Lodgify vs Smoobu
This article examines Lodgify vs Smoobu by concentrating on the main features that a hospitality management software should offer. The data has been collected from Lodgify’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, Lodgify has a rating of 4.5, with the highest score for Value for Money.
Trustpilot introduces Lodgify as an Excellent tool with a 4.4 TrustScore.
In Capterra, Smoobu has a rating of 4.5, with the highest score for Customer Service.
Trustpilot introduces Smoobu as an Average tool with a 3.5 TrustScore.
In Lodgify:
- You can send a quote for guests’ reservations through the website showing the price, payment schedule, and cancellation and deposit policies.
- You can send a confirmation link via email to the guests, including reservation and payment information.
- You can set a quote expiry policy.
- You can choose how you would like to accept bookings (enquiry only, booking request, instant booking). For enquiry bookings, the system blocks the availability on other channels, and you may lose the chance of selling your nights.
- You can automate guest vetting using CheKin, a software solution for guests’ registration.
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.
Lodgify’s channel manager allows bookings, calendars, and rates to be synchronised via API across top listing channels, such as Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, and Vrbo.
It supports iCal integration for other channels, including TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, Lastminute.com, Trivago, Hotelbeds, eDreams, etc.
- Lodgify synchronises images, descriptions, and listings with some of the top channels.
- On the Professional and Ultimate plans, you need to pay a commission for the bookings through the channels.
- There is a 1.9% fee for all bookings on the Starter plan, whether from the website or the channels.
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.
Lodgify’s task management software allows you to:
- Create and assign tasks to different members.
- Give users access and distribute responsibilities.
- Invite your team members to the platform and link them to the rentals; then, you need to create job templates and specific tasks that the team members should fulfil to complete the job. According to their role and relations to the job and rentals, team members will be notified on their mobile app when the job is created.
- Manually assign jobs to specific people.
With Lodgify task management,
- Staff can claim a job.
- You can set an inspector for the jobs (they can reject and approve the job).
- You can activate/deactivate a job according to your needs.
- Tasks are shown on the calendar.
- The task management feature is offered under the Ultimate subscription.
- There is a mobile application for the managers.
Smoobu offers integration with cleaning software such as Properly, TurnoverBnB, and VRScheduler.
Lodgify uses triggers to automate guest communication.
- A “pre-check-in form” will be sent asking the guests’ arrival information, details, and IDs.
- The guest app provides them with information about the rental, access, address, Wi-Fi details, and recommendations about what to do in the area. (You can withhold sensitive info like access code until the payment has been completed.)
- Once the guests check out, they will no longer be able to access the app.
- Automatic and manual SMS reminders can be sent.
- If you want to link into software for automatic self check-in, you should use Zapier.
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.
Smoobu’s integration partners for online check-ins are Checkin, Wishbox, Mymaison, Vikey, Avs, and Check-in Scan.
Smoobu’s integration partners for smart locks are KeyNest, NUKI, igloohome, Keysoft Claud, SCLAK, TheKeys, and Operto.
- Lodgify offers a website with an integrated booking engine.
- It is mobile-friendly, and users can create their domain.
- On the Starter plan, there is a 1.9% fee for direct bookings.
The SEO-friendly website created by Lodgify:
- is customisable, allowing you to create custom pages.
- allows you to add Google Analytics.
- can be integrated with WordPress, Wix, Drupal, Joomla, Weebly, and Squarespace.
- 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.
Lodgify allows you to set prices per night, week, month, weekdays, and season.
You can define long-stay discounts with “dynamic minimum length” for your website. For example, after 20 nights, your guests get a discount.
Lodgify allows you to:
- Set up a list of existing automated emails to communicate with your guests. You can check up on them during their stay.
- Prepare a digital form of house rules, instructions, and access codes.
- Send review-request email templates.
- 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.
In Lodgify, you can communicate with your guests using the built-in guest CRM.
