Overuse of electric

[Soohyun1]

I am very new to hosting guests.... and I got 2 guests staying on one floor for 2 months as my first guests and its been about a month now. The problem is they changed all the lightbulbs to blackout lights the first day, and never turn any lights off nor space heaters. I'm concerned about the space heaters being running all the time. It has tripped the main electric power multiple times already. They keep their rooms at 78F or higher (I only found this out when we had to fix their bathroom in the afternoon). Our main central heater is set at 68F and the floor I live on stays around 70 to 72F depending on the sunlight so its not like the place is freezing cold. Can these space heaters be safe hazard or something where I can ask the guests to turn these off when they are not home at least? Is there a reasonable way to charge these guests extra for excessive usage of electric? 

Thank you for your advice!

[Ross869]

Hello! I would say absolutely it is a hazard, as well as excessive on electric. I would ask that they turn it off for the listed reasons,  be reasonable and polite. This is an issue that can be escalated to Airbnb but I would give them the opportunity first. 

[Soohyun1]

Thanks @Ross869. Will talk to the guests nicely to turn off any electronics when not in use. 

[Helen3 · Accepted solution]

Why did you let them change the lightbulb?. You are the owner. Tell them to put your light bulbs back and remove theirs.

Why do you have space heaters at your property. @Soohyun1 when you already have central heating. If they have brought them you need to tell them to stop using them or they will need to leave the listing.

You can install motion sensors so lights etc are only on when someone is in the property. Do not allow any heating other than your central heating.

By the way your photos sounds you have no curtains or blinds to help keep the house warm or rugs/carpeting.  Would be also bringing homely touches/decorations/artwork,

[Soohyun1]

Thanks Helen3 for your comment on this matter and about adding curtains. I will ask the guests to turn off the heaters. They said they were too cold so we supplied a space heater. And they got one more of their own. I will look closer if they are growing anything illegal...... thanks again. 

[Bronwyn100]

The real concern is that Airbnb insurance may not cover you should something happen.  I hope you supply extra blankets and electric blankets on the beds. Very cheap to run. I have a mattress cover over the top and remove them in summer. Nobody should be cold. I agree blackout curtains and only use LED lights. I have a heated floor in the bathroom and heated towel rack. RC in the loungeroom and a strip heater. There is a portable heater in the event that it's extra cold. 

[Cheri354]

@Soohyun1 WoW ! Do you have anything in your listing or house rules stating not to change/move items in the rental ? Usually people are referring to furniture, but light bulbs qualify 🙂 You need to have a chat with them about changing out the light bulbs. Also, a space heater is an appliance. Renters should not be bringing in an appliance.

"tripped the main electric power multiple times already"~ Address this with them as whatever they are doing is obviously not safe. Reconnecting the power without reducing the load is not safe.

Space heaters are not meant to be used to increase the temperature of a whole unit, they are made to supplement just a small area for a short time. It is unsafe to run them constantly. Read the manual for full disclosure 🙂 I would also wonder if the tenants are running other appliances (stove, oven, drier) to generate heat.. and what are they creating the heat for ? Are they 'growing' something ?

Google: On average, it costs about 24 cents per hour to run a standard 1,500-watt space heater.

Doesn't sound expensive but that's just one heater for one hour.. One heater for 8 hrs a day= $50-60 in a month's time.

Is it snowing at the moment ? Does your place have adequate insulation, blankets and insulating curtains ? Has anyone else stayed there then complained it's constantly cold ? Everyone's different, but I've never known anyone who is so cold they have their temperature set that high 24/7. Not to pry, but is a guest also visiting the hospital for some sort of treatments (cancer, rehab); perhaps it has skewed their internal temperature regulator. Even so, changing out light bulbs is a pre-meditated move and I wouldn't allow that. Did they ask permission ? Have they explained their actions ? Are they acting normal in other respects ? Are they secretive ? Did they bring in lots of luggage/boxes, etc ?

You could let them know it's not acceptable, not safe, not allowed to continue. See how they react.

Tell them the electricity never turns off for you so it's got to be overloading due to the obvious heat they are generating. Explain it's not safe and they need to remove all the extra appliances they brought in and remove their light bulbs to bring the wattage down to safe levels for everybody 🙂

I feel for you, it's going to be an awkward conversation. But it's your house and they have created a problem for the house and it's safety. Good luck !

[Breanna]

Did you decide to talk to the guests in the end @Soohyun1? Or make any changes for the future?

[Soohyun1]

Yeah, they stopped using the space heater and changed the light bulbs back to the original ones. We are going to install blackout curtains once they check out. Thank you for your input! Really appreciated