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!

[Marie8675]

@Monica-And-Josue0 I agree that guests should ask (I'm a guest). But I think there is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about charging an EV, and how much charge it draws overnight - and it has to be that long, with such a slow charge - from a regular 110V outlet.  Using the proper cable that the cars come with is safe. I think it's reasonable to ask for a fee per night.

[Jennifer819]

This.

[Sara8514]

We literally have this same problem with our guests in Liscannor, Co Clare right now. They have been charging every night with the door open. No mention of it to us (but it's behind our house, so we can see it clearly).

The additional cost is not inconsiderable, could be €10/night.

I want to bring it up with them, but because it is a new issue, I don't have anything in the house rules about it. 

[Cecilia1135]

This whole conversation is very interesting.   We have just encountered this for the first time in July 2023.... Here is what happened at our place:  Our rental unit doesn't have any outside plugs - so the guests plugged into an outlet in another building on our property (without asking first).  When they were done charging, they left their extension cord plugged in - but draped across the grass (during a rain storm).   We were not so much concerned about the cost of power as much as how rude this was - and also, the hazard of a live cord across the yard in the rain.   Something must have happened and they wanted a better charge because this afternoon we caught them breaking into our barn  to look for a 30amp charger for the car.   (why not just text us and ask us if we have a 30amp charging station?  why break into the barn and help yourself to a search?)  It's hard not to laugh at the sheer gall of these particular guests, and I'm sure they are not representative, but it's amazing the BALLS these people have. - For us, it's certainly has raised the question about how we will handle this in the future.  Our management company (EVOLVE) will not allow us to charge extra for car charging.  For now, we have to lock the barn and we are checking with our insurance company. 

[John5097]

This is an older discussion but I just had my first guest with a EV, a Tesla. 

They didn't mention the EV or anything about charging. I happened to see them right when they arrived as I was also returning home from a walk. Usually I would ask about their Tesla, if they like it, something about the Cyber truck etc, but didn't want to open the door for them to ask if they could use charge. $20-$30 seems about right for a full charge, as its about 1/3 the cost of gasoline. 

1) I wouldn't want to include electricity in the booking rate. Guest should ask first. If it's only $5 a day they shouldn't have any problem paying to charge up their vehicle for their return drive home. 

2) Now that I think about it, just an extension cord plugged into a standard outlet, 110volts in the US,  wouldn't be to code. It would present a fire hazard, similar to plugging in a space heater to an extension cord.

3) There is risk of guest being electrocuted. Especially if it's just plugged into a regular outlet with no GFCI. Outdoor plugs usually have GFCI but may not in older houses which would likely be at least half of rental properties.

4) I've also considered installing a charging station and enjoy following the EV developments. But until then guest would need to go to one of the nearby charging stations. There are even Super Charging stations where it only takes 45 minutes to fully charge the vehicle. I'm assuming that's why my last guest did. 

This was first EV in over 3 years of hosting. If it becomes an issue I'll add that my listing isn't set up for EV charging at this time, and suggest the charging stations. And if I install a charger would expect about a $20-$30 minimum charging fee, plus $5 for extra days. 

If goes just plugging their EV into their own extension cord without permission I would include that in their review, and ask them to unplug it for reasons stated above. 

[Trevor390]

Today's post Ukraine invasion electric prices in the UK are £0.5 per KWH

If a Tesla uses 17KWH it is now around £8.50 per full charge 

If the visitors stay a week and use half charge per day for their day trips eg 180miles per day.

we are looking at around £35 as they will want a full charge to go home.

If 3 couples staying each arrive in an EV then it works out more than what is paid for the cleaning and laundry and starts to make a significant impact of around 15% of takings.

A weeks expenses would then look at around £325 out of summer season (as bottled LPG for heating is now around £90 / bottle if you are not on the mains like ourselves.)

[Lizhang0]

There seems to be one factor that owners don't consider.

For EV drivers, the ability to charge overnight is the first amenity that they search for.

