Cable TV - DO you have it for your guests?

1

Hey All,

So i just recently realized I am paying $140 a month for comcast cable and 75mb/s internet, because back when i lived in this house I actually used it. It just hit me that is a waste of money to spend on renters–who probably spend less than an hour watching tv. i mean they are vacation right!

I just bundled with att so i have an amazing deal on my cell bill and i get Direct TV for $60/month (comcast was more than double that for the same channels) locked in for 24 months no price increases guarenteed. Also bundled home security as well which is even better (includes remote access, vid cams, and keyless entry with digital code lock—no more hiding my house key haha).

ANYWAY, i was thinking nearly everyone has netflix these days… hulu, all of those streaming things that simply require a laptop/ipad and wifi. DO YOU ALL PROVIDE CABLE AND WIFI? OR JUST WIFI? I’d save $720/year just having wifi with comcast and no D. TV or cable---- do you think this would impact my guests’ experience if I didn’t have cable tv (but had a nice TV in my house like I do already?

However I also can watch D. TV anywhere I want over wifi by logging into my account, so I suppose technically it would be worth having it since I watch tv myself at my own place…

Thoughts and suggestions much appreciated!!

2

I don’t even provide a television!!

Out of 50 or so groups I had one guy who wanted to watch a ball game - but a pub 5 minutes away gave him that. One guests specifically didn’t book because of that.

We share the space and I couldn’t stand the thought of listening to their tv drone on in the evening.

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I do provide cable and it’s used on occasion, mostly for sports. If I had a budget place, however, I would drop it. I have an Apple TV as well.

4

We provide basic cable and high speed wifi. (both from Comcast). We’re in a tourist area so our guests much prefer to go to the beach, sight-see or sunbathe. I know that the cable is used because I always leave the TV set to a specific channel and guests have usually changed it but I doubt they spend much time watching - maybe the news as background when they’re having breakfast.

The TV itself is quite old and the picture isn’t brilliant and there’s only one (in the lounge, no TV in the bedroom) but no guest has ever complained.

5

We don’t have a TV either, and only one guest hascomplained, so far. But I figured that they couldn’t read the description, because they also complained that the cabana didn’t have a full kitchen and a stocked pantry for them… We do “provide” WIFI because we have Comcast basic Cable and WiFi for the main house.

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I provide cable TV as well as Netflix on a Smart TV and many guests told me that the access to Netflix is great but no one commented on the cable.

Cable is way cheaper here in Paris (about $40 with 100Mb Internet/Wi-Fi and phone calls), if I had to pay $140/month for this service I would not even consider it.

7

Maybe that is due to too much TV watching?

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8

I really think that a good internet connection is far more important that cable TV. If you have the internet, you can download and watch anything.

A couple of years ago we realised that we were paying over $100 a month (in our own apartment, not the rental) for cable TV. We cancelled it and haven’t missed it at all. If there’s something we want to watch, we download it or watch it via the internet.

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Like @Barthelemy said, most of the newer TVs have some variety of streaming services built-in.

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We don’t offer TVs in most of our properties and certainly don’t pay for cable. Most guests bring their computers anyways and can stream TV that way. HDMI cables in TVs are helpful though.

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I’m so glad this topic has come up as I was worrying about this too. I have high-speed, unlimited internet plus a TV & DVD player with an small but eclectic DVD library (20 films, various genres). It’s a little ‘old school’ but my guests give me lovely feedback about it as they watch films they wouldn’t normally and really relax.

12

yeah same … I state in our listing for guests to bring their laptops or tablet. Less hassle and room for things to go wrong!

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13

No TV for the guest here, and no one has ever complained. It is mentioned in the listing that we have no TV.

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I live in my home, but I do not have cable TV, do not get local channels due to location. I do have a TV in my living room with a ROKU 3 attached so guests can stream netflix, hulu, amazon via internet. My listing clearly states this. I’ve NEVER had a problem with guests expecting TV. Most people travel with smart phones, tablets, laptops. I pay extra for top notch wifi (which I would do anyway after experimenting with a cheaper wifi delivery option), so guests can usually figure out how to watch whatever they want on their devices.

