Makeup :-(

I'm looking for any way to stop people from using the white towels for makeup removal. I supply the black cloths embroidered with "MAKEUP". I supply makeup removal pads. But they're still driving us crazy with makeup. We can eventually get it out, but it takes a half hour of scrubbing.
What would you think about putting this near the top of the "your reservation is 3 days away" e-mail I send. Too much?
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Sorry to mention this right off the bat, but we’ve lost a small fortune lately in makeup-ruined white towels and pillowcases. So PLEASE, if you have makeup, remove it using the black cloths we put in each bathroom. They have the word MAKEUP embroidered onto them. You can’t miss it. But many people do, and our white towels are ruined. Thanks, and again, sorry for having to bring it up!

Can't hurt to try. If you get negative feedback you can always drop it. You've worded it in such a way I wouldn't find it off-putting. If you could put a humorous spin on it - even better.

Put that in the bathroom, either on or next to the mirror. No one reads the email. I'd leave out how much they cost. I would add that the black makeup removing face cloths are run thru high temp hot water to clean them.

We have the black cloths and don't have anyone getting makeup on the towels. Probably because I have a sign hanging above the vanity that says if they want to reuse the towels just hang them up. Otherwise if they are on the floor we'll replace. Then it says "And the black facecloth is a makeup removal cloth to help keep our beautiful towels from getting stained." I'd give this a try.

Just what Mort Says. DOn't put in their confirmation. They never read and if they do..they won't remember by the time they get there. :-(

See you don't check people in "per say" or id say add it into the check in speech, your lock tells you they are in doesn't it ? do you ring to check they are ok? could it be added in then?
P.S. this is why we don't do our own laundry - had a woman got mascara on pillow case so got white towel and tried to scrubb it off with lots of water - got on pillowcase, on pillow (ie wet), on towel, on duvet cover and got the middle duvet part soaking so had to run round the house like an idiot trying to find a double middle when all my spares seemed to be a king! ruddy typical - so for something that I couldn't care less about made 6 problems, she meant well and was a super nice lady but could have throttled her!

Jcam said:

See you don't check people in "per say" or id say add it into the check in speech, your lock tells you they are in doesn't it ? do you ring to check they are ok? could it be added in then?
P.S. this is why we don't do our own laundry - had a woman got mascara on pillow case so got white towel and tried to scrubb it off with lots of water - got on pillowcase, on pillow (ie wet), on towel, on duvet cover and got the middle duvet part soaking so had to run round the house like an idiot trying to find a double middle when all my spares seemed to be a king! ruddy typical - so for something that I couldn't care less about made 6 problems, she meant well and was a super nice lady but could have throttled her!.

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We had a guest wipe up a coffee spill with the white towels. Was very proud.

Jcam said:

See you don't check people in "per say" or id say add it into the check in speech, your lock tells you they are in doesn't it ? do you ring to check they are ok? could it be added in then?
P.S. this is why we don't do our own laundry - had a woman got mascara on pillow case so got white towel and tried to scrubb it off with lots of water - got on pillowcase, on pillow (ie wet), on towel, on duvet cover and got the middle duvet part soaking so had to run round the house like an idiot trying to find a double middle when all my spares seemed to be a king! ruddy typical - so for something that I couldn't care less about made 6 problems, she meant well and was a super nice lady but could have throttled her!.

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I have guests who ask me for extra blankets because it's too cold. When I ask if they don't like to have the heat on they tell me there's no way to turn it on. Yup. Part of the room tour is the thermostat.

Thanks for the advice! We'll see how this goes. Any improvement will be most welcome!

Agree with Mort. Not a fan of too many signs, but if this is a recurring problem, then put it up there. Make sure you tell them you'll charge them for towels/linens that are damaged/destroyed. Then do it.

Arks said:

Thanks for the advice! We'll see how this goes. Any improvement will be most welcome!.

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Arks said:

Thanks for the advice! We'll see how this goes. Any improvement will be most welcome!

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Maybe add the price to the bottom:
We understand our guests love the super soft white towels. They are $28/each. If damaged by makeup, we'll simply add the charge to your card. Thank you for understanding.

I had to laugh. Last week a several day guest used her white wash cloths to blot her eye liner 2 days in a row, so I moved the makeup remover cloths to the rack where the ravaged white cloths had been. No problem...she used the white hand towel instead!
This month I had about as many stained as unstained linens to wash. Fortunately 99% comes out with the right combination of stain remover and elbow grease, but I'm getting tired of it, too.
Please keep us updated on how successful your strategies turn out to be.

Not a big issue for us, only happens occasionally.
We stayed with an Innmate recently who had a brightly coloured flannel rolled up with a paper band round it saying make-up removal, in the bathroom. Great idea, looked great too, we're pinching that idea.

Morticia said:

Jcam said:

See you don't check people in "per say" or id say add it into the check in speech, your lock tells you they are in doesn't it ? do you ring to check they are ok? could it be added in then?
P.S. this is why we don't do our own laundry - had a woman got mascara on pillow case so got white towel and tried to scrubb it off with lots of water - got on pillowcase, on pillow (ie wet), on towel, on duvet cover and got the middle duvet part soaking so had to run round the house like an idiot trying to find a double middle when all my spares seemed to be a king! ruddy typical - so for something that I couldn't care less about made 6 problems, she meant well and was a super nice lady but could have throttled her!.

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We had a guest wipe up a coffee spill with the white towels. Was very proud.
.

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We had a woman spilled tea on tan coloured chair and sort of mopped it then left to dry - we were left with a circle stain of round the edge of the spil thanks for that! plus she was a right pain so it was the icing on the cake!

I've always had the black makeup cloths on a shelf by the tub, because if you put them right by the sink, people splash water all over them even if they don't use them, so they have to be washed every time.
But now I'm going to start putting them right by the sink, with the word MAKEUP on top, where they can't miss them. Better to wash the cloth every time, even when it's not used, than have the makeup on the white towels and washcloths.
We'll see...

Signs - some people hate them. I don't mind them. Little signs right above the towels and in the bedroom ... Please be respectful of bed sheets and towels. Makeup/foundation, face medications/creams including benzoyl peroxide, and tanning products will stain bleach linens/towels. Please use the makeup towels for removal of these products. Unsalvageable linens/bath towels will be charged to the guest.
I also have seen 'bleach resistant' towels that you can go crazy on to get them cleaned.
There will still be those who ignore your request ... because that is how people are. If it's that much of a problem, you have to be pushy.
I was on a septic system and had to post signs about not flushing much more than bodily waste. Right above each tp dispenser. The signs were folksy but blunt ... because people in eight guest rooms flushing everything imaginable caused a huge problem. And a huge expense. 'nuff said.

I roll my black Makeup face cloth so the the word Makeup is clearly visible and then nestle it between two white face cloths. I also supple facial wipes in a plastic container clearly marked as well. Plus cotton pads. Has really cut down in my face cloths being used.

I had one guest use the hand towel vs the colored towels with the note asking them to use the colored towels. They ARE expensive and I am about to not provide them any more.

Highlands John said:

Not a big issue for us, only happens occasionally.
We stayed with an Innmate recently who had a brightly coloured flannel rolled up with a paper band round it saying make-up removal, in the bathroom. Great idea, looked great too, we're pinching that idea..

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That's why you travel and stay at other places! Get ideas that might work for you! See things from the guests' view.

We lay the make up towels right on the sinks and yes they are used instead of the hand towels for drying hands but it beats the hand towels being used for make up. This is not a problem for us since using the make up clothes. The Soft Touch Make up Towels are much plusher and softer than other ones and used more.