Pro's and con's of providing unlimited calls using VoIP

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Hello All,

I am a new host in a very competitive market (Edinburgh). In my quest to get an edge over other listings, came across Vonage VoIP phones. They give you a device just like your landline and unlimited calling to mobile or landline phones to over 60 countries (which covers almost all EU, American subcontinent & south Asia) from where I am likely to get 99% of my bookings - all this for ~ £20.

I think it will be really cool to have unlimited calling feature added to the listing where guests don’t have to worry about calling friend & family back home when they are travelling from other countries.

This all sounds exciting and well worth the little pain - just thought of gathering opinion of other experienced hosts and if someone has already tried it before, how was your experience?

Thanks
PC

P.S: Vonage seems to give £50 pound referral bonus (to both parties), if you intend to take this service we can use each others referrals to save even more.

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I don’t know… I think most people traveling don’t need to call 60 countries. And if they do they can use something like Skype. For example, I recently stayed in a hotel in Europe. I wanted to call and get my seat assignments on Lufthansa the day before my flight back. I thought I would have to call the local number for the airline… but because I have Skype out to the US and Canada, I simply called the airline’s 800 number in the US and got through just fine! Even though I was calling from within Europe. After that I called my mom’s landline in California and talked to her for an hour about our trip. And it didn’t cost a penny. Because I was still using my Skype Out account to call the US, even though I was actually in Europe.

I think there are other priorities for you to focus on as a new host. I personally wouldn’t care if a place in Scotland had Vonage. I would just use my Skype to call out.

If I were traveling to a place like that I would want to know where to go… the best places to see! Spend your time working on a guest information book that recommends all the hidden gems of your fantastic city.

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Oh wait! I just realized this is advertising. It’s not allowed here. Please delete the link or I will have to delete your post altogether. Thanks.

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@konacoconutz deleted the link, sorry new to this forum and not aware of the rules

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This sounds like a useful feature to offer guests, but not super-important. How useful it would be would depend to some extent on your guests. Some people actually like being off the grid when travelling. And business travellers might have calling arrangements set up already. Perhaps poll your guests about what they think?

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I have a VoIP phone in my Catskills cottage in New York State, but those are NOT uncommon in the US, especially in the greater NYC area. In my market folks may expect it.

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