Self-contained lower level apartment. We live above stated on the listing too.
Yep guests might want to alter the temperature. Mine can alter the trv on their radiator to the extent they would end up being hot and opening a window in the winter but thankfully I donât get silly guests often. They defintely donât get control of my boiler though, and neither would you in an hotel. What if their demands are crazy? Wanting loads more than 23 degrees in the middle of the night is crazy. I am not imposing, just saying itâs abnormal and the guest should pay. If I came to you in a water shortage area I would like to at least be made aware. I would be delighted to be careful, itâs part of being at one with a place. I might enjoy the air conditioning, but definitely wouldnât leave the windows open. When in RomeâŠ
So there is heating in the space you rent for guests, but the thermostat is only in your unit? This is how my system works tooâŠ
The rooms are in the loft of my house with a shared shower room between 2 guests.
The thermostat is mobile so I periodically take it into the rooms to do a quality check that itâs reaching temperature, then I can adjust radiators etcâŠ
I think guests should be able to have the temperature as they like it, within reason. I think 73F is a comfortable temperature year round but if the guests are cold, they are cold. Messaging you at that time seems out of line as it was not an emergency.
You asked how I would handle it. In my guest room which is in a hot desert location I try to make sure my guests are comfortable. The guest room is attached to the homeâs central heating and cooling. In the winter there is the vent from the central vent work and also a portable heater that plugs into the wall and is on wheels so it can easily be moved. In the summer the cooling (which is a system called evaporative air aka swamp cooler) is supplemented by a window AC refrigerated unit. There is also a ceiling fan in the room. I have had 100s of guests and only one complained that it was hot in the room. As a result of that complaint I installed the window AC unit.
73F I believe is nearly 23C. Thatâs high for central heating in Western Europe and the UK. Surely thereâs a difference between day and night, bearing in mind we are mammals and have a mini hibernation at night which requires a cooler temperature? I have visited southern Europe a fair bit and if it were 23C in the bedroom at night even the locals would be going for the air-conditioning, to get it down to about 19C!
Well, it seems that most hosts have widely differing opinions so hereâs mine.
If I was renting a place, Iâd fully expect to be in control of the temperature. I wouldnât inflict my temperature preferences on anyone else and I donât expect to have anyone elseâs imposed onto me. If a separate apartment doesnât have its own controls then Iâd expect there to be a space heater and a fan to help adjust the temperature as required.
Airbnb accommodations should also supply spare blankets for the bed and preferably a couple of throws for people who are sitting around reading or watching TV.
If a host is worried about the cost of these items, then they most probably have too low a price on their listing. And it balances out anyway - some guests will use a lot of heating/cooling and others will hardly use any.
Wherever you are located, youâll get guests from all over the world. Some from warm climates, others from much colder places - so thereâs no one-size-fits-all temperature.
4 Likes
Thank you. I will put them in closet both fan and oil heather.
1 Like
What is an oil heater?
1 Like
This reminds me of my tenant days. I have two upper rooms. One housed a man weighing over 400 lbs. who perpetually overheated, and the other, a tiny woman who probably weighed less than 100 lbs. who froze all the time⊠they never could agree on temperature.
Three things helped -
a. a small heater in the ladyâs room - purchased at the ReStore for under $50
b. a fan, also from the ReStore, for the big guy
c. down filled duvets, bought on the cheap, for both. They seem to adapt to everybodyâs needs.
Cheers!
2 Likes
Iâve had people from the tropics who have left the heaters on at 30C and get around in shorts and singlets inside even though it is winter here. Madness. No point trying to explain to them that they should wear some winter pyjamas and a pullover inside. I suspect they are the same people who turn the AC down to 16C in summer so they can sleep with a doona/duvet/quilt on.
2 Likes
Yep 30 degrees is madness and environmentally criminal. You know if you go to a hot yoga session half your ticket price goes on the heating. Thermostatic controls are the way to go.
Personally I have never found an Aircon system which would get the temperature down as far as 16 degrees! Most of them seem to be stop at 19 degrees. I could sleep under a very thin cover at that temperature. I have tried to get Aircon down to 18 degrees, just for a mild sleep inducing hibernation effect, but systems seem to struggle.
