** First day with Smoobu: how to start using the Channel Manager? 🎥 **

Hi there! If you have signed on with our Smoobu free trial for 14 days, welcome! Here we cover what to do on your first day with Smoobu. This guide explains how to start with our Channel Manager and how to synchronize the different booking portals.

Steps - quick recap

STEP 1) Create your accommodation
Don't worry! It's just adding a name so you can identify them. (Video)

STEP 2) Connect your portals
This step will import the bookings from the portals into Smoobu.

STEP 3) Enter direct bookings & blocked periods
Inform Smoobu periods when your unit is unavailable or has direct bookings. (Video)

Recommended additional steps

STEP 4) Request an initial availability push 
Highly recommended!

STEP 5) Check your prices
Recommended for new listings

STEP 6) Self-manage availability for Airbnb, Booking and Expedia
Recommended for more automation and peace of mind

All 6 steps explained in detail below

STEP 1) Create your units

Go to Settings - Accommodation. Enter the unit's name and click on Add accommodation. Repeat if you have more units

Important: each of your bookable units should be individually entered. If you rent out rooms, you must enter each as an individual accommodation.
In case you have a structure with main units and subunits, we recommend you to check our detailed description on how to create your accommodation in Smoobu

Once you have added all your bookable units, it is time to synchronize your listings from the different booking portals.

STEP 2) Connect your portals

Recommended : Connect Smoobu and Airbnb
Recommended : Connect Smoobu and Booking

2a) Connect your portals. Go to Settings - Booking portals

b) Click on “Select portal”, pick the channel and click on “Add Portal”

2c) Follow the given instructions carefully to connect to each booking portal. Each of them has its own connecting procedure

Could you not find your favourite portal listed on Smoobu ? We've got your back. Learn more about iCal synchronization.

Once connected, please double check your bookings list to ensure all the information has successfully imported.

STEP 3) Enter your direct bookings and blocked periods

Prefer a video on how to do this? Watch our Video guide here.

Smoobu will import confirmed native bookings from each booking portal. For instance, we'll import from Airbnb bookings which have been done by Airbnb guests - not manually blocked periods that you've entered on Airbnb's calendar.
So remember! your central calendar is now Smoobu. If you have periods that should not be available for booking (either for maintenance reasons, direct bookings, walk-ins or other reasons) you should report them to Smoobu.

3a) Click on "Enter booking"

3b) Select "Direct booking" or "Blocked" (period), according to your needs. Select the period of time you wish to block and any additional info you have.

All good! We're all done here. Please check if your Smoobu calendar is complete.

STEP 4) Replicate Smoobu calendar across all booking portals (recommended)

Contact the team to request an initial availability push to your portals for the next 2 years (or the maximum allowed by the portal). This way, we will replicate your Smoobu calendar in your connected booking portals. We highly recommend this to reopen dates which you might have closed previously,  reopen an auto-closed calendar or when your listing is new to a certain booking portal. Read more about how Smoobu works with availability

STEP 5) Make sure you've got prices across all portals

Smoobu can start running working with your pre-existing prices - the ones you had entered on the different booking portals prior to connecting to Smoobu. We will not overwrite any of this information. 

However, if you are new to some portals they might not make your property LIVE until you set your prices. If that's your case, then you should take a look to the following pricing guide. 

STEP 6) Self-manage availability for Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia 

You can now also self-manage availability. Define bookable days in advance so Smoobu opens your calendar every day, one more day far out in the future. Or, choose an end date to be bookable until. This function does not replace the initial availability push and only applies to dates >90 days in the future. More info

Are you looking for more channels where to list your properties? Find the booking portals list here