Should it be mandatory for hosts to display wifi speeds? - follow up to recently locked thread

[Helen3]

Recently a guest made his first post on the forum which he started off claiming that all hosts were dishonest because he didn't feel he had received the wifi speeds he needed to run his business from his STR (even though he hadn't actually checked with the hosts to see what the speeds actually were before he booked) . And that he thought it should be mandatory for all hosts to display wifi speeds as at every single one of the Airbnbs he had stayed at the speeds were lower than he expected.

As experienced hosts a number of us tried to explain to him that it wasn't an effective or practical solution for a number of reasons.

1. Firstly because speeds fluctuate particularly at the moment with Coronavirus where many more are working from/staying at home.

2. Secondly we as hosts have no control over our wifi speeds, so we shouldn't be held accountable for something outside of our control. 

3. Thirdly speeds fluctuate around the world and between states within a country and even within a town or city or street.

I was one of the ones that suggested a simple solution to him, which was to book Airbnb at Work stays and take the simple step of asking the host about their wifi speeds and explaining his need to upload and download huge amounts of data during his stay.

I do appreciate that not all hosts are completely upfront about the quality of their wifi and in some countries/areas you are never going to get decent speeds. But my few is as a guest if an amenity is an absolute essential for your stay such as wifi speeds, that is simply common sense to check what the actually speed is before you book. Sadly the discussion turned into a bit of a slanging match and the discussion was locked.

I was rather surprised to find a  personal message from Matthew  in my inbox today..which said :- 

.."what a nasty person you were in the thread....but ultimately you don't matter."

I thought as adults we had long moved on from the playground and name calling.Matthew if you think it appropriate  to make these sort of remarks to a random stranger on the internet, then have the courage of your convictions and post them publicly, so everyone can see what a delightful individual you are.

@ Nick  would you block this individual from sending me further private messages please.

[Emilia42]

@Helen3 

That thread did get out of hand. There was no acceptance to see both sides. 

Not every host wants to attract the 'work from home / use the wifi all day' type of guest. I just got a request from a couple who wanted to stay for three weeks while working from home and wanted to know my wifi speed for zooming. This listing is a one-room studio (275 sqft) with no workspace. I told them how difficult and uncomfortable it would be for two people. I want travelers to see my place as a launchpad to explore the area, not work from home. Hence why I don't care to advertise my internet speed.

That being said, the trend to work out of Airbnbs is growing and especially fast over the last few months. This is when Airbnb should bring back The Work Collection or acknowledge listings who are able to/willing to accommodate these types of guests. Hosts should be given the option to test and input wifi speeds and Airbnb provides a search filter for guests who are looking for these high speeds as a specific amenity. 

[Julian1134]

@Emilia42 

I don't know whether 'acceptance' is the right word. helen350 messaged me to insult and then told me she "didn't know how to test her wifi speed or take a screenshot". ann72 said she "has lousy wifi and doesn't want anyone to know". so these people are being dishonest and/or lazy. I mentioned the 'work' because I need to upload content from time to time. but whether it's work or pleasure is irrelevant. if I take a shower for pleasure or because I need to change into a suit.....then I want the water to be warm for both occasions. wifi isn't some ridiculous luxury....and hosts need to be on top of their amenities and be transparent. expensive wifi doesn't eat into your profits. I know because I am a landlord also and I provide excellent wifi. it costs me 20 bucks more than the cheapest......so over 200 more per annum.....but it hardly eats into my profits and it's one more thing my tenants can't complain about. 

people (hosts) jumped into mob mode and attacked me, called me douchebag, ridiculous, arrogant, self-centred, truly despicable and then slagged off what I do for a job and mocked me for having few subscribers on my YouTube channel. none of this had anything to do with the subject matter.....this was just bullying 'mob' style.

the best Helen3 could do was quote me saying that I had found her "nasty, but that she didn't matter". if I had said to her anything stronger than that, then don't you think she would have posted it? seems odd to  

[Helen350]

No @Julian1134 , I didn't message you to insult you - rather I pm-ed as a courtesy as you had pm-ed me. So a simple reply/acknowledgement!

I was not rude to you at all.

You then continued to mock my not knowing my internet speed. I am upfront that I have BT Complete WiFi - so potential guests can check if this is an adequate spec for them.

People don't come to my house to work, they come to explore the Lake District. ALL my guests have reported that the WiFi is good, even with 6-8 folk using it at once. Not one complaint! (My only previous complaint came with a previous more basic system, which was why I upgraded.)

MY WIFI IS FLIPPIN' BRILLIANT FOR A £20-£30 pound room!

I ended my pm to you with a "no hard feelings" but you chose to reply with a torrent of abuse, & mockery of my lack of computer skills. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Did anybody even attempt to consider his point? I don't think so. Him asking awkward questions like that, totally unruly !

I got a very nice DM BTW. 😇

Promoted me to action:

This with 3 other people working from home on zoom calls and meetings at the same time  and whilst network maintenance was supposed to be happening. This node was providing two of the other users internet access.

We're not "For Business" and I think I'll be posting this on my listing - as it just makes sense.

[Emilia42]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Wow! You have fast internet! I am sitting in my family's business where we pay $200 per month for a high-speed business plan and I just tested the download speed . . . 21.89 Mbps!

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Emilia42 

It wasn't always like this. Where other providers would prefer to take our money and not improve the service the community took over and we installed it all ourselves. Costs £30 per. month - about $37.

The Satellite Internet was only about 7mbs which at the time was far better than we could get through copper cable, was £1000 installation and £65 per. month.

I explained in a bit more detail to Robbie on that thread here:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/dishonest-hosts-who-advertise-wifi-that-is-unusable/m-p/131...

