Key points
- A warm shower, now, after a long flight. They are not asking you to explain how a point-of-use heater works.
- 1. Where exactly is the switch?
- No greeting. The first one is the two-sentence reply.
On this page
Across Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, hot water in an apartment usually comes from a small electric heater on the bathroom wall, with its own switch somewhere nearby. Guests from Europe, Japan or Australia have often never seen one. They turn the tap, wait, get cold water, and write to you. Nine times out of ten, the answer is two sentences long.
What the guest actually wants
A warm shower, now, after a long flight. They are not asking you to explain how a point-of-use heater works. They want to know which switch to press and in which order.
What they are worried about: that the apartment is broken, that they chose badly, and that the host will be slow. A reply within minutes that says "here is the switch" turns a worry into a laugh.
Questions to answer for yourself first
- Where exactly is the switch? Not "in the bathroom." Say it like you are standing there: "the white switch with the red light, on the wall to the right of the mirror." Take a photo. Keep it ready.
- What does "on" look like? A red or orange light on the heater or the switch. Guests cannot tell if the light is not described.
- Is there a second step? Many heaters have a power switch on the wall and a dial or button on the unit itself. Some need the tap on low pressure to heat. Know your unit.
- Is there a main breaker? In some condos the water heater has its own breaker in the fuse box, and cleaners sometimes turn it off between stays.
- How long does it take? A point-of-use heater is instant. A tank heater needs twenty to thirty minutes. Say which one you have so the guest does not stand there for a minute and give up.
- Who fixes it when it really is broken? The building's technician or your own. Know the LINE contact and the hours.
Three replies you can copy
No greeting. The first one is the two-sentence reply. Adjust the location words to your bathroom.
The hot water has its own switch: the white switch with the red light on the wall to the right of the mirror. Press it on, wait a few seconds for the light, then run the shower on low pressure and it will come through warm.
That is usually the end of it. Add a photo of the switch if you have one.
Thank you for checking. If the light is on but the water stays cold, there is a second button on the heater unit itself, the round dial under the cover, which should be turned to the middle. If that does not help in two minutes, tell me and I will get our technician to look today.
Sorry about this. It sounds like the heater itself, so I have asked our technician to come and will confirm the time with you within the hour. In the meantime the second bathroom's shower works normally.
If you only have one bathroom, say honestly that you are working on it and give a time you have actually confirmed.
Mistakes hosts make
- Writing "it is in the bathroom." The guest is in the bathroom. They need the wall, the side, the colour.
- Not mentioning low pressure. Many wall heaters only heat properly when the flow is gentle. Guests turn the tap to full, get lukewarm water, and report "no hot water."
- Forgetting the tank timing. If your apartment has a tank heater and you do not say "wait twenty minutes," the guest reports a fault that is not one.
- No photo in the listing or the house guide. One photo of the switch, in the welcome message, prevents most of these messages ever being sent.
- The cleaner switching the breaker off. Agree with the cleaner that the heater stays on, or add "turn the heater breaker back on" to the checklist.
- Replying with a shrug. "It should work" is not an answer. Give the steps every time, even for the fifth guest this month.
How Tokay handles it
Tokay's front desk agent Pam answers from your rules and the three-level knowledge base: the general explanation of wall heaters, the building's breaker position, and the apartment's exact switch location and photo. Write it once for the Sukhumvit 24 tower and every unit in that building gets the same answer, in the guest's language, at any hour. If the apartment entry is missing, Pam asks you for it rather than guessing.
When the steps fail and the water is still cold, a guest without a shower is an upset guest, so the message comes to you first with a draft ready to approve, edit or deny. Sam adds the heater to tomorrow's cleaning brief so the cleaner checks the breaker, and the contractor can be reached on LINE. Leo's morning message lists it so it is not forgotten.
Hot water is one of the first things we suggest writing down when you set up.
Questions hosts ask
Should I just leave the heater switched on all the time?
Many hosts in the region do, for point-of-use heaters that only draw power when water flows. Tank heaters cost more to leave on. Check the manual for your unit, and tell the cleaner what you decided so it is not switched off between stays.
Is it worth putting a sticker on the switch?
Yes. A small label that says "hot water" in English next to the switch, plus a photo in the welcome message, removes most of these messages before they are sent. The something is broken page explains how to turn repeat questions into one-time fixes.
What if the guest says the water is too hot?
Point-of-use heaters have a dial. Ask them to turn it toward the lower setting and open the tap a little more. If it scalds at the lowest setting, that is a fault and a technician should look at it before the next guest.