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Thanks everyone for weighing in.

Ahhhh I knew it.I thought of this a day too late. Shoooot!! I just had Comcast canceled and directtv installed instead to save me $75 a month for the rental property… I am locked on now for 24 months at $60 a month. Maybe I will just bite the bullet and pay cancelation fees.

I agree with everywhere here. If I could do it over I would just grab a roku 3 player for $80 at Costco. I offer a tv only because I bought a new one for my own house and just left my old one at the airbnb house.

That’s $720 a year wasted money. Cancellation fees can’t be that much… Guess I’ll just have to take the L on this one…

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The question of whether or not your guests will want TV depends on your location. If you’re by the beach or some other sort of vacation destination, you may not need it. If that doesn’t apply in your case, people will probably want to have it as a feature. So, I’m sure they will enjoy it. I certainly don’t think anyone complain about you providing it. From time to time we get kudos for the variety of channels we offer.

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Wow…so many non- tv watchers - I am surprised. I actually haven’t turned on the tv in a few days and don’t miss it at all :).

Rory - the Directv cancellation fees used to be very high. Are you in the U.S.? I know they used to have the introductory offer for the first 12 months and the next 12 months you pay the regular rate. At least that was with Entertainment package and above. The second year increased substantially. But it’s been a few years since I used to sell for a Directv retailer.

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WHOOHOOO I just got off the phone with direct TV and canceled free of charge!

Thank you everyone for all your responses! Now I don’t need to worry about guests complaining about no cable or TV.

Now can you answer this: since I have a nice TV for them, I’d like them to be able to get on their netflix, hulu, or whaterever streaming service they want. Ive got plenty of HDMI cables, just nees to pick the best and cheapest option. What are your thoughts?

Leaning to nothing or roku 3…

  1. Apple TV ($100 I think?)
  2. Roku 3 ( I like this option because if anyone complains I can return it whenever for full refund at Costco. Plus it has a huge abundance of options. $88)
  3. Chromecast (cost?..$30ish I think)
  4. My old Xbox… Can play DVDs and my old games for kiddos that stay w fams.
  5. Nothing. Guests Just need to connect their laptop via HDMI

Thanks in advance.

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I guess things have changed! Perhaps it was free to cancel because I canceled 16 hours after they installed lol. They didn’t give me a hard time at all. I just need to get the equipment back in 40 days to not get charged anything! Oddly they said the dish is mine for free.

I am stoked! saving $1000 a year once I cancel Comcast today (which I am not under contract with at the moment thankfully), just $39/month for 25mbs internet will b my only expense. Anyone know what is the lowest speed you need to stream HD video with no glitches??

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We host in our home and provide small, under $200 flatscreen 720p TVs with basic Dish service in two of our three guest rooms – the third has a 55" screen that was there before we started hosting. Most guests don’t use the TVs, but those that do really appreciate having them. The TV cost is amortized, and the incremental cost for the extra Dish boxes is not very expensive, as we already use Dish service for ourselves.

An AppleTV and a Blu-ray player are connected to the 55" set. No one has used the Blu-ray player; the AppleTV is hidden and no one has asked about a streaming box.

25 Mb/second internet will stream any video except for 4K resolution, and I assume your TV is not 4K, so you won’t need anything higher. AppleTV has the best interface but is considerably more expensive than the Roku 3 unless you get the previous model from the Apple Refurb Store. Roku is very good, I wouldn’t bother with Chromecast or Amazon Fire. Beware, though — it’s been reported that Comcast has a cap on the total amount of monthly data usage, after which the speed slows to a crawl. Additionally, there have been recent disputes between Netflix and Comcast regarding streaming speed, but I don’t know if those have been sorted out.

AFAIK no guest has connected a laptop to our TVs. However, we were temporarily managing a listing for a friend who was out of town, and a guest complained that the TV didn’t work. We discovered that the previous guest had probably tried to connect his/her own computer, but because the TV was older and didn’t have HDMI, s/he used the component RCA cables (probably unsuccessfully) and then reconnected them wrongly.