If you explicitly allow charging in your description, you will find that it will make your property more attractive to said guests who drive EVs.
If you explicitly disallow it or charge an exhorbitant fee, the opposite happens, and your property is now dismissed out of hand without further consideration.

So, if you think your property is great and you don't want those pesky EV drivers anyway, then go ahead and put down "EV drivers not welcome" in your description.
The number of EV drivers will only increase in the future, not decrease.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lizhang0 You clearly don't get it. Obviously if I give away power my listing will be more attractive. And yes similarly if I buy a high power charger and charge a fair fee for the electricity my listing will attract more people.

What hosts don't want though is to give free electricity to guests. Less than  5% of our guests have electric cars - Why would we charge every guest more to suit this small number of guests.

Our best way to attract guests would be to offer to fill their petrol/diesel cars for free - But it isn't going to happen!

[Karen4033]

@Lizhang0 It can cost the host up to $15 to charge a car. Should I up the nightly rate by that to cover the cost? 

[Hretoos0]

You can certainly update your house rules to include a policy about EV charging.
Specify whether EV charging is allowed, and if so, under what conditions (e.g., daytime only, limited hours). Clearly communicate any associated charges for EV usage, if applicable. When guests book, you can mention your EV charging policy. Clearly state whether it's allowed, any restrictions, and whether there are charges associated with it. If you decide to allow EV charging, you might consider implementing a reasonable fee for it. Clearly communicate this fee in your house rules or during the booking process. If you want to charge based on actual usage, you could consider installing a separate meter for the EV charging station. This way, you can accurately measure the electricity consumed by the guest, and they can be charged accordingly.

[Collin116]

I'm going to speak to you as an electric vehicle owner.  

Considering how cheap it is to plug in an electric vehicle to a 120 volt wall outlet and charge, It would probably make you seem like an annoying cheapskate if you disallowed electric vehicle charging or put restrictions on time frames for charging.  

Let's do some math here real quick.  

If I plug in my car overnight it charges around 70 miles.  That's out of a 350 mile range. 70 divided by 350 is 0.2.  so overnight you can charge the battery by around 20% if you plug in at about 5:00 p.m. and then unplug in the morning.  

My car's battery is 75 KWH.  Times that by 0.2 is 15.  So that means you're charging about 15 KWH per night.  

The average price of electricity in America is around 14 cents per KWH.   So .14 times 15 is 2.1 dollars.  Often times the price per KWH is actually half the normal price  If you are charging it during off peak hours, so if they charge overnight it is likely to cost you around $1

So you're really going to adjust your rules to save anywhere from one to two dollars per night?  

I'm just letting you know that as an electric vehicle owner, if you put any sort of condescending sounding rules or regulation about plugging into an outlet to charge a car in a garage then I would immediately move on to find another Airbnb because you would seem annoying and cheap to me.  

[Collin116]

Edit, I realize that you live in Europe now, but the same logic is still going to apply even though you live in Ireland.  The amount of money that you are going to lose in electricity from having an electric vehicle plug into an outlet is negligible.  

Utilities, such as showers, hot water, heat，etc. are included into Airbnb prices.  

I would not ask to take a second shower, and I would be offended if you tried to charge me money for using one of your outlets.  

[Sam6874]

That's more than 30+ EUR if charged for 3 days, 12hrs a day plugged in trickle charging, which is actually very likely as a minimum!
Depending on car battery size it can be even higher, so they should 110% be charging the guests.

The menality that it should somehow be free is astounding. 

[Bob297]

@Collin116 
If guests charged at my outlet, they could easily use US$ 30 a night.
I don't pay my guests' gas bills either.

[Ruxandra10]

Hi Collin, I know this is an old thread and apologies to jump in here again, average price in America may be 14 cents per KWH but in other countries it's more than double that and some regions don't offer off peak rates. I have a property in regional Victoria, Australia, by the beach.  The standard rate is 37cents per KWH (off and on peak). For a 100KW charge for a Tesla, that is $37 per day.  If the group travels in 3 cars (my house accomodates up to 12) and stays for a week that amount is not something to sneeze at - it's not cheap.