Built by hosts.
Made for hosts.
Free tools and guides for short-term rental operators — tax, cleaning, direct booking, smart locks, and more.
Browse the toolkit ↓
- Smoobu
- Airbnb
- Booking.com
- Home2Go
- Nuki
- PriceLabs
How it works
Tax, cleaning, smart locks, direct booking — each guide stands alone.
Step by step, everything explained, free all the way through.
Smoobu and your tools handle the rest — you just check in occasionally.
Tax & Finance
Übernachtungssteuer, VAT return (UStVA), income tax — free Google Sheet and interactive tax wizard for STR hosts in Germany.
Open the tax tool →
Operations & Automation
Cleaning schedule templates, Nuki smart lock, automated guest messaging, PriceLabs dynamic pricing — the full ops stack.
Browse the guides →
Direct Booking
OTA fee calculator, QR poster for guests, and post-stay templates — save the 15% Airbnb commission on returning guests.
Read the guide →
Channels & Platforms
Smoobu, Airbnb, Booking.com, Home2Go — channel connections, iCal vs. API, and double-booking protection explained.
Read the guide →More than one platform.
STR operations run on a stack, not a single tool. Smoobu coordinates channels and bookings. PriceLabs optimizes rates from real demand data. Nuki replaces physical keys with per-booking access codes. Airbnb and Booking.com provide reach — and take 15% for it.
Hostmade covers this whole layer: guides, templates, and tools for every part of the stack. The focus is Germany — Übernachtungssteuer, UStVA, GDPR-compliant workflows — but the operational tools apply everywhere.
All free. No newsletter, no paywall. Just the stack I run myself — documented clearly enough that it works for others too.
The complete setup
Most hosts connect one channel and stop. Full setup looks like this:
- 01 Channel connections
API integration with Airbnb and Booking.com, iCal for everything else. Smoobu doesn't always catch double-bookings via iCal sync — verify whether a channel supports native API before using iCal.
Read the guide → - 02 Home2Go
Direct connection for search engine reach. Requires separate setup outside the standard channel connections.
Read the guide → - 03 Dynamic pricing with PriceLabs
Smoobu's base calendar works for static rates. For rates that respond to demand, local events, and lead time, you need PriceLabs. Connect via API in ~30 minutes.
Read the guide → - 04 Smart locks with Nuki
Nuki generates access codes per booking automatically. One-time setup — no more manual code delivery. You keep full control over who has access and when.
Read the guide → - 05 Guest message automation
Five required templates: booking confirmation, pre-arrival, check-in instructions, mid-stay, review request. Write it once — Smoobu sends it for every booking automatically.
Read the guide → - 06 Cleaning & handover
Smoobu cleaner account for a single person. Google Sheets API script from two cleaners, or when you need pet and crib flags — both free.
Read the guide → - 07 Direct booking
The Smoobu booking page is the starting point. Your own domain, Google Business Profile, and post-stay templates save the 15% Airbnb commission — money that stays in your pocket.
Read the guide → - 08 Übernachtungssteuer
Berlin operators: 7.5% on every booking, quarterly filing. Calculator, Elster guide, and pre-configured Google Sheet so you know exactly what you owe.
Read the guide → - 09 Income tax on rental income
Übernachtungssteuer ≠ income tax. Different authority, different deadlines, different deductions. Anlage V vs. Anlage G, what's deductible, and when a Steuerberater is worth the cost.
Read the guide →
Who Smoobu fits — and who it doesn't
- 1–20 properties in the DACH market
- Airbnb + Booking.com as main channels
- Operators who want to keep processes in their own hands
- Newcomers with no prior property management software experience
- 20+ properties with multiple staff
- Co-hosts scaling for other property owners
- Operators with US OTAs as main channel (VRBO, Vacasa)
- Anyone needing a built-in owner accounting module
Built from the gaps no single tool fills.
Running Seumi, my Berlin short-term rental, I kept hitting the same friction points — manual cleaning handovers, Übernachtungssteuer that needed reformatting every month, and a Nuki setup with no clear guide. So I built the tools and put them here, free.
The longer journey toward a functioning hosting operation lives at vanderlore.de .
I build direct booking websites for short-term rentals: custom calendar, Stripe payments, your domain.
Get a direct booking site built →The PMS I run my own rental on. Airbnb, Booking.com, and direct bookings in one place — I've used Smoobu for years on my own property. 14-day free trial, no credit card.
Try Smoobu free → * Affiliate link