Europe has recently seen record-breaking heat waves that have interrupted public transportation and sparked wildfires across many nations.
Due of the lack of air conditioning in many European structures, such as numerous hotels and rental homes, travelers planning trips in the coming weeks are especially concerned about comfort.
Before the triple digit temperatures hit London and other areas of the country this past week, officials in the United Kingdom met to discuss the heat as an emergency scenario.
Their worries are heightened by the fact that temperatures this high are unusual for much of Europe.
According to a U.K. government survey dated August 2021, only 1% of homes in London have fixed air conditioning equipment.
This means that, for visitors to Europe during periods of extreme heat, the absence of air conditioning might be a significant concern, given the frequency of homes advertised on booking websites like Airbnb.
However, rental homes are not the only ones.
Focus your search
There are ways to look out a property's cooling options and even change your reservation if you have plans to travel to Europe this summer.
Not just Airbnb and other rental units can be without air conditioning.
Hotels may not have central air conditioning.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the state of air conditioning in hotels throughout Europe, I visited the third-party booking website Booking.com.
I discovered there were 1,037 hotels in the wider London area after applying a filter.
However, you have the choice to limit your search to only homes with air conditioning.
The number of selections decreased by around 37% to 649 after I implemented that filter.
There were initially 1,689 hotels available in the greater Paris area.
The options decreased by around 25% when only properties with air conditioning were chosen.
It is possible to check whether an accommodation has air conditioning even while booking a trip using points at one of the major hotel chains.
In general, I discovered that utilizing an app on a smartphone or tablet made this easier to verify.
Check out the Threadneedles Hotel in the heart of London, one of Marriott's stunning Autograph Collection properties.
Similar steps can be taken when renting a house through a website like Airbnb.
I started my search for a late August weekend in London with just one search criterion, one I typically check: "entire place to oneself."
The app showed more than a thousand results.
The number of houses that appeared decreased to 471 after I instructed the app to only display homes with air conditioning.
Verify the property's details
There are many wonderful hotels in Europe, including ones in London, that make for terrific lodgings during your trip but might not have air conditioning.
This attractive apartment is conveniently located in the heart of London, putting several of the city's most well-known attractions within easy reach.
However, as you can see from the property information, it simply lists heating under "heating and cooling."
The second query you might have is, "Can you cancel and reserve anything else if you already have a property like this booked?"
Depends, really.
It depends on your host whether they allow cancellations because Airbnb allows hosts to employ a variety of cancellation policies.
If you booked the stay at this particular property within the last 48 hours, you are eligible for a full refund.
A week prior to your check-in date, you can request a 50% refund; after that, you'll lose the entire amount of the stay.
In the Greater London area, in Chelsea, is this contemporary-looking apartment.
However, you can see that air conditioning is not included in the amenities for this one.
Fortunately, this host has a relatively lenient stance if you made a reservation for the weekend of August 19–21 and decide you need to change dates.
Up until 24 hours before your scheduled check-in, you are eligible for a full refund.
Check the type of reservation you made if you booked a hotel and then discover it lacks air conditioning.
You could struggle to get your money back if you made a pre-paid, nonrefundable reservation.
However, if you made a normal reservation, there's a strong possibility you can cancel without incurring any fees, provided you do so at least a few days before your scheduled arrival.
If you're staying at one of the large hotel chains and are worried about not having air conditioning, even if your reservation isn't legally nonrefundable, it could be worth phoning customer care to see if they can shift you to another facility in the city.
Although there is no assurance that you will succeed, it is worthwhile to give it a shot.
In conclusion
The recent heat wave in Europe has served as a reminder to travelers that not all buildings, including hotels and rental homes, have air conditioning.
In addition to using common sense to stay cool during a heat wave and temporary fixes like going to the store to buy a fan for your lodgings, thoroughly researching a property and paying attention to the cancellation policies could help you stay cool while traveling.
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