Cable/Internet in STR

[John Craven]

Hey BP community, 

I wanted to see what experience folks have had using satellite tv and internet in their short-term rentals, specifically in the Smokies.  I have a larger cabin in Wears Valley in the Smokies (5bd), and I'm trying to determine if it's worth getting satellite tv/internet immediately (would be ready in less than a week), or continue to deal with Comcast and their issues getting cable to my cabin (going on 6-7 weeks with them at this point).

As of today, cable/internet are the only things holding up taking the property live, so the delays by Comcast are real $$ to me.  The concern is obviously that satellite, specifically internet, at 100mbps won't have the bandwidth to handle a full cabin of approx. 16 guests, and that could lead to negative reviews which might be worse than waiting a couple more weeks for Comcast.

Thanks in advance!

[Bernie Cesareo]

In my opinion, depending on hom much it is costing you in revenue, I would go with both!   If you think it will be another 30 days, costing you thousands in revenue, it is worthwhile to get the satellite right now and then back it up with the Comcast for the faster internet.   I am not sure if Satellite will commit you to 12 months.....but you can always go internet only with Comcast until you can get out of the Satellite contract.   I would just disclose that you only have100mbps satellite internet for the first guests.    I feel that if they know ahead of time they will be understanding......After all, they are vacationing in the mountains!

[Justin Anderson]

Oh, I can definitely speak to this because I'm testing everything out now (and the results may surprise you!)...

- In my 7BR, I pay over $200/m for Xfinity cable for 10 TVs
- In my 8BR, I have fire sticks and pay for Disney+/netflix/youtubeTV
- In my 1BRs, one has fire sticks and one has Spectrum cable

- I've received no complaints or issues when paying for cable.  People just get it.
- I've had 3 fire stick remotes get lost (but never stolen) over the past 6 months
- People seem to be more confused with a fire stick remote than normal cable TV remote
- I log people into the accounts, but every now and then people log out and that's a hassle.  (I don't provide logins unless people ask since I don't want them being used at home)
- Streaming has NEVER been a problem, even on the 20Mb line.  For the most part, people do cabin things.  Looking at my viewing history, very few people take advantage of the accounts provided which tells me they're not using the TVs much.  

I also manage cabins and those have similar setups to the above.  However, one 3BR owner just provides a Smart TV and no accounts.  I haven't had them online long enough to be able to say for sure, but it appears that this is just fine, too.  That surprises me because if someone is paying a lot for a vacation, you'd think that they'd expect cable of some sort.

Anyway, my comments on your specific situation:
- I'd list the house now starting 6 weeks out.  Internet would be installed by then and you're missing out on prime season right now.
- If you mean satellite internet (vs cable internet), I personally can't stand it.  The lag time makes everything feel slow, even if it's fast.  I'd wait the extra time to get the land line hooked up.
- While not ideal, you could always list now and in big bold copy at the top say "Totally off the grid luxury cabin".  Lean into the issue so you can snag some bookings until you're online.  I'd expect some parents and groups would welcome being offline.


My eventual plan is to upgrade all my TVs to 4k Rokus during a Black Friday/Prime Day sale to do away with both fire sticks and expensive cable.  Cut the cord, save some money!

[Ken Boone]

So I use all Roku TVs in my cabins as well.  It's a bonus if you have xfinity/comcast because they have a streaming app you can load on a Roku TV to stream the xfinity channel without having to pay for another box in another room - so long as you have Internet and at least 1 tv service with them.  

Now having said all that...  Depending on where  you are in Wears Valley, you can use one of the Wifi providers.  I use Hollernet and I get pretty good service from them.  I have a 3 bed cabin in Wears Valley and I have 5 Roku TVs, xbox, ring cameras and wifi door locks with no problems with the internet service.

So I think comcast/xfinity is the way to go but Hollernet might be an option for you.  They provide my cabin with wifi internet and directTV.  It was installed like the next day when I ordered it.  PM me if you need want their contact info.

[Justin Anderson]

I'll throw in a second shout out to Hollarnet.  Two of my cabins use that and I've never had issues with them.  Net has cut out for a bit during big storms, but that's no different than satellite service.

[John Craven]

Thanks y'all.  This is all really helpful.

Based on the feedback, I'm leaning towards getting satellite tv/internet while I wait on Comcast to get their act together.  I will likely switch to Comcast whenever it becomes an option, but it doesn't make a ton of sense to not try satellite tv/internet while I wait.  That way I won't be missing out on the revenue during that period, as @Bernie Cesareo mentioned.   

