Expected COST of energy 2022/23

[Erik1683]

Hi all.

Just interested in some views on what we are thinking of doing this winter 2022/23.

We run a 'Green Tourism' self-catering Apartment.

Due to massively increased cost of energy we feel we cannot allow our guests to control the Central heating thermostat anymore, so we have 'locked' it at pre-set temperatures and control it remotely using an App. 

If guests are cold, they can ask us to turn it up, which we will then do. (Reluctantly).

Some guests - a minority- are very careless and take the attitude that they pay for it, so they can as well leave the front door and windows wide open, AND turn up the heating.  We simply cannot afford that anymore, and feel we need some measure of control, otherwise it is actually more beneficial to us to close the business. 

We actually get quite a few guests who complain in Summer that they are cold, and want extra heating in the room. We are unhappy with guests wanting more heat...when the outside temperature is 23-24C! We all have to start making changes - inflation, War in Ukraine, Global Warming, massively increased costs of energy. But should we 'educate' our guests? No. But can we afford not to? No. 

In addition to our central heating system we have little mobile stand-by electric radiators, which guests have been able to use at will, and at our expense. We simply feel we cannot afford that anymore, as a small electric radiator of say 1.5Kwh will cost us approx £0.45 per HOUR to run, that is around £10.00 PER DAY.

Therefore we are thinking of charging the guest a 'rent' to be supplied with a stand-by electric radiator, of say £10 per day.  That will focus the mind and hopefully guests are then more keenly aware of the importance of being careful with energy.

It could of course backfire and course resentment and bad reviews,  making some people to waste even more, and leave it on day and night, with the windows open.

DISCUSS PLEASE. How are you going to deal with this, pro's and con 's. Thank you.

[Huma0]

@Erik1683 

It's a tricky one. My listing isn't green tourism, but I do try to be reasonably environmentally friendly and energy efficiency is important to me (I used to work for the Energy Saving Trust) even before you factor in the cost. So, I have always had something in my rules asking guests to be conscious of their energy use, recycle etc. Given that we are currently experiencing a drought, I may well add in something about water consumption too, as guests can be very wasteful there too.

However, heating is the most difficult one. I live in a large, old house, which already cost a fortune to heat before the fuel price hikes and I'm terrified of what it's going to cost this coming winter. Every winter, I have issues with guests about the heating. It's just never enough for them and many people expect you to turn it up so that they can walk around in shorts and a t-shirt with bare feet and wet hair. And yes, some do open the windows and then still complain that there's not enough heating. It doesn't occur to them that it's unreasonable to expect me to pay to heat the outside world.

I tell guests not to fiddle with the heating controls, but some still do, and one even broke radiator valves, causing water to leak to the room below which had just been redecorated and onto the furniture, curtains etc. which meant I had to turn off the heat in that room even though the next guest was about to arrive. The guest who caused the damage got very angry when I mentioned it and rated me down in the review. People are VERY stubborn when it comes to heating and just won't listen. I think you're very wise to have a system where the guests cannot control the heating. 

If I was you, I would definitely get rid of those electric heaters. Guests will abuse those and I bet you some of them leave the heaters on when they go out, which can be a safety hazard too. If you are located near the listing, you could have them on standby for emergencies, e.g. if the heating breaks down.

@Debra300 has a system which she says works very well for her. Guest pay a refundable deposit to cover excess energy usage. She sets a limit (which is quite generous) and guests understand that they will be charged extra fees if they exceed that limit. She says she never has to charge because this is enough incentive to stop them being wasteful. Obviously you would need to do readings before and after, but perhaps you can screenshot these on your App? Maybe worth a try? 

[Lorna170]

@Erik1683   We have found that people who do not have to pay their own heating bills (they rent, or live at home with generous parents, a school dorm room or the like) just have NO CLUE about how to conserve heating or cooling.  We have installed thermostats that are set to a specific comfortable but limited range, and are on cool as of a certain date or heat as of a certain date.  We can always adjust the settings remotely if we experience a hot or cold spell (we live on the adjacent property).   

We have a gas fireplace, but have it turned off in the summer to discourage wastrels from turning it on for ambiance and then running the AC flat out to compensate.  They are welcome to enjoy the outside fire pit.  Like @Huma0  I would never ever give a guest an electric heater.

We have had the idiots who open every window and door and then run the AC.  Likewise, we had the family that left the door open for their dog to relieve itself and then complained about being bitterly cold.   Using our Nest settings, we can prevent much of this abuse.

I quite like the idea of a refundable fee for heating and cooling use.  If this is a major issue for you, you may get more responsible guests if they know they can get their money back if they remember to turn off the lights and AC when not at home and wear a sweater in the winter.  Good luck!

[Huma0]

@Lorna170 

Absolutely. Money is a big motivator.

I think that you are right about the category of guest that is not used to paying their own energy bills. They have no concept whatsoever of energy saving. But, there are also guests who do pay their own bills who act like this. Those are the ones that wouldn't waste their own money but are happy to waste other people's. Perhaps they feel entitled to it because they have 'paid' for the airbnb and don't comprehend that there's a limit to what they get for that. With either type, a financial incentive could still help.

I simply turn my heating off in the spring, once it gets warm enough, and then turn it back on in the autumn once it starts to get chilly. Guests do not have the option to turn it on and off themselves. However, I've certainly had complaints about this, including one guest who got confrontational when I wouldn't turn on the central heating in the middle of summer because he went for a run in the pouring rain, but didn't bother to take a warm shower and put on dry clothes. I was a new host, so I appeased him by giving him an electric heater. If that happened how, he would be told, it is what it is. If you don't like it, you can find somewhere else to stay. Thanks. With this type of guest, there is a lot of "Where I come from, we do this..." Well, this is not Miami. It's also not Moscow. It's tempting to ask them if they themselves pay for that thing "we do where I come from".

[Huma0]

PS I also have constant issues with use of the washing machine. I would say the majority of guests are really wasteful when it comes to washing their clothes. 

I have tried all sorts of tactics to tackle this, but nothing has really solved the problem. If I didn't host long term stays, where use of the washing machine is vital and if the local laundrette hadn't closed down, I think I would simply remove the washer/dryer from my amenities list and make it out of bounds for guests.

[Sue1905]

I have a washing machine but I don't supply detergent. I don't think I have ever had a guest use the machine. 

[Huma0]

@Sue1905 what's your average length of stay? I found that, even when I hosted short term guests, many of them used the washing machine. In fact, some guests would turn up with loads of dirty laundry and couldn't wait to shove it in my machine! 

I don't charge extra for use of the washing machine, but I also ask them to buy their own detergent. It's specified on the listing, but almost every single guest seems surprised and just expected I would supply it. They don't argue about it though.

It's the use of the washing machine that bothers me, i.e. the amount of energy and water needlessly wasted because so many people think it's a great idea to put on a very long wash for two pairs of socks and a t-shirt. I wonder if they do this at home.

I have a guest who puts on the teeniest, tiniest loads. When I commented that the loads were so small, she responded that she hadn't brought a lot of stuff with her. That is blatantly untrue. She turned up with loads of stuff and only a day or two before had told me she couldn't fit it into the wardrobes, plus could she have extra hangers...

[Sybe]

Hey everyone @Erik1683 @Huma0 @Sue1905 @Lorna170 

Thank you for your comments on this. I know this is an older post already, but I wanted to let you know that we’ve recently started a topic regarding energy costs and we’re collecting tips on how to manage them. We’d love to get your input too, so please don’t hesitate and come share your experiences and advice!

You can find my post here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Has-your-Hosting-adapted-due-to-the-energy-crisis/td-p/1...

Thanks!

Sybe