Electricity - vacation with an allowance

[jimiansville]

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.

[Pookie]

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

[Jo]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

[carolmc]

Perhaps we should begin to charge like this in Florida too....just a thought

[Tonish]

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.