Smoobu Reviews

best management software around for vacation rentals

Comments: made my life easier, and automatized many processes that were manual before. and it's still cheap!

Pros:

The simplicity of setup and use, great performances, money for value, made life easier Exceptional Italian customer support!

Cons:

some minor features, compared to other software, were still missing, but they are minor and I know the Dev team keep working to improve

easy to use,

Comments: Overall, very good experience, almost no panic in the almost 3 years.They have a good staff, and can communicate with us in several languages.In this example, French is my preference, and I never had a problem.

Pros:

In fact, when I chose Smoobu, only few channel manager allowed us to rent Rooms and the whole house in the same software.What I wanted was if I rent a room, Smoobu automaticly block the whole house and if I rent the whole house, the 5 rooms are automaticly booked.For the moment it does the job very well and I am under using all other features. (my fault)

Cons:

The time zone, Smoobu is located in Berlin, Germany and I am in Canada.So if I want to reach then, they are quite responsive in the morning (from 3 am to 11 am) but after 12:00h we have to wait the next day.They seem to have a telephone number in USA , but on one in Canada.

Alternatives Considered: Cloudbeds and Guesty For Hosts

Reasons for Choosing Smoobu: Because it could not (elloha) automaticly block the whole house and if I rent one of the 5 rooms.and could not block automaticly block the 5 rooms if I rent the whole house.

Switched From: elloha

Reasons for Switching to Smoobu: Features and black Friday special

Good for small company

Comments: Overall a good experience. We used Smoobu, untill we started hiring Customer Service staff and they needed a centralized communication terminal that when we switched. For most entrepreneurs who runs Airbnbs it works great, in many wasy more simple than other solutions on the market. I wish they did make the SMS automation work, I wish full API integration with VRBO worked as well. But you cant get everything.

Pros:

Price is the best. It does basic things like it will keep all your listings in sync. Forget about centralized messaging, because certain things just won't sync like VRBO. But for small operators 1-5 peroperties it works great, and price you can't beat

Cons:

no full API integration with VRBOlack of SMS automationsCustomer Service doesn't existi, you can create a ticket they will answer next week

Did not work for my Vacation Rentals

Comments: I used this software about every minute of the free software trail, switching both my airbnb and vrbo 5 listings from current software to Smoobu. what a nightmare. I've been using Bookerville which is loaded with features, but doesn't quite have the smooth look of Smoobu. Instead of throwing my efforts into Bookerville, I thought all Softwares were the same.... No they are not. My Smoobu experience had be fall in LOVE with Bookerville and take the effort to expand my use of their numerous fully developed features. Describe my overall experience with Smoobu? Above all it convinced me that I had the best vacation software in Bookerville over all its competition.

Pros:

Very attractive. It has a very clean feel to it and nicely visual

Cons:

There were quite a few issues that I thought they may over time address, but I'd have to say the absolutely most shocking shortcoming of this software was an inability for guest who comes to your website to get an itemized quote. I actually called and arranged a VERY early morning conference call with this European based company.... and this is just one of the crazy, head scratching things about this software. It allows you to imbed a link from them to your own company website for guests to get a quote; but this is a total quote.... No itemized quote. So if you've got a $1000 refundable deposit, guests don't know that, its just this HUGE total, without details on cleaning fee, taxes, options, refundable deposit, etc. From here, the guests can contact you for the itemized quote and book. What the heck? why can't they book on line? why can't they see an itemized quote? This is just one of the things that Smoobu knew hosts would want, but that they didn't bother to do right.... and unfortunately one of so many half way done things .... I guess so they could add it to their feature list, but it is completely useless. Just having an itemized quote and booking the guest later would have been a huge help, but they couldn't be bothered to do this.... and with refundable deposits in one HUGE total ... hosts will have to clutter their websites with explanations.

27+ rental properties in Smoobu

Comments: There are many cons and pros to this chanel manager, but we are still planing to use it as moving from it with a lot of properties would not be worth our time. The chanel manager offers us stability majority of time and a website integration.

Pros:

Smoobu app is a good starting point for anyone who want to give a chanel mannager a try.We currently have 27 properties and all of them are managed through smoobu. Website is built through smoobu (you can check it - www.poloapartments.lt)As a user for more than 3 years, I can recommend this program as it is easy to use, responsive and gives us a lot of functions.The price is very good compared to all other chanel managers.

