View Full Version : Electricity - vacation with an allowance
crossway
20-12-2012, 20:13
Hi,
We've always booked a villa that is effectively 'all-in' and from private renters. We have however found one that we like the look of for our next trip which is rented by a company and which has an electricity allowance of $5 per day 12cents per kwh over. I am just wondering whether anyone knows if the allowance is reasonable to cover a stay for 2 people in January, the property has electric pool heating?
Thanks :)
I've never heard od such a thing....I doubt that it would cover pool heating!! How would you know what you've used?? Where did you find the villa??
That would not be for me I am afraid. When I book a villa I like to know in advance how much it is going to cost me, I do not want to be stung with a large bill at the end of my holiday. If a villa owner, be they private or a company, has worked out their rental charge correctly they will have built in the cost of utilities up front. This just feels "cheap" and does not feel me with confidence that this company know how to price their homes correctly in the first place.
crossway
20-12-2012, 21:04
I've never heard od such a thing....I doubt that it would cover pool heating!! How would you know what you've used?? Where did you find the villa??
Hi - its a company that sells properties as well as let (not sure if I can name them?). They have quite a few for rental most are booked. I have found that where i've come across villa owners from outside the UK they tend to have an electricity allowance.
I am not in UK and never had anuthing to do with an "allowance"...how does it work?? Do you know the electricity co, rate etc....I wouldn't touch it myself.
florida4sun
20-12-2012, 21:21
I used to manage properties in florida and never heard of this. $5 a day would not go far. Figure on $20 -$30 just for pool heating.
Agree with Martin - you would be lucky to get away with $20 per day especially with pool heat...so $5 would about cover the lights and fridge..
Sounds like you will probably be stung and have to pay a ridiculous rate for any electric usage over the $5 allowance. Good heavens, if you had a cold couple of evenings and put heating on you may have nothing left to spend on your holiday!!! Would not go near that type of rental and never heard of it before.
Why don't you take a look at the villas on these 3 sites as they are all individually owned so you have no third party Company taking monies from you, and you would deal directly from the owner. All villas are verified on these sites and you can rest assured that villa owners on here would definitely look after you personally. Good luck.
Looking at my bills $5 a day should cover you for normal use (not to much heat, not to much aiir con) but NOT pool heat. This is a very strange way of doing things you will be constantly on edge in case you are running up a huge bill. In my opinion, not worth the worry, hire a villa with a cost up front and no extras to bump it up later.
luckylady
21-12-2012, 00:35
Wouldn't be for me either, I want to know upfront what I will be paying. Also I think it could spoil your holiday wondering how much the electrics going to cost everytime to put a light on or boiled the kettle.
jimiansville
21-12-2012, 01:00
I wouldn't consider renting a property with those terms and conditions. It costs between $3 & $5 a day just to run the pool pump to keep the water circulating through the filter with no heating!
We own a villa in Spain and it's quite common for owners to add an extra weekly charge for central heating in the winter months. However, it tends to be a set fee and is not open ended like this is.
I would take Sandra's advice and have a look at the villas listed on the sites accessible through the links at the top of this forum.
Is the villa on the Gulf Coast by chance as this is common practice in Fort Myers I have seen quite a few rentals where there is an allowance for electricity.
But as others have said $5 per day is not very much.
Lynne
Just checked by latest bill which is fr a month where we had no guests. My bill was $4.14 per day when the villa is empty- ie aircon set too high for comfort , no oven/toaster/kettle/hob, and certainly not pool heating.
Its a strange calculation you have been given - you will need to know how many Khw are included before you can work out the cost of the extra Kwh. My villa - a small single storey 4 bed used 34kwh per day.
Newhomebuyer
21-12-2012, 10:36
It does depend on the size of the villa. I know that $5 a day even without pool heating would not go anywhere near to covering mine when someone is in.
steph_goodrum
21-12-2012, 12:25
I would say it's up you and your comfort level of purchase whether you give it a try or not. What I would compare it to is the car hire companies (or even tour operators who give you a "free"who offer cars at a ridiculously low rate and then add on the "optioanl extras - which are effectively compulsory". By the time you add on the extra charges they will almost always cost more than someone who has quoted you an all in price. You can be confident if it says no surcharges then that is what you will pay. Short of reading the electric meter for yourself then you have no way of knowing how much you will use, the price of electricity etc. so you are leaving a variable risk at the end of your holiday whether you have kept within their limit (and who wants to spend their time in January thinking (should we put the heater up or not etc.
When we used to holiday at holiday camps like Butlins, there was always en electric meter but even then you knew how much you were putting in rather than be told later how much you might owe.
crossway
21-12-2012, 17:56
Is the villa on the Gulf Coast by chance as this is common practice in Fort Myers I have seen quite a few rentals where there is an allowance for electricity.
But as others have said $5 per day is not very much.
Lynne
Hi thanks to everyone that has replied. We've looked around at many villas as this is our 5th time and this was on the short list due to ticking most of our boxes and looked lovely and was cape coral, a bit further down than we normally go. A lot of german renters on the gulf coast seem to offer an electric allowance and charges above this allowance from the many sites we've viewed. Based on the replies we will probably give it a miss - i would have risked a week of our holiday but with a cleaning fee on departure the short let becomes a bit over the budget.
Thanks again:)
canarypam
23-12-2012, 01:13
The power companies send out monthly bills, normally with just the total months usage.
So you may not get an exact calculation. Also this could delay any deposit being returned.
Not worth the risks.
E. Cosgrove
23-12-2012, 15:46
We have booked a home on Cape Cod this summer and some of the rentals charge for all sorts of extras including bedding, towels, cleaning etc but none of them charge for electricity [msneek]
Perhaps we should begin to charge like this in Florida too....just a thought:)
I hope it's not the start of a trend. If the cost of electricity is becoming an issue for owners, I would rather they just put up the basic rental charge by enough to cover it.
I hope it's not the start of a trend. If the cost of electricity is becoming an issue for owners, I would rather they just put up the basic rental charge by enough to cover it.
It is something that has been around for a long time and when I was researching a few years ago as a new owner, I came across this quite alot.
It does seem to be more prevalent on the coast and in communities or villa companies who aim their marketing at the Snowbirds who tend to visit for anything from 3 to 6 months.
Lynne
Katys Grandad
24-12-2012, 09:48
I have come across it when I was thinking about a long-term rental on the Gulf Coast a few years ago. I was told that renters who will be effectively living in the house rather that using it as holiday base tend to use more power because they are present in the property using heat/cool and doing much more regular cooking/washing/drying etc.
It does seem harder to justify on a shorter term holiday rental though
steph_goodrum
24-12-2012, 12:56
It's a bit like the airlines with their fuel surcharge that as it is an operatiing cost should be part of the base ticket cost imo but is just another way to ensure they can collect it from each and every passenger regardless of how they have paid (ie including reward flights).
sunseeker
24-12-2012, 16:36
Oddly some people are attracted by the initial price like moths to a light bulb at night, once attracted they look no further. It doesn't matter that a more expensive initial outlay may infact cost them less by the time their holiday is all paid for. Theirs nowt as queer as folk......
Dave
Just find this very strange and personally I would be very suspicious of hidden charges.
Val
I think I would avoid this. I never heard of this. Who would want the stress of that while I holiday.
Gerry Reed
09-01-2013, 05:56
When we have pool heat on and A/C (Spring? Autumn) our monthly bills can be $400 (4 bed villa), that works out at $12/13 a day.
Sue