- The system does not collect the email addresses, and if you want to have a guest list, you should manually create it. You should create a booking and then fill in customer data.
- Using the list, through the free integration with MailChimp, you can send out marketing emails.
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.
Lodgify allows managing the team on one single platform.
- You can specify what your team member can see and do.
- You can set a “picture request” and ask the housekeepers to upload photos.
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Lodgify’s mobile app has been developed for tracking operations.
- The mobile app has the functionality of the desktop version of the software.
- The guests can communicate with the host through Lodgify’s guest app.
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.
- You can create properties in different locations.
- Rentals are also imported from Airbnb.
- You cannot move the reservations from one apartment to another one.
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- You can have an outlined list of all the things that need to be done and check when the property has been cleaned.
- With the mobile app, you can oversee all the tasks and manage the team.
- You can assign specific people to supervise and review tasks once they have been completed.
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.
Lodgify provides homeowners access to keep them updated by creating different roles within the platform and assigning specific permissions to each owner.
The owners can add properties to the website and edit the details and availability themselves.
There is a mobile app for owners.
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.
Lodgify has integration with Stripe, Braintree, Authorize.net, and Payyo as payment gateways.
You can accept a set of credit cards for your website: Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
- The payment is not through 3-D Secure Payment, and you can only charge card details.
- It accepts bank transfers, cheques, and cash.
- You can add payments manually and send payment requests and payment reminders.
- Pre-authorisation can only be granted for seven days.
- Lodgify charges you a 1% transaction fee.
- You can set 2-3 payments: a percentage at the time of the booking and the remainder some days before arrival, for example.
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).
You can filter specific months and days of the year, as well as a specific property on your report.
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.
Lodgify integrates with PriceLabs and Outswitch.
Smoobu’s dynamic pricing integration partners are Beyond and PriceLabs.
Lodgify provides onboarding for you under the Professional and Ultimate plans if you manage three listings and more.
If you are an Ultimate subscriber, you will be trained on PM Modules, including accounting and task management.
The software shows the users the account progress and tells you what steps are left to thoroughly set up your system.
There are articles and instructions both on the website and in the software itself.
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.
In Lodgify:
- You can keep track of your income and payments, pending and transferred payments of both employees and guests.
- You can generate invoices for employees.
- You can keep track of the expenses.
- The system allows you to create accounting statements. The statements will be updated automatically based on received and sent payments.
- The amounts on the payments are not automatically updated.
- There is no bank account for the owner; the split proportions of income on each booking are for reporting purposes.
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Lodgify does not offer a unified inbox, but to communicate with the guests, you have two ways:
- You can enter the reservation system and send a message directly from there (this feature synchronises with Airbnb and Vrbo chats). There are some “canned emails” that you can choose.
- You can reply to the guest via email. Each booking has a unique Email String. When you respond to this string, the conversation will be saved in the reservation.
Which automated emails are sent to your guest depends on the channel. For example, if the reservation is from Airbnb, “2 days before rental arrival” and “2 days after rental departure” emails will be sent automatically.
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
Lodgify’s pricing starts at £146.65 ($199) per month and varies depending on the total number of rentals and features:
- Starter: £8.84 ($12)
- Professional: £23.58 ($32)
- Ultimate: £35.37 ($48)
Lodgify offers a 20% discount on annual subscriptions and a 25% discount on two-year plans when the users pay upfront. The users receive a free custom domain under annual subscriptions and two-year plans.
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.
Lodgify vs Smoobu: Which Property Management System to Choose?
Lodgify would be the right choice if you run a small rental business, and you wish to have a user-friendly website. If your properties are listed only on Airbnb, Lodgify would be a good option because they have been chosen as a Preferred Software Partner by Airbnb. This means that Lodgify provides the requisite functionality and software connections that meet Airbnb’s technical benchmarks. However, because of the limited integration with the channels, you may not have the chance to widen your reach the way you might wish to.
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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