Last Updated on June 19, 2023 by Rental Recon
I’ve recently been looking into add-on platforms to sync with my Airbnb account and make hosting guests on multiple booking platforms easier. Managing properties and listing them across various platforms (Airbnb, HomeAway, Booking.com, etc.) can be overwhelming. For this reason, I set out to research the features of Your Porter and Smartbnb and compare each platform to see, which gives hosts the best service for their needs.
Your Porter Vs. Smartbnb: Who Came Out on Top in Our Review?
While Your Porter and Smartbnb both offer similar services, Your Porter app allows you to manage bookings from your phone/ app and even provides a website building service. This tool will enable guests to book your space directly from the website portal, saving you the commission from booking sites like Airbnb and HomeAway.
Keep reading to see our side-by-side comparison chart for both companies, as well as an in-depth look at the services offered.
Your Porter Vs. Smartbnb Comparison Chart
Overall Summary- Your Porter vs. Smartbnb
Smartbnb offers automatic bookings and automates virtually all aspects of guest communication and task creation for employees while Your Porter requires a bit more attention, but allows you to work through your phone from anywhere.
Both services allow you to create automated messages and send them automatically in your guests’ language and time-zone. Still, Your Porter seems to be more accessible and helpful by giving you weekly performance reports and allowing you to manage all this from your phone. After your 20th unit, Your Porter gives you a hefty discount, and their customer service for the Pro-Host Account is 24/7.
You can check out all of our Recommended Airbnb tools HERE >>
Both Your Porter and Smartbnb have different features that are useful, but as always, there are downfalls to each. Depending on your priority as a host, each app has strengths that are useful in different areas of operation. I’ve found the facts, features, and user feedback on both of these apps to allow you to decide which is best for your property management needs.
Your Porter Review
Your Porter is an easy to use platform for property management. Your Porter provides integration with Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, and Booking.com. You can manage bookings from your phone, via the Your Porter App, giving you freedom from the computer while still being able to communicate to guests quickly when needed.
Here are the main features of Your Porter:
- Message Automation
- Channel Manager
- Website Builder
- Income Reports
- Co-Host Payments
- Airbnb Rankings Reports
- Shared Calendars for Cleaners
Your Porter Message Automation
Your porter provides a robust message automation function that allows for personalized messages to be sent to your guest, on the days and times you specify. They can also be sent in the specific language of your guests.
Sometimes a guest will message a host periodically throughout their stay. If this makes one of your automated messages obsolete, you can pause the next message so that it doesn’t get sent and confuse a guest.
If you have multiple properties, you can also set up unique messages for each of your properties.
Shared Calendar for Cleaners
You can easily set up a shared cleaning calendar for your cleaners. Just specify which properties belong with which cleaner, and select what calendar information the cleaner can view, and submit.
You’ll be given a link that can be shared with your cleaning team, via email, SMS, or WhatsApp. They can open the link on any smartphone or computer, and they don’t need to have access to the Your Porter app. The calendar information is also updated in real-time.
Your Porter Pricing
Your Porter has a free 21-day trial, with no credit card required. At only $7 per property per month billed annually or $9 per property billed monthly, it’s cheaper than Smartbnb if you choose the annual plan. Plus, after 20 properties, the company offers a considerable discount. This is useful for hosts with an established company and multiple properties.
At only $7 per property per month, billed annually or $9 per property billed monthly, it’s cheaper than Smartbnb if you choose the annual plan.
-Your Porter
Your Porter does everything that Smartbnb does, including creating rules for communications and personalizing messages to guests in their language. Plus, you can do this all from your mobile device. With the Pro-host account, you can even set up a website to allow people to book directly through you and save you from having to pay commission to booking websites.
A great feature this app has that Smartbnb doesn’t currently have is a weekly performance report. If you’re trying to scale your business, this is a great tool to help you with marketing and sales development. It grabs data from all booking websites and consolidates it into an easy to read report that will help you understand your conversion rate and clicks-per-day in relation to bookings.
If you’re just beginning your Airbnb business, Your Porter offers an Expanding Host Account, which costs less and takes out some of the unnecessary features you may not need until you grow a bit more. For both accounts, your calendars and communication will be synced across any platform your properties are listed on.
Your Porter Cons
In researching customer reviews, I found that this platform is still building its task management interface, and some users say it isn’t as helpful as they would like. However, all customers agree that Your Porter is very committed to improving and great at communicating with their customers.
Unfortunately, there is no automatic booking feature with Your Porter app at this time. However, this does give you a little more control and personalization in who you choose to book your space. You are able to connect your Stripe account and collect automatic payments, though.
Check Out This Rental Recon Article: Airbnb Essentials: 75+ Items Every Host Should Have For Guests
Smartbnb Pros and Cons
Smartbnb is a well-known platform that many hosts use for property management. The pricing for two active listings per month is $18, increasing by intervals for each additional property. The more properties you have, the less you’ll pay per unit. You’re only paying for listings that have had a reservation in the last 30 days, and there is no cancellation fee if you decide to quit using Smartbnb.
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The great thing about Smartbnb is that you can automatically book guests after specifying specific criteria. You can personalize answers through keywords, and answer your guests quickly in up to 29 languages! Upon booking your guests, Smartbnb syncs the schedule with all your booking websites so that the property that’s been booked shows up as reserved for other guests looking at your rental.
You can send messages to your cleaning team and prepare them for guests check out dates without having to arrange scheduling via email or phone.
In my research, I dug into reviews from current and past users. Some people complain that the Smartbnb platform is challenging to navigate at times, and some technical difficulties caused automatic messages to either be delayed or not sent at all.
Also, because Smartbnb does not allow you to cancel an automated review until after the guests check out, some users complain that the templates cause awkward messages to their guests.
I’ve concluded that while the program is helpful for many users, there are still a few hiccups in the coding and backend programming of the platform itself that causes some issues for hosts using it.
If I’m trying to grow my business, which platform is best?
While it largely depends on which services you prioritize that each platform offers, Your Porter does offer lower prices for owners with over 20 properties. Also, the Pro-host account offers a free website builder, which will help you skip the booking commissions received by the sites. In general, having reviews from your previous guests is key to increasing your business- those automatic reviews are handy!
Am I able to try each platform for free before agreeing to purchase them?
Yes! Your Porter offers a 21-day free trial while Smartbnb offers 21 days free as well! You can also opt into the monthly plan at first so you can be sure the platform is right for you before paying for an annual subscription.
