Heating is one of the few running costs you can cut without touching the guest experience — if you stop heating an empty flat to full living temperature. Swiss Federal Office of Energy guidance puts the saving at about 6% of heating cost per degree of room temperature you lower, which adds up across the gaps between stays in a Montreux winter.[1]
Heating between guests at a glance
- Living areas
- Around 20–21°C is the usual comfort range in Swiss guidance[2]
- Rarely used rooms
- About 17–18°C is common; 18°C is described as enough for rooms empty during the day[2]
- Saving per degree
- About 6% of heating cost per degree lowered (SFOE); another SFOE document gives 6–10% for buildings[1]
- The catch
- Guests expect a warm flat on arrival, so setback must be paired with pre-heating before check-in
- Never
- Switch heating fully off in a vacant flat in winter — keep a frost-protection minimum
Short answer: between stays, lower the thermostat several degrees below the 20–21°C guest setpoint — each degree saves about 6% of heating cost — then schedule heating back up a few hours before check-in so the flat is warm on arrival. Never turn heating fully off in winter.[1][2]
Photo: RobbieIanMorrison, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In this guide
Setpoints that work
Swiss household guidance puts living rooms and kitchens at around 20–21°C and rooms used less at roughly 17–18°C.[2] For a rental, use the upper end while guests are in the flat, and the lower end — or lower still, within your heating system’s limits — when it is empty between stays. Bedrooms can run a degree or two cooler than the living area without guests noticing, particularly with good bedding.
What a degree is worth
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy states that lowering room temperature by one degree saves about six per cent of heating costs; another SFOE document gives a wider 6–10% range for buildings.[1] Illustration only (our assumption, not a sourced figure): if your apartment’s annual heating cost is CHF 1'800, each degree of setback across a full season is worth roughly CHF 108 at 6%. A flat that is vacant a third of the time captures a share of that, depending on how long and how far you set back. Heating costs in many condominiums are billed through ancillary charges — see our running-costs guide for how these fit into the wider budget.
Pre-heating for check-in
The saving only works if guests do not walk into a cold flat. Schedule the heating to return to 20–21°C a few hours before the expected check-in time; the right lead time depends on the building, the radiators or floor heating, and the outside temperature, so test it on a cold day and adjust. Late check-ins and early arrivals are the failure case: build in margin, and tell self check-in guests how to boost the heating (see our digital guidebook guide).
Frost protection when vacant
Do not switch heating off completely in a vacant winter flat: pipes and the building fabric need a minimum temperature. Use the minimum setpoint recommended in your heating system’s manual or by your installer or property manager, and make sure the system will not be switched off by a guest or a cleaner. After any vacant period of days, check radiators and taps on arrival. Frost damage is a maintenance event — see our maintenance reserve guide for budgeting repairs.
Thermostats and automation
Programmable or smart thermostats make setback and pre-heating automatic, and many connect to your booking calendar through a channel manager or the thermostat’s own scheduling. Whatever you install, keep a simple manual override for guests, set limits so the heating cannot be pushed to extremes, and confirm with the condominium (PPE) rules and the building’s heating system — in a collective system you may only control the radiator valves, not the central setpoint.
Guest comfort and complaints
Cold-flat complaints cost far more in reviews than the energy saved, so err on the side of warmth during stays and treat setback as a vacant-period tool only. A note in the guidebook explaining how the thermostat works avoids most complaints, and our readiness checklist and winter rental guide cover the rest of winter preparation.
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Contact usRelated reading: Running costs 2027 · Maintenance reserve · Winter rental guide
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Frequently asked questions
What temperature should a short-term rental be heated to?
Swiss guidance puts living areas at around 20 to 21°C and rarely used rooms at about 17 to 18°C. Use the upper end during stays.[2]
How much does lowering the thermostat save?
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy states about 6% of heating costs per degree lowered; another SFOE document gives 6 to 10% for buildings.[1]
Should I turn the heating off between guests?
Not completely in winter. Lower it to a setback temperature and keep the frost-protection minimum your installer recommends, then pre-heat before check-in.
How early should heating start before check-in?
A few hours is a common starting point, but it depends on the building and the weather. Test on a cold day and adjust.
Do smart thermostats work in condominium buildings?
Often only partly: in a collective heating system you may control just the radiator valves, not the central setpoint. Check the condominium rules and the system.
Sources
- Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE/BFE) — energy-saving guidance: about 6% of heating cost per degree (and a 6–10% range in a second publication) — pubdb.bfe.admin.ch
- Homegate — Heating: what temperature should each room be? — homegate.ch