When the air conditioner stops working

This is the most common message we get. Don’t panic.

What to do, in order

1. Message us on WhatsApp. Your operator’s WhatsApp is in the welcome packet, on your inspection card receipt, and in your booking confirmation email. The faster we hear, the faster we fix.

Include in your message:

• Which apartment
• Which room’s aircon (if you have more than one)
• What’s happening: not cooling, making a noise, leaking, completely dead
• When you noticed
• Approximately how hot it is in there right now

We’ll acknowledge within an hour during work hours (8am-8pm, Mon-Sat). Outside those hours, we’ll respond first thing in the morning.

2. While you wait. A few things that sometimes fix it on their own:

• Check the remote control batteries. Sounds silly, accounts for about one in ten reported issues.
• Check the breaker box (location is in your welcome packet). If the aircon breaker has tripped, switch it off and back on.
• Check that nothing is blocking the indoor unit’s airflow. Sometimes a curtain or piece of furniture has shifted.
• Wait 10 minutes. Some units have a built-in delay after being turned off and on.

If none of these work, that’s fine: wait for the technician.

3. The technician. We’ll send a technician to your apartment. Same-day if it’s a heat wave or the apartment is uninhabitable, next-day for everything else.

The technician will call you about 30 minutes before arrival. If you’re not home and want them to enter with the doorman, tell us and we’ll arrange it.

Most aircon issues are resolved in one visit: a refrigerant top-up, a cleaning, a capacitor replacement, or a remote pairing. Typical visit is 30-60 minutes.

What it costs you

Nothing. Aircon repair is on us (or on the landlord, depending on the unit type). It’s part of the lease.

The exception: if the aircon broke because of something you did (covering the indoor unit with curtains, modifying the wiring, etc.), we may charge for the repair. This is very rare and we’d tell you in advance.

What if it’s a heat wave and the technician can’t come today

If the technician can’t make it in time and the apartment is genuinely uninhabitable (over 32°C indoors, no working fan as backup), tell us. We’ll either:

• Bring you a backup unit / fan / portable AC for the night
• Cover a nearby hotel for the night

Your call. Whichever is more useful to you.

A note on aircon maintenance

Most Vietnamese aircons need cleaning once or twice a year, especially the units that run hard through April-August. If your unit hasn’t been serviced in 12+ months, you may notice it’s not cooling as well as it used to even though nothing is technically broken. Tell us and we’ll schedule a service. It’s free for you.