1 Like
@Jess1 said âDaytime heating temperature should be 21 degrees C. After midnight should be lower, 18 degrees C or slightly less. You are under NO OBLIGATION to heat the space to above 21 degrees. 23 degrees is very hot for night time.â
I have no idea where the heck you got this drivel!! If there is an obligation it is to make your guests comfortable!
Welcome to the WORLD, not your tiny corner of it. As a friend once said âthe rules of your tribe are not laws of nature.â
Other people from other places have just as much right to be comfortable as you do. If you went to their country Iâm sure youâd be bitching about the heat and demand air conditioning even though the locals think itâs a stupid waste of money.
"Hospitality refers to the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a great soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity.
If any of you canât afford to raise or lower the temperature for a few days to make your guests comfortable, maybe you should get out of the hospitality business.
1 Like
My informationâs from qualified heating engineers, advanced heating technology manufacturers and retailers plus governments agencies of advanced western European nations. Your ideas are total amateur drivel because they are just based on random âfeelingsâ of being comfortable, even if that makes a whole house some insane temperature like a sauna. We need objective measures. Get a grip!
If a guest goes to a northern European country they will need to accept the average temperature of hotels, offices and homes, which is 21 degrees as I have already informed you. Are you proposing guests come to our country and dictate a higher temperature in the whole nationâs buildings? Crazy!
No guest has ever been cold in my home for the record, because it is well maintained and hits at least average temperatures, but if a crazy guest comes along and tries to dictate a temperature of 30 degrees for everyone else they will be declined.
As I said before when in hot countries I would use Aircon like a local. Aircon doesnât seem to work below 19 degrees on the whole anyway.
2 Likes
Youâre talking AVERAGE temperatures for public buildings.
Iâm in the hospitality industry, and a big part of that is trying to make my guests comfortable. I donât run a public building, but most hotels (at least in the USA) follow the same approach I do. I set a reasonable temperature for the house and allow the guests to adjust by opening windows, turning on fans, running the heater or AC unit.
I think most guests would appreciate my âamateur drivelâ approach over your authoritarian âa cadre of experts say you should be comfortable, so just quit with your whining about being uncomfortable.â
1 Like
The guest has left review. I canât think of anything right now to responds.
Unfortunately, itâs not just about the cost of buying additional heaters, but also about the cost of running them. Energents in some countries are rather expensive. I use one of the cheapest available options, gas, and yet I think I would go bankrupt if I left an additional electric heater for my guestsâ use. I live in a location which mostly relies on summer holidays, so prices are generally more than half than what they are in the summer. If you donât have a competitive price, people simply wonât book with you, but with someone else. Considering all the issues with the heating, I slowly abandoned the idea of renting my apartment during the winter at all, except for the major holidays, during which I can achieve high enough price. Otherwise it is too much of a fuss with people who expect tropical heaven in their apartment, although they are very energy conscious at their own home.
As for the people who wish to heat during the months May to September (yes, I had such requests as well, in a Mediterranean country!), I make it available for a surcharge, unless it is unseasonably cold (literally never happened) . If someone wants a luxury of having 30 degrees Celsius during the night in early September, they are welcome to pay for it.
2 Likes
There is no evidence of me whining or feeling uncomfortable. I was merely trying to inject some SENSE and SANITY into the discussion. The last time I stayed in an hotel it was a branch of The Hilton. The heating/air conditioning control in the room was adjustable at about plus or minus 3 degrees C from a baseline of 21 degrees. This was the only level of control, and there is NO NEED for any other form of customer control. If itâs good enough for The Hilton itâs good enough for my Airbnb and any other Airbnb!
Itâs high time the US got on board with worldwide energy saving targets to prevent catastrophic climate change. Such wastefulness is unacceptable.
3 Likes
Thank you, Inna. My âresearchâ (such as it was) was as much for my own edification! I was curious about water temperatures, too.
Here in Ontario, Canada, we pay the highest electrical bills in Canada. Speaking very plainly, I am always pleasantly surprised how many guests respect electricity. Sure, itâs in my rules, but it seems to be a universal. I mean, they might raise hell, but at least they turn the fan off! 
When I converted all 30 lightbulbs to halogen, you could see the dip in my bills.
Just a thoughtâŠ
2 Likes