Food from home

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Country Girl

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 20, 2009
Messages
1,257
Reaction score
21
Do you allow guests to bring in food from home for their dinner? I have a family of 5 coming in this Saturday and they just informed me (didn't ask, mind you) that they will be bringing their own dinner and they will need me to heat it up for them in our oven. Of course this means dirty dishes, silverware, napkins, etc. and taking over the dining room until who knows when. We don't mind if guests order take-out and eat it here but this is taking things to a whole new level. On top of that my DH and I have dinner plans ourselves that evening (just at our neighbors home) and we don't want to come home to a huge mess.
 
NO! And the simpliest of answers is that the health department doesn't allow the entry of foreign food into your kitchen.
 
We have a microwave for guests to use and that's it. They're on their own. We don't mind them eating in their rooms because they're set up with a table & chairs to eat and have some plastic ware for them next to the microwave, but that's it. If they wanted to 'cook', they would have to rent our cottage which has a full kitchen.
I certainly wouldn't stick around in order to heat their dinner for them!
 
We have a microwave in the guest common area, that is where they can heat up left overs etc.
I have not had this situation but would tell them you are sorry that it is not allowed by - health dept, ins. or whom ever you wish that is not YOU! lol
My other thought is that I hope your kitchen is not open for guests to walk in or you just may find they used your kitchen while you were out. Some people have no boundaries!
 
NO.
This is not a vacation rental. Is there a guest microwave, then they can heat up leftovers or whatever, not a whole meal for a whole house or family.
Kitchen is off limits. No you do not heat up food for people, nor do you wash their underwear or iron their clothes.
shades_smile.gif
 
We have a microwave in the guest common area, that is where they can heat up left overs etc.
I have not had this situation but would tell them you are sorry that it is not allowed by - health dept, ins. or whom ever you wish that is not YOU! lol
My other thought is that I hope your kitchen is not open for guests to walk in or you just may find they used your kitchen while you were out. Some people have no boundaries!.
Copperhead said:
We have a microwave in the guest common area, that is where they can heat up left overs etc.
I have not had this situation but would tell them you are sorry that it is not allowed by - health dept, ins. or whom ever you wish that is not YOU! lol
My other thought is that I hope your kitchen is not open for guests to walk in or you just may find they used your kitchen while you were out. Some people have no boundaries!
Agreed lock em danno.
Last year we had a "small gathering" after a soldiers tombstone had a marker placed on it. Just a couple people can you provide dessert? I agreed.
It became more, as you can imagine, and the 10 who arrived all brought food to share. One lady was in this off-road wheelie thing I had never seen, it weighed 18 tons and we have steps to the porch and NO flat entrance anywhere to get in here. She showed up demanding entrance into the B&B...
Oh did you forget your aunt can't walk and has this king kong thing she drives around? These, btw are the times when I do not say "oh DH has big mushles..." I let them work it out. Did they come here expecting someone to haul them inside?
Innkeepers are always so nice. We'll just bring a blow up mattress and let the 4 kids slumber party on the floor, we'll all bring casseroles and you can work them in and out of the oven to dining room and do all the dishes!
cry_smile.gif

 
Country Girl said:
Do you allow guests to bring in food from home for their dinner? I have a family of 5 coming in this Saturday and they just informed me (didn't ask, mind you) that they will be bringing their own dinner and they will need me to heat it up for them in our oven. Of course this means dirty dishes, silverware, napkins, etc. and taking over the dining room until who knows when. We don't mind if guests order take-out and eat it here but this is taking things to a whole new level. On top of that my DH and I have dinner plans ourselves that evening (just at our neighbors home) and we don't want to come home to a huge mess.
I would not let guests in my kitchen. And I wouldn't heat something up in the oven. I think the response is, "We may not be in the house around dinner, so that won't be possible." Or, "My license doesn't permit me to reheat food. I'm sorry."
 
