? About staying in Airb&b

We do not.

We will use spices, cooking oils and sprays.  But that's it.

Drinks only if they’re sealed, like in cans or an unopened bottle. Spices, oil, coffee/tea - yep. When we owned a vacation rental it was pretty much expected in that area that you provided those things for guests anyway.

We have not. I don’t even use spices and things left behind.

We book the same lodge for a girls crafty weekend 3 times a year. We used to bring a storage tub with all those types of things and each person would take a turn at bringing it home and restocking it. Now, since we’ve gone so often, they let us leave it there locked in a admin closet. We still have to inventory and replenish, but no one has to lug is back and forth.

Condiments I would use, I would assume coffee and sugar was provided by owner. Any sealed items that the previous person did not get to use I would have no qualms consuming. Just like I wouldn’t think twice before leaving something in the fridge for the next person as opposed to throwing it out. But I dont stay in Air B& Bs so a moot point.

What is the reason for not eating them? Are you afraid of being poisoned or drugged? My Dateline brain is running overtime! Lol

For me, it’s because there is no idea of the previous users’ hygiene practices. Because that mayo could have sat out on a counter for a day before being put back in the fridge. Who knows how old some stuff is, and how it’s been handled by so many different people.

My friend and I were in an Airbnb for two weeks last month. 2bed, 2bath condo with all kinds of stuff in the bathrooms, and kitchen. I’ve never stayed in an Airbnb with half bottles of all kinds of crap in the bathrooms, and all the condiments, cereals, oils and all that etc in the kitchen. We didn’t touch them.

Is this a place where the owner lives? Or a second house? Usually I’ve only seen condiments and drinks when the owner also lives there. The apartment where we stay in Amsterdam is like that—the owners rent it out when they are away for work. It’s in a great location right on a canal, is clean, and has beautiful light and space.

In Europe, it’s common to leave a sort of welcome gift for guests. Prosecco or champagne in the fridge, maybe some cheese and grapes. If the fridge is otherwise empty, those are meant for guests and yes, we do drink them. A lot of places in Scotland left shortbread or oatmeal with toppings.

As for food, oils, spices, etc, I don’t use those. I bring my own stuff and use that. People are weird.

When we were in Crete in June, we were in this great one that had a fully stocked fridge and then owner came right before we got there and made us an amazing Greek dinner since we had been traveling for 24 hours. They left us bottled water and wine (which we did use) and it had a fully stocked bar. We tried a couple of the local spirits but when we opened one and smelled it, it had been emptied and filled with water. The owners had the alcohol there for people to use (they didn't live in the apartment). I thought it was funny that someone did that. We emptied the bottle and threw it away.

When we stayed at an airbnb in Milos, same thing. The fridge was stocked for us so yes, we ate and drank what was in the fridge.

I use spices, salt and pepper and the like. I wouldn't use condiments because, well, we're picky about those. I've never had random stuff like cereal or crackers or whatever left in a rental. Often the owner leaves us something. Maybe coffee, fresh half and half, welcoming bottle of wine or a couple cans of beer. It's always been outlined on a note that they left it for us as part of their service. We really likedthe blueberry ale that was left for us in our airbnb in Maine last fall -- we bought some to take home.

One place we stayed had nothing in the fridge. We had to bring everything ourselves. The only thing that was there was salt, pepper, and sugar. They did have those prepackaged coffee packs (not k-cups) though.

Another place we stayed only had bottled water in the fridge. They offered k cups for their coffee machine and condiment packets (like what you'd get at a fast food place bought at Gordon foods or Sam's club) as well as salt, pepper, sugar, and individual creamer cups. They also left two pancakes batter mixes (just add water or milk) and individual cereal boxes. We used the coffee and drank the water. I had one of cereal boxes as a snack.

I would only use the stuff provided if they were sealed and within the use by date.

I’d be surprised to find anything in the fridge honestly. I would think anything left behind by previous guests would be taken out by whoever cleans the unit between rentals. I can understand why people leave stuff they can’t take along, but I can’t understand the staff leaving it there for future guests. I would expect to find an empty fridge so I have room for my own stuff.

