I recently stayed at an airbnb for a weekend getaway.
I had heard that the owners of airbnb’s sometimes have obnoxious rules for their guests, but I figured it was a rare occurrence.
Once I got settled, it didn’t seem like I had been left any instructions, until I found a sticky note taped to the thermostat. It indicated that the temperature was to remain at 78° at all times, never to be adjusted for any reason. I hadn’t really thought too much about the temperature in the house until I read that stick note and I began to feel that it was excessively warm. Maybe it was a psychological thing, but I suddenly felt quite miffed that I was expected not to adjust the thermostat to my desired temperature. I was paying pretty decent money to stay there for two days. I prefer things on the cooler side when it comes to thermostat settings. I started to think about how exactly the homeowner would be able to tell if I had adjusted the thermostat. Perhaps, if I set the thermostat to just a few degrees cooler, the energy bill would not greatly reflect the increase in cost. I like hot showers, but I thought that maybe I should take very short ones to increase my chances of getting away with a lower thermostat setting. After nearly forty minutes of sitting on the couch daydreaming about various ways that I could get away with setting the thermostat to a temperature that I preferred, I realized that I wasn’t even enjoying my vacation yet!! People can really get into your head when they place boundaries on what you’re allowed to do!