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Travel · head to head

SiteMinder vs Smoobu

SiteMinder logo

SiteMinder

Travel

Hotel channel manager and distribution platform

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: SiteMinder quote-only pricing scaled by rooms and channels, so comparison requires a sales conversation; 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: SiteMinder covers Booking engine, Smoobu covers Website builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SiteMinder and Smoobu actually diverge.

Attributes where SiteMinder and Smoobu differ
AttributeSiteMinderSmoobu
Starting priceOn request€29/month
Pricing modelquotePer unit per month
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, 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 SiteMinder

  • Booking engine
  • Wide channel reach
  • Rate management

Only in Smoobu

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

Both cover

  • Channel manager

What people use each for

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

SiteMinder

  • Hotels selling across several OTAs that must not double-booknot Smoobu
  • Properties wanting direct bookings alongside OTA distributionnot Smoobu
  • Groups managing rates centrally rather than channel by channelnot 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 SiteMinder
  • An owner wanting automated check-in instructions and pre-arrival messages sent per channel without logging into each extranetnot SiteMinder
  • A small manager who needs guest invoices that meet German documentation requirements without adding a separate accounting toolnot SiteMinder
  • A host testing dynamic pricing through the bundled trial before deciding whether to subscribe to PriceLabs separatelynot SiteMinder

Where each one falls short

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

SiteMinder

  • Quote-only pricing scaled by rooms and channels, so comparison requires a sales conversation
  • A channel manager only, so a property management system is still needed alongside it
  • Sync depends on the OTAs at the other end, and their API changes and outages present as your problem
  • Setup and channel mapping is more involved than the marketing suggests

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

SiteMinder

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the SiteMinder review.

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 SiteMinder if

  • You need booking engine.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want wide channel reach.
SiteMinder review

Choose Smoobu if

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

Questions people ask

Is SiteMinder or Smoobu better?
Neither clearly leads. SiteMinder 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, SiteMinder or Smoobu?
SiteMinder starts at On request and Smoobu at €29/month.
Does SiteMinder or Smoobu run on more platforms?
SiteMinder runs on Web, Cloud. Smoobu runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is SiteMinder best used for?
SiteMinder is most often used for hotels selling across several otas that must not double-book, properties wanting direct bookings alongside ota distribution, groups managing rates centrally rather than channel by channel. Of those, hotels selling across several otas that must not double-book and properties wanting direct bookings alongside ota distribution are not what Smoobu is typically brought in for.
What can SiteMinder do that Smoobu cannot?
SiteMinder covers Booking engine, Wide channel reach, Rate management. Smoobu covers Website builder, Guest messaging, Unified calendar, Invoicing and e-invoicing. Both handle Channel manager.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SiteMinder: What does SiteMinder cost?

It quotes per property based on rooms and channels and does not publish standard rates.

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.

SiteMinder: What does a channel manager actually do?

It keeps rates and availability in step across every booking site, so a room sold on one channel is immediately closed on the others. Without it, double bookings are inevitable.

Smoobu: How many properties does the entry price cover?

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

SiteMinder: Is it a full property management system?

No. It handles distribution; reservations, housekeeping and billing still need a PMS.

Smoobu: Does it include dynamic pricing?

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

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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