Bills charged as extra - is this fair?

[Logan200]

I am looking to rent an apartment long term in Barcelona and potentially other places now that my work is fully remote. However, in Barcelona in particular, many hosts seems to want to charge extra for utility bills - and a great amount as well. I feel that this somewhat goes against the convenience and purpose of AirBnB and that these costs should be factored into the price at initial payment. I understand some guests may use more energy than others but this is something you could control using 'house rules' and certain advanced tech gadgets and apps to keep under control. Additionally, the hosts seem to have plucked the number to charge out of thin air. For example, you would never pay £180 per month in energy costs for one person staying in the UK, where I am from and which is known to be far more costly than anywhere in the EU. So how are these hosts justifying such massive extra charges?

I would love to hear opinions on this and would certainly love to know why AirBnB has not put measures in place to manage what seems to me to be complete extortion.

[Helen3]

As long as the host makes it clear on their listing that utilities are charged in addition then absolutely they can do this . @Logan200 

I've stayed in Barcelona before and not paid utilities on top so I suggest you look for listings that don't charge extra for utilities .

love to see the reference to the data you mentioned that shows the UK has the highest utility rates in Europe 

[Logan200]

Thanks Helen! I know that they are able to charge if they mention it, though that does make me wish there was a filter for that on here! I'm currently going through the details of every individual listing I like the look of for further details which is very time consuming. I also still wish there were more controls on how people charge for energy, some charge £50, others as much as £200, so there doesn't seem to be much fairness around this which is interesting. Hopefully this will change at some point and become more transparent and therefore fairer.

[Bob297]

@Logan200 @Helen3 

Someone has to pay the bill, and it depends on how much water and electricity cost.
I rent out three villas in a tropical environment. We take photos of the meters at both check-in and check-out and charge the official rate from our supplier. Some guests use as little as €8 per day, while others may use up to €25. I once had guests who used €350 in just one week.

I prefer to reward energy-conscious guests by charging them based on their actual usage. Including energy costs in the rent would mean that those who conserve energy would be subsidizing those who waste it, which isn’t fair. Charging based on consumption also encourages responsible energy use.