Smoobu adds a smart devices layer so hosts can run several lock brands from one place

Smoobu has launched a smart devices add-on that lets independent short-term rental hosts manage locks from several brands through one interface in Smoobu, rather than handling each brand separately. Short Term Rentalz reported the launch on 29 September 2026. The Berlin company's own documentation describes the feature as Smart Devices.

The useful thing to understand before you switch it on is where the boundary sits, because it is not where the phrase "manage your locks in Smoobu" suggests.

Which brands are covered

Smoobu's documentation lists five connections.

Nuki, for retrofit smart locks, which requires an active Nuki Smart Hosting subscription on the Nuki side.

Igloohome, covering keypad locks and key boxes, which do not need Wi-Fi at the door.

RemoteLock, which is itself a bridge and pulls in August, HID, Kwikset, Schlage and Yale hardware.

Tedee, another retrofit lock.

Masunt, which is steel key vaults and key boxes for handing over a physical key rather than a code.

The RemoteLock entry is the one that widens the practical brand list a long way, since it covers most of the mainstream residential lock hardware a host is likely to already own.

Where the boundary sits

Smoobu states the split plainly in its own help documentation: "Your lock brand creates the code and controls the lock."

Code generation and code timing happen inside each brand's own account. What Smoobu does is deliver the code to the guest, by dropping brand-specific placeholders such as the Nuki PIN or the igloohome lock code into automated guest messages at whatever point in the stay you have configured.

So the thing that becomes multi-brand is the messaging and the connection management. If a code is wrong, or active on the wrong dates, or a lock goes offline, that is still a conversation with the lock vendor and their app. Managing several brands from one place does not collapse several vendor relationships into one.

That is not a criticism of the design. Handing code control to the brand that owns the lock firmware is the sensible architecture. It is worth stating because the operational reality is different from the pitch.

What Smoobu has not published

Smoobu's documentation says nothing about pricing, plan tiers or whether any of these connections cost extra. The trade report describes Smart Devices as an add-on, which implies something sitting outside the base subscription, but no figure has been made public.

No regional availability has been stated either, although two of the five brands are European hardware makers, and Nuki and Tedee are both far more common in German-speaking markets than in North America.

What it means for operators

If you already run one lock brand and Smoobu, this changes little for you. The case is for hosts with mixed hardware across a portfolio, which is most people who grew by taking on units that already had locks fitted.

Three things to settle before committing. Ask Smoobu directly what Smart Devices costs and whether it is included on your plan. Check whether every brand in your portfolio needs its own paid subscription on top, because Nuki's Smart Hosting requirement is a concrete example of that and may not be the only one. And test the failure case rather than the happy path: create a booking, change its dates, and confirm the code window moved with it.

Access codes that do not follow a date change are the single most common way automated check-in goes wrong, and it is the kind of thing you want to discover on a test reservation rather than at 11pm with a guest outside the door.