Can you charge extra for AC usage?

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

We recently bought a window AC unit for the room we rent. We installed it 5 days ago, but all of our guests had it on the entire day and night, even when they are not in the room. We told them to be conscious and switch it of if they are not in the room. But they don't do it.

Originally, I thought it was a nice amenity to provide. However, I'm worried for the electricity cost now. I didn't expect the guests would use it all day when the temperature is 50-60F like it is now. I wouldn't mind if they use it when its 80-90F, but it's not that warm now! 

I was wondering, can you charge extra if they want AC? I feel if I add the cost to the nightly price, people might not book our place as other places will be chaeper. I can monitor usage with a smart plug. 

Do you have AC in your room/apartment? How do you manage it? I'll appreciate any thoughts and feedback.

[Stay-Asheville0]

This is why it's particullalry important for people to pay attention in high school....

It's probably costing you ten cents an hour to run a 10,000 BTU unit.  If it's going 24/7 it's probably making your bill go up about 50 bucks a month.  This kind of thing is the number one reason I don't manage other people's houses for them anymore.... homeowners showing up to turn off the hot tub, for example.   Just pay the bill and get better reviews! So what if they're runnnig it 24/7?  They're on vacation and traveling.  

If you want to really cut down on your power bill get solar panels and switch to an on demand tankless water heater.

Add a sign that says something polite like "We like to keep costs low and pass the savings onto our guests.  Please turn off the AC unit when you leave"

[Sarah977]

@Stay-Asheville0  It does depend on where one is. Here in Mexico, electricity is charged on a tier system- up to a certain amount of KWH per 2 month billing period are charged at one rate, over that you go into a somewhat higher rate, and if you get into the 3rd tier, which always happens with AC, the original rate quadruples. So in my case, it would amount to more like $100/month. And once you get into that rate, you can't get out of it for the following 6 months, even if it's winter and no one is using the AC- I'd still be paying quadruple the rate on what I would be using. And unfortunately, the cost of installing solar wouldn't balance out until about 15 years, I did the math.

[Stay-Asheville0]

WOW that’s interesting about your power bill.

I disagree with solar panel time to recoup the costs... far too many people think of the short term. You probably wouldn’t have a power bill in that 15 years, or ever again. 

Thrtes onvioisly a lot to solar and not every house can have one. 

But I I really think to the OP’s point who lives in California, it’s far more work and not in the best interest of the guest to charge them extra for using an included amenity. 

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

@Stay-Asheville0 I did the math. It can cost $5.60/day assuming 24h usage at 100% capacity (so it will be less). It seems it's not a lot but add it up: snacks, laundry, coffee, AC, shampoo... Those things keep adding up and we cannot raise the price if we want to be competitive. 

More than the cost, it's energy and environment awareness.  It's a waste of energy to cool an empty space. I don't think it's asking too much to switch it off when leaving. One of our guests used all the extra blankets (3 blankets + duvet) but had the AC on. Really?! These things really upset me. That's why I was asking for feedback on what to do.  I don't like the idea of charging extra, as a guest I'd hate it. But even with labels asking to turn it off and keep it to a reasonable temperature, it's not working. 

[Stay-Asheville0]

Install a timer on a wall outlet that turns it off during certain times. When it resets it should come back on at a normal setting. 

You must have a massive air conditioning unit... 

I have several rentals with a few of these in the windows and its rare that people abuse it. I do very high turnovers... I just don’t have the time nor would I waste the effort worrying about it. 

[Brianna38]

I put up a few sign reminders, used sticker labels to remind folks where things are and to turn off lights/fan/ac when leaving, take off shoes on carpet, extra towels in this cabinet etc. 

Have had positive reception about the reminders and less issues, worst case scenario if I hear the ac on when they are out I will go in and turn it off. 