We have friends with five weeks of timeshares in various places. We’ve traveled with them quite a few times and they have it down to a science. Whenever we stay at a place like that, we pack in and out literally everything including spices and condiments, rolls of foil and plastic wrap, ziplock bags, paper plates, you name it. If we need it, we bring it ourselves.

The places we have gone to typically either don’t have any of that stuff in the first place, and in the case of spices it’s usually really old and tasteless if there does happen to be any, and anything open like ketchup or whatever, ew no.

I host an airbnb (self contained apartment in the lower level of our family home). Host groups have frequent discussion about what is ok to leave in a rental, and there is a huge range of opinions.

We leave coffee, tea, a fresh carton of half and half, sugar packets, salt, pepper, olive oil spray, bottled water, Trader Joe's "Everything but the Bagel" spice mix, and a basket of packaged snack items (usually an assortment of things our family gets from Costco in bulk anyhow.) We also provide "a light breakfast for your first day" which is individual yogurt containers, a piece of fruit, individual bottle of fruit juice, a baked good from a local bakery-- in the fridge. I have a food handler's license which I include in the house manual-- and I'm scrupulous in tracking expiration dates and keeping temps appropriate. However, we don't mind if people choose not to take anything. Most times leftovers go to our ducks or get incorporated into family meals.

Sometimes people consume every last little thing left in the space, down to the last tea bag. Occasionally guests don't touch anything. Usually they use some things and express appreciation for helpful small touches. I know that when I've traveled, it's nice to have something to eat on arrival so you're not in a rush to find a grocery store first thing, specially if you're jet lagged.

We often have toiletries and various beverages left behind by guests who can't take them on flights. Rather than let them become clutter in the rental, I offer them on our Buy Nothing group, where they are always snapped up. Alcohol is the tricky thing, as it's not allowed on Buy Nothing -- occasionally it's something we will enjoy, but since my DH and I are not big drinkers, we accumulated quite an assortment of random beer and ale and hard ciders we'd never use. My DH offloaded a box on the crew remodeling our kitchen, which they were pleased about. I don't think I would ever leave alcohol in the rental-- if our guests want to purchase it themselves, that's fine, but I don't want to be the one to put temptation in the way of someone who might be struggling with an addiction.

I used to leave a loaf of fresh baked sour dough bread, but since Covid, I haven't felt like that would be appreciated so much. When we've stayed in airbnbs, we just kind of play it by ear as to what we feel comfortable eating. The last place we stayed was a cottage on the property of the hosts in residence, but a bit remote from stores. They offered bread, eggs, milk, bacon, fresh berries, a big jar of homemade granola, in addition to the usual basics. Everything was clearly fresh and purchased for our arrival, and we enjoyed hearty breakfasts. That said, there have been places we've stayed where I didn't want to touch the soap dish. It's all part of the adventure.

We stay in airbnbs and hotels full time, about a 50/50 mix. Most of the airbnbs have coffee, sugar, creamer packets, and a few other things like a can of soup, microwave popcorn, etc. If it seems like a full time rental and there are just a few things left there I might use them if I need them.
Last week's rental was a woman's vacation place that she rents out and she had quite a bit in the fridge and pantry. The fridge was mostly clean but the freezer was about 1/3 full and she had a cabinet of spices, cabinet of food, a shelf of random cans of alcohol that was left behind and random wine and liquor through the house.
She sent a message saying she wouldn't be there for a while and to please use anything we wanted.

I had a bottle of wine, a bowl of oatmeal, a full bottle of iced coffee, some cinnamon butter, and a few other random things.
I used up her eggs and replaced with mine, left extra butter, a bottle of iced coffee and some homemade creamer and she text to let us know to not worry about anything because she was coming in the same day unexpectedly so I left her a bowl of cornbread and beans too. She text for the recipe so I guess she ate them.

I will eat things if they're random and obviously left and unopened or with permission and usually leave a few things behind also.