The Best Internet Routers For Your Rental Property

If you have ever waited for a blog to load or a video to buffer, you know how infuriating it can get. For non-tech people, that’s the internet. Regardless of whether you live in a rural area or smack dab in the middle of Silicon Valley, everyone has experienced and been frustrated by slow internet sometime in their life.

As a host, there is not much you can do if the internet company is having trouble providing a stable connection. You are pretty much at their mercy as a customer. What you can do is ensure that there is no problem from your end by investing in a good router that supports you and your guests’ needs. We have picked up a thing or two about tech and would like to share some tips about picking the right router for your Airbnb.

What to look for in an internet router?

Setting up a home network is complicated. You are forgiven if all of it seems overly difficult. It’s fine. First of all, relax and take a deep breath. Let’s look at things one by one. We will try to keep this as simple as possible by not going into too many technical details because it can get overwhelming pretty fast. Here is a list of specs that you absolutely need if you are buying a router in 2019 and beyond:

1. 802.11n – This is the standard that is widely manufactured and affordable. There is another standard that is newer but those routers are overkill for a residential or in some cases, even business property and not to mention very expensive. Get an 802.11n router. If you can spend some money get an 802.11ac router. Anything above that is not necessary. Remember “N” and “AC” and you will be fine.
2. Check the number of wired interfaces. This depends on location in the house, devices that need a wired connection and how much you are willing for wiring up so that you don’t have loose wire hazards all over the house. If you are providing a computer you either need to keep a router near it and connect it with a wire or run a wire along the wall or hook the computer up with a wireless card. This doesn’t apply to laptops as they always have wifi.
3. Check if they are compatible with your internet provider. This is VERY IMPORTANT. You don’t want to end up with a brick that is incompatible. If you are buying in a store, ask if the router is compatible with your service. If buying online, check the description and comments.
4. Security Features. You don’t have to worry about this nowadays as most routers support WPA2 which the name of the protected access protocol for WiFi security. Unless you have a very determined hacker or you let your password slip, you won’t really have to worry about security. This is after assuming that you set it up correctly. If you don’t configure the router correctly even though it supports the security protocol then you have nobody but you to blame.
5. WiFi Bands – Get at least a 2 band router. Bands are ways to set up different wireless networks. They also help with speed when lots of guests are using the internet at once.

That covers the basics. Everything else is nice to have. As long as you are making sure you follow these 5 tips, your router will be good to go for even the most demanding guests. Then the only concern is making sure you have the right speed from your internet provider and you have set up security properly. 

If you have a large property consider getting wifi extenders which boost the wifi strength.

Recommendations from Amazon:

TP-Link AC1750 Smart Wifi Router: This one ticks all the right boxes as mentioned above. It even works with Alexa and has VPN Server and Parental Control features. If you don’t understand how to set the later things up, then ask a technically minded friend or hire a professional. If you are running a family-oriented Airbnb then having parental controls will be a welcome feature. It comes with the facility of an expert setup for $100

TP-Link N300 Wireless WiFi Router: For under $30 this is an expensive router that should work for most people. It doesn’t have any fancy control features but it is super affordable and gets the job done. It supports speeds up to 300 Mbps which is more than enough for most households.

TP-Link N450 Wi-Fi Router: This one is just a little more than the last one. It comes with parental controls that can be useful if you decide to turn them on. It comes in a black color so it will look good in rooms where a white box would look out of place. It also has an AC1200 variant that uses the 802.11ac standard that we mentioned for a little more money. It has 4 LAN ports to connect your home computers together.

Eero Pro mesh Wifi System: Now this one is more than a regular router. It is a collection of devices where one is the main router and others are extenders that keep the signal strong. This is useful for bigger properties. You should consider this one if some guests complain of a weak wifi signal. They are also amazingly designed with a minimal look that looks sleek and classy. This is an expensive system. This is not cheap. Make sure this is what you want before you plank down the money to get these.

Precautions to take:

Make sure the router supports the speed you are paying to your internet provider. If you pay for a 10 Mbps plan but you have an older router that doesn’t support it then you are wasting money.

We repeat this again but have the security protocol set up. Don’t have open wifi. Require the guests to use a password to use your wifi. Uncontrolled Wifi access points can lead to hacks on your home devices.

Love,
Scooch and Steve