A brand new Smoobu – An intro to the new design

ᐅ A brand new Smoobu - An intro to the new design

Today we are launching a new design and we are super excited to introduce you a whole new Smoobu!

Continuously improving functionality and usability of our software is part of our DNA. In the past, most of our upgrades were smaller and very often not even visible.

But today, we are launching a bigger release which will be highly visible to you! Here is a brief overview of what is new.

Not to worry, most of the layout remains the same and we are sure you will love the new changes.

In a nutshell

  • We built a whole new design with a cleaner layout.
  • We created better reservation tooltips.
  • We now have a cleaner Booking Details page.
  • We merged the Prices page into a brand new calendar.
  • We redesigned Statistics and you now have more graphs and choices.
  • We hid the navigation and streamline your view to see more content.
  • We improved our Onboarding (guides, Airbnb setup).
  • We added a new Dark Mode.

And a lot more you may discover!

What’s new in terms of functionality

  • If you have more than 1 account, you can now easily switch between them.
  • Drag and drop reservations from one unit or date to another, and it will sync to portals.
  • Statistics can be disabled in Cockpit if you prefer to see the calendar only (account settings).
  • New Messaging section for better usability.

Additionally, we have doubled our servers to increase synchronization performance!

Introducing the new age of Smoobu

With this new design we’re evolving Smoobu’s interface with a cleaner layout, uniform design system, more streamlined color palette and a lighter code base for faster load times in a whole new way.

This new aesthetic also better reflects the company we are today. Here’s a sneak peek of the new layout:

ᐅ A brand new Smoobu - An intro to the new design

Prices and availability: A better calendar view

Among other changes, the newly designed Price page now lets you directly access your bookings.

ᐅ A brand new Smoobu - An intro to the new design

Switch between accounts easily

No more login and logouts. You can now easily switch multiple accounts in the profile drop-down menu.

ᐅ A brand new Smoobu - An intro to the new design

Last but not least: Dark mode

The option to switch between White and Grey, reducing the brightness of colours. Colours are intended to catch attention, we are now using them for content elements that are worth your attention.
We have a dark mode now, too! Great for your eyes at night.

ᐅ A brand new Smoobu - An intro to the new design

But we’re not done yet…

We are very happy to receive your feedback. Any release may come with a few small bugs, so we appreciate your help and understanding. We will continue to drive Smoobu, and make it work even better for you. Enjoy working with the newly updated Smoobu and let us know your thoughts.

2021 is just getting started and we can’t wait to show you everything else we have planned for this year. From a new website builder experience to improved booking tools, we have our most ambitious roadmap ahead of us. Stay tuned!

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Comments 76
  • Hi Philipp,

    In previous version it was possible to have a yearly overview (multiView) of all bookings in calendar mode which was very useful.

    Since the update, we can’t find that overview anymore
    The cockpit is showing us a 4 to 5 month overview but not a full year.

    Any chance to have that view back?

  • Yvonne Brooks
    March 22, 2021 at 00:29  -  Reply

    Hallo, nice design.

    Re Functionality:
    1. back-button would be great
    2. HTML editor or plain text editor for templates is not working well. Very simple. Pics (i.e. our logo) can’t be imported.
    3. Preview before sending something out would be great.

    Thanks.
    Yvonne

  • Michelle Woodman
    March 21, 2021 at 16:08  -  Reply

    I help many STR owners find the right tech for their business. Smoobu is a great channel manager and very easy to use. However the lack of a payment workflow is a big stumbling block. Most other tools in this space allow you to set a date before booking when the balance is due – and automate the sending of a reminder to pay the balance and a link to do so to stripe or another gateway. They also allow you to send emails at any interval prior to arrival.
    These two additions would, in my opinion, significantly increase the numbers of STR owners in the UK that would choose this tool. We nearly all collect balances up front and a clear picture of what is overdue is essential to avoid unnecessary manual processes

    • Thanks very much Michelle!
      We have this aspect on our agenda for 2021. Asking for a bit of patience.
      Best
      Philipp

  • Eddie Deighton
    March 21, 2021 at 15:49  -  Reply

    Hi. None of your site images are appearing in my Safari browser, only on Chrome.

    • Hi Eddie. Are you referring to smoobu.com or to the software dashboard? Can you kindly send us a screenshot? Go to our contact page (smoobu.com/en/contact-us), in the subject dropdown select “Troubleshooting” and upload a file. We appreciate it. Hugo

      • Eddie Deighton
        March 21, 2021 at 17:29  - 

        Hi Hugo
        I have sent an email to services@ because your Troubleshooting page will not accept my equation. It is not clear what math symbol should be there – I see a * – and it will not accept my answer.

