Apple TV vs Roku vs ??? for STR

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Apple TV vs Roku vs ??? for STR

Investor · Clinton, NJ · Member since 2012 · 118 posts · 70 votes

Hi Folks,

It's time we cut the cable on our shore rental. It's just too expensive, and I'm trying to figure out what my best options are. I've been hesitant to switch over in the past because of the user friendliness of cable, but with the newer technology of the last few years, there must be something that's simple to use and not a let down as far as programming goes.

What's everyone's favorite alternative to cable, and why?

What are your most popular subscriptions?

How much did you save monthly?

Did any of your repeat tenants gripe about the change? Our NJ shore rental has almost 50% repeats.

Any other tips?

Thanks!

John

1 Reply

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John UnderwoodPro Member

Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes

I would not stay at a place that didn't have Cable or Sat TV.

Yes it costs some money but price per day is not that much.

I charge plenty per night to provide this.

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John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
4y
I would not stay at a place that didn't have Cable or Sat TV.
Yes it costs some money but price per day is not that much.
I charge plenty per night to provide this.
4 Reply
Dave StokleyBusiness Member
Property Manager · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 699 posts · 799 votes
4y
Agree 100% with @John Underwood and I’m a millennial who doesn’t watch TV. Well, to be fair, I probably would, but if I got there and there was a game on that I wanted to watch and I couldn’t get it, I’d be irritated. There’s nothing worse than scrolling through the channels when you just want to relax and clicking on the show you want to watch, only to have the little box pop up and say you don’t get that channel. Stop being cheap and give people some basic amenities.
3 Reply
Collin HaysBusiness Member
Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
4y
Cutting the cable will add to guest headaches. It’s the equivalent of spending a dollar to save a dime. You’ll have a service call once a month or so, to help the elderly folk work the TV.
Spare yourself this and keep the cable.
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2 Reply
Paul Sandhu
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
4y
I have both. Cable and a Roku. You are limited to 24 devices per Roku account. I found that out the hard way after buying a 25th device.
2 Reply
Brady Hales
Rental Property Investor · Provo, UT · Member since 2021 · 46 posts · 50 votes
4y
When my wife and I travel we always carry around our own firestick to plug in to hotels and airbnb. It works about 95% of the time as all we need is an hdmi port and a USB port for power. The times it hasn't worked, the TV did not have a USB port and was far enough away from an outlet that the cable we brought didn't reach. I never use cable but my wife uses it about 20% of the time. So something to consider is that even within family's and couples each person has their own preference when it comes to TV.
I am not sure how much you are currently spending but if I were you I would look at: Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Philo, and Hulu TV. Each of these alternatives can provide many of the popular channels you get from cable but chances are at a lower price. Prices range from $20 to $65 depending on the package but can include ESPN, local news channels, disney/nickelodeon, A&E, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, and many more.
Also, I know that if you have Dish Network at your house and have a hopper you can attach a sling device to the receiver box and watch dish network anywhere with an internet connection and I believe xfinity may also do something similar. So depending on if you have cable/satellite at your personal house and who your provider is, you may be able to essentially turn it into an internet connection as well that may be used at your rentals and you won't be paying anything extra.
3 Reply
Rick Estacio
Attorney · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2020 · 50 posts · 24 votes
4y
Youtube TV
0 Reply
Moses Moreno
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 23 votes
4y
@John Majoris
We use Roku TV's for our STR. They are inexpensive and only require 1 remote! For Streaming services we use 1) YouTubeTV, 2) Hulu, 3) Amazon Prime & Peacock, so we provide plenty of options for our guests. You would be fine with just YouTubeTV, since it includes lots of content + local programming. Just include the change in your house manual and/or with your pre-check information and you'll be fine. We are going on a year and we have yet to receive any calls/texts with regards to operating the remote, apps or streaming services.
2 Reply
Moses Moreno
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2014 · 30 posts · 23 votes
4y
@John Majoris
One last thing to note. Make sure your internet/WiFi speed is adequate for streaming services👍🏼
1 Reply
Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
4y
We use Firesticks. They can access everything they need form that. One place has Youtube TV included, the other doesn't. No one seems to care much about TV, but they all want the internet...!
2 Reply
Daniel Y.
Investor · Henderson, NV · Member since 2016 · 227 posts · 86 votes
4y
Honesty, it will drills down to region culture and personality preference (lot of other factors that I bucket under personality such as age, gender, etc). You are getting a broad range of suggestions/answers from us, but really you should be asking your customers, especially the repeat customers, to get a sense of how you should move forward.
I would suggest having them fill out a survey, then you can analyze their answer. I would also say you are in a good position since you have 50% repeat customer. They would be your "priority" customers, if you needed to weigh the feedback results.
2 Reply
Cynthia McGathey
Real Estate Broker · Treasure Island, FL · Member since 2019 · 45 posts · 42 votes
4y
I have a STR in St Pete Beach. Almost all of the units in my complex just have Roku. I have Roku and cable, and plan to get rid of cable at some point. I don't have enough time between renters to remove it and test...a good problem to have!
1 Reply
Michael BaumPro Member
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
4y
We have Roku TCL TV's. Remotes are cheap to replace as needed and the guests log in with their preferred streaming services.
Zero complaints in 5 years. Most people are out and about on the trails or the lake.
2 Reply
Lauren Johnson
Investor · Thousand Oaks, CA · Member since 2019 · 31 posts · 28 votes
4y
@John Majoris
I have direct TV and smart TVs in one STR and just smart TVs with streaming in my other two. Have not had any comments or issues on either, so considering dropping the Direct TV.
0 Reply
Carlos Gonzalez
Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 346 posts · 170 votes
4y
@John Majoris
Roku 100%
Download and pay for Amazon, Netflix, Disney, HBO
That should be more than enough.
Your guest can sign up with their accounts and if they want to watch something and is not free maybe they can pay using their account. That easy.
2 Reply
Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Carlos Gonzalez:
@John Majoris
Roku 100%
Download and pay for Amazon, Netflix, Disney, HBO
That should be more than enough.
Your guest can sign up with their accounts and if they want to watch something and is not free maybe they can pay using their account. That easy.
I see no reason to pay for those you mentioned. With a Firestick (or equiv), the guest can access their own accounts on these apps and sign in themselves....

