Holiday let software compared: which option suits a small owner in Spain
Smoobu, Lodgify, Avantio, Chekin and StaySuite do different jobs. Who each is for, how they charge, and where StaySuite does not compete.
If you own a flat on the Costa del Sol or a farmhouse in Andalusia and let it to holidaymakers, you have probably noticed that the software market for people like you is confusing. One tool calls itself a channel manager, another a property management system, a third a check-in app, and a fourth an all-in-one suite. They overlap, but they do not do the same job, and the prices are quoted in ways that make them hard to compare.
This guide sorts the field into what each product is really for. We compare StaySuite with four tools that owners in Spain meet most often: Smoobu, Lodgify, Avantio and Chekin. We say plainly where each of them is stronger than we are, because the right answer for you may well be one of them. Everything we say about a competitor comes from its own public website, read on 15 October 2026, and the sources are listed at the end. Competitors change their prices and features, so treat any figure as a pointer and check the live page before you decide.
Three different jobs hidden behind one word
Most confusion disappears once you separate the jobs. The first is keeping calendars in step: a booking on Airbnb must block the dates on Booking.com. The second is looking after guests: answering messages and calls, taking direct enquiries, and sending arrival details. The third is compliance: collecting each guest's details for the Spanish traveller registration, which is reported to the Ministry of the Interior through SES.Hospedajes.
Some products do all three, some do one properly, and some do one and hand the rest to a partner. When you read a pricing page, ask which of the three jobs you are actually paying for.
The four alternatives in a paragraph each
Smoobu is a property management system and channel manager aimed at individual hosts and small to medium managers. Its website describes real-time synchronisation of connected listings, a booking system with card and PayPal payments, a website builder, automated guest messages, online check-in with an electronic signature, a mobile app and an API. Its pricing is per unit and published, with a free trial.
Lodgify sells a channel manager, website builder and booking engine for owners with anything from one property to many. Its channel manager connects directly to Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo, and other sites can be linked by iCal. It has four tiers. According to its help centre, the connection to SES.Hospedajes is available only on the top tier.
Avantio is a suite for professional managers and agencies: property management, a real-time channel manager reaching dozens of portals, booking engine, owner statements and an API. It says its customers range from twenty to more than eight hundred properties, and the pricing page quotes a per-property fee with a minimum for small portfolios. It is not built for the owner of a single house.
Chekin is different in kind: it is an online check-in and legal compliance tool, not a calendar or a website. It covers guest registration in Spain, including SES.Hospedajes, with identity verification and digital keys, and it integrates with many property management systems. Its prices are low per property but it quotes transaction fees and a minimum number of units.
Where StaySuite sits
StaySuite is for owners who want guests looked after and enquiries captured without hiring anyone. It gives each property a public page with direct contact, so what you charge the guest is yours and nobody takes a commission on those bookings. An AI assistant answers the calls made from the browser in the language the caller speaks, using the facts you have entered about the property, checks the calendar for free dates and what they would cost with your seasons, and takes a booking request that you accept or decline in the panel. Every call is recorded and transcribed, and the assistant tells the caller it is being recorded. It does not read WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email or incoming text messages. It does not take online payment.
On calendars it uses iCal. It reads your Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo and rural-portal calendars about every twenty minutes and publishes yours back. That is not a real-time channel manager. If two guests book the same night on two portals within that window, one of them can get through. The portals that take most of your business are the ones to think about before you rely on this.
On guest registration, StaySuite gives each booking a link to a form that the guest fills in on their phone, validates the details and lets you export them or print them. It does not send anything to SES.Hospedajes. You report to the ministry yourself, using the exported data.
How each one charges
- Smoobu: a monthly fee that depends on the number of units, with different plans for commission-free or low-commission use. The tables on the pricing page are the reference; one line of its Spanish FAQ quotes a different figure from the table, so read the live page.
- Lodgify: four tiers with a monthly or discounted annual price per property, and no commission per booking according to its page. The tier decides which features you get, including the registration connection.
- Avantio: a fee per property per month with a minimum quoted for small portfolios, and a custom quote for large ones.
- Chekin: a small monthly fee per property on annual billing, with a minimum number of units and transaction fees on payments and deposits.
- StaySuite: one monthly fee by plan, with no commission on your bookings. During the pioneer offer, which runs until 31 December 2026, one property costs €29 a month, up to three properties €49 and a manager plan €99, all excluding VAT. The standard rate for one property is €59.
Who should choose what
If your main worry is a double booking and you list on many portals, choose a channel manager with direct connections: Smoobu or Lodgify for owners, Avantio if you manage other people's properties at scale. If your only gap is the traveller registration, Chekin does that one job well and sits comfortably beside whatever else you use.
If your problem is that calls come in at all hours, in languages you do not speak, and enquiries are lost because nobody answers in time, StaySuite is built for that. It suits an owner with one to a handful of properties who wants a public page with direct contact, requests taken by an assistant, and who is happy to cross-check calendars with iCal.
They can live together
These are not always either-or. A common setup is a channel manager for calendars, Chekin for registration, and StaySuite for the guest side. The one thing to avoid is two systems both managing the same property calendar. Pick one as the master and feed the other from it.
Read the detailed comparisons
We have written a side-by-side comparison with each tool, with the pros and cons of both and a clear note on when you should pick the other one. Start with the one you are already considering. If you want to see what the assistant does before comparing anything, try the demo on the StaySuite website.