Do You Disclosed Locked Thermostats?

Question

Hey everyone!

I was hoping to share some exciting news about our new rental home, but that’ll have to wait. I have a quick question for you all: Should you disclose a locked thermostat to guests? If you’re curious about why I’m asking, here’s some background:

Background:

During a recent stay, we had two guests with their dogs in our Airbnb rental. The thermostat was locked between 70°F and 78°F, while outside temperatures were above 80°F. The guests mentioned it was warm inside and requested to lower the temperature to 65°F and unlock the thermostat, noting their dogs were uncomfortable. I declined unlocking the thermostat but offered to lower it to 68°F. They agreed, but the temperature settings reverted during the night due to the thermostat’s learning mode. I adjusted the settings again and reset the learning mode.

Aftermath:

The guests left a 3-star review, citing the thermostat is locked and an unreported problem with neighboring kids wanting to pet their dogs. They marked down accuracy and value. I responded to the review and contacted Airbnb support, who removed the review for being biased.

Next Steps:

I’m considering updating our Airbnb policies based on this experience and any advice you can provide. Thanks in advance for your input!

Chris Watson · Answer

I will first say I am an outlier when it comes to this. I removed my remote thermostats years ago, but our nightly pricing is on the higher side. I have set the range from 67 to 80 on thermostats. My mom keeps hers at 68 due to health reasons so I figured give people an extra degree. Now place me in your guest's shoes. I personally never want to talk to my hosts as it reminds me of managing my own. I overlook alot of things when I am the guest, but if I have to ask permission to lower the thermostat to 68 for my mom then you would get a 2 star review from me. I recently retired from the military and I don't want to ask for permission to do something reasonable anymore since I had to for 29 yrs. As the owner your little bit of energy savings and wear and tear on the unit will cost you hundreds if not thousands in lost revenue. Bottom line increase your range of the lock and most people will never know because they will not try to go outside a reasonable range.

Michael Baum · Answer

I have a Emerson Sensi WiFi thermostat. I have alerts setup when it is set below 65 and above 75. Otherwise it isn't locked or anything like that.If I get a crazy alerts like 60 degrees, I go in and reset the temp to something more reasonable.

Elton Tate · Answer

Hi @Lauren Kormylo, good catch. There were a number of things I had setup that should have been disabled. During my first month, I had ECO mode turned on. For those who don't know, when you leave the home, the temps go to ECO friendly temps which should save you money. It's a good feature, but only for personal use. My 2nd guests from original listing were out for most of the day, and came back to a house hot house (78 degrees) around 2 am. It wasn't a good experience for them, I offered a portion of their money back due to the inconvience and turned off the feature. Then, to your point Lauren, I had the 'Auto-Schedule' enabled that wasn't a problem until now. Here's the list of things I disabled for the Nest in my properties for those doing research:- Home/Away Assist: Off- Time-to-temp: Ready (Didn't touch)- Early-On: Off- Cool to Dry: Off- Sunblock: On - Ready (Didn't touch)- Leaf: Ready (Don't remember touching, but could have been enabled during setup)- Airwave: On - Ready- Lock: Currently off for one property (debating if I want to lock the thermostat at 68 for cooling and 78 for heating - and taking special requests from quests)

Lauren Kormylo · Answer

Elton, I reread your original post, and noticed you have the thermostat on learning mode. Learning mode is for longer term residents. Your short term guests will all have different habits, and learning mode will be of no use - it takes a few days to learn their schedule, and by then they'll be gone. And then the next guests will find the thermostat temps changing on them for no reason and be irritated.

Kate Stoermer · Answer

To be fair, I think mid term and short-term are different audiences, and I think its highly reasonable to ask - even require, a midterm renter to partner with you and turn the ac up when the house is vacant for stretches of time. Its not terrible to ask that of STR - esp. if you are in a market that is more "utilitarian" and they likely arn't around all day; even in vacation rentals they go out and about for chunks of the day. Sharing the concern about freezing it is fine; its all about building a relationship, getting buy in vs. rules. And that's very much just in tone and phrasing.

Russell Brazil · Answer

I'd have personally left a lower review than that, and probably wouldhave requested a refund. I've never stayed in a hotel or short term rental where I couldn't control the temperature. In fact I probably would have just left after the 1st night and disputed the charges if an owner wouldn't let me control the temperature.

Wendy Thurst · Answer

@Elton Tate I haven’t locked a thermostat in our rentals though I do disclose the temperature range in the guest book for our apartments that are in 2 family houses (where one side has the control). Since doing the disclosure it’s been peaceful.

Andrew Steffens · Answer

Generally speaking we have thermostats locked (if at all) at 67. This is to prevent the units to from freezing up here (Florida). We do not disclose this. It is not a bad idea, but I think 67 max cool temp is reasonable. 70 is a little more aggressive.

Lauren Kormylo · Answer

I have mine set to no lower than 66 on cooling. I’ve had a few guests who set it at 67 at night, they like to sleep cold. Quite a few people want it 68-69 at night. But I don’t feel a need to disclose that upfront because I have a generous range, and can always be contacted to have it changed on a case by case basis. I just don’t want kids to play with it or someone to set it at 60 trying to cool it down fast, and then forget about the setting. But if you’re stuck on 70 as a low, you should say that in your listing, because you will get complaints.

Elton Tate · Answer

Thanks for the response @Lauren Kormylo!I agree with what you mentioned. I personally like to set the thermostat to 68, because I like it really cold. But in the house, me and my wife slept comfortably at 70. I'm thinking of adjusting my ranges to 68-78, and updating the scheduler to revert the range to 72-74 a couple times a day. It may help with the situation.