What are your thoughts on restricting thermostat settings?

[Frank-and-Jesse0]

I live in Central California where temperatures can reach 100+ and my guests have their own AC and thermostat. Lately my guests have been extremely inconsiderate and turning the AC to 68 and leaving the unit vacant, thankfully I have a Nest thermostat that goes into Eco mode when no movement is detected.

What are your thoughts on limiting the thermostat to 74 or 75? I also have a ceiling fan in the room for those who require additional circulation. 

Thanks in advance! 

[John-and-Tim0]

@Jerry-and-Craig0 we have the same issues with guests who are unfamiliar with summer in the desert.  Our current guests had the casita door wide open with the AC at 114 deg.  They were surprised when we asked them please to shut the door or turn off the AC.  We have it written in the House Manual but not in our listing about the AC settings.  Your idea of a message when booking in summer is a great idea!

happy hosting!

[Jennifer1124]

Hello,  

I am new to Hosting and just experienced this issue of the guest leaving the thermostat at 70 deg and when I asked for the thermostat to stay at between 76 and 78 and raised when not at the house,  she complained to Airbnb requests I refund her as I made her feel uncomfortable.  

[Alex208]

Great idea. I have been getting lots of Nest alerts lately saying the air conditioning is on and the temperature is going the opposite way, because the windows are all open.

[Jeff-And-Gloria0]

Which thermostat do you suggest 

[Cathie19]

I live in Darwin in the Top End, Northern Territory Australia-  and have air con issues with visitors not use to the heat.

I have little signs as reminders, but still get the occasional guests who drops them much too low. I request that due to the high humidity, that they are not lowered below 24° Celsius, which is about 75° Fahrenheit.

For our climate, for every Celsius degree below 24, it increases the running costs by 10%...

[Robin4]

@Cathie19

Hi there Cathie....I can actually address you now...how about that!

Cathie, Darwin is still a reasonably small city and it's my guess that most of your guests are going to be from the southern states where living in a 24c environment at night, is not something they would idealy choose.

It's all very well me being a bit blasie because l produce my own electricity but I find most guests at night time prefer around 20-21c (70f) as a good sleeping temperature. I know that I would get grizzles if the a/c shut down at 24c after the day time temperature had hit 40c so I make sure they can have that 21c during the night, both summer and winter and nearly all my reviews say how the temp was good.

Cathie I appreciate it has to be commercially viable and what you say is correct, every degree is going to cost you but, one bad review in lost bookings can cost you more than a year of additional electricity charges...and you do need to consider that!

Hope all good in the top end!

Cheers.....Rob

[Cathie19]

Hi @Robin4. Yes tagging is good... and I hope Mt Barker is not too chilly tonight! 🙂

I have the air cons on 24, but do not “set” the air cons at 24, and guests can drop them, and do, especially overnight. 18° has been found... especially if they have come from Sapporo in their Winter! 

But the little signs ( x 2 ) are more as a general reminder for daytime, where 24° is very adequate compared to the max 33° (Dry season) 36° “build up” season. Also a reminder to turn off the aircons if touristing for the day.....

 It’s all in the humidity. Especially if we are 83% humidity and 30° C at midnight. The machines just are working flat out at the latter time of year. Water literally pouring out of the external units from the humidity. If too cold they can freeze the units and they break down. So every bit helps to reduce maintenance schedules. Which are usually around $100 per air con unit just for professional cleaning. FYI: Adelaide is the city that gets 40°! Lol..

[Robin4]

@Cathie19

Yeah, the humidity of course!  I should have thought of that having been a mechanical services contractor in my working life.

Our average summer humidity is less than 10%. I can work outside hard on a 36c day and not work a sweat up because there is very low relative humidity here. I can understand how you could just about set yourselves up as a viable alternative to 'Mount Franklin' with all the condensate your a/c's are pouring out!

The main issue as you say are those guests whos reaction is...."I am payin' for this I might as well use it" and proceed to set the thermostat on 15c and open a window or two for fresh air and then go out to Fannie Bay for the day for a bit of fun on the beach!

You just can't educate those people....they pay so they will use it. 

Cathie I have had guests from Singapore who on an 11c night still run the A/C all night on cooling so they can experience what it is like to sleep under a Doona!!....far out Brussel Sprout!! And our our solar doesn't work too well at night!

Cheers.....Rob

[LisanDawayne0]

I agree that the night temperature for sleep ideally for us is 70 degrees / so far during our stay here at the tidewater in Panama City beach Florida the nest thermostat continuously sets the temperature at 78 . We have messaged the owners but no response. We will be leaving a bad review . They also have a ring camera at the door monitoring the entryway . I feel very “ infringed “ upon . 

[Jenny]

Hi @LisanDawayne0 

Sorry to hear you're struggling to get hold of your host.  Have you contacted Airbnb to let them know you can't get hold of them?  They advise to report any issues within 72 hours - see here.  You can start the process of contacting Airbnb Support here.

With regards to the Ring camera, these are allowed as per Airbnb policy here as it's in a common area and not in a private area like a bedroom or bathroom.  It's also installed in a way that makes it visible to any guests as per the policy.  Is it mentioned in the listing description?

As the post you've responded to is a few years old, you might like to start a new discussion, if you're looking for any specific advice on your current situation.

[Sydney150]

You need to stick to

hotels if an entry way camera that is in no shape or form hidden makes you feel violated. Extremely typical. And by no means invasive of guests. 

[Cathie19]

Ditto!

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Keep ours strictly set between 74 and 77.  We don't compromise much.  Only one guest in 3 years has complained and he said he set his at 69 at home.  Now, we share our home so we can really control the temps.  That one guest - well, he checked out early and has never stayed in an Airbnb again. My co-host property, I've shown up there with maintenance folks and the temps are pushed down to 70, the guests are gone, and they have throw blankets all over the place - like, seriously, you turned the A/C down so much you got COLD and had to cover up with a blanket.  Some people are clueless.  The temp range is now in the house rules.  

[Joey-And-Jacqueline0]

@Alice-and-Jeff0 what do you use to control your thermostat? We plan to add the temp range in our house rules. I'm looking for a controllable thermostat that I can control from my smart phone. I want to be sure the guests can't override it to adjust settings. Thank you!

[Steven65]

I use the Nest thermostat in our property in Edinburgh. We dont need AC in Scotland! Now, guests can manually change the temperature within a range until the next program event; otherwise the settings are locked. Prior to that, guests were always messing with the heating  and inconsiderate with the settings. 5 stars for Nest.