jacuzzi in the garden

[Claire68]

my guests have put a jacuzzi in the garden. I am worried about the heating bill. Does anyone know where i stand on this ? Thanks

[Sarah977]

@Claire68   "Luckily i have rubbish disposable price in my house rules so if they leave it i will be able to claim that. "

Don't count on it. It isn't just a matter of claiming on it and getting paid out. First you have to request payment from the guests, and if they refuse (which I'd bet these guests will), you then have to convince Airbnb to charge them or pay you from their own coffers. 

Make sure to take time and date stamped photos of any mess and damages the guests leave behind and report immediately after they leave.

[Claire68]

Thankfully i have only ever been to the resolution centre a couple of times and all sorted and paid out very quickly. Positive experiences for me. Thankfully.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Claire68 

It's not the weekly cost of running it you need to worry about, its whether they switch it on and off or whether they continually run it. Like boiling a kettle or running the central heating, getting the water hot in the first place is the costly part. God forbid they might be filling it with the kettle 🙈

You could abdicate on the responsibility of electrical cost and charge an addition for utilities if they wanted to keep on using the jacuzzi. Take a meter reading and charge the metered usage on top of your normal rate. Your rate does not include sustaining guest provided utilities. If you have a damage deposit you might get a confirmation of acceptance to use that, or charge a weekly fee via payment request.

[Claire68]

Sadly covid makes movement tricky but thank you for words of wisdom and thankfully they are leaving on Friday.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

If you've had guests staying almost two months and you are only just about to broach the subject of the jacuzzi - I really wouldn't bother! It should have been dealt with far sooner. You don't want your guests leaving with a feeling that they have been 'pounced on' for extra fees so close to leaving.

I'd just leave it and put it down to experience. 

[Claire68]

Due to co vid restrictions we have had limited movement but as they broke the washing machine and restrictions loosened we went to give them a new washing a machine and that's when we saw the Jacuzzi. Under normal circumstances i wouldn't access the property while guests staying. They asked me beforehand if they could bring 2 tables so very surprised they hadn't mentioned the Jacuzzi. Will work them to make a fair solution but wanted to see if anyone else had experienced something similar. I aim to be kind and generous. thanks for support. 

[Robbie54]

Never mind the heating bill @Claire68 I'd worry more about who installed the electric  side of things. We had one a few years ago and heating costs vary wildly from how big the jacuzzi is to how efficient the heater is to how much you pay per kWh. However getting it safely installed by a registered electrician is a must. Maybe check with them about who installed it for peace of mind. Water and electricity do not mix, as we all know. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Robbie54 @Claire68 

Good point. A 30Amp supply cable back to the fuse box would probably be out of the question, but a 13 Amp plug-in to 'any available' 13Amp socket could be the recipe for disaster. And then there's the liability issue. If a guest does get electrocuted, who would be liable?

[Mark116]

Occam's Razor: Rather than trying to figure out how much extra it will cost, or whether the electricity can handle it, or whether or how the guests are using it, simply tell the guests that bringing their own Jacuzzi, is sadly, not something that can be accommodated at the listing.  I hate to tell anyone to write into their rules  'no portable Jacuzzi's, but there is a first time for everything'. 

[Claire68]

i have quite a few rules as several years ago we had a massive problem so since then i have been so careful. I will add please ask if you want to bring extras. Weirdly they did ask me if they could bring 2 tables.

[Claire68]

Thanks everyone, the community really helped me deal with the situation. I asked the guests to offer a compensation figure which they did and i sent that figure to the resolution centre and they accepted it. I bent over backwards for them so sad i wont be getting a 5 * review but i am glad its sorted and have changed my house rules. I only offer long stays for anyone who was a little confused. Thanks so much  for being good listeners. keep safe everyone.