Ditto!  Landlines with free US long distance are very affordable and I believe a necessary emergency tool to provide for my guests.  Cell phone signals at the beach are all terrible...you will see people standing in the middle island of the street or hanging off balconies trying to find just the right spot to get a little signal!  Also, as a landlord of 40 years, if there is a serious medical emergency or fire emergency, I want a land line available!  The phone service will block the ability of costly international calls.

Aloha EveryOne!

We removed the landline since no one used it. Everyone has cell phones, the Europeans use the US sim chips and no complaints. But recently we had Australians for a month who had to share one cell phone. I decided to add a phone using AT&T Uverse and it was a nightmare! In the end it was never installed and the Aussies still left very happy! Now we have a family from the UK who only have email access so I gave them a pay as you go local cell phone for $20. I am going to add the VOIP phone service as recommended here. Better safe than sorry! The only caveat is I will use Obi100 VOIP since it has much better reviews on Amazon.

Good luck EveryOne in 2012!

I agree. Most of our guests use their cell phone. We have had one cabin which has had no phone for two years and only got one complaint. I might use Magic Jack but the only problem is the computer has to be turned on all the time.

Everyone these days are using cell. The only issue is when you have a very secluded rental, if you do I would get land line.

If your rental is in the US and your guests are mainly from the US, it's not a big deal. They will likely use their cell phones. My rental is in the US and the bulk of guests are Canadian. Cell phone use out of the country costs them a fortune. I advertise a landline with free local & long distance calling between Canada & the US. It's only $22/month and it's been pointed out that it's a huge benefit. I personally would want a landline if I was travelling out of my own country.

alliee wrote:

 

 

Greater Security

Landlines are also necessary for many home alarm systems so that the system can automatically notify the alarm company by phone during a potential break-in.

 

This is no longer true.  Most alarm systems are all wireless now and you don't need a home phone.

Chris and Thaxterlane, I agree with you guys.

I think a land line is a great thing to have.  When the cell phone runs out of batteries, it's nice to have something that still works.  Also internet-based phones are not very useful when the power goes out. 

TL, I love that you've programmed your contact info, as well as the emergency numbers into the cordless handset connected to the land line.  Great idea, I think I will follow your example.

We recently got a new internet / phone service which was $20 per month cheaper than what we had at AT&T. The new plans is from LMI.net (locally owned, partially solar-powered small business).  The new plan has faster internet, and it includes the land line phone with unlimited domestic / U.S. calls.  So far our guests are loving this! Cell phones are nice, but they can drop calls, run out of batteries, etc ... they are fickle.  It's so convenient to be able to talk from a land line phone.

Also, land lines are a much better connections for international and other important calls.  People have to use a calling card to call international from the land line, but I'd feel much comfortable doing that instead of calling from a cell phone where call can easily get dropped.

Personally I wouldn't live somewhere that doesn't have a land line phone.

moltened wrote:

 

This to anyone reading this thread to determine what is needed in their newly listed vacation rental.  Yes, you can add a phone for your guests and come up with a million reasons to pay the expense... you can do the same with a foot massager.  But the truth is no one will ever ask you for either... nor will the lack of phone end up in your reviews.

 

....

 

If you have poor cell phone service in your area it may be an issue but to add it for no reason other than some disaster scenario that the sun flare storm has prevented them from calling 911 as well as them forgetting a charger cord for their only phone is far flung.

 

Sodamo, you are doing the right thing by making it clear to your guests that there is no land line.

When I say that I expect to have a land line, I am talking about in a major city such as where I live: San Francisco.  Or where "moltened" has the vacation rental .. Los Angeles.  These places are not "off the grid." If I stayed in a property in a major city like this, with no land line, YES, I would consider it to be an inconvenience. In his or her comment, "moltened" said that the lack of land line phone WOULD NOT end up in reviews.  I was simply countering with the point that if I were staying at a vacation rental in Los Angeles, and if I were inconvenienced by the lack of a land line ... then yes, that WOULD be something that I might mention in a review. 

By contrast, of course, the fact that someone DOES have a land line, would probably never be mentioned in a review.  The lack of a land line when you need one, would likely to be commented on.  Having a land line when you needed it would not be commented on, because people would just expect it, be glad to have it, and then forget about it.   Nonetheless, as I mentioned above, we don't provide things just so that someone will comment on it in the reviews.  We provide things so that our guests will have a very enjoyable, comfortable, and safe stay, regardless of whether the individual niceties ever show up in the reviews or not.

To me ... and this is just my opinion ... not providing a land line (in a major city like Los Angeles) is inconsiderate to the guests. 

Meanwhile ... obviously, when people are going "off the grid," they don't expect to have a land line phone.  I stayed in the Amazonian rain forest (near Puerto Maldonado, Peru) and there was no cell phone service, no land line service, no Wi Fi.  That's fine, I knew that would be the case before I went.  When I go backpacking and sleep out under the stars, miles from the nearest car or toilet or shower, I don't expect expect to have a land line phone, just as I don't expect to have running water or maid service.

It's all about expectations, of course.  If I am staying in a big city like San Francisco, yes, I do expect the accommodations to be "civilized" enough that there will be a land line in the apartment.  Do you expect to have a land line in your room at a hotel?  Yes.  I believe we should provide the same to our guests, especially since it is so easy to provide.  (If you're off the grid and a land line is NOT easy to provide, that's a different story.)

That's MY opinion.  And that's why I provide a land line for our guests.  Conversely, if land lines DON'T matter to you, it would make sense that you WOULDN'T provide it for your guests.  I understand that.  What I object to is the tone that 'moltened" had, acting as if it would require a "far-flung" condition for a land line phone to come in handy.  As I explained above, actually land line phones come in quite handy, especially when you live by yourself and only have one cell phone.  That cell phone can die / get lost / stolen / damaged / etc at any time, and then you're left with no phone at all ... unless you've got a land line.