To Hot!!

[Debbie396]

Not a question...I have a beautiful cottage that everyone simply adores..Just a little humor....If you rent a place that has a nice new window Air Conditioner unit in it wouldn’t one simply know that if they close their bedroom doors it’s going to be warmer in the bedroom, right? I’ve gotten two low reviews because it was not cool enough with bedroom doors closed..Ugh! Even though there’s ceiling fans and box fans and the house temp can be set as low as 64..People, lol! I actually had to write a note to leave out for guest to see stating that if you shut the doors the air can’t get to you..🤔 lol.  

[Lenore22]

It's true-- Assume NOTHING!  Those raised with central AC may not have any idea how it works nor that it might be different from a window unit. I feel like half of being a good host is teaching people how to be good guests.  I truly believe that most things "bad guests" do are not malicious, but simply a different way of doing things.

[Debra300]

@Lenore22,

I agree with you about teaching guests about different or new things.  I had guests last month, and did a walkthrough upon their arrival.  In the kitchen I showed them how to turn on and operate the dishwasher.  However, I didn't show them where to put the detergent (it has the typical compartment on the interior dishwasher door).  When I went to clean after they checked out, I noticed that they had put the detergent in the part for the drying agent, and not the part with the little door).  Lesson learned: never assume that people have the same or similar experience with "common" household items.  Now, I show guests where the detergent is supposed to be placed, and included it in the dishwasher quick guide that I posted on the door.

[Huma0]

@Debbie396 

Yep, never assume that, even if it seems obvious, guests will simply 'get it'. I realised this early on when a very lovely pair of ladies stayed with me during the Winter. When they arrived, I asked if their bedroom was warm enough and they said the temperature was perfect. When asked, they told me everything was fine with their stay. They asked me if they could have an extra duvet, but said it was because they didn't want to share one. Ok, no problem. 

It was only after they left and I went to clean the room that I realised it was absolutely freezing in there. They had turned the radiators off. I assumed they found the room too warm (they came from a cold climate). However, they then mentioned in their review that the room was cold and gave me 4 stars because of it. If they had just said something, I could have remedied the situation immediately!

So, ever since then, I ask guests not to tamper with any heating controls but to ask me to adjust them. I have still had some guests ignore this, accidentally turn off their heating or even break the valves, but I've never had the same situation where guests were cold for days and didn't mention it until the review!

[Laura2592]

We have central AC and a portable AC unit upstairs/fan in the downstairs bedroom. Our cottage is made of solid stone walls (18 inches thick) so its basically a cave. It stays fairly cool on its own but again, we have central air AND additional cooling units.

We had one group of guests complain that the AC wasn't working. Couldn't figure out the thermostat. We went out to see what was happening after a bit of back and forth. Windows and door were open-- only the screen door was closed because their dog liked looking out. I did a quick tutorial on how AC works, showed them how the thermostat worked, showed them how to operate the portable unit upstairs and closed the doors and windows. When I was done, one of the guests said "Well we didn't rent this place to sit inside with all the doors and windows closed!" I explained again that you really can't have a central air that works well if you let all the cool air out of the house. The guest insisted that they ran their central air all summer with the windows open and it worked just fine. At that point I gave up. 

When I got the feedback I got a good review with a private note that my AC doesn't work right....

I will say that everyone has a different tolerance for heat or cold. Sometimes my larger guests seem to really crank the fans and thermostat.  Some of our winter guests need a roaring fire the entire stay even though its 45 degrees out. You can't please everyone. 

[Kelly149]

@Debbie396 some people don't like to sleep with bedroom doors open... maybe that's part of it

@Laura2592 I SMH at the number of guests I've had to tell that it is actually impossible to air condition the out of doors...

We have a 12' glass garage door and they'll leave it open all afternoon and then wonder why the space is warm in the evening. Oh, and did you know that setting the AC to 55 doesn't actually cool the room any faster??

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Debbie396 

I had a guest who once complained/mentioned mosquitoes in her room, showing us her mosquito bites one morning and asking about repellent. 

Henry and I were really surprised and while I was looking for the repellent (we never needed it in the 2 yrs we lived there) Henry asked to check her room and window (he was thinking maybe there's a hole in the screen that we missed????) and he was speechless when he saw that she had the window screen completely open. 

We asked her to keep the screen closed at all times to keep the mosquitoes and other bugs out, placed a plug-in repellent in the room. And Henry spent the next week swatting the electronic zapper around the house trying to get rid of all the mosquitoes that came in those few nights she had the screen open 🙄

Common sense is not common. 

[Yadira22]

I agree with @Jessica-and-Henry0 - common sense is not that common. 

Our general rule is 2 or more people mention it, add it to the house manual or the check in introduction etc and repeat in message. I have had so many guests unable to unlock the door (pull handle downwards, keep in this position and pull the door into the apartment as it would probably knock out a pedestrian if pushed onto the main road), one did the handle bit and expected the door to automatically open. spent about 30 mins of back and forth teaching her how to open this very old fashioned manual door. 

Sorry, this is happening- hope you get it sorted out. 

Stay safe 🙂

[Ann72]

@Yadira22  I remember the guest who couldn't open the door!  I had to add door-opening instructions recently after a guest messaged me.  It's a sliding glass door.  There's only one direction it can go.

Reminded me of a Tweet I saw awhile ago:  "When you push a pull door and the person behind says 'you need to pull' aye cheers lad sure next plan was to start lifting from the bottom."