Is a TV needed in a lake cottage?

New here! Just bought a lakefront cottage and plan to AirBnb it. It’s brand new, but small. Is 10 minutes from town but 2 hours and it’s in the woods. So remote but nothing crazy. Point being- if it was just us using it full time I would never dream of putting a tv in there. However, since it’s not just us is this something you’ve found is an absolute must? Or are people happy to not have a tv? It does have cell service and internet.

Thanks for any advice! :slight_smile:

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I rent out a little cottage in the woods that has good wifi, I make it clear in my listing that there is no TV, and no one has yet complained. I did have one couple ask to borrow DVDs once, but most people have a laptop and can watch whatever they’d like via their preferred streaming service.

Just make it clear that you don’t have one, and you will probably be fine!

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I don’t have a TV in my rental here in Hawaii. But, like @banana I have good wifi. My listing says that we invite guests to “unplug and unwind” So far have not had any complaints!

Oh that is perfect! I appreciate the advice from you both. Thank you!

If you could afford a TV, i would put one in.

Does your listing take children ? while cooking food or cleaning up having something to distract little ones helps.

I have stayed in houses with no TV but it did not bother me but people do like their home comforts

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We could afford one but it’s right on the lake and to me that defeats the purpose of going to a lake. Maybe we will see if it becomes an issue and then put one in if necessary. We do plan to allow children and I guess kids are less likely to play outside and entertain themselves these days.

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I don’t have a TV n my rental in Hawaii (on the other side of the Island from Brittany) and have only had guests complain about it twice. Neither guest was a fit in other ways.

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Since I’m starting out I’m more nervous of getting a bad review, I’m sure after a few years it won’t worth me at all. Nice to hear that a few others don’t have tvs and make out fine. I hope that a lot of folks are like me and find tv a distraction from truly getting away and family time.
Thanks!

I have a similar rental, due to loacation, tv and satellite internet are expensive and the latter is slow. So, I offer an older tv with DVD player, no wifi. I did provide wifi once and got complained it was slow despite my warning. So, I let them use their phone for internet, no complaints since.

If you’re going to be a host you should realize that you are opening your home up for others to enjoy, but not to have them enjoy it exactly as well you would. And I grew up on a lake.

Unless you really understand who is renting in this market and know for sure that no one wants to watch tv, I would offer a TV, even if all it has is a DVD player or Roku and Netflix. Something that allows a group of people to watch a movie comfortably.

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The tv is for when it’s raining. :wink:

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Our first year with Air we did not have a TV an only had one minor grip about lack of TV by a sports-freak who wanted to watch the StupidBowl. I directed hi towards a great SportsBar a mile away and he was happy.

Lake cabin? I would not put a TV in it.

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That’s what books, board games and DVDs are for. I offer those. My internet goes out in heavy rain. People who want out in the country need to know that it doesn’t come with city amenities.

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@Lakehouse I would put in a tv at least for watching movies

Put one in. We have a remote place with a phenomenal view, and I still provide TV’s. One TV has cable and a BluRay/DVD player, and the others just have BluRay/DVD players (and we have a library with a lot of movies).

Less than half the guests use them, but those guests really appreciate them. Usually for watching a movie as a group after the sun sets.

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If you are trying to make a point about leisure under late modernity, then definitely don’t put a TV in the lake house. But if your priority is running a business with a steady stream of happy guests who are paying you thousands of dollars on a weekly basis, you may want to consider buying a used flatscreen, a DVD player, and some DVDs? People are literally giving this stuff away so there’s no issue of expense. If you are targeting families as part of your market, that’s very different from the TV-free listings that are drawing mostly couples in romantic locales.

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It’s interesting for overseas visitors to watch a bit of local TV.

Hi Lakehouse, I also have a lake shore house with incredible views and I provide a TV and DVD player and these amenities are used especially when a family books our house. I don’t provide wifi as the supporting infrastructure in the west of Ireland is frustratingly expensive and under developed but this does not (thankfully!) put guests off. I suppose the real issue is being clear what you do and don’t provide and then most reasonable people will not complain.

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Thanks for the input everyone! We probably will put one in and just have Netflix since we can’t get cable.

Thanks again.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, wifi can hardly be considered a “city” amenity in this day and age.