The problem
Each booking needs several messages and a calendar block on every other site you list on. If you have 3 cottages with 14 bookings a month, spend 20 minutes on messages per booking and 3 minutes blocking dates elsewhere, that's 322 minutes, about 5.4 hours a month.
What the AI does
Smoobu is a channel manager and booking system for holiday lets. Its site says it synchronises your calendar across connected booking sites (it names Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia as partners) and lets you personalise guest messages and schedule when they're sent. You write the messages once, such as a booking confirmation, arrival details and a check-out reminder, and set when each goes. The page doesn't list message types, triggers or sync frequency, so check these in the 14-day trial.
A worked example
An owner in the Lake District has 3 cottages, listed on two booking sites, with about 14 bookings a month. She sets up the messages once in Smoobu and checks the calendar and the day's arrivals each morning.
Before
About 23 minutes per booking (20 minutes of messages, 3 blocking dates): 322 minutes, about 5.4 hours a month
After
About 7 minutes per booking checking messages and dates: 98 minutes, about 1.6 hours a month
What it's worth
About 3.7 hours a month saved (16 minutes x 14 bookings = 224 minutes), worth around £75 if your time is worth £20 an hour. Smoobu's FAQ says one unit starts at €28 and extra units from €9.60, so three units are about €47 (about £40) a month; the pricing page shows plans of €29 to €49.50 without saying how many units those cover, and the Flex plan adds 0.9% per booking, so get a quote for three units.
How to set it up
- Start the 14-day free trial, which needs no card, and connect one cottage.
- Connect each booking site you list on, following Smoobu's connection page for each, and check one test booking appears everywhere.
- Write your messages once: booking confirmation, arrival details and check-out reminder, using only facts you've checked.
- Set when each message goes and read one as a guest would.
- Each morning, check arrivals and the calendar against the booking sites.
What goes wrong
- Calendar sync can lag. The page doesn't say how often sync runs, so test it before relying on it, as a double booking is costly.
- Pricing depends on units and plan; Flex adds 0.9% per booking, and yearly billing is cheaper than monthly. Get a quote for your units.
- Guest names, phone numbers and arrival times are personal data. Sign a data processing agreement and limit who can see them.
- Don't assume features of Airbnb or Booking.com; check each platform's own rules on messaging and calendars.