Off-grid home - different cultures and energy/water use

[Dave561]

We have a high-end, remote and fully off-grid home and are seeing a consistent pattern of guest behaviour on which I would love some hints from the community.

Background:  The house is a luxury home without any grid connection of any kind.  Electricity is from the sun, with battery storage and automatic generator as a safety net.  We really hate to run the generator, as it's burning diesel and polluting the air.  Water is rainwater stored in a 120,000 litre tank.  We have LPG tanks for the cooktop and hydronic under-floor heating.  It all works beautifully and is unobtrusive, as reflected by the fact that reviews have been 100% 5 star despite a fairly expensive rate.

I ask people to use common sense when consuming power and water.  I realise that is perhaps not a helpful enough guideline.  We have a guidebook that provides a lot of tips.  That is shared in advance via email and there's also a hardcopy in the house. Notably, it is only in English, which may be a contributing factor.

The issue, with only one exception over 30 bookings, is that guests from China use far more power and, on average, 4X the water.  As all systems in the house are remotely monitored, I know when people have, for example, turned up the heat to max and left the doors wide open (guests from Asia, exclusively).  Also, without exception, all bookings that brought more people than booked were our Chinese guests.  This impacts resource usage also. 

I don't assume what I'm seeing is intentional, though I am at a loss for the persistent excessive guests.  The record was 12 people when our maximum is six.  That was when I was using a property manager to advertise and manage the booking.  It hasn't been quite that bad since I took back control.

Do you think translating the guidebook into Chinese would help?  Our guests have seemed to communicate with us in fluent English.

 What else could I do without coming across as over-zealous or unfriendly?  

This is a real issue for us and I would like to solve it in a way that is effective while still being welcoming.  I think it is really cool that so many people travel from China to stay on our rugged, remote coast on Australia's Southern Ocean.  I hope my post doesn't come off as insensitive or negative.

[Dave561]

Another thought-- most parts of Australia have experienced long periods of drought, so perhaps are more sensitised to smart use of water than the average tourist.  Also, there seems to be a very high "green IQ" in   Australian residents, so maybe what I'm thinking is common practice just isn't.  If that's the case, I'm still stumped on how to approach this with guests.

[Nina204]

@Dave561  We also have a high end off the grid home in New Mexico.  I have in my rule book that any fuel for the generator should they burn through the solar batteries will be charged to them.  I also put instructions on the ins and outs of solar and how to conserve and when the best time to run appliances especially if they will be using multiple ones at the same time.   I think if you suggest there might be an added charge that might make them stop and think?  We did have Chinese guests in our Pittsburgh home and they put the heat at 85 and had the windows opened in the dead of winter??  We were very confused about that one.  As far as translating instructions in Chinese that's a great idea since it seems you host quite a few.  

[Veda3]

In most socialist countries, the government provides heat throughout the winter--usually too much.  In my visits to Russia, it was too hot in the apartments, and people routinely had their windows open in the dead of winter.  Maybe more clarity about adding a surcharge or something like that for excessive use of heat, and advice (seems ridiculous to have to say it) about keeping the doors and windows closed.  Duh.

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

@Dave561  It would be a big undertaking, and would require you knowing someone who is fluent in Chinese, and perhaps someone who is good at creating videos, but how about creating a 5-10 minute video where the Chinese speaker is filmed at various places around the property, giving a brief "this is how things work here" run through. They could, for instance, be filmed standing by the water storage tank, explaining how you obtain your water, that the area sometimes experiences times of extreme drought, and the need to conserve water by taking 5 minute showers, not leaving water running unnecessarily and so on.  Then the narrator could be seen inside the house, saying "Brr, it's cold in here", then walking over to the windows and shutting them before turning up the heat. "Wouldn't want to waste that lovely heat by trying to warm up the outdoors, haha."

It could almost be like a short documentary film which not only helps them understand how your own place works, but that in your culture, it's considered uncaring to waste resources, etc and that people have a large awareness about these things. Put some humor in it, as well. 

It could be entertaining, informative and easier to take in than a house manual, even if translated to Chinese. 

There's some things, like turning the heat up high, that you just can't really dictate to guests, though. If they feel cold, they are going to turn up the heat, if they're hot, they're going to crank the AC up high. But they can certainly be required to comply with not leaving the windows open and the heat cranked up.

[Dave561]

Thank you for the thoughtful posts.  My initial reaction is I am not comfortable with any type of punitive charges of extra fees for water and power usage, though that may ultimately be required.  I will implement that for excess guests, though, as that is just dishonest.