[Helen3]

It was not awkward question Mike. There is an ongoing issue about some hosts being disengenuous about a range of amenities. Wifi speeds being one of them.

"Airbnb  hosts are mostly dishonest (usually middle-aged home-owners who were born pre-internet and don't know how it works and still think wifi is some weird luxury item that we use to send emails and nothing else"

 It was the way Julian's point was made. Starting your first post with the above sentence was designed to get a reaction from hosts. I considered his point and gave him feedback based on my experience of being a host as to why I didn't think his suggestion was a good idea and gave him an alternative solution. And in return just got abuse.

If wifi speeds are important to a guest I would be happy to send them a screen shot of them at the time with a codicil that they can fluctuate  according to demand and other issues and can't be guaranteed.

Hosts would be setting themselves up as a hostage to fortune by posting speeds up on their listing page which through no fault of their own they may not be able to deliver during a guests stay.

[Julian1134]

@Helen9

helen350 messaged me to say she didn't know how to test her speed or take a screenshot.

ann77 said she didn't want anyone to know how poor her wifi was. she also invited me and Ian and anne-marie to explain it to her.....(although she said 'mansplain')....which was unnecessary and snarky.

so two people in this thread already confessed to be ignorant of how to provide information about one of the amenities being listed. 

so my thread title was spot-on.....although you have to commend Helen350 for her honesty.....and then she started making snide comments about my work, hobbies etc.

nobody said anything about fluctuations or outages or anything beyond the control of the host. that's not what I came here for. I came here because my honest experience is that hosts are ignorant of facts and/or deliberately choose to be evasive. that isn't transparency in my book.....and if people are being dishonest and lazy then they should be called out for it. you and I are in the corporate domain and we trade services for money. if I request information from a host before I stay with them then I expect them to be able to supply that information. if the information is vague then I expect to know why. 

I stayed in a house in spain for two months last winter. the host assured me the wifi was 'fine'. I think I've already said that wifi isn't measured in fine-ness.....rather mbps. when I arrived, the wifi was unusable. the host told me I was there on holiday and shouldn't need wifi. yes really. she also told me that the wifi was the best available. so I called a local company and they said they could provide 100mbps. so I asked the host if I could manage the installation for her and she agreed. so I helped her and I helped future guests who stay at her listing. 

you are not in control of my thought processes so you are not justified in claiming to know what my post was 'designed' to do. it's also a self-evident platitude since all thread posts are designed to 'cause a reaction'. 

truth fears no inquiry.....so if you're being honest about your wifi speed then why would you leap to the defence of those that aren't? I never said 'all' hosts.....I simply stated my experience.....which is the best I can do. 

[Helen350]

@Julian1134 Why am I being "dishonest & lazy" by stating that I provide BT Complete WiFi?  Prospective guests can investigate what this is & decide whether it's acceptable.....

[Helen350]

..... Hey @Julian1134 ! I googled how to test... It's coming out as 51.1.... Is that good enough for a £20 room?

[Helen350]

@Helen3  - Mike???? - Did you mean Ian? - Having a fraught day??

Matthew = Julian

Mike = Ian????

- LOL!

🤣😂😄😁😀😆😅😉😋🤣

[Helen3]

Yep you could say that - work for the NHS on Covid programmes,  so could say I have had a very fraught six months. @Helen350 

[Helen350]

Gosh @Helen3 ! (No wonder you always seem so 'up' on legislation!)

-'Twas a jocular aside, no snarkiness intended, hope you took it in the jolly spirit in which it was meant! 🙂

[Huma0]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

Yes, people did actually attempt to consider his point, but anyone who did not agree with it, no matter how polite and reasoned their argument and even if they offered alternative suggestions, was responded to aggressively.

I also received one of his lovely PMs, detailing the response from CS, and telling me that it looks like I "need to up my game". Why, exactly? Because I didn't 100% agree with him?

I'm confused because there is nothing wrong with my WiFi. It's high speed, reliable and multiple guests can work from home, stream or whatever at the same time. I pay plenty for it, believe me, as I know it's important to my guests, who are more often here for work or study than for leisure. I have absolutely no problem with potential guests asking me about it, AS I EXPLAINED IN THE THREAD!

Where I disagreed with @Julian1134 was, firstly, to point out that it was unnecessary to correct other people's grammar. Personally, I don't think that mocking people for stuff that is completely irrelevant to the discussion is constructive. @Julian1134 is now complaining about other people doing that to him, but seems to think it's okay for him to do exactly the same thing?

Secondly, I said I didn't agree with the screenshot idea, and rationally explained why. The CS response @Julian1134  received says nothing about screen shots and I have no problem with my amenities being checked/verified, so I'm not sure why he's even gloating. It's just acting out. Sending out nasty PMS to anyone who didn't agree with you, while not even taking into consideration what they said, is just childish.

[Debra300]

@Helen3,

I am sorry that you received such a rude message from Matthew.  It was a display of very immature behavior.  You provided very insightful feedback, but it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

I began working from home part of the time back in 1995 when I was so happy to get 56k dial-up.  Since 2014, I have been WFH full-time, and it allows me to work from either Atlanta or St. Lucia.  Most of the time, I am able to do Teams, Skype and WebEx meetings while streaming video on the TV without problems.  My husband usually has daily Zoom meetings, and it works fine.

My places are close to the city, but tucked away and not in housing developments.  Interruptions to internet service is not uncommon at both locations.  

To ensure that I receive a more speedy response to my issues, I have a business Comcast account (the only provider available in my area) which costs about $10/month more than a residential account.  In St. Lucia, the support is much slower, and the business account doesn't get a higher level of support. 

Currently, I am running Sling TV, and the internet speed test results are: