Oven/stove remote or auto shut-off?

I have a cover over my thermostat as guests have abused the temp settings in the past. I control it remotely and inform guests in my house rule book I’d be happy to adjust to their preferences.

We’ve experienced a few issues over the past year where, if the guest felt the AC was too strong (summer) or heat too weak (winter) they’d turn on the oven or stove.

I’m obviously very concerned about this being a fire hazard. Today was the final straw though. A guest checked out at 11, and when the cleaner entered the apartment around 3, she found the oven on.

I’m wondering if there’s a technical solution for this. For example, could I get an oven that auto shuts off after a certain period of time? What are your thoughts?

I would suggest that you do more than simply tell guests in your house rule book to contact you if they need the AC temp or heating adjusted. A message to the guest after they check in, a sign in the listing, something. That you’ve had several incidents where the guests used the stove to have a comfortable temperature is rather odd.
What temps do you set those things at, anyway?

1 Like

Isn’t there a thermostat available that allows you to program a range (min/max) that it can be adjusted?

If I booked a place that was uncomfortably hot/cold and I couldn’t adjust the temperature, it would come up in the review, and it wouldn’t be a 5-star review.

5 Likes

How cold is your place and where did the guest originate from? If this is a repeat occurrence, then I think you are getting a pretty strong message that your place is cold!
My Singaporean guests like lots of showers and the Aircon on all the time because they are used to very high humidity and tropical temperatures.

That’s reasonable. We generally have it set at 72 degrees F in the winter and 74 degrees F in the summer.

It’s worth noting that some guests feel that’s too hot and prefer it cooler. So I set it in the middle and suggest to guests we are happy to adjust it further. I may place a note near the thermostat.

I’m unable to set a min/max range on this thermostat, unfortunately.

I’m in Brooklyn, NY, and it’s a fairly sporadic occurrence. We live in a gentrifying neighborhood and get a mix of tourists and locals. The locals tend to be the ones that cause the issue.

For a sense of frequency, I’ve hosted over 200 reservations, and this has happened 6 times now. Yesterday was the final straw.

@spkrause
If the problem is the temperature of the rental, how about reconsidering temperature control management

  1. Since you can remotely control the temperature, tells me you can remotely tell what it is set to.

  2. If you are willing to accommodate guest requests to raise/lower temp, let them do it themselves

  3. If you see something ridiculous like a/c at 58F on at 95F day, change it to 70F and roll on

  4. Post the guest can select a range between 68-78F For A/c & 64-74F heat; Any changes out of the rangeS will be temporary & automatically reset (of course you do the reset). Btw if someone sets heat at 62F click your heels and say “yippee money saved”.

Comfortable temperature is subjective
Winter heat for me is needed only if Interior temp drops below 66F. A/c set to 72F. If good Air-moving fans Running 74F is ok.

If your guest selecting heat at 74F is going to kill your margin, consider raising your rate.

Older adults, adults on blood-thinners, trim adults, & children are More sensitive to cold and probably enjoy a warm oven when the heat is locked at 70F. My 86 yr old Dad thinks 76F in the winter is the perfect indoor temp.

The other trick for warming a room is to turn on a hairdryer to high so limiting stove/oven use will not get rid of a fire risk; it creates a new one.

5 Likes

I have LG appliance that can attach to the WiFi in the house. I don’t have it set up that way but supposedly you can turn ovens on to preheat on your way home from the grocery store or turn them off if you forgot on your way to work.

1 Like

Right, I’m saying look for one that you can.

I’m curious if you actually know how much it costs you when guests “abuse” it temperature settings. If you don’t, then you need to find out, because it may not be worth any money or effort spent given that it happened only 6 times out of 200.

1 Like

I’m more worried about the fire hazard than the cost. We live in the upstairs apartment with our infant son.

If you allow guests to change the thermostat, then the fire hazard goes away, doesn’t it?

1 Like

I’m not sure. I’ve found that people either don’t understand or care how heating systems work.

The reason I covered/locked the thermostat in the past is because people would raise the setting to 90 degrees, not realizing the setting is both overkill and puts strain on the system.

While I’m sure it could curb some behavior, I don’t know that a thermostat with temp limits will fully prevent oven usage.

You’re saying that if you give guests access to the thermostat, they are still likely to use the oven for heat? Why? Is your thermostat somehow unique and guests can’t figure it out? Because if it isn’t, then what you’re really saying is that either your listing attracts a specific type of guests (likely to use an oven for heat) or that every other host in the US has a high risk of guests using their oven for heat.

1 Like

I’m with @Debthecat and @Brian_R170. Turning on the oven to heat the apartment is indicative of a comfort problem. You need to fix the main problem and that is control of HVAC. Automating the oven is not solving the primary problem.

I have a NEST thermostat that allows me to view (and adjust if necessary) the temperatures guest have set it to. I let them adjust as they see appropriate but if I see something is extreme I take the time to educate my guests.

Many other topics have gone into this issue: all guests have their own preferences and trying to dictate what temperature works for all is not conducive to hospitality. Guests will remedy it one way or another and you’ll lose: If they’re not turning on the oven, when they’re cold, they are opening the window when it’s too hot. And I can imagine what the review from the guest will be.

FYI.

3 Likes

@spkrause I’m someone who dislikes AC, even if it’s 90 degrees out. I’m quite thin and run cold. I would much prefer a fan and if the apartment was air conditioned, I would ask you to turn it off entirely :slight_smile:

Just an fyi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-EK4a3wX3o

Honeywell makes a lot of models, some with Wifi. Most will allow min/max. Cost is pretty reasonable on these.

We own 5 Honeywell thermostats, with varying features. IMO, good stuff.

1 Like

I have a Samsung range with wifi and it’s connected to the system. I can control it with an app on my phone. In the last year I baked something for a potluck and halfway to my destination I realized I had left the oven on. Unfortunately I had never activated this feature on my unit. The more cost effective strategy already suggested is to get a wifi thermostat that the guest controls but which you can override in cases of abuse.

I’d put the oven on too if I was staying there. Temperature has been discussed here many times and we all vary on what we think is reasonable.

Guests are like that too.

However, what matters is having guests who are comfortable. Guests will always differ in their ideal temperatures so I let them set the AC themselves. I’ve never had anyone ‘abuse’ it and I show them the thermostat location during the house tour, telling them that they are free to adjust it to their preference.

2 Likes