I think you have convinced me. I will be putting this on our list of larger wanted/needed installations for the house; though I'm not sure whether it will be prioritized above or below the new tile floor for the kitchen!
Air Con
Vrooje, if you do, I don't think you'll be sorry. Especially if you confine it to one living area and don't advertise the house as "Air Conditioned." (Not to pick on Americans, but there are some who, upon seeing AC as an amenity, expect the house -- every single room -- to stay a uniform 20C/68F, night and day, which is NOT what we are trying to achieve. For us, we're just looking for a pleasant respite for heat wave guests.)
New tile for the kitchen sounds nice, too, though. Decisions, decisions...
debk
New tile for the kitchen sounds nice, too, though. Decisions, decisions...
debk
We have A/C in all rooms but we don't include it in the price of the rental - we charge an extra 150 euros to cover the useage (£12 per guests per week). I felt this would allow flexibility for guests and its amazing how many will sweat it out in July and August rather than pay.
If A/C is paid for then we hand over the remote controls.
My friend has recently had A/C fitted and she had it put on a seperate meter and then she charges the guests. However this involves her speaking to them about it when they are leaving and getting paid, or deducting from the damage deposit.
She did this because she thought they would run the A/C non-stop. However our experience is that usually thats not the case. We do explain to guests that they are domestic units and cannot be run 24/7.
We feel we certainly come off better as guests are unlikely to use £100 worth of electrcity.
Mouse
x
If A/C is paid for then we hand over the remote controls.
My friend has recently had A/C fitted and she had it put on a seperate meter and then she charges the guests. However this involves her speaking to them about it when they are leaving and getting paid, or deducting from the damage deposit.
She did this because she thought they would run the A/C non-stop. However our experience is that usually thats not the case. We do explain to guests that they are domestic units and cannot be run 24/7.
We feel we certainly come off better as guests are unlikely to use £100 worth of electrcity.
Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
Hi all
Goody, something I can contribute to We have inverter Hitachi units in the three bedrooms and living room. We were told that inverter were about 25% more expensive to install but cheaper to run (can't remember how much by). I have worked out best I can the actual average daily cost and reckon about 2.5 euros a day is right. I did have one bill where it worked out more like 3.5 euros but I still think it is pretty reasonable ie around 15 to 25 euros a week.
I do mention to guests not to leave it on when we chat before they go and I also highlight it quite significantly in my guest manual 'we do not pass on the cost to our guest so please be mindful when leaving'.....blah blah, so far so good.
Goody, something I can contribute to
We have inverter Hitachi units in the three bedrooms and living room. We were told that inverter were about 25% more expensive to install but cheaper to run (can't remember how much by). I have worked out best I can the actual average daily cost and reckon about 2.5 euros a day is right. I did have one bill where it worked out more like 3.5 euros but I still think it is pretty reasonable ie around 15 to 25 euros a week.I do mention to guests not to leave it on when we chat before they go and I also highlight it quite significantly in my guest manual 'we do not pass on the cost to our guest so please be mindful when leaving'.....blah blah, so far so good.
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
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CostaBlanca
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:58 pm
- Location: Costa Blanca
Thanks for your input Deb. We obviously have different type of clientele as most of ours come here for 1 week´s hols min. to relax and chill out (pun intended). Many of our guests spend the whole day by the pool and even the majority of them cook/bbq in the evening despite active encouragement by me to visit the beach and the local sights, check out the excellent restaurants, try the local tapas, etc. I even had 1 family with 2 teenage boys where Mum who enjoyed cooking and the boys who did not enjoy sunbathing too much spent every day, bar 1 at the villa. The boys spent most of the their time between TV, Playstation and computer. These boys would have had the AC turned on all day if it were available. Luckily, this family would be exception.debk wrote:After considering it for the past two summers, we put AC in the living rooms of all our properties this past Spring.
Our reasoning: Those of us who live here or vacation regularly can more easily wait out a heat wave, going slowly and putting off some things until normal weather returns. A guest often doesn't have that luxury. They are on a tight schedule and returning to, or relaxing in, a hot house can be a HUGE downer. They also may not want to sit in a darkened house waiting for the heat of the day to pass... they've only a few days to do, see and cook everything they've been reading about for the past 9 months.
That said, I haven't added AC to any of our online property descriptions. If someone asks about AC, I explain that it is in the living room only. (We keep down comforters on the beds all year long; even in August the avg low is 63 and it can be very breezy and cool at night.) Extra bookings weren't the purpose behind the AC installs so I don't track this, but based upon emails, we've definitely taken bookings that we wouldn't have last year.
