8 hours of Netflix a day is about 25 (at max) Gigabyte per day.
That is not heavy usage, on a line that is capable of doing 10.000 Gigabyte per day.
Iāve added it to my house rules now, not because I donāt want guests using the WIFI for their everyday needs, but because one of the main things Iāll take away from this is that āfreeā WIFI does not equal āunlimitedā WIFI!
Zandra youāre totally right. I did announce it like it was a crime, and itās not. Apologies. And youāre right, it would be the same situation if it was data use for Netflix, Spotify, games, workā¦anything, as long as itās legal!
I think what Iāve learned is that itās important for me to make my guests aware that although my WIFI is free, itās not unlimited, and to make guests aware of the limits before they book by putting it in my house rules. My goal as a host is to always make sure that a guest is a good fit by providing accurate information about the amenities that I offer, but also being honest about the ones that I donāt. Iām not offended if a guest chooses to book somewhere else if another host has a property that is more suited to them.
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Hi @daniellealberta,
Iāve got a 4 Megabits/sec unlimited plan, but with what they call Fair Usage. Which means that after 90 GB upstream + downstream, the rate drops to 1 Mbps. For upstream the corresponding figures are 768Kbps and 512 Kbps.
Up to now this limit hasnāt been an issue. Most of my guests are short term tourists, who come for two or three days, and usually donāt spend much time at āhomeā. I occasionally get guests who use 6 GB in a single day, which is an impressive feat for a tourist. Theyāre often Americans. But usually the average for the month is below the maximum.
I agree that 365 GB per month seems excessive, assuming itās mostly due to this one guest. You could mention to incoming guests your limit, and/or mention it in your listing information/guide. But this might be a one time thing, so you could also take a wait and see approach. I donāt mention my limit, and itās much lower than yours.
Just curious - how much does your internet package called? Does it have a fair usage throttling thing? Mine is relatively pricey at Rs. 1150 ~ USD 18.
Oh, and Iād be surprised if streaming accounted for that all that. Though I suppose itās possible if the streaming is at super-high resolution.
If this situation recurs, one option is to simply buy more data. You donāt have to talk to the guest. Unless heās a very long term or recurring guest.
I donāt offer wifi as in my area it is very slow. As a favour to a guest I let them use it, only to get a complaint that it was slow. I mention this up fripont in my listing so there is no surprise.-no wifi-
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Well, thatās totally fair from your side, if itās that slow. My wifi is not slow, but Iām not sure it is fast enough for a professional use. However, since this is the case with absolutely every host offering wifi where Iām from, I think it is fair to advertise wifi. No one has complained so far, but of course Iām just waiting for the day when I have someone with special wifi needs staying over. I still believe that guests should a) inform themselves about the wifi possibilities in the place they are visiting, if wifi is crucial for their day-to-day living; b) double-check this with a particular host in question.
Oh and btw, wifi options were regularly worse in hotels than in private accommodation everywhere I was staying accross Europeā¦
@daniellealberta does it make sense to let your guests pay-on-the-go based on the amount of data used? That way your guests wonāt think youāre overcharging. You wonāt have to worry about your guests over-using data as well.
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I work remotely and yes, between my business and watching Netflix and Hulu I often run over that limit. My internet used to have a cap and once I reached it (Iām in a rural county island with a limited options) my speeds would slow way down. They finally offered unlimited which I grabbed immediately.
So, Iām late to this discussion, but I need advice. Iām a newbie with a guest house about 100 yards from my house. My second guest just arrived and asked for my wifi password. My listing says no wifi.
I live in a very remote area. I have no fios, no cable, and my cell service is TERRIBLE. I canāt even get a landline phone! Verizon has abandoned this area for landlines! The only thing I can get is satellite. I bought a Verizon Network Extender, gives me a poor signal, but it is the only connection I have to the outside world. My satellite contract gives me a measley 20 GB/month at a normal speed, and then another 50 GB at a slow speed.
We canāt ever stream anything, so we donāt normally use the 70GB given.
If I at least give my guests the slow speed, they might be able to get wifi calling and maybe send email and such. To do that, would I have to run a hardwire from my router over to the guest house and get another router over there for wifi over there?
The only other thing I could do is get a second satellite and get another contract, but thatās over $100/month, just for wifi.
I do offer DISH network with HBO.
I would love suggestions.
Remote area sounds like a great place to go unwind and unplug. So promote it as āno internet.ā And make sure you review that with each and every request or reservation. DO NOT depend on them to read your listing. There are some hosts here in remote places in AZ, maybe they will chime in. @mholidayoj or @shashdineecoretreat might have some input.
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We bill the stay as immersion in nature. We are off grid. No wifi is a blessing to those who get it what this is and why.
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I would create a wireless point to point system with an Acces Point in the guest house.
I am a fan of UBNT but there are also other good brands.
What you would need is 2 UBNT Nanosations to make a wireless bridge, and an Accespoint inside the house to provide the Wifi.
What I like about the UBNT AP system is that you can create a Hotspot system with vouchers, so you can limit the maximum usage and speed for each guest if you want to.
It requires some investement (About $300) but if you are considering a $100 a month sattelite solution, this is a lot better.
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I was looking on the internet last night and I found this WeBoost cell phone booster. What do you think about that?
If I could get it to work, I wouldnāt have to worry about someone using all my very limited data. Theyd just use their cell phone to tether. They are anywhere from $300-$800 though. Iām new and I donāt know if Iāll even make that much.
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There is free WiFi and then there is free, fast, unlimited WiFi.
I think travelers today expect free WiFi wherever they go, which is fine. But expecting free, unlimited, super fast WiFi at much-less-than-Hilton prices is asking too much.
We offer free, unlimited, super fast WiFi to our guests, but only because we have it ourselves. If I didnāt want it for myself, Iād never spring for it just for unappreciative Airbnb guests, because itās pretty expensive.
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I like this idea.
My guests would find it very inconvenient to be completely out of touch. But then, my listing is not a vacation location, just people in the area for a reason.
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Well they obviously have never been to Kerr Lake then because wanting internet and actually getting it are two totally different things. Corporations are only in it for the money and there arenāt enough residents in this area for them to make it. Ever since politicians broke up ma bell- who was forced to give people service, no matter where they were, we have been gradually going backward. If they privatize the post office, we will probably lose our mail service too. This is America, but it feels like we live on the moon.
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