I built a chrome extension that helps you find Airbnbs with fast WiFi
I was frustrated while trying to find Airbnbs that I could work remotely from. It's a pain to message every host asking for their internet speeds and hope for a response. I realized that if I could at least filter down to the areas with good internet, my messages could be much more targeted.
After some searching, I found a great dataset courtesy of Google. Every time someone runs a speed test using the Google speed test widget, the data is recorded and is queryable. This year I had been planning a trip to French Polynesia, but using this data I could see that they do not have fast internet! Luckily I was able to pivot and instead found a great place in Hawaii.
I wanted to make this process WAY easier...so I made a chrome extension. Now you can see the expected internet speeds whenever you are viewing an Airbnb listing. Safe travels, and let me know what you think!
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/roamer-airbnb-internet-sp/cdhljjahkpnlcajclppdkojdomlialbj
Nice idea for remote workers. Quick question — do you think listing visuals or photos influence trust for digital nomads before they even check WiFi speed?
Hey, just a note to say I love this and used it to pick my next airbnb. I did a few sample tests with places I have stayed before and it was notionally right.
One thing I don't see is where do you get your data from? There is a little trust issue without this information and did make me second guess a few times.
Also a sidenote, I think most of us do a diamond approach to searching. Find multiple places and collect lots of info (be it pictures or stats like yours) and then rank or chuck away certain listings.
For me it looks like a table.
Have you thought about extending or building a separate product for this?
Thank you for the feedback!
The data is coming from all of the speed tests that have been run using the Google speed test widget. I mention it in the chrome store listing...but it may be worthwhile to make it more front and center in the promotional images. Also, did you ever happen to click the small "i" icon in the bottom right of the Roamer panel?
You make a good point about the "Find Airbnbs" workflow. Personally, when planning bigger trips I'll compile a spreadsheet of many listings and share it with friends. I hadn't thought about a product specifically for this but it does seem like a cool path to explore!
That makes so much sense. Thanks for sharing. I did not see this before.
Any tips for working with chrome extensions?