486. Hosting Hotline: How Much Control Is Too Much? Temp Settings and Turnover Tips
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 590 Ratings
🗓️ 5 August 2025
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this Hosting Hotline episode, Sarah and Annette answer listener Dayne’s two-part question about couch cushion covers and temperature control settings in short-term rentals. First, they discuss the pros and cons of using removable couch covers vs. investing in performance fabric for sofas.
Then, they dive into the hot topic (pun intended) of thermostat control—should guests be allowed to set their own temperatures, or is it worth installing smart limitations to avoid outrageous utility bills?
Sarah and Annette share real-life examples, hosting philosophies, and best practices to help you make decisions that balance guest comfort with operational efficiency.
Resources Mentioned:
Eco Mode / Smart Thermostats: Consider models like Nest or Ecobee for features like motion detection, scheduling, and remote access.
Performance Fabric Sofas: Brands like Inside Weather, Burrow, and Article offer durable, easy-clean couches perfect for STRs.
Hosting Hotline: Have a question for Sarah and Annette? Leave them a voicemail at hostinghotline.com to be featured in a future episode.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Thanks for Visiting Podcast. |
| 0:08.4 | We believe hosting with Heart is at the core of every short-term rental. |
| 0:12.5 | With Annette's background in business operation. |
| 0:15.1 | And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, |
| 0:19.1 | we have welcomed thousands of guests from over |
| 0:21.9 | 30 countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering us thousands of five-star reviews. |
| 0:28.4 | We love sharing creative ways for your listing to stand out, serve your guests, and be profitable. |
| 0:34.9 | Each episode, we will have knowledgeable guests who bring value to the short-term rental industry. |
| 0:39.4 | Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement actual improvements to your rentals. |
| 0:46.4 | Whether you're experienced, new, or nervous to start your own short-term rental, |
| 0:51.2 | we promise you'll feel right at home. |
| 1:05.3 | Thank you. your own short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home. Hello, welcome back to another great episode. My name is Sarah Caracan. I'm Annette Grant, |
| 1:10.2 | and together we are. Thanks for visiting. |
| 1:12.6 | And this is the hosting hotline. If you want to get your hosting questions answered here on the |
| 1:16.8 | hosting hotline, go to hosting hotline.com, ask your question and we'll answer it here on our Tuesday |
| 1:22.4 | episodes. Today we have a question from Danny. Hi, Sarah and Annette. My name is Danny Phillips, and I just |
| 1:28.8 | took over being the landlord for my mom for two different rental properties. And I have lots of |
| 1:34.5 | questions, but I'll stick to two today. When it comes to couches, what are your thoughts on |
| 1:40.2 | couch cushion covers? Does that make things easier or does it make it harder with more laundry |
| 1:45.1 | every time that you have to do a cleaning? We have them at home for our dogs and we love them, |
| 1:50.1 | but I don't know how that translates to an Airbnb. Number two, how do you feel about |
| 1:55.6 | temperature controlling and having some kind of an AC device that does not allow guests to go |
... |
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