Offering Netflix (or any others) for free??

Question

Wondering if you offer Netflix (or any other streaming service) for free or do you just have it available to the renter? We thought about leaving our TV’s logged into our accounts for the free service as an added perk but wondering if anyone else does this?

Luke Carl · Answer

@Wesley Myers

I am BYO passwords. I figure if they don’t already have Netflix I’ll get questions on how to use it and my systems are all about the least amount of questions.

John Underwood · Answer

I just provide DTV and internet. They can log into any of their own streaming accounts.

Charles Breunig · Answer

At our STR In Miramar Beach....

Roku TV’s for us too. We provide Netflix, Disney+, AppleTv+, ESPN+, Prime TV, PeacockTV & the top 50 channels according to a google search which includes the locals there, cost us nothing extra but a little set up, since we had it already via our home DTV and we provide internet, we also leave them all logged in. (PeacockTV comes free with Cox Internet)

FYI (Hope this helps someone)

1. Roku TV account, comes in handy, adds all channels you have on your account when you set up a new TV, or if you add a new channel, it will push it to all tv’s with that account.

2. You don’t really have to enter passwords anymore, most channels load the activation code option, the few that don’t load it have the option on that log in screen to do it. So, you can activate a channel remotely from your phone, tablet computer, etc (Yes, this would involve a guest sending you a msg, if it’s a channel that doesn’t do #3)

3. Roku now has automatic account linking as of last year, a large portion of channels utilize this feature. Basically, once you activate one of these channels on the first tv it will automatically sign in on every Roku device under your Roku Account.(Typically within 10-60 secs of loading that channel the first time on new devices)

4. Purchase concerns, I only know Roku, but the few apps(channels) that have this on Roku have a purchase restriction option you can turn on to eliminate this problem. The ones I can think of are: Roku itself, Vudu, AppleTv, Prime TV

5. Regarding remote activation, my advice is first time you do this, make yourself a folder, save all the channels there, make sure you are sharing your folders via your browser of choice for easy access on the go

Good Luck

Justin Anderson · Answer

I've made a unique email and subscribe to Netflix, Disney+, Youtube TV and Prime Video.  I log into the accounts but guests typically just log out and use their own. Those accounts are shared across multiple properties since guests don't all watch TV at the same time.I've only had one guest not be happy they didn't have traditional cable but that's when I explained football was on YouTube TV and all was well.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

I provide a Smart TV or a Roku.  Tenants have to provide their own subscription.  Did you know you can only have 24 devices per email address on Roku?  I activate them with my email, but tenants have to use their own subscription to the premium streaming services.  I hit 24 Roku's about 6 months ago.  Can anyone top that?

Robin Simon · Answer

This calculation has probably now changed this year (versus a few years ago) when these services started cracking down on "sharing" which would affect STRs - I think its a big value-add to provide now versus in the past because of this

Kevin Hintz · Answer

It’s a nice idea to offer streaming services for renters, but it can get complicated. People might change your settings or misuse the account without meaning to, and fixing those issues could be annoying. Plus, the cost of multiple subscriptions can add up quickly.I stopped paying for streaming services a while ago and now watch movies for free on 123movie. It has a ton of movies and shows, and you don’t need to subscribe or sign up. It’s super easy to use and saves me a lot of money.

Cliff H. · Answer

This question is as old as Netflix itself.

100% BYOS.

You don’t want to manage passwords, have guests making purchases against your account, have your account locked out, or explain to your cleaner how to find the % character on a 9 button TV remote do you?

If Netflix matters to someone they have it already and know how to log into their account on your TV.

The question is not whether a guest wants your Netflix, but how they can access their Netflix.

Roku TVs have a built-in guest mode for exactly this purpose.

So does Alexa.

George A. Douty II · Answer

We provide Internet and a Smart TV, which has all the popular apps (Netflix, Hulu, AmazonPrime, Etc.) loaded on it. The guests log into those apps using their own credentials. Additionally, we have Samsung Plus, which is a free streaming service that for the most part is comparable to "basic cable", but without the local channels. It has a full menu, looks and feels like basic cable. We create an email account per property and use that to setup the free Samsung Plus account and keep it logged in. When we setup and furnished our STR last year, the internet/tv service provider would only install internet. Cable TV was not considered an essential service, so due to Covid they would come setup Internet but not Cable TV. So we didn't have an option, we were a bit concerned that guests would want Cable TV, but we couldn't do anything about it. So we just did the best we could with what was available and it turns out the guests don't mind at all. No complaints and all 5 Star reviews.

Andy Kessler · Answer

Roku TVs with cable and you bring your own account. No complaints to date.

A neat feature with xfinity (no I don’t work there 😀) is the voice remote and once you have one box you can stream the service to the rest of your TVs cutting down the cost of extra cable drops.

Offering Netflix (or any others) for free??

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