Regardless of the kind, size, and location of your Airbnb property, buying bulk toiletries is a smart idea. Whether you provide mini starter packs of the barest essentials or go all-out with generous, full-sized bottles, you’ll want to source toiletries wholesale so you can cut down on costs.
In this post, we’ll go over the two ways you can keep your inventory well-stocked – by the gallon or in travel-size, individualized portions. Then you decide what’s best for your short-term rental.
Toiletries are items that guests need when staying at any short-term rental. They may not be every guest’s priority, but if necessities aren’t available at your rental, guests will notice. (You also won’t be able to check the “Essentials” box on your Airbnb listing.)
Next to a clean and functioning sink, toilet and shower or bath area, toiletries are deemed “essential” by most vacation rental guests. Often, their presence will determine whether guests will have a satisfactory stay at your property or not.
Actually, Airbnb lists only toilet paper, bath and body soap – and a towel – as bathroom essentials for every guest.
But there are quite a few items that travelers often forget to bring, and it won’t hurt to provide them if it’s within your means. These are: a toothbrush, some toothpaste, makeup remover wipes, and a disposable razor.
Your guests aren’t likely to use them, but the few who do would be very grateful that you saved them a trip to the convenience store. (A huge plus if your property is remote!)
Many super hosts go the extra mile and provide some extras: Q-Tips, a shower cap, hair conditioner, a new loofah, a small comb, mouthwash, deodorant, feminine items, and even slippers.
If you want to earn rave reviews for anticipating your guests’ needs, along with a few luxuries, go ahead and throw those in. A well-stocked bathroom not only impresses guests, but it also enhances their entire stay.
But don’t feel obliged to offer more than you’re willing to. Just declare in your listing description the items you are providing so your guests will know what to bring. It really depends on the kind of folks you’re catering to, the frequency of bookings you get, your branding, pricing strategy, competition, and even your location.
Again, the amount and frequency of your turnovers will depend on factors like the number and size of your properties, their seasonality, amount of guests you accommodate, your operating expenses, and so on.
While not all your guests will help themselves to what you offer, a number of them will. It’s critical that you offer good-quality products.
If you haven’t tried sourcing bulk toiletries from hotel amenities suppliers yet, it’s time you did. Hotel toiletries often have a higher quality formulation than brands sold at retail or discount stores. That’s because hotels try to provide their guests with the best service and experience possible. (At least the good ones do.)
As an Airbnb host, you’ll want to do the same. In the short amount of time guests are staying on your property, you’ll want to provide them with as pleasant an experience as you can.
Everyone knows that buying items in bulk, whatever they may be, turns out cheaper. Not only can you get them at a discounted rate, but you’ll also spare yourself time and effort making frequent trips to the store or ordering online.
By keeping your stock levels high, you won’t have to worry about items running out and not having the refills on hand. Shampoo, body wash, and liquid hand soap, bought by the gallons or in large amounts of travel-size portions, will keep your inventory good for many weeks, even months.
Read also: Hotels vs. Airbnb: How the Hotel Industry Tried but Can Never Destroy Short-term Rentals
Many novice hosts with a few rental properties source their Airbnb toiletries at the nearest Costco or Walmart. But you don’t have to limit yourself to conventional stores. There are countless wholesale soap suppliers that you can tap, many of them hotel toiletries suppliers that cater to the entire hospitality industry.
As your business grows and your number of properties scales, you’ll naturally want to be cost-efficient with your purchasing methods. But you’ll want to continue delivering quality service at reasonable rates.
Yes, you’re not a hotel, and you won’t need the kind of bulk orders big inns and hotels demand. But you still want your inventory well-stocked, especially in these times of rapid inflation, supply chain disruptions, and Covid restrictions.
If you urgently need to restock in bulk, you can easily do a quick online search and type “bulk toiletries near me” or “where to buy travel-size toiletries in bulk”, then take it from there.
But if you want to find the best deals on hotel toiletries in bulk, go over the list below and see which suppliers will give you the items you want – in the type, volume, and price bracket you need.
