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Travel · head to head

Opera PMS vs Smoobu

Opera PMS logo

Opera PMS

Travel

Oracle property management system used by large hotel groups and chain estates

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Smoobu logo

Smoobu

Travel

All-in-one channel manager and PMS for hosts with a handful of holiday rentals

From
€29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Opera PMS integration is billed rather than open, so every connected system carries a per-property interface fee that inflates the running cost well beyond the quoted subscription.; Smoobu the Flex plan carries a 0.9% fee on every booking, which on an apartment turning over €40,000 a year costs more than the entire annual subscription saving, and the pricing page presents Flex as the cheaper option.
  • They diverge on capability: Opera PMS covers Reservations and front desk, Smoobu covers Channel manager.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Opera PMS and Smoobu actually diverge.

Attributes where Opera PMS and Smoobu differ
AttributeOpera PMSSmoobu
Starting priceOn request€29/month
Pricing modelquotePer unit per month
PlatformsWeb, Windows, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Travel).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Opera PMS

  • Reservations and front desk
  • Rate and yield management
  • Sales and catering
  • Housekeeping and maintenance
  • Night audit and accounting
  • OHIP integration platform

Only in Smoobu

  • Channel manager
  • Website builder
  • Guest messaging
  • Unified calendar
  • Invoicing and e-invoicing
  • Mobile apps

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Opera PMS

  • A hotel group standardising several hundred properties on one reservation and reporting spinenot Smoobu
  • A conference hotel where function space, banquet orders and group blocks drive most revenuenot Smoobu
  • A franchisee whose brand agreement mandates OPERA and a specific central reservation systemnot Smoobu
  • A resort with multiple outlets that needs tight posting between POS, spa and the guest folionot Smoobu

Smoobu

  • A host with three apartments in Berlin who needs Airbnb and Booking.com calendars kept in sync and wants a direct booking site to cut OTA commissionnot Opera PMS
  • An owner wanting automated check-in instructions and pre-arrival messages sent per channel without logging into each extranetnot Opera PMS
  • A small manager who needs guest invoices that meet German documentation requirements without adding a separate accounting toolnot Opera PMS
  • A host testing dynamic pricing through the bundled trial before deciding whether to subscribe to PriceLabs separatelynot Opera PMS

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Opera PMS

  • Integration is billed rather than open, so every connected system carries a per-property interface fee that inflates the running cost well beyond the quoted subscription.
  • Implementation typically requires an Oracle partner and runs for months, which puts a property opening timeline at the mercy of partner availability.
  • Configuration is dense enough that properties rely on one or two trained staff, and losing that person leaves rate and package changes stuck in a support queue.
  • The older OPERA 5 estate is on a migration path to OPERA Cloud, so on-premise customers face a forced project on a timetable set by Oracle rather than by their own budget cycle.
  • Small independent properties pay for group, catering and multi-property machinery they will never use, and lighter systems deliver a working front desk in days rather than months.

Smoobu

  • The Flex plan carries a 0.9% fee on every booking, which on an apartment turning over €40,000 a year costs more than the entire annual subscription saving, and the pricing page presents Flex as the cheaper option.
  • Pricing is per unit, so a ten unit portfolio pays roughly €31.50 plus nine additional units at about €9.60, and the headline monthly figure covers a single apartment only.
  • Write access is charged per account beyond the included seats, so a cleaner, a co-host and an owner all needing to edit bookings turn into a recurring per seat cost.
  • There is no trust accounting or owner statement generation, so anyone managing units on behalf of third-party owners has to build payout reporting outside the system.
  • Housekeeping and maintenance dispatch is minimal compared with manager-grade platforms, so cleaning coordination happens in WhatsApp or a separate tool once you are past a few units.

Pricing, plan by plan

Opera PMS

On request
  • OPERA Cloud$undefined/year
    • Per-room subscription with tiered functionality
    • Implementation and configuration services quoted separately
    • Interface and integration fees charged per property

Smoobu

€29/month
  • Professional Flex$29/month
    • One unit included
    • 0.9% fee on every booking
    • Channel manager, website builder, messaging
  • Professional Prepaid$31.5/month
    • One unit included
    • No booking fee
    • Website builder, invoicing, chatbot, API access
  • Teams Pro+$49.5/month
    • Everything in Prepaid
    • E-invoicing
    • Two write-access accounts, extra accounts from about €12 each

Which should you pick?

Choose Opera PMS if

  • You need reservations and front desk.
  • You work on Web, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want rate and yield management.
Opera PMS review

Choose Smoobu if

  • You need channel manager.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want website builder.
Smoobu review

Questions people ask

Is Opera PMS or Smoobu better?
Neither clearly leads. Opera PMS starts at On request and Smoobu at €29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Opera PMS or Smoobu?
Opera PMS starts at On request and Smoobu at €29/month.
Does Opera PMS or Smoobu run on more platforms?
Opera PMS runs on Web, Windows, iOS, Android. Smoobu runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Opera PMS best used for?
Opera PMS is most often used for a hotel group standardising several hundred properties on one reservation and reporting spine, a conference hotel where function space, banquet orders and group blocks drive most revenue, a franchisee whose brand agreement mandates opera and a specific central reservation system, a resort with multiple outlets that needs tight posting between pos, spa and the guest folio. Of those, a hotel group standardising several hundred properties on one reservation and reporting spine and a conference hotel where function space, banquet orders and group blocks drive most revenue are not what Smoobu is typically brought in for.
What can Opera PMS do that Smoobu cannot?
Opera PMS covers Reservations and front desk, Rate and yield management, Sales and catering, Housekeeping and maintenance. Smoobu covers Channel manager, Website builder, Guest messaging, Unified calendar.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Opera PMS: Is OPERA Cloud the same product as OPERA 5?

No. They share a name and much of the data model, but OPERA Cloud is a separate multi-tenant application. Moving between them is a migration project, not an upgrade.

Smoobu: Which plan is actually cheaper, Flex or Prepaid?

Prepaid, for almost anyone with real occupancy. The 0.9% booking fee on Flex exceeds the subscription difference once annual revenue passes a few thousand euros.

Opera PMS: Why do integration partners charge a monthly fee per hotel?

Because Oracle charges them for certification and API usage through OHIP. Partners pass that on, so budget for it per connected system per property.

Smoobu: How many properties does the entry price cover?

One. Every additional unit adds roughly €9.60 per month.

Opera PMS: Can a single independent hotel buy OPERA?

Yes, but the economics rarely work below roughly 100 rooms unless a brand agreement requires it.

Smoobu: Does it include dynamic pricing?

Only two months free on the Teams tier. Ongoing dynamic pricing means subscribing to PriceLabs or similar.

Opera PMS: How long does implementation take?

Plan for three to six months for a single complex property, longer for a multi-property rollout.

Smoobu: Is there a contract?

Billing is monthly, yearly or two-yearly, with 30 days notice required to cancel; longer terms buy 10% or 20% off.

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