Norwich: Five ways Airbnb owners can use less energy

He founded The Good Host, an Airbnb management agency in Norwich, almost five years ago after spotting a gap in the market for city homeowners to rent out their properties for short-term stays.

Since then, the business has grown, increasing its property portfolio across the city and even taking on new members of staff.

What’s remained consistent, however, is the firm’s passion for the local area and for ‘doing good’ where it can.

Ollie says there are a number of ways to improve the energy efficiency of a property - including those as low cost as installing additional insulation (Image: Getty Images)

Sustainability has been at the heart of the business since it started, Ollie says. Its team of cleaners – which is local - use non-chemical and sustainable cleaning products and recycled toilet tissues and waste is minimised as much as possible by using bulk – not single – orders of consumables.

But as the cost of living crisis continues and energy prices rises, Ollie says they’ve had to do more to improve the energy efficiency of the homes they service.

“The energy crisis is affecting us all,” he says. “Whether as a householder or business, it’s now making a substantial dent in our monthly cash flow.

“It’s my job to balance the responsibility to give our guests a consistently comfortable stay alongside the relationships with our customers who own the properties we look after,” he explains.

So how does he do it?

Inspecting the property is the first step. “If I had a magic wand it would be able to make effective changes as cheaply as possible,” says Ollie, and his first goal is to make the “quick wins” where he can.

“There is little sense in spending thousands on a new underfloor heating system if there is minimal cheap insulation in the property,” he explains.

'Quick wins' like installing additional insulation or switching to smart meters and thermostats can help reduce overall energy usage (Image: Getty Images)

Recently, he has retrofitted one property with loft insulation and topped up a few others with more insulation where it was needed – costing less than £200 per property to do so.
Another way Ollie says they’ve been able to make savings is by turning down the flow temperature on combination boilers.

This enables the dew point – the temperature to which air must be cooled for water to turn from vapour to liquid – allowing the boiler’s heat exchanger to work at its most efficient and condensing any vapour, thereby releasing additional energy into the heating system.

Adding in smart wifi-enabled thermostats has also helped. “These allow us to set a minimum and maximum range which guests cannot override,” he says, “so there’s no chance of a guest creating a subtropical north city paradise!

“They also allow us to ‘stun’ the heating when the guest checks out so there is no unnecessary heating of an empty property.”

Ollie says they also use other home comforts – such as the humble blanket – to help make a guest’s stay more comfortable. 

“They’re cost effective, attractive and homely. We’ve purchased several for our properties to allow guests to snuggle underneath and keep warm and we offer and ask guests working from home to use a single electric heater – which we provide – in their workspace rather than heating the whole property.”

Encouraging guests to be more mindful of energy usage is also important, Ollie says, and he's bought several for properties in his portfolio (Image: Getty Images)

Communicating and encouraging guests to be more mindful about energy usage is also key, Ollie says. “We have added messages to our listings and pre-arrival information about energy saving tips and trips to encourage our guests to help us use less.”

Being more conscious about the environment – whether that’s because of energy prices, climate change or more locally is key to the firm’s ethos. It not only encourages guests to think more about energy usage, while saving money for its homeowners, but also encourages them to make the best of the amenities right on their doorstep. 

“Fundamentally, we just want people to have a nice time,” Ollie says.

“My dream is that guests come to Norwich and live like a local. Our guests are encouraged actively to eat from the market, drink delicious coffee from our favourite coffee houses, buy food from Norwich independents and try to stimulate the local economy.”

For more information, visit thegoodhost.co.uk

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