    • +1 for these features

  • Hi Phillipp
    Es sieht gut aus. Ein paar wichtige Sachen auf die wir warten habt Ihr doch vergessen!
    – Mehrsprachige Rechnungen
    – Ein Placeholder fΓΌr das datum an dem die Reservierung gemacht wurde. Das ist hilfreich bei Anmahnungen.
    – eine KalenderΓΌbersicht per Jahr wie im Tool fΓΌr die eigene Website sodass ich bei einer Anfrage am Telefon direkt sehen kann was frei ist.
    – Die MΓΆglichkeit um die Farben im Kalendertool anzupassen ohne das ich ein komplettes CSS neu bauen muss.
    Grüße
    Peter

    • Hallo Peter,

      thanks for the feedback! Writing in English as this is the English blog page πŸ˜‰

      Multilingual invoices we will not be generating as it is highly unusual to write them in any other language than the property location. If you need to use a different language nevertheless you may help yourself by switching Smoobu to that language.

      Placeholder I will check with product team.

      This is to be discussed as the booking tool provides exactly this info. For requests on the phone you may use you backend?!

      Adapting colors in tools without using CSS will come.

      Happy Sunday!
      Philipp

  • Stephanie Flores
    March 21, 2021 at 10:15  -  Reply

    Hi. Ignore my last comment on the phone number. It looks like it’s just VRBO ( previously home away) phone number that doesn’t come forward otherwise it’s there for other platforms. Any idea when that phone number integration will happen? Thank you again!

    • Exactly right Stephanie. Unfortunately, VRBO currently does not give us access to numbers. But I am positive for this to change in the future πŸ™‚
      Have a great Sunday!

  • Stephanie Flores
    March 21, 2021 at 10:05  -  Reply

    Hi. First of all, I love Smoobu!
    Not sure if I’m overlooking it but I don’t see the guest phone number. I use variations of it to code the locks. I’m having to separately go in to the different platforms to get it . Thank you!

    • Hi Stephanie,
      glad to hear πŸ™‚ Phone numbers should be available for most of the major portals. Currently we do not have access to numbers on VRBO due to their restrictions. But pretty sure we should find a workaround or another solution with them in the future.
      Best
      Philipp

  • On the old calendar it showed you what day of the week the bookings is ie. Friday 1 April. now it just show 1 April so I have no idea what day of the week it is is there anyway to have this showing

  • Love the new look app. Not specific to the new app but …. any chance of being able to see the dates still for booked periods on the calendar? I know it sounds silly but I find myself having to count to figure out dates because they’re not visible.

  • Hi guys, loving the new look, however, I’d still like the option of sending a communication 28 days before planned arrival and a better invoice …… Maybe in the next phase?????

  • On the Cockpit page can the days of the week appear under the date? At the moment the days appear in the nights that are not booked out however if you are full you can’t see any days of the week. Otherwise looks great. Thanks.

  • On a Samsung phone, I can’t create and send an account to a customer. There is no price on the phone when booking. I liked the first version more …

    • Hi there!
      Would you mind opening a ticket for us to fix it. If it was in the old version, the functionality is certainly coming back soon.
      Best
      Philipp

      • That would be good for you to fix. Buttons “Create” and “Create and send” does not work on the phone

  • Thanks for the update, it looks trendy and clean!

    Just checking … am I the only one who has a problem with scrolling to the right (it’s a bit small to take the slider). Maybe if you make the left collom with cockpit, … and put it in the hidden left side? The calender is the most needed item of the program …

    Thank you!

    • Hi David,
      if I am not mistaken this is a Firefox only problem right now. Will be adapting an releasing tomorrow.
      Best
      Philipp

  • Hi Philip,
    I love most of the updates, nice job.
    I do have a problem with printing the booking-information page. It used to fit on an A4 sheet but is now a 3-page column that I can’t use for checking guests in offline.

  • Any chance of adding β€˜back’ buttons or return to menu to iPhone version? I have to log out and log back in a lot. Let’s say I look at my bookings and create a csv file.. I have to log out then in again to continue.

  • I love Smoobu and I love that you care about making your product the best and that you’re listening to your users.

    It’s great your open minded that some things may not be as successful as others but all I can say is that you make my life much easier and I’m so glad I found you after a horrendous previous experience with another company about a year before I found you.

    Thank you for your fabulous software. I can’t wait to see new things added.

