This page is still rolling out. Not every Smoobu account has the new Message Templates page yet. If you open Experience > Communication and do not see an Edit email & SMTP button, your account is not part of the rollout yet. Your existing @host.smoobu.com alias keeps working exactly as before, and there is nothing you need to do.
You can send guest emails from your own email address by connecting your own email server to Smoobu. Your Smoobu account also has an alias that ends in @host.smoobu.com. Smoobu creates it for you from your registration email (accounts that never had one get theirs filled in automatically from 28 September 2026), and it stays in place even when you send from your own address: guests never see it, and Smoobu uses it to bring their replies back into Messages. If you only want to change the name in front of @host.smoobu.com, see the question at the end of this article.
Before you start
You need all of these before you connect your own email server:
- The email address you want guests to see is on your own domain (for example bookings@your-domain.com), or comes from an email-marketing service such as Brevo.
- The SMTP settings from your email provider: host, port, encryption method, and the username and password of the mailbox. Your provider's help pages list them, usually under "SMTP" or "send mail from another program".
- Your @host.smoobu.com alias is filled in. It is required for replies to reach Smoobu, and you cannot leave it blank. If yours is still empty, click Edit email & SMTP, type a name in front of @host.smoobu.com and save; from 28 September 2026 Smoobu fills empty ones in for you.
Connect your own email server
- In Smoobu, go to Experience > Communication.
- At the top of the page, click Edit email & SMTP.
- In the window that opens, select the Custom email server (SMTP) tab.
- Enter the Host and Port your email provider gave you, and choose the Encryption method the provider requires: TLS, SSL or None.
- Enter the Username and Password of the mailbox.
- Enter the Sender address guests will see, and the Sender name you want shown next to it, for example your property's name.
- Click Save.
Check it worked
Open one of your bookings and send yourself a short message from the Reply to Guest box, using your own email address as the recipient. The email arrives from the sender address and sender name you entered. Reply to it: your reply appears in that booking's conversation in Messages. If the email does not arrive, check the host, port and encryption method against your provider's SMTP settings first; a wrong combination is the usual cause.
Why the @host.smoobu.com alias stays
Two things depend on it, whether or not you send from your own address:
- Replies come back into Smoobu. Guest replies are routed through your @host.smoobu.com alias into Messages and into the booking's conversation. Guests do not see that alias.
- Better delivery without your own server. If you have not connected your own email server, emails go out from your @host.smoobu.com alias. Emails sent on behalf of a personal address through a server that is not your own are more likely to be sorted into spam.
Common problems
Guest replies aren't showing up in Smoobu
Replies find their way back through your @host.smoobu.com alias. Check that it is filled in: click Edit email & SMTP and look at the alias on the first tab. If it is there and replies still go missing, see Guest messages aren't arriving in Smoobu for the other causes.
Invoices aren't attached to your messages
Make sure the booking's invoice exists before the message goes out. The Add invoice option attaches it whether the email goes out from your @host.smoobu.com alias or through your own email server; without an existing invoice, the email is sent without the attachment.
I only want to change the name in front of @host.smoobu.com
Click Edit email & SMTP, type the new name in front of @host.smoobu.com, and click Save. The name must not already be in use by another Smoobu account, and the field cannot be left empty. Guests do not see this alias, so the name is for you: it is where Smoobu receives their replies.
I want to go back to sending from my @host.smoobu.com alias
Click Edit email & SMTP, switch from the Custom email server (SMTP) tab to the tab that shows your @host.smoobu.com alias, and click Save. Smoobu then sends from your @host.smoobu.com alias again, and replies keep arriving in Messages. Your SMTP settings are not needed for this; you can connect your own server again later in the same window.
Can I remove the @host.smoobu.com alias and use only my personal email?
No. Every account keeps a @host.smoobu.com alias, because it is how replies get back into Smoobu. What you can do is connect your own email server as described above, so that guests see your own address as the sender. To write to a guest from your personal email program instead, send the email from there; the guest's reply then arrives in that program and not in Smoobu.
Related articles
- How guest messaging works in Smoobu
- Set up automated messages to your guests
- Guest messages aren't arriving in Smoobu
Still stuck?
If these steps didn't fix it, contact the Smoobu team: open the Help menu to open a ticket or book a call slot, or use the chat bubble in the bottom-right corner. To get the fastest answer, please include:
- Your Smoobu User ID (in the profile-icon menu, top right).
- The property name or ID, if it's about one property.
- The Booking ID, if it's about one booking (Bookings, then View more).
- The channel name, if it's about channel sync (Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo, and so on).
- A short step-by-step: what you did, what you expected, and what happened.
- Screenshots or a short screen recording of the problem.
- Your browser and operating system, if something looks wrong on screen.
Comments
6 comments
So how do I replace the @host.smoobu.com with my own email address?
Hi Steve,
if you want to use two-way messaging you will need to use the @host.smoobu.com address. If you leave it blank we will use your account mail. But note that this will only allow outbound messaging and messages are more likely to end up in spam.
Best
Philipp
Where do I put the @host.smoobu.com address on the booking portals so that their messages come through smoobu?
Hi Philipp,
I did as you have recommended: I have left @host.smoobu.com address empty so my account Mail could be used, but unfortunately its impossible to send Email when @host.smoobu.com is empty. What is the solution here ?
Thanks
Hi there,
Thank-you for your comment, I happened upon it by chance as this comments section doesn’t alert us of your question.
In the future we recommend you to please open a ticket from your Smoobu session "Help" for quick assistance from the Smoobu team.
Kind regards,
Erika from Smoobu
Thank you so much Erika
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