expensive-looking wine left behind in the recycling. You can't please everyone, can you!

Recently we have noticed that guests have been cutting our flowers from the garden and leaving them in jars on the dining/breakfast room tables although we also have very large plants inside, as well as a few imitation ones. Are they trying to tell us something?
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