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In theory, my guest’s comfort is a priority, and I want them to be able to heat or cool their rooms to their liking. I say “in theory” because it turns out what I really want is conservation minded conscientious guests with common sense and good manners, and those, apparently, are few and far between.
I do not mind at all if people use the heating and cooling systems to keep themselves comfortable. What turns me into a basket case are the things so many of you have mentioned, and which I’ve experienced myself, such as having doors and windows open while using heat or AC, or turning the AC down in one’s room to the point where one has to bundle up in sweatshirts and comforters to be comfortable, or leaving heat or AC on all day while not even being in the room. I want to strangle people who do things like this, but I restrain myself because that would probably lead to a bad review.
We will shortly be investing a fair amount of money to install much more efficient mini split heat pump heads in every bedroom in the house. So moving forward, though it will cost me less, I will never be okay with what I see as careless, wasteful and disrespectful people.
Exactly! Can I like this post twice? This whole thread is great for me to read for perspective. I have no problem with people being comfortable in the room but when they turn on the AC and leave, it bugs me. [quote=“Chloe, post:21, topic:13620”]
We will shortly be investing a fair amount of money to install much more efficient mini split heat pump heads in every bedroom in the house.
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I’ve considered getting a quote on this for my house. Keep the swamp cooler but add mini splits to the bedrooms and take the window units out. It would take the rest of my life to recover the cost but the efficiency of it appeals to me. The idea of refrigerating an entire house so 1 person can be comfortable in one room (just me most of the time) is insane.
Just remember that you are unlikely to receive rave reviews if you don’t permit your guests to control the temperature to a range that is comfortable for them. If your utility bills are increasing to the point that you are losing money on the guests’ stays, I would recommend that you raise your prices. If you’re still making a reasonable profit, I would recommend that you let the guests control the heating/cooling.
It will only work if its a separate unit or there is AC unit that cools down only guest’s room. If its central AC its just impossible to let guest to take initiative in regulating AC or heat. I put now in my rules that AC will never go lower than 74F. I once had a couple from Saudi Arabia who every time we left the house turned AC on 67F.
At the same time i had 2 guys from Norwey stayng in another bedroom and they asked me to talk to cold loving couple to stop this nonsense or they will have to find another place. They said: we did not come to MIami to wear socks and sweaters, we want to enjoy warm climate but not to be freezing like this in a house.
A separate unit in the guest room seems like a good solution. Separate units are inexpensive. The temperature is pretty moderate all year where I live so we don’t have air conditioning, but I put a space heater in the guest room. This way, guests who are used to a warmer climate can feel comfortable and I can also feel comfortable.
They wouldn’t fix that problem but it would give me refrigerated air without window units. Luckily I don’t get a lot of people who turn it on and leave for a long time because they are mostly just here for the night. I’d have my electrician put a on/off switch in the line which is on the exterior of the house. I had a separate circuit added for the window AC. But I’m afraid I’d turn it off and forget to turn it back on and then they call me in the middle of the night telling me the AC doesn’t work.
We try to police AC/Heat the best we can, but there is really only SO much you can do. We have had the best outcome with NEST but even NEST isn’t perfect.
First world problems I would say . We don’t have cooling and we don’t have heating . Both would be nice some periods of the year. All we can offer is a ventilator (fan) and a window to open and close .
Now serious: In extreme weather conditions I think that 70°F (21°C) is a good maximum when heating, and 74°F (23°C) is a good minimum when cooling. When it’s winter guests should expect to wear a sweater, and when it’s summer guests should expect to wear something light and feel a bit warm.
Exactly, very well sad. in US it seems everyone is so preoccupied with 'being comfortable" to the point that we start to really suffer if it is just a bit warmer or colder. And then crazy thing start to happen: putting AC on 67F and wearing sweaters at the same time.
I don’t see the irony.
I don’t see the critique on others.
I don’t see the correlation between my two posts.
I do see me making a joke and sharing our situation to indicate that everything is relative. I also gave my opinion on specific temperatures to add my point of view to the discussion. I always thought that’s why we are here.
So please stop bitterly misinterpreting and decontextualising to get at me. Thank you!
I stayed in Palm Springs a couple of summers ago at a Marriott timeshare. Whenever we opened the front door or slider door, the AC went completely off!
@GutHend it made me smile when you said first world problems as it’s totally true. I think I nearly typed it myself, but I got distracted by Oreos.
I’m glad most of us live somewhere where heating /AC is one the biggest problems we might face as a host.
The problem with forum posts is that we read tone that may or may not be there. It’s easy for disagreements to escalate, though admittedly I thought your winky face was a good way of indicating your comment was tongue in cheek.
I never let the guests have access anymore. I had the oppposite problem. Would come home and it would be set to 80 degrees (or 27 for us). Wth? Who needs it that hot???
I think people on vacay simply don’t care. Havent had complaints so far!
You can built a smart system that way. Every door and window has a sensor attach to a hub, a smart thermostat also attach to the hub. Then you can program the way you like.
I realize this is a dated topic. I just started renting out in January '20. My very first guests are here from the Cold North. I’m in Florida, we live in the home when it’s not rented, and we keep our thermostat at 78 on average (74 at night). My first guests showed up and immediately set the thermostat to 67, then left for the day (per outside driveway cam). The inside temp made it to 71 then gradually climbed to 74 midday. It never made it to their desired temp, but it’s been running like a workhorse nonstop.
Being unfamiliar with this whole process, I looked up “what can my a/c reasonably handle” All three articles that I checked advised that your a/c can safely drop the temperature in your home by 15-20 degrees from the outside temp, and that’s it. Anything more you risk damaging your a/c.
I’ll be updating the house manual prior to the next guest’s arrival, and installing a thermostat where I can set a min/max. And posting that right next to the thermostat. No sense in damaging my a/c unit. There’s a balance between comfortable guests, guests who abuse the thermostat, and damaging your a/c resulting in expensive repairs. I’m just working on the verbiage to relay all of this. That’s my take.
. We don’t have cooling and we don’t have heating 
. Both would be nice some periods of the year. All we can offer is a ventilator (fan) and a window to open and close 
.