    • Thank you so much Lisa! We are pushing hard and it is great to see it being appreciated. All the best to you and your business

  • Daniel Siegenthaler
    March 19, 2021 at 21:20  -  Reply

    Hallo Philipp

    Hat ein paar schΓΆne Neuerungen, leider ist die Darstellung fΓΌr einen 6.5 Zoll Android Screen beim Kalender in der Multi View viiil zu gross. Ich kann in der ersten Spalte die Zimmer Nummer noch lesen, aber den Namen nicht mehr. Kann man das kleiner schalten? Das vorherige Design war fΓΌr die Handy Nutzung perfekt, nun ist alles zu gross.

    Gruß
    Dani

  • We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for your insights. As you noticed, this new design presented some initial challenges. We have worked hard to deliver a first day patch to cover most of the issues you were encountering.
    The following issues have been resolved:

    Price Synchronization
    Android & iOS booking list
    Various Cockpit updates
    € Symbol in Statistics page
    Mobile App Property Selection
    Zoom in App
    Assistants can see notes now
    Other small fixes

    Please check your account to see if your case has been already covered. If it has not been fixed it, we ask you kindly to be patient as we will keep working during the next days.

  • Also, my calendar on the cockpit page of the app is so zoomed in, I cannot see who is booking what suite. Essentially making my app on my phone worthless. I check my calendar everyday, and now I cant even read it. Please fix this ASAP. I would also love the option to remove the statistics from my cockpit. I really just need my calendar and next arrivals/departures.

    • Thanks Larissa for the feedback. We will be putting our best effort into this the upcoming days. And I am very positive that in a few days you will prefer the new over the old view. Deactivating statistics in the cockpit is actually now available in your account settings. You can choose between desktop only or always hide

  • Also, my calendar on the cockpit page of the app is so zoomed in, I cannot see who is booking what suite. Essentially making my app on my phone worthless. I check my calendar everyday, and now I cant even read it. Please fix this ASAP. I would also love the option to remove the statistics from my cockpit. I really just need my calendar and next arrivals/departures.

  • Wayne Hindman
    March 19, 2021 at 17:10  -  Reply

    When pulling up a reservation under the latest feed, you are given the choices to see details, edit, and β€œcancel”, which both my wife and I assumed meant cancel that tabs and go back…it cancels the reservation, without asking for confirmation or anything.

    We β€œcancelled” 3 reservations by accident….to easy to do.

  • Messages- why can’t I see all the messages sent and received to/ from a specific guest??? , just the last one – useless!

    • Thanks Andy,
      please understand that we need to keep developing the platform. Some bugs after a release can occur. They are unfortunately, however inevitable. Of course we are fixing the issues you are seeing asap.
      Best
      Philipp

  • Not really impressed.
    I like what I signed up for.
    I can’t seem to show my revenue for past periods( of my choosing, it’s not at all easy to navigate.
    Price page isn’t so clear now with minimum stay reduced to a blimp.
    Frustrating to say the least.

    • Thanks Andy,
      please understand that we need to keep developing the platform. Some bugs after a release can occur. They are unfortunately, however inevitable. Of course we are fixing the issues you are seeing asap.
      Best
      Philipp

  • Hi,

    The refreshed look looks nice but some new features are a draw back.

    The calendar module (old pricing) doesn’t show the prices on AirBnB or Booking.com anymore.
    Also, when you modify a night, a popup window appears to show the changes and ask you to synchronise. Unfortunately, it is hiding the last day of the month.
    Once you click synchronise, the data that was changed disappears and you need to refresh the page.

    Seems there is some debugging to be done πŸ˜‰

    • Hi Maxime,
      these aspects are being fixed as we speak. Except for Airbnb and booking showing NA, have you openend a ticket about that issue. Do not think it is caused by the release.
      And yes, we are debugging like crazy πŸ˜‰

  • There is no need to make icons and text of the same colour. Icons need to be made 2 times more transparent or lighter.

  • Android App. Huawei P20
    – After updating the app, my assistant cannot log in and check customer reservations. What nonsense ?;
    – Hamburger and magnifying glass icons in the header are not aligned with the background height;
    – Multi-view should be on the full width of the screen, without side margins;
    – Activity feed: there is a lot of space to the left of the coloured dots, and the text does not fit on the right;
    – a lot of text of the same size, without priority, because of this it is difficult to read. It is necessary to use the font size to make the main information in any block larger, and to make the secondary texts and icons smaller;
    – Cockpit: the first block with charts also needs to be made for the full width of the screen, without empty side margins.

    Thanks for the app changes and dark theme.

    • Thanks Andy,
      please understand that we need to keep developing the platform. Some bugs after a release can occur. They are unfortunately, however inevitable. Of course we are fixing the issues you are seeing asap.
      Best
      Philipp

  • Not happy with this lay out. Much clearer the way it was before.
    Can’t find the pricing page !

  • Hello before when changing prices when I press “tab”key and moves to next date, the price was selected so one could just type in the new price. Now it is not selected so I have to click and makes this process much slower.

