So the newest guest who I thought was from Oklahoma but is actually Philadelphia moved into the room with a portable air conditioner which I got free from a friend. It is powerful but uses up a lot of electricity. Today the guest complained that his room was warm that he couldn’t sleep. His room was in the high 70s to low 80s. Turns out he didn’t open the window to stick the tube out to get fresh air. He claims he loves cold temperatures…it is in the 50s at night and my ac only goes down to 60. I showed him how to properly use the AC, but I honestly just want to take it away from him. Unfortunately he got the room at a really low price because I didn’t realize smart pricing would drop my place to the lowest price. Should I just offer the AC as an extra fee per night? I do realize AC is not available in the majority of houses and businesses in Seattle so it can be a lure to outsiders.
If it is 50º outside, there is absolutely no reason to have A/C. I would remove the machine, add a fan, and show guests how to open a window.
EDITED TO ADD: But I suspect you can’t take this away from an existing guest.
Hi @Yen1
Have you had a look at Airbnb’s Help Centre? Really useful for understanding all the basics around hosting including Smart Pricing.
You can set whatever minimum you like so it won’t fall below a certain point on Smart Pricing.
Also look at the Community Guides and Tutorials on the Airbnb Community Centre.
I agree with @anon67190644 about the air conditioning unit.
The room is in the high 70s to low 80s during the day. This is way too hot for me.
Yea for me too. I told him I wouldn’t be able to sleep in his room and he said he didn’t sleep so well. I’m so confused on why he didn’t open the window and even more confused on how he doesn’t know how to use an ac when he comes from a hotter climate. His room was hot only because he didn’t properly use the AC. His room is on the bottom floor and it has only been in the 70-80s during the day, which he isn’t home to use up more energy. Thank goodness
I didn’t know that you were supposed to open a window when you use a portable air conditioner. On this and other Airbnb message boards; hosts usually complain bitterly when guests turn on the air conditioning and open a window.
The bottom line is he doesn’t need it if it drops to 50’s at night just remove it and tell him to open the window. Simple.
How is the guest supposed to stay cool during the day when the temperature is in the high 70s to low 80s?
He’s not home when it is in the 70s to 80s during the day.
He did mention he chose my place because it has an AC, would taking it away from him cause friction?
I just got my much higher electric bill after guests insisted on buying extra fans without even mentioning it and then running them all day every day, even when they were gone all the time.
Got to love smart pricing! I am surprised how many of you get sucked into that trap.
Maybe the ac is “broken”, explain and offer to cancel rest of trip with no penalty.
Maybe, but that is New England in the summer. That is how we live.
My kitchen is around 94º right now and yes, I cooked dinner in there. The only air conditioners in our house are in the three bedrooms. We don’t turn the A/C on unless the nighttime low will not fall below 70º. This magic number was discovered when we lived in North Carolina, in the Great Dismal Swamp, without air conditioning.
Very little of the housing stock in the city has air conditioning. It is only recently that we have had such warm evenings. It used to about 2 weeks in August and now it is more like 4-5 weeks each summer.
People should not travel for pleasure to places that don’t have a temperature that they can tolerate, be it warm or cold. And if having central A/C or heat that is fully controllable by the guest is extremely important to the guest, they shouldn’t choose an older home without that amenity.
My current guests can not believe that their daughter, who will be taking a two-week course at Harvard next week, will have no access to any A/C in either her dorm room or the lecture hall. Harvard is not air conditioned [well, two libraries are], but she is going to tolerate it because she will now have credits from Harvard on her transcript.
because we all have central air! I’ve never used a window unit in my life & I don’t even begin to understand opening a window to make it work. Or whatever it is you said. Yeah, you’d probably have to walk me thru using it too.
But on the other hand, I wouldn’t be using it at all if it’s freezing cold, dead of winter 50F outside. 
It has an air intake/output hose. My older window units are half in and half out of the house.in winter time, they are either removed or a cover is placed over them.
Our summer nights are usually cold at night and hit the 50s. In the winters it goes to the teens sometimes.
So, those portable A/C units should NOT include an open window. There are several ways to use these units properly. First off, people cut a hole in their wall to vent the hose to the out-of-doors. This hole then needs to be covered when the A/C isn’t required. The other option is to buy a plexiglass or some plywood which fits into the window opening when it is open, that has a hole cut to the size of the vent hose. Then the hose is attached, often with duct tape to prevent outside air coming into the home.
Opening the window is not one of the approved use methods.
We had one of those free-standing AC units with the vent hose – worst purchase we ever made.
Just not powerful enough to bring the room temperature down to even 80F when the outside temp is 90+. Luckily this was before we turned the cabana into our rental. At that point we had installed a really efficient unit that has more than paid for itself. It was the single biggest expense in our renovation of the cabana, but worth every penny.
Agree! They are expensive and useless. Better to buy a mini split with heat pump, they are very efficient, quiet and can both heat and cool. Some utilities give generous rebates for them. Con Edison in ny does.