Hostaway vs Smoobu vs Avantio: Which Vacation Rental Software Fits Your Business Best?

Choosing the right vacation rental management software is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a property manager. Your vacation rental software will directly impact your ability to manage properties, prevent double bookings, improve guest communication and scale your short-term rental business.

In this detailed comparison of Smoobu vs Hostaway vs Avantio, we’ll compare features and evaluate them based on the factors that influence long-term success. By the end, you’ll know which platform best aligns with your vacation rental business goals — whether you’re running a handful of vacation rentals or managing hundreds of rental properties across multiple booking platforms.

Key Features of Hostaway vs Avantio vs Smoobu

Platform Architecture

The foundation of a vacation rental management platform often determines its speed, reliability and integration quality. Some vacation rental software platforms are built almost entirely in-house, meaning the property management software, channel manager and automation tools share a common codebase. Others are assembled, integrating different third-party tools that leads to an experience that is not as seamless.

Hostaway

Hostaway has taken the “built” approach. Its comprehensive vacation rental management software system is developed internally, which means seamless compatibility across the platform and faster performance. This allows Hostaway to roll out new features quickly without waiting for third-party providers. For property managers who prioritize reliability and scalability, this unified architecture is a major plus.

Smoobu

Smoobu leans toward the “assembled” model, integrating multiple external tools but keeping the interface user-friendly. This means it’s not as deeply unified as Hostaway but this modular approach may give short-term rental owners with limited growth requirements flexibility to choose add-ons that fit their needs without paying for unnecessary complexity.

Avantio

Avantio is one of the longest-standing vacation rental software providers, but its legacy structure has drawbacks. Many users report that the interface feels dated and the platform depends heavily on bolt-on components, which can lead to a fragmented workflow.

Verdict

If you want a unified tech stack that minimizes glitches when connecting multiple channels, Hostaway stands out. Smoobu’s modular approach is appealing to smaller operations, while Avantio’s legacy structure may feel clunky for modern teams.

Property Management System (PMS) Capabilities

The PMS is the heart of any vacation rental management software. It delivers reservation management; task tracking, scheduling and assigning; data, analytics and performance management and CRM & lead management.

Hostaway

Hostaway offers one of the most robust PMS solutions in the vacation rental market. Features include reservation management, unified inbox for guest communication, financial reporting, task management, inventory tracking and detailed analytics tools. The system integrates directly with external platforms, helping you streamline operations and manage everything from day-to-day operations to long-term growth strategies.

Smoobu

Smoobu delivers a lighter PMS that still covers essentials — booking management, guest communication, availability syncing and a website builder for direct bookings. It’s simple to use, which reduces the steep learning curve for new property managers, but it lacks some advanced capabilities like built-in accounting and deeper API integrations.

Avantio

Avantio offers a powerful PMS on paper, but its usability is often criticized. While it can handle multi-platform management, the interface isn’t as intuitive, making managing listings and managing operations more time-consuming.

Verdict

Hostaway’s PMS is the most comprehensive property management system here, with advanced features for scaling. Smoobu wins on simplicity, and Avantio serves larger agencies willing to invest time in onboarding.

Channel Management

A trustworthy channel manager is essential for vacation rental owners who want to list on multiple vacation rental platforms while avoiding double bookings.

Hostaway

Hostaway’s proprietary channel manager integrates via real-time APIs with major booking platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com to offer unified multi-calendar management. It not only updates availability instantly but also syncs rates, content and guest communication. The integration is deep enough to manage promotions, fees and cancellation policies from a single dashboard. Hostaway has also achieved the triple crown of connectivity to the big OTAs, consecutively been listed as having the highest partnership status with Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com for the strength and reliability of the platform’s connection to these booking channels.

Smoobu

Smoobu provides an easy-to-use channel manager that works with over 100 OTAs. It’s accessible even on lower-tier plans and is praised for its reliability in preventing double bookings. While it doesn’t have the advanced revenue and promotion sync of Hostaway, it may be suitable for single property operations with no plans to grow.

Avantio

Avantio has capable channel management that connects to 50+ portals, but its older interface and onboarding challenges make it harder for teams to get up to speed.

Verdict

Hostaway wins for enterprise-level channel management capabilities that is offered to all users. Smoobu may be more accessible for smaller portfolios, and Avantio lags in usability despite its integration options.

AI and Automation

Professional property managers rely on modern vacation rental software with reliable automation tools that reduce manual work.

Hostaway

Hostaway excels in automation, offering automated messaging, review requests, task management triggers, dynamic pricing and invoice creation. You can create rules for when to send welcome emails, request reviews or trigger cleaning tasks after check-out. The API support means you can connect to AI-based pricing or guest communication tools seamlessly. It also offers ChatGPT capabilities within its unified inbox so property managers can easily draft emails, responses to guests, etc.

Smoobu

Smoobu focuses on the essentials: Automated guest messaging, booking confirmations, check-in details and follow-ups. It also supports dynamic pricing but only via integrations. Importantly, its automation depth is not as extensive as Hostaway’s.

