Guests Charging Electric Car Without Permission

[Nicola-and-Donal0]

Hello lovely community!

My first time on here.  We have a family staying in our apartment and as soon as they arrived yesterday they started charging their car.  it was plugged in for hours and possibly over night.  They are with us for 3 nights so I'm sure they'll be charging it every day.  We have nothing written down pertaining to charges for this so I guess i'll just let this one go, even though I feel it's super cheeky not to even ask!  My question is, can i build it into our rules that it's disallowed for future guests?  It's impossible to monitor if we allow it but charge for it.  They could be charging over night and we might not be aware or charging when we're not home.  How do other people manage this?  Thanks in advance!

[Michelle2475]

Well, this was not something I had even thought of!  The guest(s) never mentioned they had an electric vehicle. We’re in Vermont where electricity is very expensive and there is an additional charge based on use (overusing) and will permanently increase rates for the following year. I not only have no idea of the cost but also whether my fuse box can even handle that. It’s an older home and if too many plugs are used in the kitchen it’ll trip the breaker so I can’t even imagine the risk of plugging in a car. As others have mentioned I also have no way if they’re running a cord through an open window- it’s 18 degrees out right now and they set the heat to 72 with the fireplace cranking so....

Has anyone figured out the true cost and are you charging extra?  We all know they do things without asking and things that cost a lot - do I just increase my price (probably fewer bookings then)?  If I can’t get them to shut the front door regardless of signs, in the manual, and discussion in advance, I don’t have much confidence they won’t keep a window open outside of the view of the camera at the front door. 

[Martin4197]

A full charge for a Tesla is 17kwhr.

with a standard electrical outlet charger that would take about 3 days to charge 

in Australia it’s about $17 for a full charge.

you’re talking abiut $5 per day 

[Debbie210]

The daily $ , really depends on the city, state or country you are in- and  how large the car is  etc… 

I agree with the person who said “If somebody takes an Uber, should we pay for that fee?”   I feel a charging station set up is for a homeowner,  not the guest. If you want to entice someone to come in and you’re highlighting a charging station, I would have a daily charge that you feel is fair. I have noticed guests, leave on many lights as well as ceiling fans, etc. I get it - their  on vacation and they paid a lot of money . when we have  had guests, before we put in our EV charging station, the electricity bill was almost double the amount that we used, when we were just staying at our rental home for the month. 

[Jane816]

I had this happen for the first time today, and I intend to put on the site that clients with an electric car need to notify me in advance and come to an agreement with me before plugging anything in.  If they then break the agreement I can presumably make a formal complaint.  I found exactly the same, they left it plugged in in the morning when electricity is at its most expensive.

[Martin4197]

Do you know how much it costs?

Even for expensive electricity you’re talking about $8 per day.

[Mehrzad2]

I don't understand why the price matters. Do you tell your guest you pay for their gas no matter of the price? No, $8 or $80 a day. It is about a principle and communication. That is called stealing.just because they're on vacation it doesn't give them the rights to take your belongings. Right?

I have a family at my house and they have been charging their car for 3 days straight.

Let's say only $10 a day. By the time they are gone that is $40 .

[Helen566]

Have just had this same issue. We live next door and noticed our guests charging an enormous car through the back window....without asking! I'm going to put a note on the listing where the nearest charge points are and not to use our electricity.  I think this issue will probably increase over time. We never charge for a constant supply of wood in the winter but don't want to start paying for peoples car charging  

[Martin4197]

The wood would cost ten times the electricity

this is a weird take.

a full charge for Tesla is 72kwhr.  With a standard outlet that takes about 3 days.  Even at 25c per kwhr (abiut the most expensive I can find in the USA) that’s $18 dollars total.

so even if plugged in 24hrs a day it’s a $6 a day expense.

You might find yourself alienating clients if you provide wood but not electricity 

[Nancy1786]

Wood costs money which is built into my nightly cost. Charging a car costs money and the host shouldn’t have to eat that cost. If you kept containers of gasoline at your home and Airbnb guests helped themselves to gas up there cars most people would consider that theft. What’s the difference? I don’t see one.

[Brandon733]

How does the size of the car impact the outlets ability to push out power? **

**[Content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Barry358]

I have just arrived in France at our property to discover from our neighbours that several guests this summer have been charging their cars unknown to me , and without agreement or authorisation. I gather the average recharge can be from £1 to £10 per charge. Goodness knows what our increase in electric bill will be. !! Apparently they have leads that just plug into a normal socket outlet and we have several that are easily accessible. Thus very difficult to police and charge for . Any suggestions welcome. I thought may be we just swallow the cost by increasing the rental fee but that seems a little unfair on traditional motorists, or a flat fee in advance to our agent, but then can people be trusted top pay up or try and charge in the depths of night with no one about , HELP !!!

[Martin4197]

I suggest you realise electricity is meant to be included in the cost of renting.  Up the cost a few dollars if you’re worried and on that tight a margin.

[Nancy1786]

If a guest arrives by Uber should the host also pay for that? Should the host cover the train or bus ticket? Hosts shouldn’t have to pay their guests’ transportation costs and it is absurd for anyone to expect them to.

[Matthew1701]

Electricity is included?  Without limits?  Seems pretty ignorant, they were looking for constructive feedback.  

[Wendy329]

I’m on Anglesey and the hol let is attached to our property. So far we’ve only had two guests wanting to charge their cars and we have, so far, said yes.

But! Here are some of my concerns

legally where do we stand if for some reason the guests charging their cars damage our outside socket, and or damage the electricity in the hol let because of constant car charging.

also, if we are encouraging our guests to charge their cars, either by saying yes or because they use the socket without asking, and for some reason it damages their car I’m concerned that we are liable.

Anybody any ideas?