Excessive Heat By Guests

[Edward90]

I have had some guests run the heat on the HVAC to between 80 and 85 degress F in the winter.  Unfortunately for me part of my townhouse is controlled by the thermostat in their apartment and ot is not only way too warm but must be costing me $10 to $20 a day to run the heat at these excessive temperatures in the dead of winter.  Of course on the other side of the equation I get other guests that will freeze me and I have to run an electric heater because the temperature is like 60 degrees.  I have thought about moving the thermostat into my living area and setting it to a constat 70 degress.  I am particularly disturbed by the guests running my HVAC to 85 degress F.  This is suppose to be budget lodging NOT luxury lodging.  

[Alexandra316]

@Edward90The best advice I can give is to get a thermostat that's either smart so you can control it remotely (like the Nest or similar), or choose a regular thermostat that's lockable. Just set a maximum temperature on it and that puts an end to ridiculous heat settings. 85 degrees is completely excessive: if it were the summer, they would probably be complaining that it was far too hot inside. 

[Edward90]

To further the same conversation, I had a more recent guest that kept the temperature between 79.5 and 81.5.  I own a 2 family house but it was originally built in 1843 so the thermostat in my guest apartment controls the environment for 40% of my living area as well as the guest apartment.  In addition the thermostat use to be in my living area but 4 years ago when I started hosting on Airbnb I decided to hire an electrician and move it into the guest area so that I could accommodate my guests more by giving them control over their environment (not sure that was a great idea).  I just wanted to be the best host I possibly could be.  For the most part has been OK because 98% of guest keep the thermostat between 62 and 72 degrees and turn the temperature down when they are not in the apartment and occasionally if the temperature is too low (this happens as well) I can run an electric heater.  But recently had a guest keep the temperature for 5 days (night and day) at over 80 degrees.  In fact they didn’t even have the hospitality to lower the temperature when they were out during the day exploring.   Was like a hot room in my own house.  My wife that likes the temperature at 70 was complaining and we had to open the doors and windows for 5 day and 5 nights.  Running the heat at 80 degrees is very wasteful especially if you are not even home.  Heating costs skyrocket and the wear and tear on the furnace and blower motor is 3 to 5 times higher than by keeping the temperature at 70 because the blower and furnace are running constantly.  If all my guests were like this I would just not host anymore!  So I decided the best way to address this is to hook up a WiFi thermostat and put a lock on the thermostat as well.  I will also leave an explanation of how the heat and ac work.  I will set the temperature for 70 degrees.  If a guest would like the temperature raised or lowered they can message me and I will adjust it remotely.  If they want the temperature at 80 degrees there is a $15 surcharge per day for utility costs and a $15 dollar a day charge for wear and tear on the equipment.  Not much else I can do.  Unfortunately ruins it for the 95 percent of guests that are very respectful.  

[Edward90]

Also Alexandra I have to leave a review for this guest.   Besides the exsessive heat (but they also left the outdoor lights on night and day, i.e. more waist) they left the apartment very clean and were very good guests and they checked out on time.  Airbnb askes if I would host them again and the answer is absolutely NOT!  I am not so sure if it is appropriate to mention the situation about the heat in their review.  How do you review them?  I even considered not leaving a review at all.  

[Edward90]

Fortunately I dont get tool many guests that run the AC or Heat to excess.  As far as heat most stay within the range of 65 degrees F to 75 degress F and as far as AC most run the AC between 68 and 77 degress F.  But I have seen 60 degrees on the AC and 85 degress on the heat.  It would be great to be able to set a min and max because I would rather not take away the ability of my guests to control their environment within limits.  For conversation purposes I once had a tenant and I would stop in to visit with him and he would be walking around the apartment in his draws ONLY with the temperature ragging at 85 to 90 degress and he would be sweating.  But me would pick up the utility bill dispite the fact  that his lease included utilities.  Of couse there is the wear and tear on the equipment as well but at least he was willing to pay the utility bill.  

[Edward90]

Nonetheless there are people that like to cook themselves in winter with the HVAC and there are people that like to freeze themselves in the summer and roll themselves up in a down comforter.  My wife is one of those people with the AC.  She turns it down to 65 and rolls herself into a ball with a down comforter and I am freezing.  In fact it can be 65 degress or less outside and she is still running the AC.  And in fact I have had instances (I have 2 HVAC systems) where my wife is running the AC and my guests are running the fraking heat.  

[Edward90]

Thank you for your suggestions.  

[Edward90]

To further the same conversation, I had a more recent guest that kept the temperature between 79.5 and 81.5.  I own a 2 family house but it was originally built in 1843 so the thermostat in my guest apartment controls the environment for 40% of my living area as well as the guest apartment.  In addition the thermostat use to be in my living area but 4 years ago when I started hosting on Airbnb I decided to hire an electrician and move it into the guest area so that I could accommodate my guests more by giving them control over their environment (not sure that was a great idea).  I just wanted to be the best host I possibly could be.  For the most part has been OK because 98% of guest keep the thermostat between 62 and 72 degrees and turn the temperature down when they are not in the apartment and occasionally if the temperature is too low (this happens as well) I can run an electric heater.  But recently had a guest keep the temperature for 5 days (night and day) at over 80 degrees.  In fact they didn’t even have the hospitality to lower the temperature when they were out during the day exploring.   Was like a hot room in my own house.  My wife that likes the temperature at 70 was complaining and we had to open the doors and windows for 5 day and 5 nights.  Running the heat at 80 degrees is very wasteful especially if you are not even home.  Heating costs skyrocket and the wear and tear on the furnace and blower motor is 3 to 5 times higher than by keeping the temperature at 70 because the blower and furnace are running constantly.  If all my guests were like this I would just not host anymore!  So I decided the best way to address this is to hook up a WiFi thermostat and put a lock on the thermostat as well.  I will also leave an explanation of how the heat and ac work.  I will set the temperature for 70 degrees.  If a guest would like the temperature raised or lowered they can message me and I will adjust it remotely.  If they want the temperature at 80 degrees there is a $15 surcharge per day for utility costs and a $15 dollar a day charge for wear and tear on the equipment.  Not much else I can do.  Unfortunately ruins it for the 95 percent of guests that are very respectful.  

[Edward90]

Well I finally did it after 4 years of hosting.  I put a lock on the thermostat and ordered a wifi thermostat so that I can adjust the temperature remotely.  After 4 years of allowing my guests free rign over setting the temperature.  I set the thermostat to 71 so will stay in the range of 70 to 72.  

[Ash3]

What is a reasonable temperature setting for radiant floor heat? I was advised that it is typically set a bit lower than forced air so I have it at 69° with the guest being able to adjust it to 70°. Even with that, the guest is complaining it's too cold!

The situation is complicated by the issue that when the guest adjusts the temperature above the setting on the program, it will stick there until the next data point, so it's 70° all night, or all day while they are at work. I can set more data points as a fix but want to see what others think is reasonable for a temp setting. 

(I never put mine above 68° (forced air) so 70° seems pretty luxurious!)