Running out of toilet paper on day two is a self inflicted review

There is a category of Airbnb review that begins “the apartment was lovely, but” and then describes running out of toilet paper. It is entirely avoidable, it costs almost nothing to avoid, and it happens constantly because consumables are the one line hosts think of as a cost rather than as part of the product.

Leave more than the stay requires

The rule is simple: whatever you think is enough, leave roughly double, and never leave an amount that runs out exactly at checkout.

• Toilet paper: two rolls per bathroom in place, plus a visible spare pack. Not one roll and a hopeful attitude
• Hand soap: full dispensers at every basin and in the kitchen
• Shower gel, shampoo and conditioner: full bottles. Conditioner is the one hosts skip and guests notice
• Washing up liquid, sponge and a cloth, plus dishwasher tablets if there is a machine
• Bin liners, in the cupboard, in the right size. A guest with no liner puts waste straight in the bin and it is your cleaner who deals with it
• Laundry detergent, essential on any stay over a week and a genuine differentiator for long stays
• Salt, pepper, oil, tea, coffee, sugar and long life milk. See the kitchen basics that matter

Never leave an amount that runs out exactly at checkout. Guests do not experience precision as efficiency, they experience it as meanness.

Bottles, not miniatures

Hotel style miniatures feel like hospitality and are the wrong choice for a short let, where stays are longer and guests self cater.

• Refillable wall dispensers or full bottles last a whole stay, cost less per guest, and generate far less waste
• They read as generous rather than rationed. A full bottle says take what you need
• Buy in bulk and decant, which is where the cost advantage comes from
• Use something that smells good. Guests remember scent, and the cheapest possible option is identifiable as such the moment it is used
• Keep it consistent across your units, which makes restocking a single repeat order. See scaling to five units

The things guests forgot to pack

A small drawer of rescues costs very little and produces a disproportionate number of warm reviews, because it addresses somebody at the exact moment they are annoyed with themselves.

• Toothbrush and toothpaste, spares
• A razor, and a small sewing kit
• Plasters and basic painkillers
• Common phone charging cables
• An umbrella by the door, which in the Nairobi rains is a gift
• A travel adaptor, for the guest who arrived without one
• Insect repellent. See mosquitoes and pests

What it actually costs

A fully stocked Nairobi apartment consumes a small fraction of one night’s rate per stay. Against that, a single consumables complaint knocks the rating that determines your placement in search for months. The arithmetic is not close.

• Budget consumables per stay in your numbers rather than treating each purchase as an unwelcome surprise
• Buy bulk and hold a supply cupboard, so nobody is buying soap on the way to a turnover
• Put restocking on the turnover checklist as specific quantities, not as “check supplies”
• Track it. If one unit consumes far more than another, something is leaking or somebody is taking it

How Goldstay handles it

Managed units are stocked to a fixed list with counted quantities at every turnover, refillable dispensers rather than miniatures, and a rescue drawer as standard. Consumables appear as a line in the owner statement, because they are part of the product rather than an overrun.

This is standard on every unit under our Airbnb management, rather than something an owner has to ask for.

Related reading: what belongs in a welcome basket and how clean is clean enough.