Could smart technology be useful in an Airbnb listing?

[Stephanie]

Hi everybody, 

How many of you are tech-savvy members? Well, I have read here in the Community Center here about a number of different ways to automatise things in your home, for example temperatures in a listing (both heating and cooling). 

There are also gadgets that you can control with your voice (Alexa, or others) which control the lighting system, or even a refrigerator that calls the technician by itself. If only there was a kettle that self-boiled, brewed and served tea we would be in heaven.

These are all very clever things, but the question is:

Do you think technology can help the lives of hosts? What do you think and please share if you have any smart technology in your home? 

Thanks, 

Stephanie

[Sarah977]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0  I have been hosting for 3 years in an area which doesn't have fast internet. Not one of my guests has had any issue with that- I make it clear that this is the case. I home-share, and none of my guests has ever had trouble during their stay that meant they had to contact Airbnb. And if they did, there are plenty of places in town where they can hook up to Wifi.

It may be true that the majority of guests want fast internet, but not everyone is dependent on their phone or internet, believe it or not. Several of my guests have said they were happy I didn't have high-speed unlimited Internet- that they wasted way too much time online at home and enjoyed being in a situation where they didn't have that option.

The nice thing about Airbnb is that there are so many different types of listings so guests have a choice what places and amenities they want and can choose.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Sarah977  I understand your point of view on this but I must add that it is very easy for a guest to disconnect himself or herself from the internet.In one simple click the guest can turnoff the wifi and stay without internet.

I have been an Airbnb host for 5 years and i have receive only good comments with regards to my fast internet connect from my guests.No one has ever complain about having a fast connection till date 🙂 

I had a recent guest who wanted to extend his stay the night before his checkout.Without internet this would not be possible because i was out of the country during his stay.

In other words the internet has become a need just like electricity.

[Helen350]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0  I don't know why any tourist  guest would complain about internet speeds. As @Sarah977  said, holidaymakers travel in order to do & experience places & cultures in person, away from the net! Yes, tourists may need the internet to book onward travel, but if it's a bit slow, who cares, we're on holiday, all the time in the world!

Guests moan about internet speeds.... But the fact that the host uses Airbnb at all is testimony to the fact that they have reasonably efficient internet! (Especially as Airbnb is known to be very slow)

[Juan63]

But I think you are missing a couple of generations idea of traveling. Younger generations are heavy internet users, myself included. I work for myself and I work on my vacations because nobody pays for my time off. If it's not work related I love taking pictures which are huge files to work with. So, for me, fast, stable internet is the #1 must have.

It also has to be fast, slow internet will time out, not to mention the more users on your network the even slower it is.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Juan63 You nailed it! Some hosts tend to think if they do not use a fast internet that means that their guests will not need it too.I totally agree that this is due to the generation gap.

[Helen350]

@Juan63 I think your observations are correct! I am nostalgic for a time when we were not slaves to the internet, & people could unplug from work when on holiday... But here I sit, on my laptop, a slave to the internet myself! 🙂

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Helen350 cannot tag you. Trust me there are some tourists out there who will complain about the speed of the internet.

Now concerning the fact that a host is using Airbnb does not mean that this is a testimony ot the fact that they have a good internet speed.They may not have the same connection on their listing.

I believe that some hosts still do not believe that a fast internet connection is a must is simply due to the generation gap.Unfortunately for them we are now living in the 2nd decade of the 21st century.

[Helen350]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0 Some people are very shallow. Some people are very materialistic. Before I got my superfast broadband, only one person complained about the internet, a very bossy, intimidating & entitled American, who came to my tourist area to stay indoors all day & use the internet. - Weird! Even when I had slow internet, my other guests didn't care, as @Sarah977 said, some expressed they were glad to have an internet free break, & of course they had better things to do like climb mountains! As Sarah also said, there are still places where internet is not possible... Even 15 miles from me, in the developed UK, there are Youth hostels & a very successful multi-room luxury airbnb with no internet - because of the valley/mountain location, it's not possible. But guests love these places for the remoteness & the beauty. I find the people who don't care about internet are the nicest people. Better values.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Helen350 I have notice that there are some guests who are workaholic no matter where they are.I once hosted a French guy who would not leave his laptop.

[Helen350]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0  Yes, internet has become a need, but it does not need to be FAST! Slow will still work & do the job! Personally I DO have superfast internet, one of the best systems in the UK! It's fast for my homestay guests but slow for me cos my computer is 15 years old! And I use a very old outdated version of Windows! - I can still handle Airbnb bookings & send & receive messages to/from guests! My guests DO use my superfast broadband - but not much, cos workers are out working, sometimes 13 hours at a time, & holiday tourists are walking, climbing, cycling, driving & eating! No time to sit in my house on the internet, they just come here to sleep!

[Sarah977]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0   Haha, yes, of course guests could just choose not to use the internet connection if they wanted an electronics-free vacation, but as we all know, being plugged-in can be pretty addictive 🙂

Just so you understand, I was never suggesting that guests don't appreciate having a good Wifi connection, and certainly no one would complain about having one. And I'm sure the majority of guests do consider it essential. My point was that it isn't a "must". Not all guests require it, and as long as the host is clear in the listing as to what is available Wifi-wise, and the guest is clear on that, it's all fine. Not having high-speed unlimited internet isn't a deal-breaker as far as getting nice, 5* reviews and happy guests as long as guests understand what they signed up for. 

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Sarah977 Internet addiction is certainly another good debate 🙂 For me personally if the majority of guests consider it essential then it is obviously is a must have!

Here is the famous quote from Franz Kafka a German novelist: "Better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have."

[Juan63]

Of course you will always have a few who don't mind but internet is absolutely a must to the vast majority. I suspect a host who has a bad or no connection will lose many bookings.

[Sarah977]

@Juan63  It has a great deal to do with the location. I'm in a touristy beach town where people come for a tropical vacation and on top of that, I'm in the countryside, a 20 minute walk from town and the beach. All that is made clear in my listing and I also market towards the type of guest who'll be a good fit, so the guests who are attracted to my listing are those who are okay with all that. Most just want to spend the day at the beach, eat out at one of the hundreds of restaurants here, peruse the shops, and relax and read a book, do some yoga, art, etc. They didn't come here to sit around watching Netflix, or spend their time online. As long as they can check their email, let their family know they arrived safely, maybe surf the net a bit, that's all they really require, and almost every restaurant and cafe in town has Wifi that customers can hook up to, so if they need more internet, it's not that big an issue. It isn't that I wouldn't like to have better internet, it's that it's just not available where I live.

For sure there are lots of people who need to work online daily these days, even when they're on holiday, or even have a lifestyle where they don't have a permanent home, but can just travel and work online, so no, my place wouldn't be suitable for them, but I don't see this as "losing" bookings. It's simply not suitable for those who need constant, high-speed internet, just like some places aren't suitable for 12 guests, or aren't in a central location where guests can easily walk to everything. 

And BTW, I've had plenty of guests of younger generations and I can assure you they aren't all dependent on high speed unlimited Wifi.

[Juan63]

Sarah of course that's losing bookings. If they are avoiding your place because of bad internet connection, that's losing bookings. Not being able to host 12 people is much more common and less desired than having a good internet connection.