We have a microwave for guests to use and that's it. They're on their own. We don't mind them eating in their rooms because they're set up with a table & chairs to eat and have some plastic ware for them next to the microwave, but that's it. If they wanted to 'cook', they would have to rent our cottage which has a full kitchen.
I certainly wouldn't stick around in order to heat their dinner for them!.
We also have a microwave. But, my kitchen is completely open so unless I canceled my own dinner plans I know if come back to a mess.
 
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!! If they want to do pizza then fine..but you tell them it is against health dept. regulations for people to use your kitchen and that it is only licensed for breakfast for guests. Oh...so sorry...
devil_smile.gif
 
Tell them no right now. There is no available kitchen service and you are not allowed to cook food brought in. What if they've left it unchilled in the car all day and they all get sick???
Hope you can lock your kitchen.
 
We had a whole house rental for a 50th birthday party. All of the ladies brought a dish for the first night's dinner as they were going out the second night for a really expensive, fancy dinner and wanted to relax as they were all arriving at different times. They all brought their food in crock pots and set them on the dining tables they pushed against the wall to get to the plugs. I never touched any of the food and they were really great about not being messy. I did have a couple forget large serving spoons so I lent them mine. But I would not heat up anyone's food in my oven. Maybe you can suggest this if your comfortable with it so they don't need your kitchen.
Now that being said, I've had guests that I have used their own food. One guest brought along some quinoa and spinach that she made up and I heated that up for her in the morning and served her dish warmed up along with her husbands -- she was having problems digesting after a surgery. Guests have brought non-dairy milks or gluten free breads and have asked that I make their french toast with those. So it all depends on what you want to do.
For me, the worst was the guest who came to the door during breakfast and hands my husband her warm bottles of breast milk and says "can you please put these in your refrigerator, and I'll be needing you to do that all four days each time I pump." Well a quick trip to Walmart got me a mini fridge that I setup in her room and had waiting for her later that day with her bottles in it so she could do this all her own. I now use that fridge for any guests who arrive who are diabetic - I surprise them and have the fridge setup in their room and tell them that I know they'd feel more comfortable keeping their insulin close by. The $60 was so worth it.
 
Tell them there is a $100 charge for that service and see how fast they will change their plans for dinner.
 
This is when my "I'm sorry, but the Health Department does not allow outside food or people into the kitchen".

Utterly ridiculous that they would expect this. Ridiculous, I say!
 
We had a whole house rental for a 50th birthday party. All of the ladies brought a dish for the first night's dinner as they were going out the second night for a really expensive, fancy dinner and wanted to relax as they were all arriving at different times. They all brought their food in crock pots and set them on the dining tables they pushed against the wall to get to the plugs. I never touched any of the food and they were really great about not being messy. I did have a couple forget large serving spoons so I lent them mine. But I would not heat up anyone's food in my oven. Maybe you can suggest this if your comfortable with it so they don't need your kitchen.
Now that being said, I've had guests that I have used their own food. One guest brought along some quinoa and spinach that she made up and I heated that up for her in the morning and served her dish warmed up along with her husbands -- she was having problems digesting after a surgery. Guests have brought non-dairy milks or gluten free breads and have asked that I make their french toast with those. So it all depends on what you want to do.
For me, the worst was the guest who came to the door during breakfast and hands my husband her warm bottles of breast milk and says "can you please put these in your refrigerator, and I'll be needing you to do that all four days each time I pump." Well a quick trip to Walmart got me a mini fridge that I setup in her room and had waiting for her later that day with her bottles in it so she could do this all her own. I now use that fridge for any guests who arrive who are diabetic - I surprise them and have the fridge setup in their room and tell them that I know they'd feel more comfortable keeping their insulin close by. The $60 was so worth it..
We will cook up foods for breakfast that guests bring. But we're talking their special bread not a full meal for five.
I think it's really pushy of the guest to tell the innkeeper they are bringing a meal they expect her to heat up and serve and clean up after. Drinks? Will they expect her to provide coffee service, too?
And this doesn't even get into the other guests who are wondering why they have to go out for a meal when obviously dinner is included.
I'm just grumpy we are put into these situations.
Yes, some guests are very respectful but we've just had too many show up expecting to use the kitchen for all of their lunches and dinners.
One group refused to get out of my kitchen. I had to stand there until they gave up. They told dh they would clean up in the morning. He asked who was getting up at 5am so the kitchen was ready for him to start their breakfast?
They were so sarcastic with us it was unbelievable. When I repeatedly told them no access to the kitchen one stood just outside the kitchen and put her toe in the kitchen and smirked at me.
This is what I remember when another innkeeper gets this sort of demand.
Because I wouldn't let them use the kitchen they shoved all their food at me and said, "then YOU cook it for us!" It was a terrible situation for us to be put in.
 
