Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge STR - Is Cable Worth it?

Question

Hi BP Community! We've owned our STR in Gatlinburg for over 4 years now and have been paying for DirecTV the whole time. We also have a Roku with all the normal streaming apps and gig speed internet. As of late, I feel like no one is actually using DirecTV and honestly that we don't get any more bookings because we offer it. I'm considering cancelling it as its now close to $150/mo. Has anyone experienced a dip in occupancy or poor reviews because they don't have cable/ DirectTv in the area? Or is this just the cost of doing business?

We're cord cutters ourselves (haven't paid for cable since 2012 and feels amazing!) so making sure I'm not too bias here.

Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

We're cord cutters ourselves (haven't paid for cable since 2012 and feels amazing!) so making sure I'm not too bias here.

Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

Luke Carl · Answer

@Brian Pouliot

I’ve pulled the plug on my biggest and nicest STRs. Funny thing is the ones I’ve had the longest are small and cheap and they still have cable lol.

Not one single person has ever mentioned it. It’s 2021 I think it’s unnecessary

Gerald Pitts · Answer

I cancelled it at both cabins with zero comments/ bad reviews. I figured I could always add it back if needed.  Agree with Luke that it's 2021, and people have streaming accounts.

Collin Hays · Answer

Cable costs you 1 night’s rent per month.  Will you lose at least 1 night’s rent each month with no cable?

Yep.

John Underwood · Answer

Also call every 12 months, speak to the retention department and ask for a discount.

Dave Stokley · Answer

I'm someone who just DOESN'T watch TV, except for the occasional baseball and football games. I could live without cable at home. But when I'm on vacation sometimes I just want to plop down and watch something. I've been to STRs that don't have cable, and I can still FEEL that visceral reaction to selecting 10 different shows only to have each one say that the channel isn't part of the package. Maybe it hasn't shown up in the reviews or comments yet, but if I get irritated when there's no TV subscription I can guarantee you other people do too.

John Underwood · Answer

I agree fully with Collin.

You have no way of knowing how much it is actually being used. You have no way of know how much it is actually being used.

I would keep providing it unless you have a really low end property.

Justin Anderson · Answer

I cut the cord about a year ago and everything is great.  Only one guest made a comment about live sports and we reminded him we provide YouTube TV and he was good.

Per my account rep at vrbo, cable isn't on the top 10 filter criteria, which means nobody is looking for this specifically.  You're not going to lose bookings on the front end by not having it.

If your reviews are where they need to be, that confirms guests don't care THAT much about it.  That means you're not causing lost bookings on the back end.

I'd cut the cord and provide a cheap cabin account in case it's needed.  I share all my streaming accounts across a few cabins with no issues at all.

Zachary Beach · Answer

@Brian Pouliot we don’t do cable in our places and the are top properties in a market with thousands I believe we would make exactly 0 dollars more having it.

Mathias Simmons · Answer

Hi Brian,

I'm a fairly new host, but I think the answer depends on how you're marketing your place. If you're appealing to people who want an escape from digital distractions or a younger generation that increasingly uses streaming over cable, then probably not a big deal. On the other hand, if you're appealing to the average Gatlinburg tourist, then you probably want to keep it as the average American still has cable and probably will take it for granted that the place they're renting has it as well.

I'm a researcher by training though, so I think you could probably do better than getting the opinion of some biased (both ways!) people on a forum. Could you survey your guests for the next few months and get a much more accurate idea on how much it's being used and what effect it would have had on their stay if you didn't have cable? Could you have a test run where you cut it and then adjust if it affects occupancies/your nightly rate too much? Better yet, we live in a world of abundant data now so is there somebody out there that has data for your market and has quantified the value of having cable as an amenity? I'm guessing places like AirDNA and Mashvisor probably have the data based on actual customer behavior that you can use to answer this question.

Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge STR - Is Cable Worth it?

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