Guesty vs Smoobu
This article examines Guesty vs Smoobu by concentrating on the main features that a hospitality management software should offer. The data has been collected from Guesty’s and Smoobu’s websites and help articles. We also checked their reviews at Capterra to find the aspects that the actual users are emphasising.
Guest Review
In Capterra, Guesty has a rating of 4.5, with the highest score for Ease of Use.
Trustpilot introduces Guesty as an Excellent tool with a 4.4 TrustScore.
In Capterra, Smoobu has a rating of 4.6, with the highest score for Customer Service.
Trustpilot introduces Smoobu as an Average tool with a 3.7 TrustScore.
Guesty automates collecting guest information and verifying reservation details, Check-in Forms, rental agreements that explain your terms and conditions, and collecting guests’ e-signatures.
Guesty’s integration with CheKin allows the automatic collection of necessary documentation from guests, directs relevant information to the authorities, and allows guests to check in online ahead of time.
Smoobu offers a “native online check-in tool,” through which you can collect guest information for compliance with local laws or for your own safety.
You can customise all the standard fields, including name, gender, nationality, document number, etc. Additionally, you have the option to add custom fields, require e-signature, and allow guests to attach files.
Smoobu’s integration with ChargeAutomation enables you to automate payment collection for reservations, security deposits, refunds, and fees.
Guesty provides integrations with 60 different marketing platforms or channels. Almost every single channel uses a 2-way API connection instead of 1-way or an iCal connection.
Guesty has direct integrations with six online booking platforms, including Airbnb, Booking.com, Agoda, TripAdvisor, HomeAway and Misterb&b.
By using Guesty:
- You will access an auto-pricing tool which automatically adjusts prices across all booking platforms according to your specifications.
- You can use the official, step-by-step, Guesty-guided connection process for integrating with various OTAs.
- For Airbnb Integration, if you already have an Airbnb account, the integration takes about 5 minutes, and within 24 hours, all of your data from your Airbnb account or multiple accounts are pulled into Guesty.
Smoobu’s channel manager synchronises all the bookings, calendar blocks, cancellations, and rates. For Vrbo/HomeAway, there is iCal synchronisation.
Smoobu has integration with more than 100 channels; it has an API integration with 15 channels.
Price synchronisation is available for Booking.com, Expedia and Agoda. You can add a mark-up in percentage to the base rate. It applies to the minimum stay and the price according to the days of the week.
Prices can be exported/imported from one channel into another.
Guesty does not offer built-in cleaning features and suggests outsourcing cleaning services.
Smoobu offers integration with cleaning software such as Properly, TurnoverBnB, and VRScheduler.
Guesty’s auto messaging enables you to send check-in instructions only if the Check-in Form has been completed. You can also use the filters to send your guests reminders to fill out the Check-in Form.
Smoobu’s “native online check-in tool” helps you to collect information that you need for the local laws or the information you need for your safety as a host.
- Guesty offers its website builder to its users free of charge. However, Guesty charges a 3% commission of the income as its subscription fee.
- Guesty’s website reflects all reservations made through your website in your central calendar.
- Guesty allows you to sync your existing website with Guesty’s booking platform through Guesty’s Open API.
- enables you to create customisable coupons to offer discounts to your customers. The user can set the minimum number of nights required, valid reservation dates, expiration of the coupon, and the number of times the coupon can be used.
- allows customisation in a sense that features the listing of your choice on the homepage.
- can be integrated with Google Analytics to keep track of your marketing efforts.
- allows you to set up a Facebook Pixel to capture abandoned bookings directly through Facebook Ads.
- Smoobu provides you with a direct booking website, which is commission-free. You can add photos, location, description, logo, Google Maps, and policies, and collect payment through Stripe/PayPal.
- You can use it with your domain. Smoobu’s booking engine iFrame can be integrated with your current website.
- You can translate the website into over 25 languages.
- The website covers 50 currencies.
- “You can add custom Javascript.”
- For the website, you can specify rates per person, per night, per booking, and define minimum stays. The availability calendar can be embedded on the website, and the guests can see it.
