Quora is a social network for asking questions. It can be lots of fun. Feel free to connect with me there. I like to help people with Airbnb related questions. Here’s my answer to the Quora question: Should I take out the TV from my Airbnb if older guests can’t figure out how to use it?
Answer:
Keep the TV but simplify EVERYTHING.
When I conducted my Great Airbnb Experiment here’s what I did:
I simplified everything.
Out came the Xbox One (which is confusing to use), in went a cheap basic DVD player with only 4 buttons on it. For streaming I offered Apple TV in one room, and a Fire Stick in another. If a guest doesn’t know what an Apple TV or a Fire Stick is, they probably won’t need to use it anyway. For Cable I laminated a list of all the available channels.
I labeled every remote:
I went into the settings on the TVs and changed the names of the inputs – instead of HDMI1, HDMI2, HDMI3 etc they now read “Cable”, “DVD and “Apple TV” etc.
And explain everything in your House Manual. Make it foolproof. Once you are done, ask your grandma to read it and then put on a movie. If she gets it, you’re good.
There’s nothing more annoying than trying to tell someone how to use a piece of technology especially if you aren’t there to just show them. But remember, you are in the service industry and it is your job to serve your guests, not take away from them if they become tiresome. Go above and beyond to give your guests a flawless experience, even if that means overthinking these sorts of things.
Hope that helps.