We had a whole house rental for a 50th birthday party. All of the ladies brought a dish for the first night's dinner as they were going out the second night for a really expensive, fancy dinner and wanted to relax as they were all arriving at different times. They all brought their food in crock pots and set them on the dining tables they pushed against the wall to get to the plugs. I never touched any of the food and they were really great about not being messy. I did have a couple forget large serving spoons so I lent them mine. But I would not heat up anyone's food in my oven. Maybe you can suggest this if your comfortable with it so they don't need your kitchen.
Now that being said, I've had guests that I have used their own food. One guest brought along some quinoa and spinach that she made up and I heated that up for her in the morning and served her dish warmed up along with her husbands -- she was having problems digesting after a surgery. Guests have brought non-dairy milks or gluten free breads and have asked that I make their french toast with those. So it all depends on what you want to do.
For me, the worst was the guest who came to the door during breakfast and hands my husband her warm bottles of breast milk and says "can you please put these in your refrigerator, and I'll be needing you to do that all four days each time I pump." Well a quick trip to Walmart got me a mini fridge that I setup in her room and had waiting for her later that day with her bottles in it so she could do this all her own. I now use that fridge for any guests who arrive who are diabetic - I surprise them and have the fridge setup in their room and tell them that I know they'd feel more comfortable keeping their insulin close by. The $60 was so worth it..
We will cook up foods for breakfast that guests bring. But we're talking their special bread not a full meal for five.
I think it's really pushy of the guest to tell the innkeeper they are bringing a meal they expect her to heat up and serve and clean up after. Drinks? Will they expect her to provide coffee service, too?
And this doesn't even get into the other guests who are wondering why they have to go out for a meal when obviously dinner is included.
I'm just grumpy we are put into these situations.
Yes, some guests are very respectful but we've just had too many show up expecting to use the kitchen for all of their lunches and dinners.
One group refused to get out of my kitchen. I had to stand there until they gave up. They told dh they would clean up in the morning. He asked who was getting up at 5am so the kitchen was ready for him to start their breakfast?
They were so sarcastic with us it was unbelievable. When I repeatedly told them no access to the kitchen one stood just outside the kitchen and put her toe in the kitchen and smirked at me.
This is what I remember when another innkeeper gets this sort of demand.
Because I wouldn't let them use the kitchen they shoved all their food at me and said, "then YOU cook it for us!" It was a terrible situation for us to be put in.
.
Madeleine said:
Because I wouldn't let them use the kitchen they shoved all their food at me and said, "then YOU cook it for us!" It was a terrible situation for us to be put in.
And one none of us should be put in. This all just makes my head boil! If they wanted a kitchen, book a vacation rental or a hotel room with kitchen.
I am reminded of our #1 ranking PITA guest of all time who went into our freezer sometime overnight and took out a ziplock container of large shrimp. Took a hand full and placed them in the microwave (no plate). Not sure if she ate any but the remaining - including the remaining in ziplock were still left out when I came down to start prepping breakfast. The stinch! The mess! (note that this was only ONE reason she ranks #1)
 
