Charging extra for electricity

[Ynez0]

I have a one bedroom apartment I rent out for vacations. I usually charge people for using the electric as here in Mexico, the electric is so expensive, and i only charge a modest fee for my apartment. It also deters people from using it all the time, leaving it on unnecessarily. 

Not one of my guests has ever had a problem with this.

Today, my last two guests felt it was very unfair to have this charged and said I wasn't clear about it at the beginning. I read through the guest book in the casita and it does say they will be charged, although I thought I had made this clear on the listing, apparently not. I only charge this to cover the cost, not to make money. 

Refusing to argue about it, I told them to leave it - despite it being the highest bill ever, since they used the AC almost all the time, leaving it on when they went out. I am a small, sole property owner. As my guest (from London) said 'it's expensive here'. Yes, it is. That's why I can't afford to pay for your electric, when you have used so much.

Their argument was that I was not explicit. I told them I was going to read the meter when they arrived, but they did not understand...nor did they read the guest book in the casita, where it says on the first page how it works...

this is the first time in 16 months that anyone has left my place with a bad vibe. I'm very upset about it as I don't wish them to feel bad, nor me. 

Lesson learnt. Spell it out. Clearly. And then explain again. 

😞

[Robert6574]

Exactly! Some of the spruced up dumps that Airbnb hosts advertise look good but they actually need a total remodel because they are out-dated They are poorly built and insulated and cannot keep warm or cold air in or out without the units running full time. The problem is worse in warm weather countries like Panama or Brazil, since the weather is nice they don’t mind just letting it in freely. Air infiltration (drafts, air leaks) Is acceptable and insulation is usually nonexistent. The hosts complain if the units are on when the guests are not there but that is usually because they put in under-sized mini splits that take forever to heat or cool a space. They have watched too many videos about how to get rich quick by turning a storage shed into a luxury Airbnb unit. That being said, we’ve used AirBnB while we’ve been on the road for the last three years and we’ve only had a couple that asked for electrical usage fees. And no, I didn’t pay.

[Susan1188]

Did you book a reputed, 5 star Airbnb apartment?  And have poorly built issues air leaks?  How much did you pay per night?  At similarly priced hotel, airco was regulated by front desk at 21 degrees, do you realise this? Did you honestly try to save energy not put 16 degrees cooling when it's 40 degrees outside?

[Susan1188]

We are all different and in different markets!

Do you have guests from worldwide, who's custom is to cool to 16 degrees when it is 40 degrees outside, 24/7?  With windows open?  

Are you maybe on-site so you can see if this is happening?

Did you ever have guest arrive from a road trip with 6 huge suitcases of luggage, book your place discount last minute for 2 nights to do all of their laundry and had the clothes dryer turning 48 hours non stop?

Our reasonable prices cannot support this kind of excess, that is why I have proposed my possible solution to other hosts.

[Benoit438]

I agree do not rent a place were they will charge you extra for electricity if you don’t blow up there electricity bill. Some hosts are now abusing the situation. Next think they will charge you for water or air that you are breathing. When you go to an hotel they don’t do that.

[Rosey10]

I just had a guest depart yesterday. This was the first for me to see a guest turn my thermostat down to 44 degrees! They stayed for 10 days. Is there a way to get the guest to pay any part of that upcoming bill? 

[Susan1188]

Had US guest turn on to 17 degrees celsius - while out all day at the beach - in our gorgeous spring season when nobody even thinks of turning on the airco.

See below, I now make it even more obvious that I will charge for wasteful and excessive usage.   

[Susan1188 · Accepted solution]

Dear @Ynez0  here is some advice from Andalusia:

- Put in house rules: electricity allowance 4 dollars per day included in your price.  Excessive or wasteful usage will be billed at cost after your stay
- Put this in listing description "other things to note"
- Put this at the bottom of the listing description page, guest safety, amenty limitations (this is important, it is shown in evidence when they instant book)
- put this in your house rules
- Put it in your IB message
- Mention it at booking, and in person on arrival.  If self check in, only give keycode if guest explicitly acknowledges it.

I hope this helps.

[George1690]

How do yo make sure that a guest pays the energy bills? Does the payment go through AirBnB or straight to the host? I would need to calculate if AirBnB take a percentage of the energy bill costs. How does it work? Are there official terms of agreement somewhere or is it all unofficial and guests don't have to pay if they don't want to?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@George1690 you can't legally charge for power in England unless you provide an EPC to your guests. 

[Susan1188]

Obviously the guest does not pay your electricity bills.  You can include standard electricity usage in your price and bill them extra if they exaggerate.  Set up your house rules clearly and specifically, if they are reasonable and logical, airbnb support will assist you in enforcing them.

You put it in your house rules, that their price includes X per day of electricity and the rest will be charged at cost.

At the end of the stay, you evaluate if overall its worth it to charge a guest 20 euros extra... in general, this is not well appreciated either by the guest or by airbnb.

The whole thing is dissuasive and it works.  Hope that helps!

[Cora419]

Thank you Susan, such good advice, especially the last bit, about guests having to verify acknowledgment before getting the keys! Brilliant!

I’m just about to start down this same road, so looking to the community for advice.

The only thing I would caution against would be the use of vague phrases, such as “excessive or wasteful usage”. This can be a little subjective. I will try to be as clear as possible: “it’s strictly pay per use.” I like how the Original Poster mentioned she’s not making any profit, she’s just passing on usage costs!

I’m happy to see I’m not the only one attempting this! 💙

[Susan1188]

Hi @Cora419 !

Thanks for your like and kind reply.

You have a point about the "wasteful usage" comment.

However, I'm going to leave it as is because I have actually never, ever, had to charge a guest extra.  And I think it is due to the dissuasive language.

And also, in my area we have real-time usage data.  so I can see if the usage jumps to an unreasonable level.  It is very, very clear on the stats and graphs that I get from the electricity company.

So glad if I could have helped you and your tips are great for others to incorporate this idea into their house rules.

[Dave1018]

Thinking of implementing the same. Has this Impacted your booking rate?

[Susan1188]

I'm fully booked all year.

So has it dissuaded anyone from booking with me?

Perhaps! 

My super detailed house rules are designed to be dissuasive to weed out the bad apples.  Anyone who is a home owner or responsable person understands and reads between the lines.

I've had them since the beginning and now with 400+ five star reviews the bookings roll in and I can set the terms I want.

[Jason2521]

I agree you can’t just put in the rules that electric will be metered and have an extra charge.   This was a first time I have ever seen this.   It did not tell me how much the electric was or anything.  This host could have literally charged whatever they wanted after the reservation.   This should not be allowed.  If you have higher electricity, raise your rates but don’t post a Lower rate and hope the guest doesn’t see it like I didn’t.   I have been with Airbnb for 2-3 years and never have seen this until my last visit