- The website is responsive on all devices.
- For the website, you can set “min days between booking and arrival, arrival and departure days, long stay discount, and discount code.”
- The website can be integrated with content management systems such as WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Strato, Typ03, Drupal, Joomla, GoogleSite, Jimdo, and Squarespace.
- Smoobu integrates with Google Analytics.
- You can make restrictions regarding check-in and check-out days for your website.
- You can embed Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Youtube, and LinkedIn on your website.
The web pages are NOT generated for different locations.
Guesty allows you to:
- incorporate mid-term stays into your rental company’s business model.
- apply custom rate strategies to your listings, and Guesty will automatically adjust your prices and minimum night rules accordingly.
- add your longer-term listings to Airbnb’s Monthly Stay programme along with other leading mid-term booking channels.
- filter reports by the length of stay to tag extended stays within the Guesty admin to automate customised communication.
You can define long-stay discounts with “dynamic minimum length” for your website. For example, after 20 nights, your guests get a discount.
Guesty’s 24/7 Guest Communication Services:
- respond to your guests’ enquiries based on the urgency of incoming messages.
- answer incoming enquiries during your team’s off-hours.
- can adjust bookings at your multi-calendar based on availability, price and location.
- prioritise your reviews, escalating the most urgent ones to your attention.
Through filled detailed questionnaires and brief onboarding phases, Guesty users hand over their guest communications to Guesty’s team of experts.
- Smoobu automates your communication with the guests by creating message templates like “thank you messages” and setting trigger events. The templates are customisable according to the guest name, check-in, and check-out times.
- Smoobu’s “Dynamic Guest Guide,” generated uniquely for each booking, provides your guests with all the necessary information in 40 languages until they check out.
Smoobu has full integration with Booking.com & Airbnb messaging APIs.
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Smoobu’s CRM tool collects all guest contacts from all the connected portals on one page.
You can edit the data and export the list and send SMS and emails through third parties.
You can download the mobile app to be in touch with your guests.
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Guesty has its native mobile app, which enables its users to manage their business on-the-go by offering:
- Unified Inbox
- Multi-Calendar
- Task Management Tools
Employees will be notified through the access they have to the Task Management feature of your native mobile app. The employee’s task management software is included in the main app with a limited portion of information accessible.
Smoobu’s mobile app includes a unified inbox.
There is a mobile app for the guests by which they can check Wi-Fi credentials, maps, tours, weather, etc. It is integrated with Smoobu’s tools, and you can cross-sell extra services during their stays.
Smoobu’s app also helps you collect reviews.
Guesty’s Multi-Unit feature allows you to group similar listings together. In this way, you can group your multi-units and single units to create a hotel complex and connect with SiteMinder and Booking.com. It also streamlines tasks and increases occupancy.
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Guesty enables task management by:
- creating tasks after specific triggering events such as check-ins, check-outs, planned arrivals or departures and reservation confirmations. Triggers might be related to property availability such as first availability in a row or end of rentals.
- After completion of certain tasks, other actions are activated automatically similar to the domino effect.
- creating manual tasks and notifying the assignee.
- using the Task Management feature of the Guesty mobile app.
Smoobu’s “central operations cockpit” shows you the key performance indicators such as occupancy and distribution rates, current bookings, and a list of upcoming guests.
You can add a booking on this page.
Guesty’s Owner Portal brings transparency for the owners and is compatible with 15+ different languages.
It provides reports that detail each property’s yearly and monthly revenues, compare their performances to one another and highlight notable trends.
Guesty’s Owner Portal allows the owners to reserve a stay at their properties directly from the portal.
You can share your Smoobu’s account with your partners and cleaning teams, allowing them access to general account settings, guest data, properties, messages, and prices.
Guesty’s online payment processor accumulates guests’ charges under their reservation, facilitates payments, and sends receipts to guests.
The auto-payments feature allows Guesty to charge guests according to your specified policies.