    Also would be nice at somepoint to have a click and drag option to select multiple dates and change prices. Something like you have on the cockpit for entering direct bookings,but for changing prices and minumum nights.

    • Hi Martin,
      tab key still works here. Would you mind sending more info to support please.
      We always loved the idea to drag and drop prices in the calendar, it is fancy. It is quite complicated to develop, but there will be more updates in the future πŸ˜‰
      Best
      Philipp

  • Carl Terrantroy
    March 19, 2021 at 12:15  -  Reply

    Hi I like the new look, besides the euro bug on the statistics page another item on the mobile client missing is the ability to customise the date range for reporting. We would use Australian financial year 1st July to 30th June. If we could get the ability back that would be great as the calendar year isn’t as useful thankyou.

    • Hi Carl,
      thanks for your feedback. Will be looking into those.
      Also thanks about the Australian insights πŸ˜‰
      Best
      Philipp

  • Stuart Millar
    March 19, 2021 at 10:37  -  Reply

    Hey. All looks great so far. Only issue is when on mobile device if you change property to check stats or check calendar it is jumping back to 1st property. This is happen to a few staff also. Can you please advise.

    • Thanks Stuart! We have that one on the list already. Should be fixed soon. For now you can help yourself by turning your phone sideways πŸ™‚
      Cheers
      Philipp

  • Sylvia Cheek
    March 19, 2021 at 07:48  -  Reply

    Also don’t like what you have done with the Pricing page. Everything was so smooth before and now it is not the case.
    The minimum number if nights is now reflected like a “pimple” on top of the nightly pricing. To my mind – just not really clear.
    Mostly just don’t like what you have done.

    • Hi Sylvia,
      Thanks very much for the feedback. Nice description πŸ™‚ I get your point. We will make sure to adapt the currency. It is only a display issue, though. Please understand that after releases there will always appear some bugs. We are going to fix these today and will make sure for you to have your Smoobu Smoobu experience as you had before. I am sure the latest next week you will start loving the new design once you will see how nicely it will work and the new functionality it has.
      Super sorry for the inconvenience and asking for your understanding. Thanks
      Best regards
      Philipp

  • Revenue is only showing in Euros

    On the statistics tab I used to be able to choose the time frame. Now they are set Im unable to set the dates to suit my tax year

    • Hi Candice,
      Thanks very much for the feedback. We will make sure to adapt the currency. It is only a display issue, though. Please understand that after releases there will always appear some bugs. We are going to fix these today and will make sure for you to have your Smoobu Smoobu experience as you had before. I am sure the latest next week you will start loving the new design once you will see how nicely it will work and the new functionality it has.
      Super sorry for the inconvenience and asking for your understanding. Thanks
      Best regards
      Philipp

    • Hi Candice,
      Thanks very much for the feedback. We will revert it. It is only a display issue, though.
      Super sorry for the inconvenience and asking for your understanding. Thanks
      Best regards
      Philipp

  • Leslie Brake
    March 18, 2021 at 23:53  -  Reply

    I love the new changes! The site is much clearer and easier to view. I haven’t checked it all out but it’s looking great.
    Lesli

    • Hi Leslie,
      Thanks very much for the feedback. We are back to work to fix the issues we are having πŸ™‚
      Best regards
      Philipp

  • Calendar is too busy with multiple squares. I liked simple version better. Now it looks like excel spreadsheet πŸ™

    • Hi Ausra,
      Thanks very much for the feedback. We will make sure to adapt the currency. It is only a display issue, though. Please understand that after releases there will always appear some bugs. We are going to fix these today and will make sure for you to have your Smoobu Smoobu experience as you had before. I am sure the latest next week you will start loving the new design once you will see how nicely it will work and the new functionality it has.
      Super sorry for the inconvenience and asking for your understanding. Thanks
      Best regards
      Philipp

  • Could you please do 2 different colour for properties on the calendar and booking strip.

  • The tab to forward the calendar is too thin.

  • Love the look but not happy I can’t easily show (on my iPhone) my total bookings for 2021 under the statistic menu. On the old I could easily choose the dates (January 2021 to December 2021) and see the totals for all my bookings. It’s not easy to do at all under the new module.

    • Hi Eric,
      Thanks very much for the feedback. We love it too. Now working on the issues for the day πŸ™‚ Please understand that after releases there will always appear some bugs. We are going to fix these today and will make sure for you to have your Smoobu Smoobu experience as you had before. I am sure the latest next week you will start loving the new design once you will see how nicely it will work and the new functionality it has.
      Super sorry for the inconvenience and asking for your understanding. Thanks
      Best regards
      Philipp

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