A restaurant in Hesse has been criticised for charging non-customers 5 euros to use the toilet, with critics pointing to the lack of toilets available to the public.

Hesse restaurant charges 5 euros for toilets

Anyone who finds themselves desperately needing a pee within the vicinity of Bayrischer Hof in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Hesse, seriously has to consider if it isn’t just worth cold shrubbery pee instead.

The restaurant has been forced to defend itself after a post on the internet made it widespread knowledge that management was asking non-guests to fork out 5 euros should they want to use the facilities. Once a picture of the sign had spread, online users condemned the policy as a rip-off. “They are crazy,” said one respondent.

Restaurant owner claims toilet fee is justified

Speaking to the Frankfurter Neue Presse shortly after pictures of the sign had spread online, Bayrischer Hof boss Jürgen Schäfer defended the decision. “A restaurant is also a commercial business,” he said.

The boss said that allowing non-customers to use the toilet had previously meant the restaurant had to pick up a 1.200-euro bill for toilet maintenance after people sent too many sanitary products down the pan. On top of that, guests apparently stole 65 rolls of toilet paper in 2022. For Schäfer, another justification is that the restaurant is just a short distance from a public toilet which can be used for 1 euro. 

But the widespread lack of public toilets in Germany, especially those that are completely free to use, does have a great impact on the hospitality industry. Speaking to the Frankfurter Neue Presse, the owner of the Schoppenhof bar in Wiesbaden, Tim Radusch, stressed that the lack of public toilets means hospitality staff are left to clean up after everyone and owners have to foot a higher bill.

Thumb image credit: Below the Sky / Shutterstock.com