Staying for the week at an AirBnB in Rochester, MN. This is what I just found out I'm stuck with.
How is this even possible in 2024? I realize Rochester isn't exactly a major metropolis, but we're in the middle of town! It's not like they're relying on Hughesnet or something.
Also, it's not that they're cheaping out on us either. The owners live upstairs. This is a duplex.
if the listing advertised "high-speed internet" or anything with the wording "high-speed", then i'd call AirBNB and complain until i either got a partial refund or a rebooking elsewhere. Rate 1-star and post as many complaints as possible on as many social media outlets as possible with the full name of the AirBnB host. Name and Shame.
Basically, be as big a nightmare as possible (without getting kicked out) until either it gets fixed or until you get enough money back to make you feel better.
edit:
The owners live upstairs.
i wouldn't let them sleep a wink until that's 50Mb/s+ both up and down. should be at least 100Mb/s, but 50Mb/s is manageable.
They're fucking you while on vacation, and i would make their live a LIVING HELL. being cheap has consequences...
Or, hear me out, they could just be a polite human and ask about the issue before jumping to conclusions? It could be a simple case of them restarting the network to fix it. Throwing a tantrum over this without any other information or communication is just pathetic, why would that be your gut reaction?
there is nothing childish nor petty about demanding to get what one paid for. and complaining to AirBnB about it while also posting one's dissatisfaction publicly isn't going to get anyone banned.
I didn't advise doing anything illegal nor did i advise harassing anyone.
My dude you said you'd make their life living hell, the fact that you don't consider that harassment says a lot about the kind of person you are. No wonder you're so unhappy.
Yeah, not doing that. In fact, if I don't have to see or talk to them the entire time I'm here, I'll be happy about that part of this trip. I didn't particularly want to stay in an AirBnB in the first place, but I'm not the one paying. I would have honestly been fine with a Motel 6 or whatever.
i don't see how that changes anything. in fact, i might be more outraged, as they're taking advantage of your poor, sweet, elderly mother, which is exactly how you should put it in every single complaint call, email, and social media post.
if i pay for a service, such as an AirBnB, it had better be in suitable condition before i come to stay. if it's unacceptable, someone needs to be taught a lesson: Don't try to take advantage of people, or you will regret it.
it's the only way these assholes ever learn anything: fuck with their money.
Re you're edit: I'm not here on vacation, I'm here to go to the Mayo clinic. But they close up at 3, so it would be nice to come back to decent wifi. Thankfully, I realized I can just use my phone as a hotspot. The only problem is my iPhone and my Mint Linux notebook won't play nice, so I have to tether one to the other via USB to get it to work rather than via the WiFi connection. No idea why, but it won't get to the authentication part when I connect to the WiFi. But that's better than what I had before.
to me, that makes it even more egregious. i'd send them a bill for your data plan, and i'd also browbeat them for putting someone critically ill, who is visiting the mayo clinic, until they got the issue fixed immediately.
some people think they can take advantage of people like you and your mother, and i'd make sure they never did that again, not to anyone, ever.
i'd get on the phone with AirBnB and be such a unimaginable nightmare, that they'd do anything just to shut me up.
i've been extremely successful at this.
edit: i once had a similar issue at a crappy hotel with bad internet service. i called their corporate office and threatened a federal lawsuit and had a lawyer buddy of mine throw some legalese at them (an obvious bluff). had them shook. 5 minutes later, the "we can't do anything" magically turned into "oh, we fixed the problem" and my internet speed was magically fixed.
sometimes, you just havae to out-asshole the asshoels to get what you paid for.
Thankfully, I have unlimited data, so it's not a cost issue. Just a bit irritating that I had to resort to this.
Also, I really don't think they're trying to take advantage of us. Someone else said that this is some rural ISP that for some reason people in much of Rochester use.