Managing thermostats settings

[ISami0]

Hello,

My name is Sami and I am in CA.  I have been hosting for about 2.5 years and I own 3 homes and manage one for a family member.  I have couple of questions: my electric bills are killing me ($1,140 - $1,380) per month for one of the property.  Guests just never turn the cooling off even when they are not home.  What do you suggest? Second, guests are staining white linens and towels a lot even though clean instructions from me.  Just generally specking guests are damaging the personal items a lot.  I don't want to charge for everything but I feel like I must because my operating expenses are out of control.  Can't wait to see all of your feedback.  Thank you 

[Title updated by Community Manager for relevancy]

[Quincy]

@Leigh625 Have you got a smart thermostat installed, as some hosts have suggested, to start to help reduce some of your electricity costs?

[Leigh625]

We just updated our thermostat and are going through the instructions on how to set the temperatures.

We're hoping this is the solution!  : )

Thanks so much for the suggestion.

—Leigh

[Angela3989]

Hello @ISami0  this is a tough one. For linens, are you using only white bed sheets? I feel this is critical because nothing but bleach and hot water really gets out many stains and some are just bound to happen. People are on vacation, and they just aren't thinking about the sheets when they are eating in bed and dropping spaghetti sauce etc.And of course other things. I have had to put sheets on the kitchen floor for spot bleach and Dawn scrub sessions, and sometimes wash them twice, but it's always come out I also do not use cotton because 1) today's synthetic microfiber linens are not the polyester of yesterday. Don't be afraid to try a good set.They are quite soft, cooling and people love them, and 2) they can handle bleach far far better.. So far I've not had to replace anything for this year's bedding. Yay! Now for the thermostat. It is a tough one. I once found several windows open with the AC on 69 after a check out. People are stupid. Literally. There is only so much you can do. I have set the Smart thermostat minimum temperature at 69 for AC and the max at 72 for heat. This keeps them from getting out of control either way. And 69 is generous I think. Some people just run hot but most so not go that low. Then I have set a schedule that returns the setting to 73 for AC and 69 for heating everyday at a certain time. So at least if they do go to the maximum, it will not stay that way always. Then, there is a home/away setting so that when no one is there it will go to 75. When they return, it will return to whatever it was last set to- either my schedule setting of 73 or the one they changed it to. Then, everything is locked with a password and all they can do is adjust the temperature. In between guests, after opening windows for air exchange, the AC is put in Away mode at 75 so that it essentially is in a holding state and does not come on unless its a very hot day and my maximum ambient temp is exceeded, then it will cool to 75. I don't want the place to get super hot so I do want it cooled at least to 75 even if no one is there since this is very minimal use and things don't start melting/warping or my plants drying out early. I have now also placed a note on the wall at the thermostat asking them to close windows if they are using AC! Silly I have to say that but it's the reality of our fellow man. Since doing these things, bills are under control. I have not had to really get draconian and put a cover and all those things yet. Hoping it won't come to that! Best of luck! 

[Mary1523]

Hi, personally I'm all for charge for what you use. But it depends upon the experience you are providing, is it luxury so that they expect it air conditioned and price included, or are you at a lower level and the pricing reflects that?

You could raise your prices in hotter seasons?

Or you could have them all turned off, provide cooling fans and then with smart metering, allow them $x worth of electricity included (might vary for a weekend vs a week?). Once that's used up, then they have to pay more - maybe an additional airbnb charge. Is there a way of guests seeing their electricity usage in real time? That helps...

Kind regs MK

[Jennifer1897]

@ISami0 I completely understand your concerns. I host in both Central Valley and San Jose, and my electric bills have been exceeding high especially during the summer months. Temperature is a tricky thing because everyone has a different level of comfortability. For example, I prefer the house around 75 while my boyfriend loves a crisp 65 degrees.  Here are a couple things I do to help address the issue and a couple additional courses of action you can consider

- I have smart thermostats in all my homes (which it appears you do as well).  I typically set the thermostat to a reasonable temperature (70-72) and lock it which prevents the guest from adjusting anything. I let the guest know that should they like a change in the temperature I would be happy to adjust it (within reason). As other hosts suggested, you can also place a box over the thermostat to prevent guests changing the temperature. 

-If you elect not to lock the thermostat, you can encourage guests to set the temperature at a reasonable degree or develop rules regarding the thermostat. Personally, I tried this approach for a while and found it didn't work that well. I had placed 2 reminders about turning the temp up when departing the home for longer periods and/or keeping the temp between x-x however guests basically disregarded everything. I found myself constantly checking the nest app and finding the house at 65 degrees while no one was there for 10 plus hrs. 

-While i have not tried this approach, there are thermostats that integrate motion sensors, so if there is no motion detected in the home, the thermostat will adjust to a set degree or turn off (Depending on your preferences). I can't comment much on this, but it could be something to look into. 

As for cleaning, wear and tear including stains are pretty much part of the business. No matter how much guidance you give guests things will eventually get damaged. I too use white linens and have do extensive stain removal every other guest or so.  I found that makeup stains tend to be the most common, so I now provide sets of dark towels with a nice little sign indicating their purpose. I also noticed a lot of guests eat in bed (the number of grease stains I find on linens is amazing) despite having a bar, dining table etc. in the house. I now include a small tray and/or pull up desk in each room and encourage its usage. You can also place a rule against eating in the bedrooms, however this is difficult to enforce overall. Lastly, if you live in an area where gust utilize towels for outside activities, you should have designated sets for this. One of my properties used to have a community pool, and guest would constantly take the regular towels with them. I purchase a bunch of teal towels and placed them in the common area with a sign for "outside activities." I also listed this in my house rules. 

[Tammy714]

Hi Jennifer. I'm a host in California and I too am experiencing guest leaving sometimes up to 10 plus hours with the air left on. My guesthouse is 500 square ft. With a 2 ton minisplit so my bill is huge. I have a placard on the front door asking to turn lights and AC off when going out. I also say that in my check in instructions. Many guest don't listen. Should I put it in my house rules as well.  It's so inconsiderate. My price is also set very reasonable for beautiful accommodations. Should we message the guest regarding the issue? For example, it's 77 degrees out, guest left 6 hours ago so far. I would love some help with this issue. I don't have a nest thermostat to control the AC.