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Hello from Nashville,
Dear hosts I have a question and would like to see what do you think about.
I rent my place as a long term 28+ days. Normally to people who has contract job nearby. So they are at work during the day.
No it’s very hot 97-100 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Today I found out that they keep thermostat at 63F when the are not at home. Beside that my electric bill will be skyrocketed my AC Unit may not last.
Is it OK to ask my renters to turn thermostat up to 76F when they are not home?
I think that there’s a cover with lock that can be placed on the termostat so that renter’s can’t change the temp. I would do that after these guests leave so you don’t have this issue again.
How do you know that these guests have the temp set at 63F? Did they tell you? If so, that was a missed opportunity of asking them tp keep it at 76.
Perhaps you can send them a polite request through the platform asking them to keep it was 76F when they’re at work. Explain to them that keeping it so cold will damage your unit.
Thanks Ritz3 for your quick response.
I was visiting place per guest approval as we recently serviced AC, to make sure it’s worked properly and was shocked to see temperature set up to 63.
Will do your recommendation. Also may invest in nest that operates with code remotely.
All the best,
BB
63 truly is not acceptable. Hopefully, your guest will understand that 63 is making your unit work overrtime. Since you recently serviced the unit you can tell them that the suggested temp is 73 not 63.
Yes, tell them to set it at 76 during the day when they’re not there, invest in nest system or in a cover and set it on “econ” settings with a timer, if possible.
I’ve had guests ask if they can control the thermostat and I’ve asked why. Here in Florida, if you kept it at 63, my unit would burn out quickly and it’s too cold. I tell them that the room will be comfortable, but they can’t set it below 74 as at that number, their room gets to 70-72. I’ve lost bookings because I won’t let them manage the thermostat, but that’s OK as they won’t pay $12,000 to replace my HVAC.
Gosh, I remember when my family first moved to FL and my Mom used box fans in the windows and refused to turn on the AC!! When she passed, my Dad closed all the windows and turned on the AC. And the heat. She was brutally frugal.
63 is way too low, even when the guests are home. Somewhere between 68-72 is considered to be the average temps at which the majority of people feel comfortable.
So I would invest in a way to lock the thermostat, that you can control from an app, so you can adjust it, reasonably, at a guest’s request, if they find it a bit too cold or warm.
It’s not just a matter of being frugal, although in your mom’s case it might have been. It’s also a matter of not wasting resources unnecessarily. There are places now that are so hot, that everyone has AC and fans on, and it’s putting strain on the whole electrical grid, so they end up with rolling blackouts.
Even that is not exactly warm. I always have my AC at home set at 78. (And I work from home so I ‘live’ at that temperature).
63 is completely bonkers. Tell the renters immediately and in future try to develop a system that doesn’t allow renters to be so cavalier with your AC and fuel bills.
The temperature outside shouldn’t really have anything to do with what the thermostat is set at. 63 is 63 whether it’s 75 degrees outside or 100 degrees. The AC just has to work harder to maintain the thermostat temperature if it’s really hot out.
And walking into a place that’s refrigerated to 63 degrees from an outside temp of 100 is actually not good for people physically. There’s a reason why people who are suffering from hypothermia need to be warmed slowly. Going from one extreme temperature to another is hard on one’s body.
Thanks to all for your comments.
Ordered Nest termostat today and will go install as soon as it’s arrived, hopefully with tenant permission to enter.
Definitely can’t afford to spend $8K for new units, that will be only fraction deductible during next 9 years.
Cheers, BB
I have a home in Palm Desert and I let the guest know to set the AC to 80 when away from the house. I think 65 is to low, I don’t even set it to that when I’m there😳
You can screw a lockbox on top of your thermostat. One of my guest, reversely, during one winter stay, set the thermostat at 90 degrees and was walking in t-shirt.
I also wander if it will be OK to set up charges for utility if it’s over $100 per month?
Maybe these charges keeps guest from unnecessary spending?
As an average bill for my place $60.
Can add $100 for utility that will be refundable if bill under $100 per month.
Any comments?
It’s tricky because you do want people to come back. Is $100 worth losing business? It’s a fine balance. Done prior use less electricity, others more. The best policy is to set a locked thermostat. I do charge extra for ev’s only.
Yes, there are hosts who do charge extra for utilities over a reasonable amount, especially where electricity rates are high. You would have to make the terms clear and upfront in your listing info, and not just mention it in House Rules, as many guests don’t click through to read them, or read them thoroughly.
[quote=“Catgalu, post:16, topic:61181”] I
do charge extra for ev’s only.
[/quote]
Charging an EV uses much less electricity than setting the AC to 63.
But I agree that a locked thermostat is the easiest way to keep guests from running up a huge electric bill.
I have seen it done. Must make it very clear in listing. I would recommend if you go that route to get a while home energy monitor, such as Sense or similar, so you can be more knowledgeable and so you can show guests, if necessary. It can also alert you to problems before the guest does.
I had one guest leave the stove on high and left the house for work for the day. My Sense notified me of the potential issue and I was able to go turn it off and prevent any possible fires.
Although, as evidenced by not most recent experience, it may not help the way you think it should to notify the guest of the issue. Mine indicated the guest turned on the A/C upon arrival and left within 12 minutes later but the A/VC ran for 7.5 hours straight until it died and something went wrong (ended up being the he capacitor). The guest tried to claim I rented it to them without it working (they had come back for 6 minutes before going out for dinner so did know that it had actually worked) but when I was able to point out their lie because of the energy monitor, they had to think hard before they ultimately made the false claim through Airbnb. I was able to show Airbnb the lie because of that energy monitor.
Lastly, the energy monitor has helped me troubleshoot my own HVAC and appliance issues in multiple homes and rentals. So helpful!
The only possible issue I see with a locked thermostat is that even when the host is amenable to turning it a bit up or down if the guest requests it, if you get one of those entitled guests who want the AC at 63 or the heat at 85, they could leave a bad review or complain to Airbnb and demand some refund because “the host refused to keep the unit at a comfortable temperature”.