Many of them offer bulk soap bars, bulk body wash, bulk shampoo by the gallon, and travel-size toiletries by the crate.
1-Shoppe is a family-owned business based in San Diego, California. Its mission is to provide a high-quality line of amenities for vacation and short-term rentals, hotels, and other tourist accommodations. Its Amazon store carries a plethora of salon-grade toiletries favored by many veteran hosts. Brands like Aqua Botanics, Desert Breeze, Eco Botanics, H20 Therapy, Infuse, and Terra Pure that are all organic, paraben-free, gluten-free, and cruelty-free. You can order them by gallon or in travel-size containers in batches of 75, 150, or 300 pieces. 1-Shoppe is minority-owned and veteran-owned.
This is one of the oldest hotel amenities suppliers in the USA. Affiliated with Amtex, American Hotel has been serving the hospitality industry since 1865. Both companies can provide you with bulk toiletries by gallon or in mini containers.
Eco Amenities is another online store that carries body washes, shampoo, conditioner, conditioning shampoo, and lotions. They have a mild, soothing green tea scent, free of parabens, harsh chemicals, or any additives that can irritate skin. They’re available in biodegradable flip-top tubes so you won’t find caps littered all over your bathroom floor. Soap bars are made of all-natural ingredients, cruelty-free, and packaged in biodegradable wraps.
Florida-based Hotel Items is a family-owned business that has been around since 1986. They have a large customer base, from the smallest B&Bs to large overseas hotels. Like the above suppliers, they carry popular hotel brands by the gallon, including Balance, Nourish, and Ocean. They also supply soap dispensers, pump bottles, wipes, and other accessory hotel amenities in bulk.
This wholesaler is really a hospitality supplies depot. It carries a full catalog of products for hotels, motels, resorts, and Airbnb vacation homes in a wide variety of brands and price categories.
You’ll find brands you won’t see at other wholesalers: Allure, Bodyography, Citrus Breeze, EcoRite, Elle Spa (French), EST. collection, Nectar, NxtGen, Paloma, Pro-Nature, Revive, Spa Rituals, Sun Sol, Terra Botanics, and Terra Therapy.
H.S.D. is where many hotels buy bulk toiletries, accessories, personal kits, and miscellaneous items.
This question has been a frequent topic on host forums in the last decade.
In recent years, as the competition got tougher and tougher within the Airbnb space, hosts have been hard-pressed to impress guests on every stay. They go all out with the quality of service and products they offer, providing only the best amenities their budgets can afford.
Then came Covid and the resulting shutdowns, and property owners were hit hard by a massive drop in bookings. Hosts have since scaled down their operational costs and procedures — wherever possible.
If cost-cutting is a priority for you, too, we suggest you opt for good-sized pump bottles and dispensers that you can place near the sink or mount on the shower wall. Shampoo, body wash, and liquid hand soap in dispensers allow guests to get only what they need and prevent them from accidentally pouring out excessive amounts.
Buy your liquid toiletries by the gallon and just replenish as needed. Often, guests feel more comfortable getting soap and shampoo from generic dispensers than from half-empty branded bottles already used by others.
(Tip: A stainless steel or opaque dispenser won’t show the fill level of the products.)
On the other hand, if you want to give a professional feel, go for travel-size toiletries. Served in identical but individually labeled plastic tubes or bottles, mini toiletries will make your bathroom look and feel like a spa. Hotel amenities suppliers usually pack them in clean, elegant packaging that gives a sophisticated, 5-star look.
You won’t have odd, mismatched, leftover containers crowding your shelf or counter.
*Tip: If you decide to use pump bottles and dispensers, make sure they’re clean and spotless.
Only you know what’s best for your vacation rental. When planning your purchases, think of items that you can easily get – and store – a good supply of, and that guests could use.
But try to find that sweet spot between economy and quality. And, if you can afford it, provide a few more extras for that all-important “WOW” factor.
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