Our night time temperatures are unfortunately pretty high so I would think for our area that providing AC in the bedrooms would be a greater priority. Our lowest temp. in July was 20ºC (68ºF) - not sure what the mean was but certainly high twenties.
AC is something for our wish list but will be interested to see what Chystal is quoted for her villa. It may have to wait another year.
Saludos,
Maria
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CostaBlanca
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:58 pm
- Location: Costa Blanca
Hi Mouse,Mouse wrote: If A/C is paid for then we hand over the remote controls.
She did this because she thought they would run the A/C non-stop. However our experience is that usually thats not the case. We do explain to guests that they are domestic units and cannot be run 24/7.Mouse x
Interesting that you charge a flat rate - I have a couple of questions. What percentage of your guests paid for the AC?
Do you mean that the AC units cannot be turned out without the "mandos"? I thought that they could be controlled manually on the unit itself.
Since you live closeby, I guess your guests are going to more careful regarding saving electricity.
Saludos,
Maria
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CostaBlanca
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:58 pm
- Location: Costa Blanca
Thanks for the costs, Partridge - is that cost per AC unit or for all 4 units in your house?Partridge wrote:Hi all
Goody, something I can contribute to
Cheers,
Maria
hi Maria
Only about 20% of our guests actually take up the option of a/c. Which I find amazing. At £12 per person per week its a very reasonable option for comfort....but I think our guests prefer in the main to save money!
Yes the units are operated by the 'mandos'. We don't think they can be operated indepently (we've just checked and can't see anything).
Yes I think living on site might have an impact on the usage of electricity...though it doesn't stop guests leaving outside lights on all night!
The way we figured it was that the bedroom units would only be used at night. During the day there is only the living/dining area running.
Interestingly - my friend has just had a/c added to her house. She only lives in it in the winter (& rents it out in the summer) so has installed it because she operates at the luxury end of the market and feels she has to offer it.
She charges over 5000euros a week (sleeps 10) and then charges extra for a/c!!!!!!
I think it very much depends on the market you operate in. Our guests are like yours Maria - they spend alot of time outdoors. Whilst I would want a/c to be able to sleep comfortably - they seem to manage without it.
I've only ever got 3 bookings specifically because of the a/c.
BTW - we have actually been asked for fans (when the guests have declined a/c). Very cheeky....they probably would use quite a bit of electric as well but of course the guests wouldn't pay for that.
Our units have an a/c, fan, heater and de-humidifier setting. So I tell them the fans are in the units and they may as well pay for the a/c.
Mouse
x
Only about 20% of our guests actually take up the option of a/c. Which I find amazing. At £12 per person per week its a very reasonable option for comfort....but I think our guests prefer in the main to save money!
Yes the units are operated by the 'mandos'. We don't think they can be operated indepently (we've just checked and can't see anything).
Yes I think living on site might have an impact on the usage of electricity...though it doesn't stop guests leaving outside lights on all night!
The way we figured it was that the bedroom units would only be used at night. During the day there is only the living/dining area running.
Interestingly - my friend has just had a/c added to her house. She only lives in it in the winter (& rents it out in the summer) so has installed it because she operates at the luxury end of the market and feels she has to offer it.
She charges over 5000euros a week (sleeps 10) and then charges extra for a/c!!!!!!
I think it very much depends on the market you operate in. Our guests are like yours Maria - they spend alot of time outdoors. Whilst I would want a/c to be able to sleep comfortably - they seem to manage without it.
I've only ever got 3 bookings specifically because of the a/c.
BTW - we have actually been asked for fans (when the guests have declined a/c). Very cheeky....they probably would use quite a bit of electric as well but of course the guests wouldn't pay for that.
Our units have an a/c, fan, heater and de-humidifier setting. So I tell them the fans are in the units and they may as well pay for the a/c.
Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
Thanks for the costs, Partridge - is that cost per AC unit or for all 4 units in your house?
Cheers,
Maria[/quote]
Hi Maria
I have worked the approx cost by just looking at elec bills, calculating occupancy level of apt when a/c would not be used and compared to the occupancy level and when it would be used. So it would be for the aircon overall but who knows what units are on and when.
