Air conditioner units and methods of operating the same are provided. A method of operating an air conditioner unit includes measuring an ambient temperature and estimating a setpoint temperature of the air conditioner unit. The method also includes inputting the measured ambient temperature and the estimated setpoint temperature into a closed-loop control algorithm. The method further includes setting a compressor speed of the variable speed compressor based on the output of the closed-loop control algorithm. An air conditioner unit may include a controller, and the controller may be configured for performing the method.