Cons:

However, there are flaws. For example, our website is built on 3 different languages, while smoobu check-out is only in one language. I have personally been requesting this change for more than 1 year. No progress. (To add, they do boast that they adapt their program to their clients needs).Some times there are maintanances that make the smoobu completely offline. If it happens in a busy period, you might get double bookings.The invoices just as the check-out page is only in English with no other language choices.When uploading a property to smoobu, there are only a few ammenities to select. There is no free parking selection window. It is very important to have.To add, smoobu engine does no allow to select the amount of children or pets. It only allows selecting adults.There a

Full featured, user-friendly and very stable

Comments: When your business depends on a software you really need to be able to talk to a real person in case you hit a wall. The people at Smoobu are always there for you whenever you need help. 5 stars !

Pros:

Smoobu allows to pull in different airbnb and booking accounts into one software environment. As a property management company specialised in short term rental this was the software to manage our business. The setup was quick. The software is very easy to use. Smoobu allows to program automatically sent personalised messages to guests. Airbnb has now added this feature but the Smoobu version works better. When a booking comes in 3 days before the guests arrival but the message is programmed to be sent 6 days in advance than airbnb does not send the message, but Smoobu does ! When handling numerous client accounts it is nearly impossible to handle client communication without a channel manager. Smoobu has worked without any glitches, it is as reliable as a Mercedes-Benz !

Cons:

Nothing really. I have no negative comments.

Alternatives Considered: Tokeet

Reasons for Switching to Smoobu: We were convinced by the responsiveness of the sales team and the ease of use of the software. We had tried Tokeet on a trial basis, not convinced. Many channel manager software companies promise you wonderful returns if you just plug in into as many channels as possible. That is an empty promise.

Smoobu Is a valuable tool

Comments: It is always a pleasure to work with the Smoobu team. I have even managed to contribute to the upgrades in features with some of my suggestions....which shows that the dev team is dedicated to producing a product that suits their client's needs.

Pros:

I love that you are able to create a booking tool and website from the portal, and customise the bookings from various portals that are clearly identifiable by colour coding.

Cons:

It would be great if there was more API integrations automatically available to all portals - especially in South Africa.

Alternatives Considered: ReservationKey and Guesty

Reasons for Choosing Smoobu: I found it far too cantankerous and clunky to work with. Smoobu is super simple and effective for my needs. I have more than one cottage on one property and quite a few other properties, all owned by different owners. It's been easy to put them all onto one portal so that I have an eye of everything happening in my short term holiday rentals and cleaning business

Switched From: NightsBridge

Reasons for Switching to Smoobu: I liked Smoobu because of the versatility and ease of use. Also, Smoobu provided payments and invoicing in my local currency.

Best viable solution for small property owners with great CUSTOMER SUPPORT, CLEAN FEATURES & PRICING

Pros:

Firstly, for someone who has hardly used a channel manager, the learning curve is always going to be a thing no matter which service you decide to use. This was the case for me, after reading countless reviews I decided to trial Smoobu and am now a paid user. And when the learning curve is unavoidable, Smoobu truly shines with their CUSTOMER SUPPORT - it is definitely one of their best features. Their chat team works in German-time (and they are not available 24/7), but it was definitely handy when you're based overseas. Their e-mail support team I find are VERY experienced, fast, helpful, patient, understanding and respectful - I seriously only have praise for them! They truly helped a novice channel manager user like myself troubleshoot, configure, and set up the optimal solution that works best for my particular business size and workflow. Regarding the SOFTWARE FEATURES, I think we always tend to want more, and more of the available features offered more seamlessly and automated, so I don't think it's even fair to expect EVERYTHING, and the simplicity of Smoobu's software - both in UI and UX, once you get a grip on it, is a HUGE asset that eliminates and minimises all the headaches we go through as owners and managers. And finally - PRICING. Based on my own research I think their overall quality offering is astounding vis a vis the cost. I am thoroughly impressed with the service and am grateful that I found something I am happy to pay for and proud to continue using!

