Entering second year as Superhost. Our stand alone Vermont house ( 2 bedrooms) is very well insulated and updated with heat pump technology. At $250/nite, I realize we’re not cheap. Guests have complete control of heating/cooling as they should at my price point. I have requested that guests turn down heat when leaving for extended periods to help conserve our solar powered energy. I made they mistake of installing a tiny WiFi hidden thermometer to monitor temperatures. Bad idea ! I realize we all have different comfort zones but I’ve seen a pattern of entitled guests cranking up heat in every room to high 70’s and leaving it there despite leaving the house empty all day. I’ve never said a word but find it annoying and wasteful. I’m sure hosts in hot climates go thru this with AC. After a very busy year, I’m shutting down till spring, not worth the stress.
As I’m sure you’ve read here many times, the solution is a wifi connected thermostat like Nest that you control remotely. Maybe you’ve said this already but… why don’t you install one? Then you simply put in the house rules that you reserve the right to adjust it or that it’s locked in a certain range. I rented a home in Boston in the summer that was over $700 a night and they had that set up. They have 4.9+ ratings so it’s not going to hurt your business.
Mine is limited to 73 for heat, and my 3 bedroom is 295 a night so I do not consider 250 a price where guests can heat up a place to whatever they want and leave for the day.
I am around my listings a lot, when I see windows open I will check the temp on the app and turn off heat or AC if they are running with windows open.
RR
My house has 5 separate heat pump room heaters individually controlled by hand held remotes. The overall system cannot be controlled remotely. The entire house energy supply ( except cooking gas ) is supplied by solar power leaving me with almost zero heating, cooling, lighting, and hot water costs. Summer sun with long days builds up credits used during the winter months. It just pains me seeing solar power squandered needlessly.
Understandable. Sometimes a break is the best option.
yes, there is a solution:
I don’t have a separate zone for heating in the STR (do have window AC units). What I write in my rules and in my checkin info, the temperature that I heat the house but I am willing to increase (within reason) and I do. I just tell them to send me a message. I have a wifi thermostat so it’s easy to change.
I once had a guest ask me to raise the heat to 80 degrees. I knocked on the door to explain that 80 degrees is too high. He was wearing shorts and a tank top. Unbelievable.
In the Summer I remind guests to shut off the AC when not in the suite and luckily they seem to do this but not always. I do have it in my rules that I can enter to turn of the AC but I have never done that and probably never will.
My window AC is on it’s own circuit and the breaker is in my part of the house. I have turned off the AC when people go out and leave it on. Another option is to get a smart plug for your window unit so you can control it remotely. Next time you replace the unit you can get a smart one to control remotely.
What I can never figure out is why someone would want the heat turned up to 80 in the winter (even if they are wearing sorts and a tank top), yet wearing that same tank top and shorts, would want the AC turned down to 65 in the summer. 
I know OP said this won’t for them, but I have ECO mode enabled for my Nest & it says so in the House Manual. When no one is home it detects this and changes the range to what I’ve preset.
I used to lock the high/low but people didn’t like that. Temps here fluctuate greatly & quickly making it hard to acclimate. I personally have temp regulation issues so appreciate being able to do my own thing 
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Both great ideas. I’ll have to figure out which ones are on what circuts . The AC in the bedroom does have a remote control so I’ll have go looking for it. Thanks for the suggestions. I really do appreciate this forum.
I’ve automated our entire STR using Home Assistant, including the dual mini-splits.
I’m not concerned about guests leaving the heat or AC on while they’re out exploring Santa Fe - I’m mostly concerned about using those resources when the place is vacant.
In terms of climate control, from my home in Austin, I can:
- Turn the temperature up or down
- Switch between heating and cooling
- Shut down the units completely
I’ve also automated all the lighting and the electric water heater, so I can make sure everything is turned off the no one is there, as well as monitor for water leaks in the utility closet, bathroom and kitchen.
I’m in the process of integrating my booking calendar with Home Assistant so that it will automatically set the temp to something comfortable for the season and turn on the hot water heater whenever a guest is scheduled to check-in or the cleaning crew is arriving. It’s kinda tricky, but I’ve almost got it working.
If all you care about is your thermostat, my setup is overkill for you. I would suggest searching for thermostats that work with your heating and cooling system that you can control remotely.
You might also enjoy a whole home energy monitor such as Sense. It is great for monitoring real time energy use as well S diagnosing potential problems with your appliances early.