1 Reply
Mason Hickman
Real Estate Agent · Sandwich, MA · Member since 2014 · 974 posts · 636 votes
4y
@John Majoris
Roku TCL TVs are what we use; pretty inexpensive and they have everything built in. We also added Apple TV’s to accommodate extra features/subscriptions. We kept the cable because our demographic can be fairly inexperienced with the latest technologies. I wanted to avoid the calls for not being able to use the TV and to keep everyone happy.
1 Reply
Ilan M Aliphas
Rental Property Investor · Milpitas, CA · Member since 2020 · 55 posts · 42 votes
4y
@John Majoris
Forget about cable… and everything else other than Roku because of the Guest Mode feature. Just write somewhere in your listing to BYO Passwords and you are all set
Guests arrive, turn on tv, input checkout date, and they are all set to use all their own accounts. If anybody isn’t happy (hasn’t happened yet so this is backup plan), I have 1 sling tv account to give the guests. I don’t give the password out unless they ask as you need to remember to change the password after they checkout
Work amazing and I got nothing but 5 star reviews
3 Reply
Andrew HaneyPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Buckley, WA · Member since 2020 · 76 posts · 14 votes
4y
@John Majoris
I’ve got 3 properties in Scottsdale and we’re using smart TVs with YouTube tv. Saves some $$ but gives most of what guests want for live tv and allows them to use their own subscriptions if they prefer.
1 Reply
Melissa Romano
Real Estate Agent · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2017 · 32 posts · 30 votes
4y
@John Majoris we typically buy TCL Roku TVs but some guests do you have difficulty finding the volume button on the side, so make sure that you note how to turn up the volume with these remotes.
1 Reply
Shashi Varma
Rental Property Investor · Easton, PA · Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 9 votes
4y
Interesting perspective about needing cable TV for a STR.
We have 2 STRs and use Roku TVs with only one complaint in 2 years - an older gentleman who was accustomed to a particular news channel playing in the background as he worked.
We typically find guests signing into their own streaming accounts (because they forget to log off), or bringing fire sticks. Haven’t needed Apple TV (yet), and would agree that you invest in a bandwidth upgrade over cable TV.
We have had more inquiries about internet speed recently; guests appear to be more concerned about replicating their at-home experience not just for entertainment but also remote work. Worth spending extra for 100 mbps+ IMO.
2 Reply
Account Closed
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 78 posts · 66 votes
4y
@John Majoris. We have a handful of STRs and either use the apps embedded in the SmartTVs or buy a Roku.
We also offer YouTubeTV for any folks that want to watch live channels. It's $65 per month and you can have it at up to 6 (I think) houses. You can also set the location to be where your STR so folks can get local games. It's economical if you have multiple properties. They said, and like others mentioned, rarely does someone complain abut not having cable. We make it clear as to what we offer in our listings.
1 Reply
Eric Gebhardt
Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2019 · 10 posts · 13 votes
4y
Our listing says no cable, but we provide Roku with guest access and login. If someone really complains we can borrow them our account for Roku which has every subscription you could ever want. We are in an outdoorsy area where its all about nature, so far - no complaints. The TV is really only for rainy days I suppose!
2 Reply
Austin Lind
Member since 2021 · 2 posts · 1 vote
4y
Hi John,
There are great streaming options that could be cost effective for multiple properties. For example DirecTV stream allows simultaneous streams on multiple IP addresses so one subscription can provide live TV to several rentals. This would give you live TV like cable and on demand like netflix at 3 locations for about $70-80/mo. Full disclosure I have worked for ATT but its a service I have reccomend to my friends, in this context its even more cost effevtive. Hope that helps. Thanks.

1 Reply
Carlos Gonzalez
Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 346 posts · 170 votes
4y
@Bruce Woodruff
True but I would personally do it. That just me.
0 Reply
Joseph Bafia
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2019 · 314 posts · 280 votes
4y
@John Majoris
Roku at every property. We provide internet but never have provided cable or satellite TV. 3+ years with no issues. We just disclose that upfront.
1 Reply

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