Guest left the window air conditioners on and windows open when they checked out! And i was out of

[Reginald0]

Guest left the window air conditioners on and windows open when they checked out! And i was out of town for 2 weeks I discovered it when i got back. 

I had no other bookings after them so i was unable to check after them or leave a review.

If i have no other bookings i will clean it when i get back in town. If i do, i have someone i pay to clean it.

Before they arrive I told them i would go and turn the ac's on for them. I was in town when they checked in.

The electric bill was very high for a 3 night stay. How would a host be compensated in this situation? 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Reginald0 

Having guests at home and being out of town is not wise. Let them check out without sending someone over to see if everything is left ok, stove / AC / water... turned off and windows and doors closed and locked is very risky. You really shouldn't expect responsibility and intelligence from the "Holliday brains".  We always go to the apartment as soon as our guests check-out. Many of them leave the AC running on 16 C or heating on 30 C and some of them even left the front door wide open!

If you didn't have any guests after them then it is still not late to use resolution center and ask them to pay for the excessive electricity bill. But how can you prove they left the window open and A/C running? How can you prove your next bill will be higher than usual?  I am afraid you will have to bear this cost this time 😞

[Reginald0]

I have several properties. as well as many airbnb hosts. its common for hosts to be out of town or traveling. Please read over my whole post again. I explained why no one was able to check over it. 

It looks like you only rent your rooms at your home. and dont rent it if you have to go out of town for anything. you mentioned all common since thoughts but thanks for your time.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Reginald0 

I am off site hosts with 2 Airbnb properties and... a few other properties with tenants. I manage all of them with the help of my daughter and my mum so I could say I have some experience . But that's irrelevant because it is just common sense to immediately check the property when guests or tenants leave and if you can't do it yourself than it would be good to hire someone or ask your friend/girlfriend/relative... to do that. Otherwise,, the next time you could come home and find out it was burned to the ground or flooded or robbed.

I don't rent the apartment I live in, but when I'm out of town I still have someone to watch over it and check every few days if everything is ok.

You asked how could you be compensated in your situation now. I don't think you can.

[Helen3]

Quite honestly @Reginald0  I agree with @Branka.

Yes the guests behaved irresponsibly leaving on the aircon etc. but as a host running an Airbnb business you should be aware that it is not common for hosts to leave their properties without anyone to manage things locally while they are away travelling.

That's what local co-hosts are for. You need to take some responsibility for not having anyone go in and check the property after your guests checked out.

You haven't actually explained why you didn't have anyone managing things while you were travelling?

[Sarah977]

@Reginald0  If I were you, I would pay someone to go to the house after guests check out to make sure things like this don't happen if you're out of town. 

[Lisa723]

@Reginald0 seconding others, and as a remote host, there is no way I would let a property sit uninspected for two days, much less two weeks, after guests' departure. The possibilities go so far beyond wasted electricity... I don't think you're likely to get any compensation for leaving your property with the AC running and windows open for two weeks. The guests aren't really responsible for what happened after they left. Sorry.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa723  No kidding. What if the guests left the door unlocked or wide open. The place could have been cleaned out. 

[Ange2]

@Reginald0  Ouch! sounds expensive. Your best bet is to ask the guests for some compensation via the site, appeal to their better nature.  I do not think airbnb will have a solution.  For future there are a few options out there that may be helpful, a wifi enabled remote turn off for A/C's, some apparently work with window A/C's via the outlet -  think eco inc  has some useful options.

[Donald28]

I've had guests checkout and leave the faucet on in the bathroom. Water running constantly! Luckily, I am on site and do the cleaning usually the same day so I didn't waste too much water. I have guests leave the lights on all the time. They check out and can't be bothered with turning off the lights?! Guests are idiots and do not care about your place or your bills. 

[Sarah977]

@Donald28  I don't get it- who walks away from a sink and just leaves the water running? It seems like turning it off isn't something that requires any conscious thought- normal people just do it automatically. Are they stoned or drunk? The only instance I can think of where it would be in any way understandable is if their young child used the sink just as they were leaving, left the water running and the parents didn't notice.

[Steven65]

Could you invest in remote on off, switches? I use a NEST for heating and i believe on off sockets can also be purchased and installed on other appliances. Just an idea, and could be a good investment if the property is unused regularly. 

[Yiann0]

@Reginald0 There is just so much a guest can handle. Similar things have happened with my house's listing. Best thing to do, as it has been mentioned, is getting somebody in to check all this things; a friend, a neighbour etc. Incidentally, today I'm sitting in front of my pc to research smart thermostats I can control online, since I am in France now, and it is mainly to control my house in Aberdeen. I can trust guests to empty the bins - as it is the waste they have generated - but I don't trust them with the heating system or turning the lights off when they leave. It is actually mind-boggling, because I doubt they will do it in their own home.