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I have to agree. It’s in the high 80’s, low nineties now where I am and I don’t even have AC. I sleep just fine with fans.
If they slept sweating hot with the windows closed and the ceiling fan off, they sound like idiots.
I do have to say, though, that everything I have read about the average temps that most people are comfortable at is from about 69-72.
So I don’t really understand, @Militaryhorsegal, why you think 80 or a few degrees lower is a reasonable setting- I think most people would set it much lower.
And while I think it’s ridiculous and wasteful for people to leave the AC on 24/7, a lot of people do in hot weather, and it doesn’t break the system.
Lived in the PNW for years, no one had AC. Lived in high desert in AZ, no AC, fans saved me. Now, in the East, hot and humid, I have AC, but only turn it on if it’s getting over 80 and 80 is where I set it, then turn it off at night and turn on the window fans that bring in cool air.
I realize most people could not tolerate it that high, and prefer 72. Oh well.
I don’t think 80 is a reasonable setting for an OCCUPIED house. That is why when the guests arrived and asked if they could turn it on (although it was on and set to 80 and they had already dropped it) I was happy to say yes. I would have expected they wouldn’t have needed to ask even.
73 degrees the first time was inside at about 7:52pm (more than an hour and a half after it broke) based on what one of the guys hollered as they were leaving. Then they did have it set at 70 as confirmed by my friend going in with their permission.
73 degrees was the temp outside at night (while they were there after dinner after 1030 pm trying to go to bed). It likely got up into the in the mid 90s during the day. It had just gotten hot enough outside for the AC to kick on for the inside being at 81 degrees from 1011am - 1016 am. For the past week it has only required the HVAC to run 5 minutes at a time to get the temperature back down from 81/82 to 80. And even before that it only took between 5 and 10 minutes to keep it at a steady temperature. I did see when I turned it down 3-4 degrees where it took maximum 1.5 in the heat of the day.
It was 77 in the house and rising they said when I said it is 73 out and they should use screens and fans in the absence of HVAC while awaiting the emergency HVAC tech.
Yes. It’s particularly bad when the AC is low on coolant (which ours was last summer, but my DH didn’t want to call the A/C repair person and pay exorbitant prices).
But, regardless of whether the AC runs 24 hours straight or not, 8 hours of running should not break it. I’ll bet the capacitor died - that’s happened to us a few times over the years. We order spares and install them ourselves. The parts aren’t expensive - under $20US.
Yes, I get that part. It doesn’t make sense to waste energy when a house is unoccupied, including if people are out of the house all day, whether it’s heat or AC.
But it’s probably a good idea to set the temperature to what the average person would consider comfortable when guests are due to arrive (though I realize these guests jumped the gun on arrival time).
I would think of it as similar to making sure the place is super clean- it’s a matter of first impressions, which can set the tone for the stay.
If guests walk into a house that is either too warm or too cold, that might affect their attitude.
Suggesting to them that they open the windows and turn on the fan at night was certainly reasonable. Do you know if they did that?
These folks sound a bit unadaptable and entitled (entering early through the off-limits garage, demanding a 50% refund).
But I can also somewhat understand them thinking they deserve 50% discount, as they seem to have been out all day, rather than hanging around availing themselves of all the amenities. Sounds like they were only there to shower and sleep, make breakfast and maybe dinner, and sleeping was uncomfortable. Not saying they deserve 50%, just that I can see why they might think so. Like if guests booked specifically because a place had a pool, but the pool wasn’t useable.
But if I were in your shoes, especially being ill, I wouldn’t pursue a protracted battle with these folks, despite lost income, I’d just take it as a lesson to not rent out a place until everything is thoroughly set up and tested.
They might have caused the AC problem, but you don’t have proof of that.
Yes. Same here as far as the capacitor but it is a new house for me and I haven’t even had a chance to look at the capacitor to see if it is the same as the spares I have at my farm house. I will be home from work in about 36 hours or so so I will have a look then.
When you have had sufficient refrigerant and a bad capacitor have you even tried the hard start method to get the outside compressor fan started?
Interestingly I had planned to leave it off completely because I had no bookings when I left and didn’t know if I would get any. I reconsidered just as you indicated but thought 80 was sufficient for them to feel positive about it on arrival. And it actually WAS because they raved about how absolutely perfect the whole place was when they got in their own way early. I have certainly learned my lesson though! It needs to have a smart thermostat at a minimum! Since I am out of town for work right now my farm house where I live is currently HVAC OFF and the temp got at least as high as 90 degrees inside today.
Also, they booked and showed up less than 2 hours later, less than 15 minutes after I woke up and responded to them so your suggestion really could have been the only way to have avoided this…IF it could have been avoided by not having such a temperature difference.
I must say I feel a bit like no good deed goes unpunished because if I had not been proactive in informing THEM (while they were out) of the problem they wouldn’t have even known until much later and would have probably taken it better instead of trying to turn it around and accuse me of renting it to them broken (even though they knew it wasn’t because it had cooled at least 7 degrees as far as they knew).
I did manage to get confirmation from AirBnB in writing that they would refund a guest 30% of the base rate (excludes cleaning, pet, extra guest, management, community, linens and resort fees) for such an issue (after telling me twice that they were not allowed to give me that information). I am debating giving the guests 30% or 50%. I have calmed down a bit and thanx to you guys looking at it better from their POV so was writing out my draft for 50% but then remembered is they were accusing me as well as them initially asking for a discount then not responding to my questions to try and help them, and then the letting themselves in early through the restricted garage and trying to sneak in a 6th person…as well as their demanding the 50% and an answer about the refund immediately.
Open to suggestions as I am still unable to get the emergency HVAC techs out there and now to even return my call when I reached there after hours call centers to follow up on the ETA I’ve been waiting on since yesterday! At this point i am kind of hoping they continue to flake out until after I can get there and look at it myself and maybe even replace capacitor with one of my spares.
80 would have been fine for me, I don’t even like AC and have never had it anywhere I’ve lived. I just know that the majority of people tend to be wimps about heat.
I do think you have a point about them not even knowing or making any big deal about it had you not proactively let them know. Seems like when hosts scurry around trying to make things right sometimes, like you phoning around extensively trying to find an HVac tech, and keeping them updated, it plants the idea that something is a bigger deal than it really is.
A lot of guests might have been non-fussed altogether, just opening the windows and putting on the fans. That’s my preference, and I hate it when I stay in a hotel where you can’t open the windows.
And a lot of people don’t know how to, or think about how to mitigate hot indoor temps. In hot, sunny weather, I keep the curtains closed all day on the sunny side of my bedroom, the door to the balcony open and the fan on.
As a side note, I use the 1 day advance notice setting. Sometimes I change it to 2 days, depending on how busy I am with other things in my life.
I would suggest that even if a host doesn’t normally mind last minute bookings, if you’re feeling ill, or exhausted, or have a lot on your plate, to require at least one day advance notice.
Totally understood. In this case it wouldn’t have made a difference. The house was in the condition it was in when I left town on Monday and was sitting waiting for guests. The only thing I needed to do at booking on Saturday was set up the smart lock access for the guest.
I’d like to say, that in your situation, I would have never allowed someone to book and show up 2 hours later. I never allowed same day bookings. Go slower till you have things worked out.
Reminder that what a host considers ‘going the extra mile’ for guests, such as early check in etc, is not factored in to the guests’ perception of ‘special service’ despite telling them it was; once something is ‘allowed’ it becomes normalized. Also, your ‘extra effort’ to fix a situation cannot be thought of as mitigating their pain. Taking a nap and missing their call, but very sorry? Not their problem - they just see poor communication. AC not working and not fixable for days, and you spent hours on the phone looking for repairs? Not their problem - they just see discomfort andf lack of an amenity.
Also - personal tales of ‘I am happy to keep my home at 62 in the winter, and guests should be wearing sweaters’ or ‘78 is fine since I am cold at 72’ have NOTHING to do with guest needs. Unless your description tells them that specific amenities are conditional to the hosts’s personal tastes, they are merely factors that make guests feel uncomfortable.
Yes, but as an experienced host, you know that any booking has the potential for issues, even if it just involves guests calling you about something and waking you up from a much needed sleep if you’re ill or overworked.
I do understand, though, that you wanted to be able to cash in on a lucrative special event booking.
Wow, I’m speechless! I’ve seen other posts from you, so assume you are an experienced host. But this diatribe is pretty hard to comprehend. If I were the guest, I’d be incensed!
Ok. Yes, the diatribe here so the guest doesn’t get it all…some of us do that here as many here can relate and some are able to provide recommendations, differing perspectives, words of support, words to talk one off the ledge, etc.
What, exactly, would you be incensed about? Not just the A/C going out?
While this often the case, it isn’t some universal truth. My guests have all been appreciative of anything I did that was “going the extra mile”. They have also been totally understanding if something beyond my control has caused some inconvenience.
When I’ve had to ask guests to be conservative with water because city wells were low, they easily complied. When I ran out of propane, which fuels both my hot water and kitchen stove over Xmas holidays and there was an area-wide propane shortage so no deliveries to be had, and had to use the small barbeque-size tank and switch it back and forth between the hot water and stove connections as needed, my guest at the time was totally understanding of having to let me know 20 minutes before she wanted to shower or cook, so I could move the tank if needed.
Not all guests are completely self-concerned and unadaptable, nor blame the host for any inconvenience.
