The missing
Smoobu manual.
Tax, cleaning, Nuki, direct booking — built by an operator who filled these gaps himself.
Browse the toolkit ↓Cleaning & Handover
Cleaning schedule template, Smoobu cleaner account setup, and Turno comparison — everything for a smooth handover.
Read the guide →Financial & Tax
Berlin Übernachtungssteuer (7.5%), tax calculator, Elster help, and a pre-configured Google Sheet for quarterly filing.
Read the guide →Direct Booking
OTA fee calculator, Google Business Profile setup, and post-stay templates to turn one-time guests into returnees.
Read the guide →Learn Smoobu
Nuki smart lock, Home2Go, PriceLabs pricing, and automated guest messaging — Smoobu configured properly.
Browse the guides →What Smoobu handles — and what it doesn't
Smoobu syncs calendars between Airbnb, Booking.com, and your direct booking site reliably and fast. It routes bookings, manages rates via a base calendar, and gives guests a clean booking page. That's the core — and it delivers.
The gaps are predictable. Übernachtungssteuer? Smoobu exports data but doesn't format it for the Berlin tax authority. Cleaning? You get read-only calendar access for cleaners — no checklists, no photos, no damage trails. Dynamic pricing? PriceLabs must be connected externally. Smart locks? Nuki works via iCal sync, not a native API.
That's not a flaw — it's a scope decision. Smoobu is built for operators up to ~50 properties in the DACH market. Co-hosts, operators scaling beyond that, or anyone entering US OTAs will hit limits quickly. This toolkit fills the gaps, free — so you understand what you're building.
The complete setup
Most hosts connect one channel and stop. Full setup looks like this:
- 01 Channel connections
API integration with Airbnb and Booking.com, iCal for everything else. Smoobu doesn't always catch double-bookings via iCal sync — verify whether a channel supports native API before using iCal.
Read the guide → - 02 Home2Go
Direct connection for search engine reach. Requires separate setup outside the standard channel connections.
Read the guide → - 03 Dynamic pricing with PriceLabs
Smoobu's base calendar works for static rates. For rates that respond to demand, local events, and lead time, you need PriceLabs. Connect via API in ~30 minutes.
Read the guide → - 04 Smart locks with Nuki
Nuki generates access codes per booking automatically. One-time setup — no more manual code delivery. You keep full control over who has access and when.
Read the guide → - 05 Guest message automation
Five required templates: booking confirmation, pre-arrival, check-in instructions, mid-stay, review request. Write it once — Smoobu sends it for every booking automatically.
Read the guide → - 06 Cleaning & handover
Smoobu cleaner account for a single person. Google Sheets API script from two cleaners, or when you need pet and crib flags — both free.
Read the guide → - 07 Direct booking
The Smoobu booking page is the starting point. Your own domain, Google Business Profile, and post-stay templates save the 15% Airbnb commission — money that stays in your pocket.
Read the guide → - 08 Übernachtungssteuer
Berlin operators: 7.5% on every booking, monthly filing. Calculator, Elster guide, and pre-configured Google Sheet so you know exactly what you owe.
Read the guide → - 09 Income tax on rental income
Übernachtungssteuer ≠ income tax. Different authority, different deadlines, different deductions. Anlage V vs. Anlage G, what's deductible, and when a Steuerberater is worth the cost.
Read the guide →
Who Smoobu fits — and who it doesn't
- 1–20 properties in the DACH market
- Airbnb + Booking.com as main channels
- Operators who want to keep processes in their own hands
- Newcomers with no prior property management software experience
- 20+ properties with multiple staff
- Co-hosts scaling for other property owners
- Operators with US OTAs as main channel (VRBO, Vacasa)
- Anyone needing a built-in owner accounting module
Built from the operational gaps Smoobu doesn't fill.
Running Seumi, my Berlin short-term rental on Smoobu, I kept hitting the same friction points — manual cleaning handovers, Übernachtungssteuer that needed reformatting every month, and a Nuki setup with no clear guide. So I built the tools and put them here, free.
I build direct booking websites on Smoobu: custom calendar, Stripe payments, your domain.
Get a direct booking site built →The channel manager I actually use. Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct bookings in one dashboard — 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Try Smoobu free → * Affiliate link