@Andrea9 thanks for postng.
I had been wondering why so many of my Asian guests exclaim when I show them the dishwasher. They seem seriously impressed but then don't use it! Then this week I had a Korean gentleman stay and he asked me to explain it to him as he had never used one in his life. Yes, you can do without it, but having had several housemates who would otherwise have left dirty dishes piling up by the sink, I'm very glad to have one.
I bought a retro-style Italian coffee machine. No one ever uses it except for one Italian housemate I had who found it invaluable. He's no longer here so, while it looks pretty on the counter, it's pretty useless.
By the way, I disagree with the point in the article that washer/dryers are useless. Mine works perfectly fine. It's a SMEG and expensive, but came with a 5 year warantee which works out the same as buying a cheap one and having to pay for extended warantees or repairs. Considering how much laundry I now have to do as an Airbnb host, sometimes with a very short turnaround and the often wet London weather, it's been a god-send.
I have a ridiculously large fridge/freezer/wine fridge. Seemed a bit of an extravagance when I bought it, but when my rooms are fully booked, every inch of it is used.
Having three rooms in my house either occupied by Airbnb guests or lodgers, this stuff all comes in very useful and makes my life much easier.
That being said, I do try to be as energy efficient as possible, e.g. only put on the laundry when I have a full load and choose an eco cycle + try to always air dry stuff if the weather allows. I used to work for the Energy Saving Trust, so I really do mean that!
I try to get my guests to be energy efficient as well, but sometimes it is a losing battle. Today, someone put on the central heating without asking. It is mid-Summer and the garden and terrace doors were wide open. They also managed to accidentaly turn off the hot water at the same time.
Deep breath...