Airbnb guests are looking for unique places to stay that aren’t just comfortable and inviting. Most travelers consider access to the internet an essential amenity and even filter their searches by WiFi availability. So, offering fast internet access is not a way to make your Airbnb stand out—today, it’s a necessity to make your listing considered.
In this article, we’ll share some tips on setting up the best WiFi for Airbnb to ensure your guests stay connected and enhance their overall experience.
Why Do You Need the Best WiFi for Your Airbnb?
Airbnb research revealed that WiFi is one of the amenities guests search for most often. Many travelers rely on fast internet to have a pleasant trip and stay in touch with friends and family. It’s also essential for business travelers and digital nomads who work remotely.
That’s why adding fast WiFi and a laptop-friendly workspace to your listing’s amenities can help you get more bookings and increase your Airbnb revenue. And since many guests view WiFi as a standard feature for a vacation rental property, if you don’t include it in your list of amenities, travelers will prefer similar listings that offer internet over your listing. Then, your Airbnb occupancy rate will suffer.
Offering seamless WiFi access in your rental space will help you meet travelers’ expectations, maintain a competitive edge, and increase your chances of success. Although hosting on Airbnb requires commitment and dedication to providing exceptional guest experience, it doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as you may think. You can save many hours weekly by automating your routine operations using vacation rental software like Hospitable.
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WiFi for Rental Property: What Type Of Broadband Connection Do You Need?
When choosing an internet provider for your vacation rental property, an essential factor to consider is the connection type or technology your internet service provider uses. There are different types of wired and wireless internet connections available. Here are the main options that you can choose from.
Fiber-optic internet is reliable and offers the fastest recorded internet speeds—download speeds around 1,000 to 5,000 Mbps, and upload speeds typically mirror download speeds. So, this type is the ideal choice, especially if your target audience is business travelers and digital nomads. The only disadvantage of fiber internet is its availability—it’s primarily available in urban areas since laying enough fiber-optic cables to connect entire cities and regions is expensive and logistically challenging.
Cable is one of the most common types of internet connections, and it can be a viable option if you don’t expect your guests to use the internet a lot. It’s often bundled with cable TV packages because cable internet and TV use the same coaxial connections. Cable internet is one of the more affordable types, but it lacks the reliability and speed potential of fiber-optic internet, especially regarding upload speeds.
DSL is a type of broadband that works through phone lines, making it an attractive option for people in rural areas. With speeds up to 100 Mbps, DSL is comparatively slower than other types of connections. But it can work for many homes with lighter internet use, and providers keep prices relatively low.
Satellite internet is the most widely available type of internet. It’s also the most expensive internet connection type, but it can’t compete with fiber regarding speed and reliability, so it should be your last option.
Best WiFi for Airbnb: What Speed Do You Need?
As a host, you will want to keep your operating costs down, but opting for a plan that offers a slow speed is not a good idea. Speed matters regarding WiFi because it affects things like watching movies, joining video calls, transferring large files, and loading web pages.
Home internet plans normally offer speeds ranging from 10–1,000 Mbps. So, what is a good internet speed for a rental property? It depends on how many internet users will be in your home and how your guests will use the internet.
Let’s take a look at some general download speed requirements based on everyday online activities:
- Checking email and browsing the web: 1-5 Mbps minimum
- Streaming HD content: 5-25 Mbps minimum
- Streaming 4K content and playing competitive online games: 40-100 Mbps minimum
- Streaming 4K content, playing competitive online games, and downloading very large files: 200 Mbps minimum
So, if you mostly host solo travelers, a speed of 25 Mbps can be a good option, although a package with a faster speed will deliver a much better guest experience. If you want to stream movies in 4K, opt for a speed closer to 100 Mbps. And if your vacation rental property is equipped with smart home IoT devices, you’ll need a speed faster than 100 Mbps.
Remember that if you own a large vacation rental property, the WiFi speed you experience around your home will fade as you move further from the router, so you may have connection problems in some areas of your home. Then WiFi range extenders can be an easy solution to eliminate dead zones in your house.
Airbnb WiFi Names
When installing WiFi in your Airbnb, you can keep the default name and password, but while random numbers and characters are secure options, they are not easy to enter. Besides, who wants a boring WiFi network name?
So, you can use your creativity to add a personal touch to your vacation rental with a unique and memorable Airbnb WiFi name. Just remember that WiFi network names are case-sensitive, so “abc” is treated as a different name than “aBc” and “aBC,” and they can contain up to 32 alphanumeric characters.
Here are some funny ideas for inspiration:
- Silence of the LAN
- Gateway
- SkyNet
- May the Wi-Force Be With You
- House LANister
- Lord Of The Pings
- Winternet is Coming
- I Believe Wi Can Fi
- Abraham WAN Helsing
You may also consider incorporating the name of your rental property, location, or something else related to your vacation rental brand to set the tone for an unforgettable stay:
- Ocean View Retreat_2024
- Snowy Peaks_2024
- Home_Sweet Vacation Home
- Paradise Found
- Happy place
- Adventure awaits
- Sweet Escape
- Happy Island Life
- Ocean Vibes
Airbnb WiFi Best Practices
Communicate your WiFi name and password to your guests before their arrival. The best practice is to include this information and other important details that your guests will need for their stay in your Airbnb house manual and your welcome message.
Remember that guests typically have questions about using WiFi, and manually sending responses to each guest can be very time-consuming. But if you opt for Hospitable, you can automate this repetitive task.
You just need to set question rules and draft responses that can be relevant during different stages of their reservation journey. Hospitable uses AI to identify 20+ question topics and automatically answers guest questions based on your pre-written responses and the reservation stage.
Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep
Hospitable users can also take advantage of its integration with StayFi, the leading provider of WiFi marketing for vacation rentals. You’ll be able to create your own custom-branded WiFi splash page to collect the contact information of every guest, not just the booker, and grow your email list.
Hospitable users can import their guest list into StayFi and use StayFi’s internal email and text marketing tools to send personalized, automated email and text messages. This way, you’ll be able to stay in touch with past guests and encourage them to book with you directly to save on OTA fees. If you don’t have a direct booking website, you can easily create one using our dedicated service, Hospitable Direct.
Airbnb also recommends hosts WiFi safety best practices. You should remind guests that they can use WiFi only for legal purposes and may not use it for illegal uploading, downloading, or other illegal activities.
Airbnb encourages hosts to create an encrypted (e.g., WPA2) guest network, create a strong password, and only share it with guests after they’ve confirmed their reservation. You should also store your router and modem in a secure, locked location in your home that guests can’t access.