Avantio

Avantio supports some automations such as check-in, payments and communications but hasn’t kept pace with modern AI features. Many processes, such as pricing updates and communication templates, require more manual oversight.

Verdict

Hostaway is the leader for automation-driven vacation rental management. Smoobu’s offering is more simple, and Avantio’s automation capabilities feel outdated.

Proprietary Tools

Whether tools are built-in or added on affects reliability and property managers' ability to efficiently manage multiple listings.

Hostaway

Hostaway builds its tools in-house and from scratch — from the channel manager to the booking engine and unified inbox. This ensures faster support, better compatibility and greater reliability across the platform.

Smoobu

Smoobu blends both worlds: Core tools like the PMS and website builder are built-in, while extras like dynamic pricing or payment gateways connect through third-party integrations.

Avantio

Avantio often relies heavily on bolt-on components, which means some tools may feel add-on in practice depending on configuration. This can make managing bookings across multiple booking platforms less streamlined.

Verdict

Hostaway’s built-in approach provides better stability and ease of use. It also allows updates and new features to be rolled on seamlessly. Smoobu offers a hybrid model while Avantio’s reliance on add-ons can feel disjointed.

Customer Support

It’s not just guests who need support, property managers do too. In fact quality of support provided by your property management platform can make or break your vacation rental management experience.

Hostaway

Hostaway offers 24/7 customer support, onboarding assistance and a strong reputation for resolving issues quickly — whether they’re technical or operational — worldwide. It also conducts weekly Customer Success Office Hours and monthly webinars delivering exclusive data and useful content, and its team will work with vacation rental operations to improve their business.

Smoobu

Smoobu provides responsive support but during business hours. And while its known for a smooth onboarding experience, some user reviews mention slowness and omissions.

Avantio

Avantio includes training and support in its packages; users praise onboarding and support, though some feedback indicates navigation challenges.

Verdict

Hostaway offers the most comprehensive support. Smoobu’s offering is reliable but limited, and Avantio could improve in speed and accessibility.

Pricing and Long-Term ROI

Pricing is always a key factor when choosing the right software for your business and can impact your ability to scale without eroding profits. Unfortunately, some property managers, particularly newer hosts, tend to focus on short-term pricing over long-term ROI — essentially saving a penny to lose a pound.

Hostaway

Hostaway uses custom quotes based on property count, which makes it scalable. Its breadth of features also means better long-term ROI for growing short-term rental businesses.

Smoobu

Smoobu offers flat monthly fee which may be preferred by budget-conscious vacation rental managers who are just starting out with a single listing.

Avantio

Avantio prices at the enterprise level, which can be afforded by very large portfolios but offers less ROI for smaller teams.

Verdict

Hostaway delivers high ROI for its full suite of features and is ideal for scaling your short-term rental business. Smoobu’s pricing is targeted at small shops and Avantio only fits large agencies with deep pockets.

User Reviews and Ratings

As you go through the list of how to choose the best vacation rental software for you, don't forget to check what real users of the software think.

• Hostaway averages 4.8/5 from over 1,300 reviews. It’s praised for its comprehensive property management capabilities, ease of use, strong channel manager and support.

• Smoobu scores around 4.5/5. Users say they like its simple setup though some cite performance concerns.

• Avantio has more mixed reviews and scores around 4.7/5 with compliments for its feature set but recurring mentions of an outdated UI and steep learning curve.

Final Recommendation

Smoobu is designed for hosts who value simplicity over growth while Avantio is geared towards large agency operations. But if you want a scalable, comprehensive vacation rental management system with enterprise-grade channel management and property management, advanced automation and strong ROI potential for those managing anything from one to 500 properties, choose Hostaway. Together with its trusty support and features that evolve to keep up with the changing dynamics of the short-term rental market, you too can operate the best vacation rental business in your locality and beyond.

Remember: The right vacation rental software will not only help you manage availability and streamline operations but also protect your business with a secure service to protect your data, prevent online attacks and ensure smooth vacation rental management for years to come.

FAQs

1. Which vacation rental software offers the best channel management?

Hostaway has the best channel manager with real-time API connections to both major and niche OTAs, along with advanced syncing for rates, content and availability. Smoobu’s is reliable bu less advanced while Avantio's can be harder to use due to its dated interface.

2. How do the automation features compare between these platforms?

Hostaway excels with advanced automation including guest messaging, review, task triggers, payments and AI tools like ChatGPT. Smoobu covers the basics — guest messaging, confirmations and follow-ups— often via integrations. Avantio has limited automation and lags behind in AI-driven features.

3. Which platform is best for small property managers or new hosts?

Smoobu is made for individual hosts or small portfolios with limited growth plans. Avantio’s enterprise focus and complexity make it less suitable for beginners. Hostaway is designed to scale so it works for both small and larger operators, offering them a full-suite of enterprise-grade features on an intuitive and easy-to-use interface.