We had a whole house rental for a 50th birthday party. All of the ladies brought a dish for the first night's dinner as they were going out the second night for a really expensive, fancy dinner and wanted to relax as they were all arriving at different times. They all brought their food in crock pots and set them on the dining tables they pushed against the wall to get to the plugs. I never touched any of the food and they were really great about not being messy. I did have a couple forget large serving spoons so I lent them mine. But I would not heat up anyone's food in my oven. Maybe you can suggest this if your comfortable with it so they don't need your kitchen.
Now that being said, I've had guests that I have used their own food. One guest brought along some quinoa and spinach that she made up and I heated that up for her in the morning and served her dish warmed up along with her husbands -- she was having problems digesting after a surgery. Guests have brought non-dairy milks or gluten free breads and have asked that I make their french toast with those. So it all depends on what you want to do.
For me, the worst was the guest who came to the door during breakfast and hands my husband her warm bottles of breast milk and says "can you please put these in your refrigerator, and I'll be needing you to do that all four days each time I pump." Well a quick trip to Walmart got me a mini fridge that I setup in her room and had waiting for her later that day with her bottles in it so she could do this all her own. I now use that fridge for any guests who arrive who are diabetic - I surprise them and have the fridge setup in their room and tell them that I know they'd feel more comfortable keeping their insulin close by. The $60 was so worth it..
We will cook up foods for breakfast that guests bring. But we're talking their special bread not a full meal for five.
I think it's really pushy of the guest to tell the innkeeper they are bringing a meal they expect her to heat up and serve and clean up after. Drinks? Will they expect her to provide coffee service, too?
And this doesn't even get into the other guests who are wondering why they have to go out for a meal when obviously dinner is included.
I'm just grumpy we are put into these situations.
Yes, some guests are very respectful but we've just had too many show up expecting to use the kitchen for all of their lunches and dinners.
One group refused to get out of my kitchen. I had to stand there until they gave up. They told dh they would clean up in the morning. He asked who was getting up at 5am so the kitchen was ready for him to start their breakfast?
They were so sarcastic with us it was unbelievable. When I repeatedly told them no access to the kitchen one stood just outside the kitchen and put her toe in the kitchen and smirked at me.
This is what I remember when another innkeeper gets this sort of demand.
Because I wouldn't let them use the kitchen they shoved all their food at me and said, "then YOU cook it for us!" It was a terrible situation for us to be put in.
.
Every single innkeeper should be grumpy and boiling mad over this - because this isn't just being pushy, it's gone to being rude, demanding and having no value for the innkeeper as a person. It's like you have become their maid because they are paying you for the room. This is probably the #1 reason that innkeepers want to sell - they just can't take the ass*s anymore in their home. I once had a wedding group who owned high-end hotels. Someone sent the party some chocolate covered strawberries that arrived early and I had them in my refrigerator. The mother of the bride knocked and the door and actually said "We'll have those strawberries served on the deck now." Pompous witch, she got her strawberries delivered to the deck and then I disappeared, didn't give them time to ask for anything else. When the daughter had a special egg white omelette request the next morning I said I was sorry, I couldn't accommodate her. I was not bowing down to these people no matter what.
This is why we have a door into our space that we always try to keep locked and has a Private sign on the door. It's especially always locked when I have one of those type check in that you just know is going to try to get into the kitchen because they just have to look around. Yes I've had a few who knock as they are walking in. One of us has no problem walking right over and directing them back into the dining room. The kitchen is part of our private home and you aren't paying for entry into my home - this is where my family and kids are and it's off limits. I would never have a property that I couldn't keep people out of my kitchen; it's bad enough my teenage son sometimes eats my fruit that I had planned for breakfast, no guest is getting that chance.
 
nope for me as well - we aren't allowed food we don't now the origins of in our kitchen its that simple.
 
