Tokay vs Smoobu

Tokay and Smoobu are often compared by hosts who want to stop typing the same answers every day, but they do different jobs. Tokay is the complete front desk: six agents, the host in control, one flat price. Smoobu is a channel manager billed in euros, with a guest inbox and no AI guest replies. Here is how they compare.

Side by side

Smoobu facts are from their public material as of October 2026; check their site for the current figure.

The Tokay edge

Six agents, not one feature

Smoobu moves calendars between platforms and gives you one inbox to type in. Tokay's six agents do the typing and the rest of the day's work. Pam answers guests around the clock. Ivo reviews prices every morning and recommends changes you approve. Angela turns bank slip photos into expense records and flags a monthly bill that has not arrived. Sam writes tomorrow's cleaning brief every night and rewrites it when plans change. Andy drafts a reply to every review the morning it lands. Leo sends one morning message with what needs you. With Smoobu, every one of those jobs stays with the host.

The night shift is covered

A guest landing from an overnight flight writes at 5 AM asking about early check-in. With Smoobu the message sits in the inbox until you wake. With Tokay, Pam answers from your rules, in the guest's language, and brings anything unusual to you. On our own apartments this is what moved the Airbnb communication rating from 4.81 to 4.97.

You stay in charge of every decision

Tokay earns the right to send in a set order: two weeks where every reply comes to you to approve, edit or deny with a tap, then auto-send switched on one topic at a time. Price changes can be undone for two days. Anything unusual, upset, sensitive or uncertain always comes to you first, and if a fact is missing Pam asks instead of guessing.

Guests answered in their language, not just translated

Pam answers in the guest's own language, more than ten of them including Thai, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Russian, on Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo where the guest already wrote. Cleaners and contractors are reached on LINE, where staff in Thailand actually are.

One price in dollars with nothing variable

Tokay is one plan with the whole team included, no per-message fees, no commission, no share of bookings. $29 per listing monthly, $24 yearly, $24 / $20 from 10 listings, $19 / $16 from 25. Smoobu is billed in euros, about €35 for the first unit plus €12 per extra, and the figure moves against baht and dollars with the exchange rate. Tokay's price is the same number every month.

Where Smoobu stops

Smoobu is a channel manager. The guest messages arrive in its inbox and stop there. With it, the host still does by hand:

• Every reply: no AI guest replies at all. Tokay's Pam answers 24/7 and you switch on each topic she may send alone.
• Pricing: no morning review with recommendations and undo. Tokay's Ivo does this daily and you approve.
• Expenses and bills: no slip-photo records, no watchdog for a late bill. Tokay's Angela does both.
• Cleaning: no nightly brief rewritten when a late checkout is agreed at 9 PM. Tokay's Sam writes it and reaches cleaners on LINE.
• Reviews and the morning: no drafted review replies, no single summary of what needs you. Tokay's Andy and Leo cover these.

Pricing side by side

Prices as of October 2026, per month, Smoobu totals calculated from about €35 for the first unit plus €12 per extra.

Tokay's launch price is kept for life if you join before 31 March 2027, with a full refund within 30 days. Smoobu's figure buys calendar sync and an inbox you answer yourself; Tokay's buys the whole front desk with the host approving. Tokay prices are at /#pricing.

How you start

1. Connect your Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo listings. About ten minutes, nothing to install.
2. One short call to tell Tokay your rules in plain sentences: wifi, check-in, house rules, price floors.
3. Two supervised weeks where every reply comes to you first. Then switch on what Tokay may send on its own, one topic at a time.

Questions hosts ask