They Stole Our Toilet Paper!
Miami, FL Oct 13, 2026
I know this is a hotly contested issue among hosts: "How much toilet paper do you leave for a guest?"
Some say they leave a "starter pack" of a few rolls, especially for guests who stay longer; others want to avoid the dreaded phone call from a guest asking someone to bring more rolls of TP.
In our case, we leave a new roll in the toilet paper holder and three extra rolls in each bathroom. Additionally, there is an unopened 6-pack in the cleaning closet. In our 3-bathroom listing, that's a whopping 18 rolls of toilet paper.
We were robbed!
The other day, it finally happened: when our cleaners arrived at the listing, they discovered that our guests, who had a 3-night stay, had taken all the extra toilet paper from two bathrooms when they checked out. (They must really love two-ply.)
Seriously? What are you going to do with six rolls of that stuff? Now we'll have to replace all those rolls, and this loss makes up 0.29% of the total payout for this reservation. How will we ever recover from this terrible loss?
Stop nickel-and-diming your guests.
But you know what? We don't care. In over 200 stays, this is one of the very few times this has happened (honestly, I can't remember another instance in the past six years of hosting), and this audacity has cost us an unbelievable amount of - wait for it - $4.30. So we're not going to start a GoFundMe campaign or file an air cover claim to recoup this expense - after all, we spend more money on complimentary snacks and drinks for our guests, for crying out loud!
So stop focusing on the little things and refocus on providing exceptional hospitality to your guests. Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Spoil your guests, and you'll reach the point where 91.4% of them rave about your hospitality in their reviews, just like our guests do.
And that more than makes up for the $4.30 loss.
I promise.
Why Paying Full Price for Airbnb Amenities is a Rookie Mistake
Miami, FL Aug 25, 2026
Furnishing an Airbnb can be quite expensive, which can weigh heavily on your budget—especially when you lower your prices during the off-season to attract bookings.
Amenities play a crucial role in enhancing the guest experience at your listing, so it's essential not to skimp on key appliances, as they don't last forever.
For example, a few weeks ago, our oven and dishwasher were damaged due to a failure by our local power company, FPL. After some back-and-forth, the utility company paid us a claim for these two appliances, which amounted to about 80% of their value—not bad, but we still needed to replace them.
Over the past five years, the prices of these appliances have risen significantly, so we found ourselves paying about 30% more than what we originally paid. Consequently, the claim only covered around 50% of today's costs.
When we went shopping for replacements, we originally faced a price tag of $4,200 for brand-new appliances. However, by visiting an outlet store, we managed to pay just 40% of the original price—slightly less than what the utility paid out on the claim.
In the end, we replaced our old appliances with brand new, top-of-the-line models thanks to some careful shopping and negotiating. We asked the store manager if we could get a better deal on both appliances, and to our surprise, he halved the price of the oven. I thought he was making a mistake.
The takeaway from this experience is that you don’t have to pay full price to obtain excellent amenities. Saving a dollar is the same as earning a dollar—in our case, saving $2,500 is equivalent to earning $2,500.