I have been an Airbnb host for a year now, and if there’s one thing that gave me a headache in the first three months, it is the air conditioner.
I’ve had multiple guests who’ve neglected a/c care despite it being part of the agreement and part of what I tell them in person when they check in.
I almost gave up on the business since my energy bill was higher than the rent I collected from hosting. The final straw was when I had to call the a/c repairman to check on the unit after a guest complained that it was not working when they checked in. An inspection revealed that we had an issue, possibly from running the unit at the wrong temperature, so I had to spend more on a/c repair. Once the air conditioning professional was done with the a/c service, I had to ask him what could be done about my problem with guests. The property has a central air conditioner that handles climate control efficiently, so I knew we did not need to do a fresh air conditioning install. The HVAC expert suggested that we supplement the a/c setup with a digital thermostat that would allow me to control the temperature in the property, especially when windows are opened, or the guests leave the house. Luckily, the local air conditioning business had all the equipment we needed for the upgrade, which saved me the hustle of shipping from a bigger air conditioning company like I had to when we needed to change the air conditioning filter. My guests are still ignoring all the rules we have on using the a/c, but my energy bill is more manageable now that I can control the temperature in the house remotely, especially when the windows are open or the guests are out.