Cons:

EMAIL SUPPORT > CHAT SUPPORT: Though chat support is easier to access, for an actual conundrum or a multilayered question you're facing I would definitely go through their e-mail support since they can constructively engage with your problems (maybe also because they have more time to respond?), and you really feel that they are there to help you! But the chat team is great too for small questions you might have (but sometimes they disconnect in the middle of a question - but don't be discouraged and take that to e-mail or maybe call though I haven't tried that personally!) GOOD DESIGN BUT NOT YET MIND-BLOWING: It is minimal, clean and ticks all the right boxes in terms of UI / UX and it is not at all problem for internal admin use, but for someone who comes from a creative industry background (e.g. used to the intuitive approach of Apple products and have done consumer-facing communication work) I do think their consumer-facing features (like their new GUEST APP and WEB EMBEDDABLE BOOKING TOOL) can be further reimagined based to align themselves with consumers who are spoiled by Apple, Google et al. providing great design to the mainstream. So in sum, based on a philosophy that good design → looks great and ALSO heightens practicality. TWO-WAY SYNCS VS iCAL SYNC: Not a con but a note - with Airbnb when you sync via their two-way sync it makes it impossible to view or edit your calendar on Airbnb. It's great but I found it easier to iCal sync like the rest of the platforms!

Alternatives Considered: Tokeet, Cloudbeds, iGMS, Little Hotelier, Guesty and BeeRent

Reasons for Choosing Smoobu: They are great too don't get me wrong! But Lodgify was just too expensive for my specific business size of three properties.

Switched From: Lodgify

Avoid....caused me a load of extra work.

Comments: Dreadful, time consuming, very poor online support, who were surprisingly rude.

Pros:

The idea is great but it doesn't work in practice. There are better alternatives.

Cons:

Smoobu was a disaster for me. Using Sboobu cuts you off from using the portals (Airbnb, Agoda, Tripadvisor etc). You are actually blocked from using the portal platforms & must only update listings & bookings on the Smoobu platform. You can't even access the calendars anymore. You can no longer communicate with guests through portals, only through Smoobu. The worst thing is, if you have any blocked dates in the portal calendars they are ignored by Smoobu & then deleted on the portal. Suddenly all your blocked dates become available & you must re-block them all on Smoobu. It's awkward, difficult to use & the support is hopeless. They have no training, they are rude & don't understand the platform. AVOID! The set up is too time consuming.

ExcellentExcellent

Comments: Excellent

Pros:

Great service and prompt help from [sensitive content hidden]. Would highly recommend

Cons:

No Cons at all , really good relationship

Best channel manager in this price category

Comments: Covers all my basic needs.
Gets better every year.
Has a reasonable price.
The support is just top.

Pros:

Smoobu is probably the Channel Manager with the best 'Features/Price' ratio. We state that after we have done seriously evaluations for two years. It has all functionality a small - middle accommodations managing service will be needing. The subscription is very reasonable too. They haven't stoped improving since I know them and they have the perfect support :)

Cons:

There are some minor functionality issues with the user interface. This does not affect the functionality, it is just that sometimes one can not but notice that some things could be a bit more 'up to date' in the user interface.

Extremely helpful and intuitive

Comments: Amazing.

Pros:

I started using Smoobu back when it was really small and sort of beta version and liked it from the getgo. In the meantime they have improved and expanded so much and i am truly happy for them because what they offer is a high quality product. The platform is easy to use,intuitive and responsive,easily accessible on all devices. The customer service is fast and helpful. Already converted many of my colleagues into clients and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a tool that helps organise your hospitality small business.

Cons:

The color palette for the website,perhaps.

Intuitive to use - Great support

Comments: The multiple functions it offers eg communication templates, automated messaging make admin much easier. Although intuitive to use there are sometimes glitches (probably mostly self inflicted) but support is great.

Pros:

I have been using Smoobu for around 4 years. I started off with 4 rentals and now manage 10 and couldn’t do this effectively without this application. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]and the team are quick to help and resolve issues that crop up from time to time.

Cons:

I cannot set up multiple season rates with intelligent pricing (discounting longer stays)

Don't use if you use Expedia/VRBO

Pros:

Simple when it works, but unfortunately that doesn't last long

Cons:

Regularly disconnects channel management price sync with Expedia/VRBO. Support on the latest disconnect May 2023 has gone weeks with no solution or update. I'm researching alternative platforms and warning others.

