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.

[Ann72]

@Gordon0  Just to say that, as always, you've made my day with a comment like "I really can't be faffed with the mansplainer guest."

[Nick]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your contributions to this thread.

We have had to edit a lot of the comments on this thread due to certain elements of the discussion flouting the CC guidelines and becoming increasingly personal and unpleasant. 

This is a good time to remind everyone that DMs are messages sent in private, and should not be shared publicly on the CC, as per our guidelines. Sharing private discussion publicly defeats the purpose of them being such. 

That said, it’s also important to remember that DMs are there to open up constructive, respectful discussion between individual members, and anything which digresses from this will not be tolerated. If you receive a DM which is personally insulting or disrespectful in nature, please follow the guidelines kindly set out by @Yadira22 and report this to us as soon as you receive it. We are here to ensure that the CC is a safe space for everyone, and so we treat each abuse report, whether sent in a direct message or a public post, very seriously. 

We have already had to close down a similar thread due to the discussion dissolving to the point where it was inflammatory and unproductive. A post on Wi-Fi and other amenities hosts provide has nothing to do with calling each other names, or commenting on someone's professional life etc. It would be a shame having to close a second thread because it deteriorates in the same way. 

I am asking you to please move past this and continue your contributions across the CC as normal - It is very interesting reading all your different opinions and suggestions on Wi-Fi and other amenities, and more voices is also the constructive way to move forward and reach a better, all-round solution, taking into account different needs and scenarios. Variety of opinions is something to embrace, not argue against. 

Thanks for your understanding on this, and we welcome your respectful, constructive contributions around the original topic.

Nick 

[Helen3]

Hello @Nick 

As the originator of the post, please could you lock it. It's just denigrating like the previous one did.

[Quincy]

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for your participation.

After reading this thread, I know several discussions are going on here and that there are a lot of different opinions. However, I have noticed that some comments on this discussion have again become rather personal and does not benefit the community nor is it in line with our guidelines.

Based on the above, I will now close this topic.

Quincy