Hi all! What’s the temperature at your home in winter? Have your guests ever complained about feeling cold at night? Is it meant that we must set the heating at the temperature our guest demands, or is heating meant as an “extra” service, so the host can decide if setting up heating or not?
I rent out a separate space so my guests set their own temperature. But if I were a guest in someone else’s home, I would not complain about being cold at night. That’s what blankets are for!
Are the guests who have complained properly dressed for the weather, or using all of the blankets provided?
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I provided two winter blankets (very thick and warm) and I set the temperature at 20 °C. For me it’s very warm, but for them was not.
Wow. 20C (68F) should be plenty warm. Most homes don’t heat above 70F. Set the temp to your own comfort level if you are not the kinds of people that keep your house overly cool or too hot (it doesn’t sound like it) then your guests should be more than comfy. Some guests like to be demanding and act like they have booked the whole home. Some people like to crank the heating when they are not paying for the costs, and it sounds like they might be pressuring you into doing this. You have every right to keep your utility costs reasonable. Another option is to cave into guests demands for good reviews so long as it’s a short stay and you the amount you make from the booking allows you to do so. That way the complaining picky guests feel happy they got their way and leave satisfied. Just hope that there aren’t too many more like it.
I set the overnight temperature at 69F. If my guests are cold I’ll raise it up.
I just had a guest from Florida and he was complaining about it being cold, I went to his apartment and he was in shorts. So I told him, but some clothes on and you will not be cold. I still raised the temperature a bit more since he was only here for a couple of days.
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That’s plenty warm. If it were set higher than that I would be hot at night. I like to sleep in cool temperatures.
Evelyn - I just don’t get it with dumb guest behavior. Of course you are cold if you are wearing shorts. When I lived in Binghamton NY I had a roommate who would parade around in lingerie when it was snowing outside. She would crank the heat full blast and we would fight about the temperature. After she moved out, my downstairs neighbor would come up and complain to me how cold she was too. Again, it is snowing outside and she is dressed in tank top and daisy duke shorts. Of course you are going to be cold!
Sandy - so true about cranking the heat when you are not paying. Another roommate of mine (it was her house) would never turn on the heat - even I was cold. But we both worked together and at work she would complain how cold it was and run a little space heater. Funny how people are “cold” as long as they aren’t footing the bill.
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i do have guests complain about the temp on occasion. i live in south florida and keep my AC on 73F all the time. some people find this too cold. i can only offer them blankets. if i up the temp at all i’ll spontaneously combust in the the middle of the night.
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All year, Hawaii is a temperate 80 degrees! And especially at my location! We don’t have central heating in Hawaii.
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Ok, your comments comforted me a lot about my correctness. I hope they don’t give me a negative reference for being cold.
Davjdek,
Even if they mention it in a review, just brush it off, and don’t feel the need to give into every demand moving forward. There is no reason that someone can’t bury under blankets during the middle of the night.
My partner and I got into over the heat once and a guest making a comment. I was cleaning all day and I was sweating…even had the AC on I was so hot. Of course it wasn’t hot outside but it was Fall weather. Well…I left and I think I just turned the AC off, and didn’t turn any heat on - it really wasn’t cold, just chilly outside. So guests arrive and enter rental. My partner arrives shortly after to give them their tour.
Well the guest says “I turned the heat up because it was so cold in here.” So then later he tells me and wants me to start setting the temperature for them. I explained to him that the guest was most likely in her vehicle with the heat blasting…she got out and then entered a home where the heat was not blasting. And she probably likes it nice and toasty and when he entered she tried to explain why she had the heat on so high. Even if I hadn’t been cleaning with the AC on earlier, there was no reason for a guest to be so cold to make a comment to someone. She only did it to justify why she had the heat on so high.
Moral of the story…you will never please 100% of people
My guest room is in the basement. I provide a space heater to supplement the central heat. But! I have a few rules in a frame in the room and ask that the temp be kept below 74. And, I put a sensor in the room so I can see what the temp is - not so much to spy on them, but to make sure they DO turn the heater off when they leave, as everyone forgets sometimes.
