To ask guests to pay for air con?

[rubbergloots]

We live on a tropical island. Electricity is very very expensive here. The house has floor and ceiling fans which we run. In addition to this, there is also air con in the bedrooms. We never use it as it’s fine with the fans.

It would cost about £15 a night to keep the aircon on in one bedroom. We have guests coming to stay from the UK. AIBU to ask them to pay for air con if they want to use it?

We aren’t charging them to stay in our villa of course. They are not close friends. They have probably saved about £1,000 over the week they are staying here with free accommodation. We are also happy to pay for the maid to clean their room etc.

I think as you've left it late to mention it, I'd just ask them to be sparing with the air-con as it is very expensive, and hope for the best.

This is the best course of action.

You've made an insane suggestion out of what could be a reasonable ask. "We're not charging you to stay here, but we do want you to pay 200 pounds to stay here."??? That's crazy. It's also very far removed from 'we don't normally use the aircon because it costs about 25 a night and we think it's expensive and not worth it since we think it's fine with the fans; if you do find it too hot, you can switch it on here and we'd appreciate it if you'd pay us the difference since we think it's too expensive'. If you're asking for money for the aircon you have to make it contingent on them actually making use of the aircon, not a blank sum.

Pre warn them. Ordinarily I'd say it was cheeky but £105 for the week is pushing it, particularly if they aren't close friends and are enjoying a cheap holiday thanks to you.

Wish I lived on a tropical island......

If they aren’t close friends, why are they coming to stay in your house for a week?

I would feel a bit weird about charging for this. I get your point about then having a free holiday, but I feel like if you invite someone to stay with you, you can’t then at the 11th hour start springing some charges on them.

I also think you’re maybe overthinking the situation. Just don’t even mention the air con. If they ask about using it just downplay it and say it doesn’t work very well, you never bother with it as it’s expensive to run, the fans are all you need. Just don’t entertain it.

I sympathise @rubbergloots, I live in Spain and it can be €€€ to run the aircon if its run too cold.
We pre set ours to 24 and warn guests that if they want it on any cooler they will have to pay ( this is after we had a friend over who ran hers at at 17 for 24 hours !)

Totally fair, as they're getting a freebie!
It's one thing having people stay with you, but quite another if you end up out of pocket because of it.

When did hospitality become "getting free accommodation "???

My toes curl at the thought of charging guests for anything.

Did you invite them or did they ask to come?

Are they coming to spend time with you, or are they just using your villa as holiday accommodation and doing their own thing?

If you invited them and they are coming to spend time with you, I probably wouldn't charge for the use of the aircon. If they are just staying with you to have a holiday where you live, you should definitely charge them as you have already saved them a fortune.

When we use our friends villa, we pay the electricity for the week, the pool cleaning and insurance for the car. We don’t mind at all and it means they don’t feel taken advantage of.

YABU. You invited them, and they are probably not saving £1000 because they likely would not have come at all if they weren't staying with you. Guests are guests, and before you invite them you really need to take into account that they will make reasonable use of your house. Hosting guests always costs money - whether for extra food, or for replacing something that got broken, etc - but that's just part of hosting.

I also live somewhere with hot summers, and I never use a/c just a fan. But people from the UK tend to sleep with a/c on at my place. For people from a totally different climate, it can be uncomfortable sleeping in a hot, humid room.

I would do this and turn it all off at the fuseboard.

You can afford something as expensive and opulent and a complete waste of money like a maid, but you you can't afford something as basic as airconditioning? I think you have your priorities all back to front and messed up. Sack off the maid for the time they're there if you are too tight to provide something as basic as making them comfortable in a hot climate!

I'd be happy for you to say, if you want to use the air-conditioning I'm afraid you're going to have to pay for the electric, which will be x.

And if it cost 15 pounds a night, you clearly don't have solar panels (something most homes in hot countries have) and are with the wrong electricity provider and need to switch companies.

Goodness me. When I check into a hotel or apartment I have to have aircon at 68degF which is the lowest it will go in many hotels.

At 25degs I'd rather open the window.

For ref, even when we had the 40degC heatwave in the UK in 2022, our bedroom temperature dropped to 14 at night as we live in a valley by a river.

I don't know how people cope in new build houses.

OP, just tell them how much it is and ask them to pay. I would be absolutely fine with that as a guest.

Hospitality turns into free accommodation the minute you live in a place tourists want to come visit but these people would not have bothered to come visit you if you lived in another place. Hoapitality is when the primary purpose is to come see you and they would come whether it is the carribean or hull (or wherever). They are not even close friends in this case so clearly this is free accommodation.

If you never use the ac I think it's OK to say you don't think they will need it and to just use the fans. But if they do need it it's very expensive to run so you would need a contribution to the cost. It does depend on the guests though some might be really offended and then the stay could be really tricky!

Of course if they come laden with expensive gifts that might change the conversation.

Why are you inviting people who 'are not close friends' to stay for a week? Are you entertaining them or are they just spending the nights and then off by themselves? If the latter asking them to pay for ac seems perfectly reasonable.

This must be an island seriously off the beaten track. I have never heard of anywhere in the world with more than 50p per hour electricity.

I have a holiday home and the hints you get to stay are ridiculous. I even had a child sent to ask my child if her family could stay. In fact I could fill a thread with them. Only let very close friends and family stay if you really like them, for free and not often. The rest make an excuse/say no. The only exception is if they have a holiday home somewhere you like, you can swap,

I’d be totally fine with you explaining air con is expensive to run and asking me to pay for it. If the cost of air con was going to tip my holiday budget over then I really couldn’t afford to go in the first place or I can live without it.

If they're not close friends, then tell them that you don't mind them using your villa but if they use the Aircon then you will need to charge them.
They can like it or lump it.

Bit late to ask though I think.

It's way too late to ask.

I'd be honest about it. They may not be aware of the cost. Tell them warmly, 'oh, we never used the Aircon. It's too expensive and we are used to the heat. Can you believe it's £15 a night for one room? I know, crazy. If you do use it would you mind donating that amount per night you do switch it on? Thanks very much. Here's my bank details.'