Air Conditioning in Hotels – Who decides?

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    TonyMP45
    Participant

    I have just returned from a 2-night stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Berlin City. Although it rained most of the time, when it was not raining, most of the restuarants and bars had their out door seating in use as the temperatures were in the mid to high 20 degrees. However, in the hotel I stayed in the air conditioning was turned off as apparently ‘it was too cold outside and it is an auromatic process’. Needless to say I had two nights of very little sleep as the room was so hot.

    What is the point of having the facility to control the temperature in your room if the hotel then decides to just turn it off? Needless to say I complained to the hotel reception but they said it was out of their hands.

    This is not the first time this has happened to me this year. Has anyone else experienced this and what can we do?


    Deleted User
    Participant

    Dear Anthony

    there are advantages of calling hotels direct to check on airconditioning in advance, esepcially in Europe during the summer. If the the aircon is turned off, i will chose another hotel. Its better than reading a review and seeing a claim of airconditioing and then turning up and it being switched off. i tend to confirm hotel on the basis that the hotel confirm that the aircon is working. If its not, i will change hotels

    I hope that this helps.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    I had this with the Golden Tulip near Rotterdam a few years ago. Though I like to sleep with the a/c off, I do want it on while working. They also gave some strange reason but I told the manager it was advertised, and if he did not turn it on I would leave the next day and not pay for that night.

    He vaguely threatened calling the police if I did not pay and I told him to go ahead and I would lodge a complaint with the authorities for wrongful advertising and looked forward to seeing him in court. 5 minutes later the a/c was on!!!


    carrotcake
    Participant

    LuganoPirate. Funny that! Im like you, I hate the noise at night. In some hotels, it makes no difference however much you turn the temperature up or down, the room stays the same. I find its one area that hotels always say they have very little control over, despite having in- house maintenance workers. I always like to make a note of hotels that have windows you can actually open, its not ideal, but it helps a bit.


    SimonRowberry
    Participant

    Hi LP, Hi Carrotcake,

    I have no problem with the noise of a/c at night and consider it the lesser of (often) two evils – temperature versus noise.

    On several occasions I’ve been in hotels (without a/c) during the summer where I’ve had to choose between being kept awake by a hot room, or opening the window and being kept awake by traffic noise. Therefore, a/c to me is a priority. Also in the winter – where many hotels seem to offer an uncontrollable central heating system which is invariably stuck on “full.”

    Having said that, if a/c is offered, it should always be operative. I was very interested by your threat LP – I must try that next time I have a similar problem. Seems that it worked!

    All the best, Simon


    watersz
    Participant

    I guess most of us have come across this situation whether a chain hotel or room above pub type accommodation.
    I personally experience it more around an equinox.
    When I complained I was told the heating was not on as it had been put in “summer mode” (March)
    And had to have a single heater brought to my room after two phone calls.
    When I checked out the next day I heard the guy in front say he wanted to report the heating in his room was broken. The receptionist apologised ( even though she must know the score) but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut about it not being broken, there ‘re just being stingy


    BABenji
    Participant

    I’ve experienced a similar situation at Holiday Inn, Zurich Messe, where (apparently) it is a Swiss rule (I can imagine you all recoiling in horror at the revelation that the Swiss dictate this, as well as myriad other things to anyone in the country) that the airconditioning may be set a maximum of 5C below the outside temperature. Hence if it is a sweltering summer night, as it can be in the city sometimes, you will sweat away in total discomfort until the early hours.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Hi Carrotcake, we should start a seperate thread on which hotels allow full control over the a/c and/ or have windows which can open? It’s also surprising what €10 can do when passed to maintenance. Often the quickest route and you can get them on some false pretence such as the tv not working.

    Simon, I prefer the term “gentle persuasion”!!! I think hotels invoke the fear of the police to get away with overcharging etc. Truth is, unless you’ve murdered someone the police rarely get involved as they are too busy and it’s to time consuming. (unless you’re in Switzerland that is, and it involves money, then they come with the full two’and blues – murder is a lesser offence – murder is usually 8 years, fraud 10 years!!!).

    Actually on refection Simon, you’re right. Threat is the better word!

    BABenji. I think you may be right. I seem to recollect that rule. What is a fact is they don’t (can’t) turn on the heating till mid October and then provided the temperature is below 16c.


    carrotcake
    Participant

    Hi Lugano, thats a great idea!! Im not travelling till Christmas, but I will put a small festive notebook in my bag to note whats good. I like the idea of bribing the maintenance! Wonder if you could get free wi- fi thrown in as well. On second thoughts, how about a bath robe for a fiver??


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    Quote LuganoPirate:
    “It’s also surprising what €10 can do when passed to maintenance. Often the quickest route and you can get them on some false pretence such as the tv not working.”

    Indeed, those lonely nights in hotel rooms can tempt even the most jaded executive 😉


    SimonRowberry
    Participant

    🙂 🙂 🙂


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    I have found that even in places where air conditioning is switched on, it often turns of for an hour or so in the middle of the night – say between 4am and 5am, supposiing that most people won’t notice and I guess it saves some energy.

    But it’s annoying. If I pay for an air conditioned hotel room, I expect it to be available, even in the dead of winter.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Now now gents!!! Just been speaking to one of the engineers that looks after our heating in the condominium where we live. He has told me all sorts of tricks to get the a/c working, overriding preset controls etc.

    Cannot now wait for an a/c room that isn’t, if you follow me. If they work I’ll update the post, otherwise, I hope you don’t all melt, respectively freeze, while waiting for this exciting bit of info!!!


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    carrotcake, if you need free wifi, you need to travel with my son. I don’t know how he does it, but wherever he goes he never pays for wifi.

    On a serious note, I’ve now found if booking direct with a hotel, they will often throw wifi in for free when its normally advertised as an additional charge. You sometimes have to badger them but in the last 4 hotels I stayed, three of them threw it in. The one that didn’t btw was the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, and the cost was horrendous!!!

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