Frustratingly- I had a woman last summer stay in the room the better part of the weekend, ac on high the whole time, when she left she had put ALL the extra blankets on the bed because she was so cold. Rude, just rude. I upped my rate a bit since it was high season and there is no graceful way around it.

[Brent-and-Sylvie0]

Agree! no consideration.  Just installed an AC too and I am in Hawaii. We have solar even with 22 panels we had a $90 electric bill. It is .40 per kw in Hawaii. 

[Mark-And-Jamie0]

Having the same issue.  We just installed AC and people are using it all day and night, and it's not even hot.  I understand people have different temperatures they prefer, so I'm thinking about adding it as an extra charge if they go over a certain amount of usage.

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

From the feedback we got, this might lead to more problems. People will complain and give less stars on value. I calculate usage of our AC window and max it can cost is $5 if running 24/day.  We'll raise prices a bit and add signs to remember to turn it off. 

[Pete28]

 Unless you have separate meter (which would require the entire house to be rewired) not sure how you can tell how much usage. If it's on 110v, then max is 1500watts so maybe 20c / HR or $4ish a day. Unless they have it at 65 with Windows open doubt it would run 24hrs a day.  Is it worth worrying about it ?

[Mark-And-Jamie0]

If it's only $4.00 no it's not worth charging the guest.  I'm trying to figure out now how much extra it is.  But thank you for your reply I really appreciate it.

[Lizzie]

Great topic @Bruna-and-Siana0 and you have some useful answers here too. 

I agree with others that it might be hard to charge extra for their use of the AC.

If you think it is actually not warm enough to have the AC on at the moment though, I wonder if making sure the room is a good temperature before they enter the room could help to prevent them from feeling the need to turn it on and then potentially leaving it on accidentally (perhaps you do this already). I know this is tricky though, because everyone's preferred temperature is different. 

Just a thought! 🙂

[Chris232]

I know that AC in the UK is a luxery, have you considered a basic fan?

One of those pedastal thingy with 3 speeds, cost about £25 - £35 and next to nothing to operate.

[Fred13]

@Chris232 Here in the tropics, all summer long fans are a must, I meen must, and do make a world of difference. Long live pedestal fans!

[Fred13]

Preventing abuse of a well-meant feature usually is better than to try to charge 'extra' - usually causes more problems than it's worth. Example: I used to try to charge a $25 fee (for gas) to return to the mainland - came across like a bomb. So changed a few things so they didn't even have to (i.e. shorten their stay, help them with food shopping, better refrigerator, charged a little more, etc). 

[Bruna-and-Siana0]

This is a good point. I think charging extra will lead to complains. I think we'll try to charge a little more and see if we still get bookings. We have a lot of competition.

[Fred13]

Just up to the average @Bruna-and-Siana0, nothing too hairy. So it takes you out of the scene of looking like the 'collector'. Like @Ange2 said, if charge and give a specific reason, then they focus on it and may use it abusely because 'they paid for it'. Tricky area, no doubt.

[Ange2]

@Fred13  Great idea - and charging extra has its own problems, e.g. guests leaving a pigsty because there is a cleaning fee, I can also imagine a scenario where the A/C is not cool enough and because their attention has been drawn to it by the extra $$'s paid for it,  it becomes focus and cause for complaint.

An easy one is simply upping the price year round to cover seasonal costs and excessive guests.

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Bruna-and-Siana0: With a window unit I think it would be difficult to "charge extra" and I think it would cause you more issues with guests than its worth. Guests will always do this. Leave the AC on and go out. Maybe a sign on the AC about turning it off when they are leaving??..or what @Kelly149 said. 

Our guesthouse has a thermostat that is web enabled so we can set it to go to a default temperature at a specific time if its set below a certain temperature. Some people like to run the AC cold when sleeping and then leave for the day so we put this in place.

[Sarah977]

I think it would maybe be more effective to have a note about turning the AC off on the back of the room door that they have to open, so they can't help but see it on the way out. Same for turning off lights, heaters, etc.