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!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@John7105 if electricity is only $.1 per kWh then fine. Sadly in the UK it is about £0.4/kWh.

[Kristine300]

I live in California and pay at least $.33 per kWh, sometimes $.50 per kWh...  I know electricity is much cheaper in Virginia, but in California the charges for charging an EV overnight are noticeable. 

[Katja202]

@Nicola-and-Donal0   A heated discussion. I like 😁. In my opinion it is pretty simple. If you need fuel….you go to the petrolstation. In this case a charging unit somewhere nearby. That is what is normal. The argument of it is new and it is the future doesn’t make it normal that people charge without asking, that’s absurd. The fact that there is a discussion if you need permission to charge, means you no there is a possibility it might be a problem. And every owner of a electriccar knows that the costs of charging are high. So in my opinion if a guest doesn’t ask me to charge his/her car … I know I have a guest who isn’t enteirly honoust. And so he will be treated. The next day the guest will be presented with a bill, with explaination why we give him a bill and if he whises not to pay we will kindly request not to charge the car anymore. We will do al this by Airbnb message service and if guest charges car again we will report guest to Airbnb. This we we only loose one time charging and that is about €15,- in the Netherlands. So i don’t loose money on that booking bit I earn less.

[Marie8675]

@Katja202 Charging a car overnight from a normal plug/outlet is NOT expensive. And it is S.L.O.W (which is why it has to be overnight). It's like having a fridge plugged in overnight. Figure out the cost and add a fee. 

[Katja202]

@Marie8675 That way everyone pays for the one person who plugs in his car. 

I don't want him to plug the car. 😉

[Karen4033]

This is not true. I can see the usage online. When my guest charges overnight it costs me about $15.00.  Why should I pay for their fuel? I don't pay for gasoline for a gas car. My rates are low, should I raise them to cover this cost? The guest knows what it costs to charge their car at a charging station. Isn't it rude of them to assume that I will cover that? Isn't it the same as taking home all the toilet paper, paper towels and soap that I have in the guesthouse? 

[Karen558]

Same thing just happened to us and they are staying 7 days and didn't bother to ask permission or offer to pay. So thank you so much for opening the issue:) karen Wheeler/ Pinehurst NC

[Amanda2268]

This is a great question and I would love to know how people are monitoring this?

We have just had a guest stay and has left £20 as they have charged their car.  They hadn't asked prior and as far as I am aware this is the first person who has done it. At least they were honest!

My question is, how do you know someone is charging their car if you are not local to the property?

As it is 2.5kw per hour, that is not far from having heating on all night, running oven, washing machine, tumble drier etc.

How are other hosts controlling it?

How do you know, they are charging their car?

I don't believe adding it to T&C's will make any difference. If they have a 3 pin plug, they are highly likely to charge their car.

We are with British Gas and whilst it is smart meter, there is no option to read the meter unless you are in the property. So no option to see/track continuous usage.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Amanda2268 there is no solution here I am afraid. Perhaps just add an 'honesty system' into your house rules and hope for the best. 

I suppose a ring doorbell might work or CCTV but it'll cost more than its worth.

[David11890]

Aren't cameras covering the property not allowed on Airbnb?

[Rehan17]

Similar to some of the good advice and context provided previously, the bottom line it’s that EV charging is safe, common and totally acceptable for guests to leverage from a 3 pin socket.

The draw is no different to any other heating, cooling or refrigeration system that you have already supplied and nothing your insurance company says will change the charging culture and shift the responsibility off you.

If a guest is driving 3 hours to get to your Airbnb, you can bet that they are going to need to charge, and it is just as likely that they will use the 3kW mechanism. You can change your policy, but it’s almost impossible to police.

it’s very much a case of joining the future or being left behind. An honesty box is a good way to come to some form of emotionally established arrangement, but it’s simply just another electrical device that is above board, electrically compliant and you cannot police.

[Marie8675]

@Rehan17 THANK you! Folks are still learning. Future is here.

[Hugh179]

Google  <glowmarkt bright> this might be suitable, they access your data via your smart meter - you need wifi In the property, but you can see your energy usage in real time, and it gives data usage down to per minute. Does gas as well, but that data is every 30 mins and isn’t in real time.

 Works in UK, not sure about other countries

[Julie536]

Hi Nicola & Donna,

Luckily  there is a green wire fence just in front of my property which must be locked after 7pm in the evening but I’m so tired of the expectations of guests & costs of cleaning, laundry , higher taxes due to BREXIT I’m on my way to Spain to sell the property .  I had planned to retire there but that’s no longer possible so will look at Portugal  👍☘️🤷‍♂️ Good luck.  

[Monica-And-Josue0]

I charge only $97/night at our place and I had some guests charging his car every night inside the garage (I know because I have a camera there that is disclosed in the listing); I did not say anything but I surely don’t want that repeated. It’s not fair; I do not pay for gas for my other guests, why should I pay for your electric to charge your car. I end up covering the outlets in the garage. Guests should at least ask. If you buy an electric car, you should be aware of those inconveniences, don’t expect people to offer free charge…actually I don’t know of any hotel that offers that! …not at $97/night.