How do you make your guests feel comfortable if it's cold or warm outside?

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

How do you make your guests feel comfortable if it's cold or warm outside?

stay warm.jpg


Hello everyone,

 

For many of us, it’s beginning to get colder or warmer (depending on where you live). I've had to switch coats a couple of times as the weather keeps changing between cold and warm here in London. The same goes when I am at home as I have already started using the heater regularly.

 

How do you make sure your guests are comfortable with the temperature when it’s warm or cold outside? Do you, for example, provide extra blankets, log fire, or perhaps air conditioning?

 

Looking forward to reading your replies :-). 

 

Quincy

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

40 Replies 40
Julie143
Level 10
Princeton, NJ

It’s been pretty cold here. We have central heating which works well. I tell the guests where the thermostat is before the check-in and also in the house manual. Before I leave the day they check in, I set it to about 65 and encourage them in my message to adjust it up or down when they get in, depending on their preferebce, It’s a small house which heats up quickly.

(I do very short stays. If I did long term ones, this might be a issue I would have to think about.)

 

I also provide extra blankets in all the bedrooms and a selection of hot beverages.

 

Summers here are hot and humid. There are window AC units in all the bedrooms and the living area. I’d rather have central AC, because the windows units can be noisy, but it is what it is...

 

 

I keep the filters clean and explain how to use them in the house manual.

Ceiling fans are something I’ve been thinking about... I think they can help a lot with cooling rooms down so that there is less need for ACs.

 

mabye will install a couple of them in the spring.

 

 

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Julie143

 

Nice to meet you :-).

 

It sounds like you've got everything organised! Currently, at my place, I only have a central heating. I should have purchased one as summer this year has reached record-breaking temperatures (in London, UK).

 

At the moment the temperature outside is mild but windy. The heater will warm up the house automatically if the temperature falls below a certain point. Although, I'm currently not hosting I did provide extra blankets at the time.

 

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

John1080
Level 10
Westcliffe, CO

For colder weather, which here lasts from September to May, we provide plenty of firewood, kindling, and newspaper for guests to get and keep a fire going. We also have baseboard heaters which we can control remotely. We normally leave these at 55 or 60 to prevent pipes from freezing, but will remotely turn them up to 65 if it's a particularly cold evening when a guest will arrive. 

 

For summer, although it can get warm, most places do not have AC simply because it really isn't needed. I advise guests to open up the entire place at night, then shut all windows and pull blinds where the sun can come through, which typically keeps the interior at 67-70. 

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hey @John1080,

 

As always, it's great seeing you around here :-).

 

I can imagine it gets very cold there as you mentioned in a different post (a while ago) that there were some snowstorms in Colorado.

 

Do you usually prepare in advance before the cold weather arrives?

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

@Quincy, we don’t really need to do much other than make sure we have an adequate stock of firewood. 

 

We we keep our remotely controlled baseboard heaters on, so unless the power goes out, we are covered as far as pipes freezing. 

 I admire your courage in letting guests manage wood fires--I find that such a skill is stove-specific and runs too much risk of dangerous use. Even with the higher costs, I would go with thermostatically- controlled heat Our tourism regulations demand extra blankets.

Here in Eastern Canada we agree that AC is almost a waste. We installed "whole huse fans" which are great for pulling cool air in in the evenings.

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

I stayed at an Airbnb at the weekend and had a lovely time by the coast. The listing I stayed in was a lovely little cottage near the sea. It had a good heating system, so the place heated up really quickly, but I am always a fan of furry blankets. They make a place even cozier...although, they do make me fall asleep easily (which might not be so handy...). 🙂


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Oh actually, that reminds of an Airbnb I stayed at in Norway @Lizzie! There were 2 furry cats and very furry blankets (great combo) :-). It was a really enjoyable place, but my partner and I were out every day exploring Oslo so we didn't spend that much time in the apartment itself! 

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

Sandra126
Level 10
Daylesford, Australia

Well Lizzoe, you would like my full length fur coats (fake) that I provide. Like Huggy Bear in Starsky and Hutch, if you ever saw that. It is for sitting outside on chilly evenings! They are hideous and immensely popular.

Colleen47
Level 10
Frisco, CO

Hey guys! We provide nice down comforters which are warm for winter and also fold down easily in summer. We offer plenty of blankets, thrown over each bed and on each couch. Of course being in the mountains we had to have a wood burning stove. Just a few logs heat the place up very quickly. On top of that we get solar gain and hydronic in floor radiant heat. The in floor heat  takes a full day to change temperatures so we always make sure the house is a toasty 68F prior to arrivals in the winter. 

The Summers in Colorado are wonderful and it seems as though the windows and doors are constantly open. We turn the heat off and don’t need anything more. @Quincy

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

@Colleen47, I really like the idea of solar energy! I'd like to have some installed panels as well. What are typical winter temperatures in Frisco? 

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

@Quincy We love solar, but we don't do solar panels, we do solar GAIN.  Our home is aligned with the movement of the sun.  We get the first light in the morning and the last light of the evening.  The sun heats our home and is retained by the thick double paned windows. It doesn't need battaries, no maintainence, no cost.  Just good design.  

Our typical winter is November through April (sometimes May) and can  range from -10F to 45F on any given day.  We also get sun 300 days a year.  pretty rad!

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Ah, I get it now @Colleen47

 

I did some research about it and it sounds quite good! 

-----

 

Please follow the Community Guidelines // Volg de communityrichtlijnen

Allison2
Level 10
Traverse City, MI

I host a suite in my home. We have central heat and I keep a portable heater (that looks like a wood stove-cozy!) in the guest space so they can warm it up more.

 

Guests also love the heated tile floor in the bathroom - a toddler recently stayed and his Mom said he liked to run into the bathroom and lay on the floor in the mornings! (My cat agrees!)

 

In the winter I also put a heating blanket on the queen-sized bed.