I don’t think they’re proposing remotely controlling it, just so that the guest would experience being unable to change the temperature to outside the allowed range.

Of course any guest is free to write in their review “can’t make temperature lower than 18°!” but the number of people choosing not to book for that reason in any given year is likely 0 or very close to it.

There are a lot of people who don’t “get” thermostats and their intuitive model of ACs is like that of getting a bath to a particular temperature by turning a faucet to full hot or cold to get what they want.

And if these people are out of the room when it reaches the actual temperature they want (and would change it), then the AC is left possibly for hours working full time, burning maximum energy and related wear and tear by trying to hopelessly achieve an unattainable temperature.