Long-Term Rentals, Digital Nomads and Utilities

[Mark4266]

Hola all,

We have a rental in San Pedro, Belize, and we have found that a large proportion of potential guests are looking for longer-term rentals.  Since we listed with ABB about a year ago, we have had very high occupancy rates, and most of our rentals have been for between 30-90 days. 

Our question is this: Has anyone separated out any utility charges with longer-term rentals?

I ask this because we have one of the highest per KWh costs of electricity in the world here, and if one is in the apartment working remotely and uses the AC for the majority of each day and night, our bills can be astronomical, enough to make the rentals almost cash negative.  And this cost is completely dependent on the tenant, so it varies massively. 

My worry is that if I increase the rates enough to make sure that I cover the costs for those who may stay in all day and use the AC, for months on end, then we will look completely non-competitive with the other rentals on the market who are catering to shorter-term rentals for scuba divers, for example, who spend a good portion of the day out of the unit, so electricity usage is so much lower! 

We have found a good niche for longer-term rentals, which keeps our occupancy quite high, but we really need to figure out how to mitigate the massively varying cost of electricity. 

Would love to hear ideas from anyone in a similar situation. 

Sincerely,

Mark

San Pedro, Belize

[Kate867]

@Mark4266   We have done three long term stays varying between 2-3 months for people between house moves.  We agreed a good discount with us paying all the ‘fixed costs’ such as water (unmetered), broadband, council tax etc.  But they paid for all the energy costs (not the fixed daily standing rate for supply) based on meter readings.  Photo taken by them and submitted the day they checked in and then meter readings four weekly after that with a final reading on day of check out.  We then applied the relevant unit rates and sought the payment through the resolution centre.  Everyone was happy and it worked well.

[Lorna170]

@Mark4266   We have had long term tenants (in non Airbnb properties) and our rental agreement states that the electric usage is averaged as x dollars and the tenant will be billed for any usage in excess.

In your instance, billing is a little different because a guest could refuse to pay once they have gone.  You can try @Kate867  s solution, but your tenants have to be aware and in agreement.  Otherwise, I would note in your advert that a utility charge will be applied once booked if a long term rental and refunded should the guest not exceed x amount.