We also have fan and dehumidifier setting, not that I have ever used it. Interestingly enough from when we have visited in the winter I would say that the air con for heating up the apt uses alot more electricity than for cooling and is not effective enough. It seems to warm up the apt itself but not at the lower level ie you tend to sit on the sofa with your legs pulled up, other owners I have spoken to have the same experience.
Cheers,
Maria[/quote]
Hi Maria
I have worked the approx cost by just looking at elec bills, calculating occupancy level of apt when a/c would not be used and compared to the occupancy level and when it would be used. So it would be for the aircon overall but who knows what units are on and when.
We also have fan and dehumidifier setting, not that I have ever used it. Interestingly enough from when we have visited in the winter I would say that the air con for heating up the apt uses alot more electricity than for cooling and is not effective enough. It seems to warm up the apt itself but not at the lower level ie you tend to sit on the sofa with your legs pulled up, other owners I have spoken to have the same experience.
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
I totally agree! When we first moved into our villa (in November) we only had that form of heating...it was v.expensive and ineffective. We were freezing!!!!I would say that the air con for heating up the apt uses alot more electricity than for cooling and is not effective enough
Mouse
x
One martini, two martini, three martini floor!
We lost bookings when we only had fans and no AC. Now we have both fans and remote control window ACs in all 3 bedrooms, fans in all other rooms. Living Room has ceiling fan and windows on 3 sides, so gets a cool cross breeze and doesn't need AC, as does the kitchen.
I always tell people that if they like to walk into an ice cold house in the heat of summer, please don't book ours, but the bedroom ACs do make a big difference to the demand for the house. I know of 2 houses in this area that stood empty in August simply because they had no ACs at all, so depending on your climate, it could be false economy not to install them, at least in the bedrooms.
I'm interested in this discussion mainly because the running cost is definitely a factor for us. One of bills this summer almost matched our own house, which is 3 times the size, and has Central AC throughout, plus I'm running a fulltime home office, not outside doing tourist things. So someone left them on all day with windows open to generate that kind of bill....
At the moment we don't charge extra for AC or heating, and I'm not sure I could get away with it here. Irresponsible use aside, it's the luck of the draw who gets the temperature spikes, and often it's the families with very young children that need the extra at night.
I don't want to penalize folks for that reason (they are not responsible for extreme weather), so I would prefer to spread the extra cost evenly across the whole season as part of the all inclusive rent. That way everybody is being asked to pay a little extra and nobody gets hit with a big bill, much like an insurance policy works.
That doesn't answer the question of how to stop the one person who abuses it, other than adding something to the house notes, which I haven't yet tried, but may after the one bill we had this year.
We remove the window ACs in the winter to increase heating efficiency, then reinstall in the Spring.
I always tell people that if they like to walk into an ice cold house in the heat of summer, please don't book ours, but the bedroom ACs do make a big difference to the demand for the house. I know of 2 houses in this area that stood empty in August simply because they had no ACs at all, so depending on your climate, it could be false economy not to install them, at least in the bedrooms.
I'm interested in this discussion mainly because the running cost is definitely a factor for us. One of bills this summer almost matched our own house, which is 3 times the size, and has Central AC throughout, plus I'm running a fulltime home office, not outside doing tourist things. So someone left them on all day with windows open to generate that kind of bill....
At the moment we don't charge extra for AC or heating, and I'm not sure I could get away with it here. Irresponsible use aside, it's the luck of the draw who gets the temperature spikes, and often it's the families with very young children that need the extra at night.
I don't want to penalize folks for that reason (they are not responsible for extreme weather), so I would prefer to spread the extra cost evenly across the whole season as part of the all inclusive rent. That way everybody is being asked to pay a little extra and nobody gets hit with a big bill, much like an insurance policy works.
That doesn't answer the question of how to stop the one person who abuses it, other than adding something to the house notes, which I haven't yet tried, but may after the one bill we had this year.
We remove the window ACs in the winter to increase heating efficiency, then reinstall in the Spring.
Joanna, if your bills were very high then perhaps a hotel-type timer would be cost justifiable. As I understand it, you (and only you) program them to automatically shut the AC off after a few hours.
Of course, that might be a problem if it doesn't cool off at night.
Is it necessary to run AC all night long or does it cool off enough so that it would be safe for the AC to shut off in the wee hours? If so, the same system would protect you from those who leave the AC on when they go out for the day.
Just a thought...
debk
Of course, that might be a problem if it doesn't cool off at night.
