Will air conditioning affect rentals

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ronsat
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:03 am
Location: Neffiès, Languedoc, France
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Will air conditioning affect rentals

Post by ronsat »

We just had air-conditioning installed in our ancient maison-de-vigneron in Neffies (Languedoc). However, I updated our various postings before Christmas to include A/C, and we now have a couple of bookings for the summer. Last year at this time we had no bookings for the summer. Have others seen an uptick in bookings when air-conditioning was installed?
We are Canadians who love spending time in Languedoc.
http://www.languedocvacationhome.ca
Happy Days
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2017 6:35 pm
Location: France

Post by Happy Days »

Hi, we are at present researching the cost of air conditioning.
We have a modern house with just 1 Bed room B&B.
We are worried about the noise effects of the unit.
Can you offer any advice. We are based in the Dordogne and last summer we closed on the extreme hot nights, but if we had bookings we had fans to offer.

We think it would be a valuable asset for bookings.
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Moliere
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Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 10:45 pm
Location: Magalas, Languedoc

Post by Moliere »

I would expect aircon to add considerably to a property’s appeal, particularly after the recent hot summers, which have made clients more likely to look for it. If nothing else, it will enhance people’s enjoyment and make them more likely to rebook (it might even justify a modest price-hike).
On the noise front, modern units are pretty quiet, but you tend to get what you pay for. Our Mitsubishi units are barely noticeable when running on low fan speeds, which is what they will be once the initial temp has been lowered.
It’s worth considering buying the type which can heat in winter as it’s an economical way to make say a bedroom comfortable (I have no other heating in my bedroom). The extra cost is marginal in the context of an installation.
Your worry is going to be people leaving it on all day and night, with windows and doors open, sending your electricity costs up sharply, so you need to find some way of controlling that (timing switches in locked cupboards are one way I’ve seen mooted). As we know, holidaymakers are generally pretty casual about such things, so it pays to secure things beforehand.

Mols
Jumping is just dressage with speed-bumps.
ronsat
Posts: 55
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:03 am
Location: Neffiès, Languedoc, France
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Post by ronsat »

We ended up with 2 outside units, which were both placed on the roof-top terrace. We will suggest to renters that they turn off the systems when they are up there. We were advised against putting the outside units on the wall facing the street - which would have been the only outside wall available as the noise would annoy the neigbours on our quiet narrow pedestrian street.

We hope that even if we get a couple of extra weeks per year, the units should pay for themselves in 6 years or so - and they certainly add the re-salability of the place.
We are Canadians who love spending time in Languedoc.
http://www.languedocvacationhome.ca
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