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!

[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.

[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? **

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[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?

[Chris2003]

You could ask the guest to pay for the damages to the socket.. or get AirBnB involved if they refuse. You are insured with AirBnB for guest damages, but they don't cover 'wear and tear'. They do make it quite a palaver to claim.. However they normally will pay out if you're persistent, you have the evidence, receipts etc. You could also take a damage deposit?

Personally, I don't think it would be very easy for a guest to prove that your house damaged their car. However if you have an EV charging station, then you could cover your back by having a qualified electrician test it to confirm it's working properly. 

I think that's the future - EV charging stations at properties. In 5-10 years, most guests will probably be using electric cars, so the idea of restricting guests charging will be unsustainable in the longterm. I would suggest eventually getting an EV charger which charges guests for the electric they use.

[Martin4197]

How would it damage the electricity supply?

it’s a standard electrical device made to be plugged into a standard outlet.  In fact because it’s new and expensive it’s far less likely to cause damage 

[Brandon733]

Do they need your permission to plug in their phone or use the microwave too? 

[Martin4197]

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.