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.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Emilia42 

I think the current ones are free as they're still testing. Later, when they have the system working you could be happy knowing that you are saving money by not participating 😀

That video in listings would be a great idea, but the videos they're talking about here are purely for Airbnb viewing and observation. 

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  I love that you have a Corona-Never-Have-I-Ever list 😂

[Emilia42]

I take my lists very seriously @Ann72

[Ann72]

@Emilia42 🤣🤣🤣

[Yadira22]

@Ann72 

I agree. Airbnb did not listen to the host’s session to not go down the “kindness card route” despite the increased rejection for this proposal + several community posts to not do so. Yet...  it still happened and if you google it you’ll see that the guest’s general consensus is not very flattering towards Airbnb or hosts. I doubt they would check every single amenity each of their host’s offer, regardless of who mentioned it. 

As an idea- it makes sense initially but there are too many variables even with WIFI alone- service consistency, availability, speed, appliance connecting to service, etc, heck even when you consider how difficult this can be when being somewhere where power shortages just happen. If the host says Wifi available it should be available, if limited for any reason then it should be stated specifically in the “amenities limitation” section (unless Airbnb removed this feature) and other places in the listing- as to be transparent. Yet often guests don’t read the whole listing, and this too is a major issue and what could have happened. 

However, it truly is just easier to enquire prior to booking and ask for an up to date speed check for the service or information regarding any major “deal breakers” the guest may have. If asked kindly, hosts will do a lot for their guests- and though not common, this is not even close to the top 100 odd things guests have asked of me as a host.  

In a previous trip to an island in Colombia, we stayed in an Airbnb I still had to send in campaigns, sign contracts, Skype calls etc- but given my work functions I ensured to get a hotspot before travelling as this was I needed to make this trip functional for me at the time. For prospective I mention that this island had no running water- it was truly natural and so gorgeous!  

Finally, just as it’s expected of the host to be transparent with what they offer, the guest needs to communicate any specific expectations which they require and/or plan around these shortcomings. This is why communication is so important from both parties. 

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Please stop with the name calling, I would like to remind you we are adults (legally speaking). You don’t need to insult someone because they do not share the same opinion as yours. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Yadira22 

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 Please stop with the name calling, I would like to remind you we are adults (legally speaking). You don’t need to insult someone because they do not share the same opinion as yours. 

Sorry Yadira, that's the way I see it, and it's not just a recent occurrence. The opinions expressed were not towards me, they were towards another person are we supposed to stand back and let it continue?

[Yadira22]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

I read the entire original post, posted by Julian and it was written from the wrong approach- you want someone to do something and even to just at least consider your opinion, kindness and thoroughness works wonders and usually better, especially when considering how openly opinionated we all are. 

Any response, which did not come with complete agreement (ie. apart from yourself really) was meet with sarcasm or irony, eg.  

"interesting - my first ever contribution to this 'community' and my first response is to be told i'm being ridiculous. thanks mike and jane.....for displaying your ignorance so spectacularly."

You could see how alot of people were left with sourness towards the guest in question. Then the guest went on to seek these hosts out personally, having recently experienced this from someone I would refer to as "Karen", I can tell you it was not partically welcomed or helpful. Defend if you must but at least be a bit diplomatic and mature in your tactic- this is all I am saying. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Yadira22 

I ignored all the I said / You said bun fighting. And I think I explained how an irate guest might be perceived in their state of anger. You will have probably seen it before - If the New Member doesn't have a profile photo even, then that's another sin-bin massacre on its way!

Julian wasn't apologetic in his demands in any way, but his point was just not being heard. 

If Mike and Jane had replied - "I've had that problem too..." the conversation would have been completely different.

As a community group this one is just not very accommodating.

[Emilia42]

And if Julian has started his post with . . . "As a guest, it would be so beneficial to see a listings wifi speed. That way guests would have somewhat of an idea as to what they are getting." The conversation would have also been completely different.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Emilia42 

There lies the inexperience of a first time poster, which the community should be able to accommodate.

[Yadira22]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 It's not as if you forget your manners just because you only just started posting on this forum. Honestly, even my 1 year old niece knows to be more tactful when getting what she wants. 

[Yadira22]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

"Julian wasn't apologetic in his demands in any way, but his point was just not being heard."

His point was heard and challenged from the prospective of the host as to why it might not work for them and by several parties. As I said the only person who accepted it wholeheartedly was yourself and frankly if your WiFi speed were not what it is, I suspect you would have also challenged it. I mention this, as you most likely did not even think to acknowledge what others said as a potential issue as it is not a problem to you, and yes I have WiFi envy right now. 

"You will have probably seen it before - If the New Member doesn't have a profile photo even, then that's another sin-bin massacre on its way!"

Irrelevant but here you have it, If you refer to the party organiser, she has a fairly blank profile and wanted to plan a party. If she asked you for help, you would have adviced her to fill in her profile throughly and send a message to hosts with specific instruction on the event and atendees. You would have probably also adviced her that Airbnb is not the best place for this type of events and to search xxx. Hosts did this- she did not get the answer she wanted and went on a rant of her own, often telling them to not comment as they were located elsewhere in the world. Hence the "sin-bin massacre". 

"As a community group this one is just not very accommodating."

We have a full section, whereby we contribute daily and for free advicing people, explaining and even comforting people, this post is actually part of it- if this is not accomodating what is? Accomodating does not mean agree without reservation, its simply having eagerness and willingness to assist others. 

[Ann72]

@Yadira22  Yes - communication is the make-or-break factor between host and guest!  If a guest doesn't express his or her needs, we have no way of knowing how to meet them.  Your trip to Colombia (which sounds amazing) is such a great example of you taking responsibility for what you knew you would need while traveling as a guest.

We all have our foibles and desires.  When I check into a hotel the first thing I do is have more hangers sent up.  I don't sit and stew about not having enough hangers and then leave a bad review about the hanger count.  I just ask for more.  And no one ever does an Oliver Twist and shouts "MORE??  You need MORE hangers???"  They just bring them up.  It's not that hard.

So back to wifi - if it's going to be very important, just ask.  I had two Harvard professors at my cottage teaching remotely from March through June.  They came for just 5 days initially but couldn't go back to Boston.  So they didn't know ahead of time how much they would need the wifi.  We discussed it when they extended their stay and I suggested they hard-wire to the router just to be sure.  They did and had zero issues for 10 weeks.  I arrived at the main house and another couple arrived at the cottage around then, and all of us worked, Zoomed, shared files with colleagues etc. with no issues.  So that little 7 mbps did everyone just fine.  But if you saw that on a listing, you would not be blamed for assuming it wouldn't!

[Sarah977]

@Ann72  I thought exactly the same thing. It's like when some fusspot, entitled guest posts here detailing their "horrible" stay, which in fact was due to them being demanding and having failed to thoroughly read through the listing description, or not understanding that they can't dictate what a host chooses to cook for dinner in a home-share, simply because the guest doesn't like the smell of it. They're all up in arms about getting a full refund, then when Airbnb kowtows to them, leaving the host, who's done nothing wrong, high and dry, the guest posts again saying how See? Airbnb agreed with me and refunded- I was right.

[Julian1134]

@Ann72 

so now you're mocking me for being a new person and believing what airbnb are telling me. wow. it seems that you're happy to be part of a deception. why aren't you doing something about it instead of mocking people who are?

I'm not patting myself anywhere.....I simply told you what I had received from airbnb in order to show you that if you do nothing, then nothing happens.

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0