I will likely go with Dish as the provider, but I'm also going to look into hollernet.  I can't remember what internet provider Dish uses - but I'm pretty sure it was either hollernet or hughes net, I believe.

[Justin Anderson]

Hollarnet is a local provider that does point to point internet service.  They'll come do a site survey and make sure that you have line of site to whatever repeater they have nearby.  You'd use them instead of Comcast if it's an option.

[Michael Baum]

At our lake house we use Ziply (formerly Frontier) and have a 12mb DSL connection. We don't offer satellite TV. I have 3 TCL Roku TV's in the house and the are dead nutz simple to use. No one complains about a lack of cable/satellite TV.

They use their own accounts to log in to whatever streaming services they use and Roku pretty much offers them all.

The 12mb connection can stream standard HD to all the TV's at the same time with some leftover for devices. I have tested pretty much all permutations of possible usages and only at the very outside (3 TV's 12 devices all streaming) did I see issues.

I am curious as to the satellite internet, is it 100mb bandwidth unlimited or is that 100mb metered? How is it measured? Here in north Idaho, satellite is metered and not 100mb. It would cost much more than what I pay now.

[John Craven]

@Michael Baum - I believe it is unlimited, but that is certainly something I'll need to confirm.

[Michael Baum]

@John Craven, who is the satellite provider?

[Doreen M ODonovan]

@Justin Anderson thank you for all of the details. I was going to do Apple TV but it sounds like remotes are an issue. I went with the downloaded App on the Roku TVs. I didn’t think to look at usage. I will check it out.

[John Craven]

@Michael Baum - it would be Dish w/ Hughes Net or DirecTv w/ Hollernet.

[Ken Boone]

John.. I had Hughes Net for 12 long years as I live out in a rural area - and I am an IT consultant that works out of my house some.  Now I know hughes net has a newer satellite network than what I ran on for years but I will tell you their business model.  High price, low cap limits, we don't care a thing in the world about customer service because we know the customers that we have on satellite have NO OTHER options...  At least that was my experience.  I had no options for 12 years and it was the worst internet service of my life.  Every 3 months I was on the phone with a lady that was assigned to me in the office of the president to force them to fix my service.  You will have some outages from time to time with Hollernet but man you can get them on the phone and they will take care of you.  Plus you won't have the 1/2 second latency.

[John Craven]

Thanks @Ken Boone.  That's good to know.  I don't plan to use Hughes Net, fortunately.  I have Hollernet going out to the cabin this morning for a site assessment.  Already best customer service I've dealt with in a while! Thanks again for the local contact!

The plan is for this to bridge the gap between now and whenever Comcast gets their act together, as I'll probably move over to them eventually.  But I've had 3 cable bury work orders, 4 tech appointments and countless phone calls with Comcast with about zero progress (they even managed to somehow mistakenly open a cable bury work order for a Houston address I lived at 6 years ago rather than the for the cabin!!  What a headache.)  So, we'll see.  

[Ken Boone]

Yea my buddy who built a cabin right next to mine had a nightmare of a time getting service from them too.  Once you get it, its great.  I had no problems with my install, his cabin is right next door and it took him forever too.  The address was not right in the system and it was just crazy for him.  Lots of phone calls and stuff just to get them to get it installed - and its right next door coming out of the same box as my existing service.  

That is crazy that they opened a work order where you lived 6 years ago though!  Thats nuts!

[Gerald Pitts]

I have Spectrum at both of my cabins with 3 smart Roku tvs in each.  I was paying for both cable and internet.  I saw someone mention that they do internet only, and that folks can use their own logins if they want cable.  I decided to try it out a few mos back, figuring I could always add back cable if the complaints came rolling in.  Not a single complaint, and I've almost halved my Spectrum bill.  Mileage may vary for cabins with more bedrooms / multiple fams, but still worth the experiment imho.  

[Gerald Pitts]

Also, I've heard Comcast is better than Spectrum, but just wasn't available where my 2 cabins are.  Spectrum has been without issue though.  

[Michael Baum]

@John Craven, looks good with Hollernet. It has a true unlimited package, but it is a WiFi system so things can get a little spotty. I would definitely pursue the Comcast route for the future. I think it will be more reliable and probably cheaper as well.

[Justin Anderson]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these vendors -- Xfinity, Spectrum or Hollarnet.  I'm using all 3 and have not had any significant issues with any of them.