We had a whole house rental for a 50th birthday party. All of the ladies brought a dish for the first night's dinner as they were going out the second night for a really expensive, fancy dinner and wanted to relax as they were all arriving at different times. They all brought their food in crock pots and set them on the dining tables they pushed against the wall to get to the plugs. I never touched any of the food and they were really great about not being messy. I did have a couple forget large serving spoons so I lent them mine. But I would not heat up anyone's food in my oven. Maybe you can suggest this if your comfortable with it so they don't need your kitchen.
Now that being said, I've had guests that I have used their own food. One guest brought along some quinoa and spinach that she made up and I heated that up for her in the morning and served her dish warmed up along with her husbands -- she was having problems digesting after a surgery. Guests have brought non-dairy milks or gluten free breads and have asked that I make their french toast with those. So it all depends on what you want to do.
For me, the worst was the guest who came to the door during breakfast and hands my husband her warm bottles of breast milk and says "can you please put these in your refrigerator, and I'll be needing you to do that all four days each time I pump." Well a quick trip to Walmart got me a mini fridge that I setup in her room and had waiting for her later that day with her bottles in it so she could do this all her own. I now use that fridge for any guests who arrive who are diabetic - I surprise them and have the fridge setup in their room and tell them that I know they'd feel more comfortable keeping their insulin close by. The $60 was so worth it..
We will cook up foods for breakfast that guests bring. But we're talking their special bread not a full meal for five.
I think it's really pushy of the guest to tell the innkeeper they are bringing a meal they expect her to heat up and serve and clean up after. Drinks? Will they expect her to provide coffee service, too?
And this doesn't even get into the other guests who are wondering why they have to go out for a meal when obviously dinner is included.
I'm just grumpy we are put into these situations.
Yes, some guests are very respectful but we've just had too many show up expecting to use the kitchen for all of their lunches and dinners.
One group refused to get out of my kitchen. I had to stand there until they gave up. They told dh they would clean up in the morning. He asked who was getting up at 5am so the kitchen was ready for him to start their breakfast?
They were so sarcastic with us it was unbelievable. When I repeatedly told them no access to the kitchen one stood just outside the kitchen and put her toe in the kitchen and smirked at me.
This is what I remember when another innkeeper gets this sort of demand.
Because I wouldn't let them use the kitchen they shoved all their food at me and said, "then YOU cook it for us!" It was a terrible situation for us to be put in.
.
Wow! I cannot imagine that level of self centered, unaware, entitlement. You are a saint for not tossing them out of the house.
 
NO.
This is not a vacation rental. Is there a guest microwave, then they can heat up leftovers or whatever, not a whole meal for a whole house or family.
Kitchen is off limits. No you do not heat up food for people, nor do you wash their underwear or iron their clothes.
shades_smile.gif
.
Joey Bloggs said:
NO. This is not a vacation rental.
I've remained silent on this since I do have 2 guest rental apartments with full kitchens for guests, but it just occurred to be that you might consider what would happen if they were at a hotel and asked to use the hotel's kitchen to prepare their meal. It wouldn't even be considered.
That being said, if all they asked for is to use your oven to heat the stuff up, that's not a whole lot to ask. You'd just need to clarify that they need to use disposable plates, cups and silverware, and they need to clean up after themselves because you have plans and won't be able to do the cleanup.
I'm just trying to work with Anthony Melchiorri's encouragement to avoid giving an absolute "no" to guests, but instead to try to come up with a workaround that can avoid unhappy guests.
 
NO.
This is not a vacation rental. Is there a guest microwave, then they can heat up leftovers or whatever, not a whole meal for a whole house or family.
Kitchen is off limits. No you do not heat up food for people, nor do you wash their underwear or iron their clothes.
shades_smile.gif
.
Joey Bloggs said:
NO. This is not a vacation rental.
I've remained silent on this since I do have 2 guest rental apartments with full kitchens for guests, but it just occurred to be that you might consider what would happen if they were at a hotel and asked to use the hotel's kitchen to prepare their meal. It wouldn't even be considered.
That being said, if all they asked for is to use your oven to heat the stuff up, that's not a whole lot to ask. You'd just need to clarify that they need to use disposable plates, cups and silverware, and they need to clean up after themselves because you have plans and won't be able to do the cleanup.
I'm just trying to work with Anthony Melchiorri's encouragement to avoid giving an absolute "no" to guests, but instead to try to come up with a workaround that can avoid unhappy guests.
.
Arks you are being too kind. Give them an inch and they will take a mile...still say ...no way.
 
Back
Top