The auto-payments feature allows collecting each payment at the stage of your choice. However, one person on Capterra has mentioned the deficiency of this feature and Guesty’s inability to split payment.
Guesty’s payment processing feature collects all payment-related information, adding them automatically to the data on your dashboard, which is useful for charging repeat guests.
Smoobu creates custom invoice templates. Cross-selling items from the bookings will be shown in the invoice. You can insert PayPal links automatically to the invoice.
Smoobu integrates with Stripe, PayPal, Sumup, and Swikly. The payment integration is just for the booking engine.
Smoobu charges card details.
You can choose how you want to receive payment on your website (Bank transfer, Stripe, Patpay, Payment on Arrival, and iDEAL for Dutch users).
Guesty Reporting Tools create reports on specific aspects of your business from over 65 parameters, including check-in time, addresses, revenue and many more.
Smoobu’s “Statistics” enables you to break down the reports by “revenue, bookings, cancellations, occupancy rate, dates, properties, and nights.”
You can download the list of reservations in Excel, PDF or CSV formats.
On the “Cockpit Page,” you can check the occupancy rate and channel.
Guesty’s Yield Management feature sets custom rate strategies to adjust rates and minimum night stay rules and offers rate plans.
Smoobu’s dynamic pricing integration partners are Beyond and PriceLabs.
The main way to reach Guesty is through live chat, accessible on all pages of their website. They are committed to being available 24/7 and responding to messages in a timely manner. Moreover, you can contact the partnerships and press team by email in five different languages. There is also a 5-week onboarding process which comes at an additional cost and is separate from the month-to-month subscription fee.
The link of help articles and instructions are uploaded on the platform, and you can check them while you set your system up.
You can schedule a call to ask your questions.
Upon logging into the system, you can be in touch with a representative through email.
Guesty is integrated with Quickbooks and Xero for facilitating trust accounting.
Sage Intacct is another integration you need to have if your vacation rental business is considered an enterprise-size company.
Guesty does not include a built-in accounting module.
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Guesty’s unified inbox lets you receive emails and enquiries through booking channels.
Archiving and filtering capabilities, and also Saved Views are useful. The most effective Saved Views suggested by Guesty are:
- Potential guests
- Guests checking in that day
- Assignee
The messages from various booking platforms will be allocated to the bookings, and you can chat and see the conversation history online or via the mobile app.
Pricing
Guesty’s pricing strategy is different from most of its competitors, and the pricing information is not publicly available. However, it is a commission-based pricing model, so you will be charged for bookings made through the software. If you want to have a more accurate estimation of how much your costs would be, you may schedule a conversation with the Guesty sales team.
Smoobu offers three packages. One is free and covers limited features. The Professional and Team packages have three plans: monthly, yearly, and two years. As the number of units goes up, around £7 will be added to the price for each unit. Smoobu offers a custom price for more than 20 properties.
Guesty vs Smoobu: Which Property Management System to Choose?
Guesty is one of the most popular PMS providers in the vacation rental industry. It is an established brand with many branches all around the world. Guesty has a different pricing strategy compared to most of its competitors. The pricing model is commission-based, which means you will be charged on the bookings made through the software. This naturally increases the amount of commission you have to pay to Guesty while managing and scaling your short-term rental business. There are also other charges such as the initial set-up fee. Guesty lacks built-in trust accounting, cleaning management, and maintenance management. Guesty does not have any specific module to accumulate guest’s data in a guest CRM. However, Guesty is famous for having one of the most user-friendly platforms in the industry.
Smoobu is the right choice if you want an affordable, easy-to-use system with a PMS, channel manager, and website builder. With Smoobu’s guest app, you can provide your guests with a happy and pleasant experience. Furthermore, by accessing a contact list, you can directly connect with your guests or use the list for your email marketing. Since Smoobu does not offer cleaning, maintenance, and operations management, you should be mindful of other expenses you might have to pay for buying other software or hiring staff members. As your business grows, or if you decide to manage properties for other owners, Smoobu may not be able to meet your expectations because of the lack of functionalities in reporting, accounting, expense allocation, and profit splitting.
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