Is it necessary to run AC all night long or does it cool off enough so that it would be safe for the AC to shut off in the wee hours? If so, the same system would protect you from those who leave the AC on when they go out for the day.
Just a thought...
debk
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CostaBlanca
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:58 pm
- Location: Costa Blanca
Here on the Costa Blanca, AC is probably only essential for the peak months (July and August) thankfully. If people are paying £1,500 upwards per week´s rental for a 4 bed, then I expect that some extra money for the additional comfort of AC shouldn´t be an issue. Maybe your guests feel that it was not that essential for the enjoyment of their holiday.Mouse wrote:hi Maria
Only about 20% of our guests actually take up the option of a/c. Which I find amazing. At £12 per person per week its a very reasonable option for comfort....but I think our guests prefer in the main to save money!
Yes the units are operated by the 'mandos'. We don't think they can be operated indepently (we've just checked and can't see anything).
Interestingly - my friend has just had a/c added to her house. She only lives in it in the winter (& rents it out in the summer) so has installed it because she operates at the luxury end of the market and feels she has to offer it.
She charges over 5000euros a week (sleeps 10) and then charges extra for a/c!!!!!!
Can I move my house to Ibiza? One week´s rental would pay for the installation and a second would pay for the running costs for my lifetime
Any chance of a peak of her website? (PM me)Maria
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CostaBlanca
- Posts: 253
- Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:58 pm
- Location: Costa Blanca
Thanks for your input, Joanna. Our summer climate is probably fairly similar to yours. As I already have ceiling fans, I would just install the AC units in the bedrooms as well. Along with the installation and running costs, these wall units require an outside condenser unit which need careful siting or else you can have have a not so attractive unit(s) on the outside wall of your house. I would probably try to have the installation of all units on the same circuit and have timer for night time use only to end about 5/6am. This is normally the coolest time here during the summer.Joanna wrote:We lost bookings when we only had fans and no AC. Now we have both fans and remote control window ACs in all 3 bedrooms, fans in all other rooms. Living Room has ceiling fan and windows on 3 sides, so gets a cool cross breeze and doesn't need AC, as does the kitchen. .
Cheers,
Maria
PS. I am intrigued with your window AC units which can be removed and installed at will? With many of my windows being double glazed and fairly large, I don´t think it is option for here - never seen them either - must do some googling.
Maria,
Greetings from Long Island, where we are enjoying the season of perfect temperatures - warm enough not to require heating - cool enough not to require AC - voila! no bills! bliss!
What you're describing sounds to me like a form of central AC, which is far superior to what I'm talking about. Our window AC units are not on a central thermostat, each has it's own individual thermostat. There is no external condenser, which is only required for a central ac system, each unit is it's own condenser (I know what you mean about CAC units looking ugly, we have them at our house!). The window AC units plug into a socket in the room and that's it, they are not hard wired into anything, hence easy to remove in winter (and important to do so for heating efficiency).
I'll try and find a link to the two new ones we bought this year, but they are cheap, about $100-$200 per unit, very minimal installation and they are efficient. You can certainly get the bedrooms ice cold if that's you thing.
Debk,
Very good suggestion to add the timers, thank you, I'll look into it.
Edited to add: go to homedepot.com, then type in "window ac" in the search box. We're in the same club as Enid and never buy anything unless it's on sale, I'll find out which one if it's important.....come to think of it, I think the btus are important....will ask.
Greetings from Long Island, where we are enjoying the season of perfect temperatures - warm enough not to require heating - cool enough not to require AC - voila! no bills! bliss!
What you're describing sounds to me like a form of central AC, which is far superior to what I'm talking about. Our window AC units are not on a central thermostat, each has it's own individual thermostat. There is no external condenser, which is only required for a central ac system, each unit is it's own condenser (I know what you mean about CAC units looking ugly, we have them at our house!). The window AC units plug into a socket in the room and that's it, they are not hard wired into anything, hence easy to remove in winter (and important to do so for heating efficiency).
I'll try and find a link to the two new ones we bought this year, but they are cheap, about $100-$200 per unit, very minimal installation and they are efficient. You can certainly get the bedrooms ice cold if that's you thing.
Debk,
Very good suggestion to add the timers, thank you, I'll look into it.
Edited to add: go to homedepot.com, then type in "window ac" in the search box. We're in the same club as Enid and never buy anything unless it's on sale, I'll find out which one if it's important.....come to think of it, I think the btus are important....will ask.