Do you provie a phone?

[Pete69]

Do you provide a landline phone in your Airbnb place? I originally decided to provide an Ooma VOIP phone because I live in a cell phone dead zone. However guests all seem to know how to use my WIFI to connect their cell phones.  I've only had one guest use my landline (I can see call logs online with Ooma) and I think that was just for the hell of it. Maybe they had a cell plan with limited minutes or something maybe. Ooma only costs me $5 a month so it's not a major big deal to provide it.

[Susan151]

@Pete69  No. I do not provide a phone. As you say, folks have Wifi so they can make calls this way. There are telephone jack in the rooms but to date, no one has brought a landline phone to plug in [thank goodness.]

[Sarah977]

@Pete69  These days, it seems everyone travels with their smart phone and has no trouble connecting to available Wifi. Almost everyone I know has given up their landline now, unless it comes in a package deal with their Wifi. I've had the odd guest come without  having set their phone up with their provider to use when travelling to a foreign country, but those guests were the types who actually wanted a device free, "unplugged" holiday. 

[Gordon0]

I provide an iPhone. It's only American guests who use it as they seem adverse (maybe price sensitive) to using their own smartphones here.  Data is cheap as heck over here, so it's a nice add-on. It's loaded with Citimapper and other tourist-friendly apps. 

[Sarah977]

@Gordon0  My guests who are seasoned travelers are hip to using an unlocked phone and just buying a SIM card in whatever country they're traveling to. Usually ends up far cheaper than paying their home provider for an international plan or paying roaming fees.

[Gordon0]

Ahh, gotcha @Sarah977 . Here, many of the big providers (mine, Vodafone, included) offer free roaming across an increasingly large group of countries (in addition to all of Europe). For instance, from Thailand to Taiwan, Australia to Argentina, USA to Uruguay...and Mexico to Mongolia...it's all free. And 99 other countries to boot.

[Sarah977]

@Gordon0  Cool, great deal.

[Pete69]

Maybe a better question is what percentage of people know how to connect to a WIFI point to make calls?