I love the idea of a video guide and think I can entice help from one of the young people at work who is of Chinese heritage.  Free weekend in the house in exchange for a five minute video?

My final thought at this point is that I need to implement some non-intrusive automation to, for example, turn off the heat if the doors are open.  Running the heat with all the doors open is just dumb and I don't think I can accept that.  I will investigate automation to turn off the ovens, which if left on can use 7kw of electricity (that's a lot, btw).  Key is finding a way to make it right without seeming to be "big brother".  

[Rachel177]

@Dave561 your listing is gorgeous! However looking at it I would have no idea it's off-grid & you're marketing it as a luxury home. Unfortunately when a lot of guests see 'luxury' in the title they think they can use the amenities on the property without any thought.

I would suggest changing your listing title to highlight that you are off-grid & eco-friendly. Most people do not read the listing in full & it is 5-6 paragraphs before you mention that the property is off-grid.

Also updating the in-home house manual to include other languages would help. And if you can get a system where you set & control the temperature range of the heating & air-conditioning  so that guests can't pump up the heat or drop the A/C it might help.

[Dave561]

Rachel, you make a great point.  I'll make the off-grid verbiage appear earlier in the listing and also make it a bit more clear the need to be mindful of resource usage.  Thanks

[Linda108]

@Dave561   I think you have gotten some great feedback to consider - Translated instructions, video, automated shut off, marketing adjustments.  It is a wonderful opportunity to increase your global awareness and to share your "green" perspective with others.  What a wonderful example of how this shared home experience can work.

Notice that you only have 11 reviews and you refer to over 30 bookings.  Do most of your bookings come from other sites?  If so, do most of the non-Australian guests come from other sites?  I don't have experience with other sites but is it possible that adjustments to those sites marketing might be warranted.  Just a thought

[Dave561]

Linda, 

Prior to May, the house was managed by a commercial agent that used Airbnb and many other channels.  Since May, I've narrowed it down to Airbnb and one other.  I have had 11 stays on Airbnb and five on the other channel.  So actually more than 30 bookings total, I suppose.

I use common descriptions and guidebooks between the two, so improvements I make as a result of feedback here will be helpful in the other channel.

[Gordon0]

Wow, @Dave561, that is some listing. You must be very proud of what you've achieved. I'm in Apollo Bay in January and quickly searched your calendar...but your three-day min cuts me out (understandably).

Anyway, the thing I noticed is you don't really get a sense for the eco credentials (as mentioned previously), I just saw 'luxury' which, sadly, means 'excess' too many. 

Perhaps ramp this up a little to get the right guests, ie those who aren't expecting full-on, eat-all-you-can services. 

[Dave561]

Gordon,

Thanks for the feedback.  I will definitely crisp up the expectations re smart use of energy and water.  If you would like to stay with us in January, send me an inquiry and I'll see if we can accept a two day booking.  We do 3 day min in December and January to reduce the burden on cleaning staff, who are stretched thin in the area in peak times.  

[Sarah977]

@Dave561  Another thing you can do is to market towards the type of guests you would like to host, in your case, those who are environmentally aware and resource-conservative. Marketing towards a certain type of guest is valuable when you have a listing that is "different". Of course every listing is unique, but some are more unique than others. I live in a touristy beach town, a "vacation destination", known as a party town, with hundreds of restaurants, lots of bars and nightlife. But my place isn't in town or on the beach- it's in the quiet countryside and a 20 minute walk into town and the beach. So I market towards guests who aren't coming to party, but to relax, read, do yoga, write, work on their art, etc. and also not mind the 20 minute walk to town (most guests fly here- I've only had 2 guests in 3 years who rented a car) to enjoy the beach and go out to eat.

Something like "Our place is a great fit for those who understand off-grid living, the environmental impact of excessive resource use, and want to enjoy a luxury home without assuming that includes hour-long showers or taxing the heating system by leaving the windows open in cold weather." You get the idea and I'm sure you can come up with something that conveys that in the way you would like.

[Dimitar27]

"Luxury" and "Limited resources" are not so easy to combine in one sentence.

I've never seen a real "off grid" house in my life. It's something from the TV and magazines, science fiction...It's really strange, that you've had problems only with your Asian guests. With something like this, here...listed on ABB, all guests would have "resource" problems.

[Helen-And-Mario0]

I agree, "Luxury" and "Limited resources" are contradictory in Housing business! The guest feel they paid a lot so they use it up when they can. I have had so many guests simply wiped their makeup or dirt using our brand new towels without hesitation when there are spare towels in the house!! Still trying to solve the puzzle and figure it out.