Awesome Software for Vacation Rental Management

Comments: We've owned our condo for just over a year. I found Smoobu when I was initially looking for a software tool to help me get up and running renting through Airbnb and VRBO. From the first day through today, they have been super supportive and helpful. The product integrates nicely with those travel sites (and others) to keep things organized (i.e. no double bookings), helps tremendously with communications and provides a great customer experience with all our guests. I would highly recommend Smoobu!

Pros:

Once it's set up, it is absolutely indispensable and critical to organize and coordinate a vacation rental.

Cons:

Nothing really... All questions are answered quickly and they continue to add additional features.

Smoobu offers practical reservation management solutions

Pros:

Smoobu has by far the most practical reservation management system in the market when compared with other alternatives.

Cons:

They should release a new version of Smoobu where it has more etensive features about reservation management.

Excellent resource for syncing calendars and interfacing with website

Comments: My overall experience with Smoobu was excellent.

Pros:

The feature that was most impactful is the ability to sync calendars from Airnbn, VRBO onto one calendar that was used to interface on my personal website for my short term rental property. Very good value for the functionality and service provided. Excellent customer service. All questions were answered in timely, clear and helpful manner.

Cons:

There were a couple of times when I needed to contact Smoobu as canceled reservations on Airbnb do not automatically clear on the Smoobu system. Once I realized it was necessary to double check my main calendar after a guest canceled, it wasn't a problem.

Ecxellent Channel

Comments: I don't need to check or update OTA's when a property is booked.

Pros:

This channel manager is really complete and fits perfectly with the needs of a tourist manager. it's quick to update the data in the various channels. The feature I like most is that I can send an email with all the information to all customers automatically. In addition to the channel with the same price, a booking engine is included.

Cons:

It should be fantastic to change the percentage different between channels for singolar apartment.

Software for Rental Owners

Pros:

Smoobu makes landlord life easier! Great solutions, very good support. I wouldn't want to rent without Smoobu anymore. I didn't dare to use the web building kit at first, but now I have my own website from Smoobu's building kit. Since I'm an IT layman, that's saying something. Smoobu is absolutely worth the price, also for the standardized communication, and the pricing tools. All in all - 1A.Translated with [sensitive content hidden] (free version)

Cons:

I would like to have easier options for adding sitemap and favicon, but I'm sure Smoobu will help me with that competently.

Life Saver

Comments: Double bookings solved
Pricing on multiple platforms solved

Pros:

ease of use Functionality Clear Statistics

Cons:

Would like to use it as an app rather than having to log in via a search engine

COVID proaction/ease of use

Comments: Wonderful entrepreneurs looking to work with all customers.

Pros:

Ease of use and when COVID hit the top three global companies taking proaction to help the customer.

Cons:

So minor, and so American, lol. Would be great to have option for date format choice with month first for us thick headed Americans.

Fantastic software

Pros:

It is easy to use and the support is fast en good

Cons:

If I want to add text at the invoice it is not good working. That is until now the only point I have.

Easy to use booking software

Comments: We lease out several cabins, and smoobu helps us keep price parity across several OTAs, and we have all communication with our guests in one platform. It also keeps all our places easy viewable in in one place.
Customer service is swift in replies if we have any questions, and they are great at developing new features.

Pros:

Easy to use Many integrations with OTAs such as Airbnb, Booking.com and many more. Cheap

Cons:

Missing revenue management module to control prices easily. They do have a price management module, but its awkward to use. I´ve solved this with integration towards pricelabs.

The reason we didn't use Smoobu

Pros:

The customer service was by far the best thing out of any PMS apps we used -Super easy to use -Has every feature other apps have and more. -Even a guest book Listen there is only one reason we didn't continue to use it and it was because it doesn't have A.I. Messaging or task managing for cleaners.

Cons:

They need to add auto messaging. That's the only reason we left. When you have a great auto msging service we will come back, but every app needs that feature especially if you have many properties and its the busy season of 100 inquiries/questions.

Issue with customer support and some funstionality

Pros:

A lot of different functions, easy setup

Cons:

Issue with a customer service. I have a ticket opened 7 months ago and still get follow-up promises to be solved in the shortest period of time. Addiotional issue - calendar does not work on a built-in website.