I had a roommate once from the Virgin Islands - same thing - would sit in a tee and a short skirt with the heat just blasting. She’d get up very early for work, turn the heat up to 85 or so, then get in the shower. I’d be woken up with my heat pump going crazy and me sweating… Those were the days…
I dont let anyone touch my heating, as the store is out of bounds. Its my home I choose what temperature it is at. They can like it or lump it.Lol. We live in Ireland and the weather isnt great, but its not the Arctic. I put in my guest info, if they are cold let me know, or alternatively if they are to warm they can adjust the heater in their room themselves. I’m always comfortable, and rarely put the heating on, even at 13 degrees, but I use common sense especially from guests from warmer climates. I would have their room warm before they come home after their touring etc. I’ve only had two people ask for it on, out of near 170 people, so that’s not to bad. Only recently, 2 Chinese guests asked for the heating on saying they were cold (they were in teeshirts and shorts), but they actually lied and wanted the heating on to dry a heap of laundry they decided to do in my bath!Tut Tut!
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As a guest, if I see in the reviews that someone was cold, I chalk that up to them not dressing appropriately. That being said, I do provide extra blankets as a standard in case people are super chilly, and cannot deal with the temperature I set.
Temperature settings are so personal and contribute so much to being comfortable, imo. How warm a house feels is also a contributing factor, some houses are better insulated. Also, I live in the south U.S. so it’s common for commercial establishments to have air conditioners going full blast till way into the fall. We also deal with high humidity here so even if not so hot outside, some people want air conditioning to combat the humidity. I personally run on the colder side and don’t expect my guests, or anyone else, to feel comfortable at the temps I do.
For my airbnb listing that I’m in residence, my house manual informs guests that I keep the temp generally to 79 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer (26 degrees C.) and 72 degrees in winter (22 degrees C.) but to let me know if they are uncomfortable. Both settings are admittedly a little on the warmer side. I provide them a fan in the room for when they are hot, a space heater if they are cold, and two blankets in the winter. If they express to me that they are uncomfortable I bump the A/C or heat a couple degrees for them.
At my standalone listing they have carte blanche to set the temp as they want and the place is not well insulated. I only ask them not to freeze up my air conditioner.
Not sure what heating systems are like in cooler / temperate parts of the USA et al. Here in the UK most homes have central heating radiators and a boiler (you don’t set a temperate on the boiler but you can turn individual radiators up or down 1-5). This is our first winter being hosts and the spare room is the coldest room - I’ve got the heating running from 4-10 ish and two hours in the morning only when guests are here (we don’t really feel the cold). I was thinking about putting a extra oil heater in there but urgh the power bill go sky high and for what we charge I don’t think its worth it. Its not even below zero degrees yet (Celsius). Heating is an extra amenity on Air but I feel if you don’t offer here in the UK you will just end up with bad reviews.
How do you folks handle requests for heating to extraordinary levels? We recently had guests from a much warmer climate who wanted the thermostat set to 82.
Ugh. No. I think I have it set in my house rules that the max temp allowed is 74 (way warmer than we have it for our personal space).
They just need to be educated as to the price of heat. In some parts of China (from my understanding) they have no heat at all. So I think when they get to a place where it can be toasty they revel in it. They don’t realize it’s costing the host a fortune.
I would agree if he paid a surcharge - if it doesn’t bother you because of the waste of fuel.
I have, however, loosened up about the temp (though not to 80+!). While i have some that crank the heater, which used to make me nuts, I have others, who, immediately run around unplugging everything. I have one lamp on a timer near my ‘emergency’ exit. I tell guests it stays on all night in case they need to make a quick exit - one nice guest from Korea went crazy - could not understand it - wanted all the little night-lights unplugged, etc. So I figure it balances out overall.
We rent out a whole apartment and guests therefore have control over the temperature of individual radiators - judging by our bills - guests like the place to be warm.
AC in private houses (and many hotels) is unheard of here but I am always surprised by how many guests, mainly from NA, just assume we will have it.
Is there no limit? I recently had a message from a guest who needed assistance resetting the breaker as they had turned the heater in our fireplace to 100F.
It is a central heating system controlled by a thermostat on each individual radiator.
The hot water for the system comes from the city - excess hot water from power generation, and we get charged based on the pump rate.
Unfortunately I don’t think there is anyway to limit this 