A minor rant, of sorts. Justhosting some guests now (in a unit attached to the house), and they went out all day, leaving windows open, and the AC and fan running. What sort of people do that? Answers on the back of a $100 bill sent to my address please.
The same sort who use your propane fireplace and turn on the A/C. Or turn on the fireplace and open all the windows upstairs because heat risesā¦I am shocked every time about what people will do in a rental vs what they would do at home.
Plenty of people do if posts at this forum over the years are anything to go by.
But it evens out over the year. Your accountant will have taken your annual running costs into account so a few instances of inconsiderate guests will have been allowed for.
I can empathize. We get gets who leave the AC on and then open the floor to ceiling sliding glass doors. Grrrrrr.
I believe they do it at home too. For example this:
Iāve been in homes where people do this.
You canāt control what people do, only your strategies to mitigate the effect. For some of us itās not just a calculation of cost averaging. Itās the feeling we get when the climate control is running in an empty room and the clock is ticking towards our ultimate destruction of the environment. So because I donāt like the way it makes me feel, I control, to a degree, what they do with a smart device on the AC. If they go out and are out awhile, I turn off the AC. The room is small and cools quickly when turned back on.
Doors and windows opening and a switch turning the system off is an expensive fix so Iād just have to endure that.
I have a Canadian friend who came for a vacation to a rented beach condo not far from me with her daughter, son-in-law and their two young children. I went to visit them one day and they had the AC blasting and the sliding glass patio doors wide open. When I mentioned how energy-wasteful that was, they said the utilities were included, so they didnāt care.
Yet at my friendās place in Canada, she always keeps her sliding glass patio door closed, and opens and closes the blinds on it depending on whether sheās trying to keep the place cooler or wants to let the sun stream in to warm it up in the winter.
Iāve noticed that the most environmentally-aware guests are those under twenty or over 65 and itās the middle-aged who seem to be the worst.
Has anyone else noticed that? Or any other sort of pattern?
Men always want it to be cold. So summer the AC is left on when they go out. Also they go in the room and turn on AC even though itās 68 outside and even cooler in the Airbnb room. Heatā¦ I donāt know for sure but it tends to be cool, not warm, when I go in the room to turn it over in the winter.
I have a label printed out by thermostat, HVAC will turn off if left on with windows or doors open. When I see windows open I check my thermostat app and if its running I turn it off.
I imagine they think there are sensorsā¦
Lol
RR
I know we arenāt the norm since we have staff. But itās in our house rules that the staff can turn off anything (AC, fans, TVs, etc.) that isnāt being actively used. So if the guests leave the AC on and go out, our housekeeper turns the AC off.
The same people who set the a/c at 50 degrees and then use all your comforters and quilts from the linen closet.
My brother certainly does. Heās lived in South Florida for over forty years but still has his thermostat at 65 while everyone else freezes under throws.
I really think itās the, āIām not paying for the utilities!ā mentality. I donāt have that happen very much, thankfully, but know a lot of people who do this at hotels. Very frustrating.
Hearing you. Weāve not long had 3 guests in a row doing combinations of this. I dont care about the cost much, for me its about waste and our environment. I made up a little sign last summer that sits with the remote asking that when air con is in use all windows and doors be shut and that it be turned off when out. Worked 50% of the time but then I had a guest who went out at about 10am and 2pm I watered the garden outside the unitā¦air con running, everything open. I switched it off outside and sent her a message telling her how to turn it back on, realised hours later I hadnt heard back (pre message read notificatio) so sent her a text. No reply so I rang her, no answer. She marked me down in ratings for communication. Grrr.
So now I simply switch air con off outside if left on and have a nicely presented laminated page I leave at their door explaining why air con was turned off, how to turn it back on and ending with something sickly sweet about my caring for the environment. Now i get a profusion of apologies
I agree with the age brackets who are better but would add in that Europeans and South Americans are better than us Aussies and North Americans.
Iām in the same camp as you regarding useless waste of resources. I homeshare and when I donāt have guests, I actually keep my propane water heater shut off until 20 minutes before I want to have a shower. When I have guests, I turn it way down to pilot during the day when my guests are out and about and I am working out in my shop- I donāt see any reason to have a water heater maintaining super hot water for 6 hours a day when no one is using it.
I am married to someon that opens the door to the porch with the AC on. Some people roll that way.
There is a big trend on St. John, USVI of owners instaling motion detection and sliding door sensors for AC as energy costs are sky high on the island. Renters are very vocal about having restrictions āon their comfortā
My daughter lived in a house where the previous owners has installed a system where an automated voice came through speakers when a door was opened or closed. āFront door openā āFront door closedā would announce the disembodied voice.
I have heard folks saying āIāll spend my money how I wantā when they buy an oversized SUV/truck; the same folks who deny that people have any impact on the earth (such as climate change) and say ānot my problem, I want to have a big lawnā; seeing how they want to live as a ārightā that precludes anyone elseās, including their future descendants. If I possibly can, I will decline. And I certainly will downnrate them for their crude rudenessā¦
Recently stayed in some large hotels, and it was the same: when you open the door to the balcony, the AC turns off.
Iām lucky with my current house. The propane water heater only turns on when needed (no big tank of hot water). Much more economical than the big Rheem I had in a previous house.