Post by High Priestess on Sept 20, 2015 23:21:35 GMT
Peter shared:
Water Usage by Guests
Given the increased severity of the drought, and the impeding restrictions as
our water boards start to issue new water usage rules in order to comply
with the State's 25% reduction mandate, I thought I'd share my experience and poll members for your suggestions.
Here's what I do to reduce the water usage by my Guests:
* In my welcome/information folder, I devote a page on Conservation. At
the top is a paragraph on the drought. I ask my Guests to have short
showers and that unless they ask otherwise, I'll only change their
towels after three nights (if a Guest has a four night booking, I don't
change the towels). Included on that Conservation page is information
about shopping bags in SF, how to use the recycling bin and a reminder
to turn off the lights and heating if they are going out for the day.
* I don't allow Guests to use my laundry. In the past, they tend to use
small loads which is wasteful. I thought of charging them per load, but
I didn't want to deal with collecting the money and with accounting.
Fortunately, there's a coin-op laundry 5 minutes walk away. So, I tell
my Guests to go there.
What measures do you use and can recommend?
Reply 1:
Absolutely none. The amount of water used by a load of laundry, and the amount used by providing a handful of almonds as a snack when they checkin are roughly the same. We are in the midst of a major, terrible, drought. But conserving water in this manner does next to nothing to help, and doesn't help create a good guest experience.
Reply 2:
If they are roughly the same, then shouldn't the Host and the almond farmer both take conservation measures? If a substantial number of Hosts conserve, won't that make a difference? Is raising Guests' consciousness about conservation necessarily inconsistent with having good experience?
Reply 3:
Raising their consciousness / adding a note to a welcome folder, sure. Removing features from my listing (making the shower "worse", removing laundry access), no. And a single almond farmer literally uses more water than all Airbnb listings in all of California on his or her own. (I can find a citation if you'd like).
Not that I meant to turn this to a political or ecological discussion; my apologies.
Water Usage by Guests
Given the increased severity of the drought, and the impeding restrictions as
our water boards start to issue new water usage rules in order to comply
with the State's 25% reduction mandate, I thought I'd share my experience and poll members for your suggestions.
Here's what I do to reduce the water usage by my Guests:
* In my welcome/information folder, I devote a page on Conservation. At
the top is a paragraph on the drought. I ask my Guests to have short
showers and that unless they ask otherwise, I'll only change their
towels after three nights (if a Guest has a four night booking, I don't
change the towels). Included on that Conservation page is information
about shopping bags in SF, how to use the recycling bin and a reminder
to turn off the lights and heating if they are going out for the day.
* I don't allow Guests to use my laundry. In the past, they tend to use
small loads which is wasteful. I thought of charging them per load, but
I didn't want to deal with collecting the money and with accounting.
Fortunately, there's a coin-op laundry 5 minutes walk away. So, I tell
my Guests to go there.
What measures do you use and can recommend?
Reply 1:
Absolutely none. The amount of water used by a load of laundry, and the amount used by providing a handful of almonds as a snack when they checkin are roughly the same. We are in the midst of a major, terrible, drought. But conserving water in this manner does next to nothing to help, and doesn't help create a good guest experience.
Reply 2:
If they are roughly the same, then shouldn't the Host and the almond farmer both take conservation measures? If a substantial number of Hosts conserve, won't that make a difference? Is raising Guests' consciousness about conservation necessarily inconsistent with having good experience?
Reply 3:
Raising their consciousness / adding a note to a welcome folder, sure. Removing features from my listing (making the shower "worse", removing laundry access), no. And a single almond farmer literally uses more water than all Airbnb listings in all of California on his or her own. (I can find a citation if you'd like).
Not that I meant to turn this to a political or ecological discussion; my apologies.
