Changelog

You can now use custom branding for individual properties — giving each guidebook its own unique identity 🎉

Until now, SmoothStay used your default brand settings across all guidebooks. Now you have the flexibility to override these settings on a property-by-property basis, which is perfect for:

🏠 Co-hosting arrangements — Let each owner's brand shine through their guidebook

🌟 Properties with distinct identities — Boutique properties, themed stays, or locations with their own established branding

🎯 White-label experiences (almost) — Create fully customized guidebooks that match each property's unique vibe

How it works

When editing a property, simply toggle "Use custom settings for this property" under the Custom branding section. Then customize:

• Logo: Upload a custom logo (JPG, PNG, SVG, WEBP — recommended size: 150 x 50 px)

• Accent color: Used for icons and certain background elements

• Foreground color: Primarily used for text displayed against your accent color

• Website URL: Add the property's own website link

Your custom settings will only apply to that specific property's guidebook, while your other properties continue using your default brand settings.

This update gives you complete control over how each property presents itself to guests — smooth, seamless, and on-brand ✨

Bring your digital guidebook to life with a looping video background that matches your property’s vibe. Perfect for showcasing drone shots, walk‑throughs, or mood clips that instantly set expectations for the stay.

Media options in one simple setting 🖼️
The “Guidebook home background” section under each property or any of your articles now let you choose between:

• None – clean, distraction‑free layout

• Single image – one consistent hero image for a polished look

• Slideshow – rotate multiple images to highlight rooms, amenities, or local attractions

• Video – a hosted background video for a more immersive experience

• ARTICLES ONLY - Host profile (dynamic) - Always show the latest image from your host profile.

• ARTICLES ONLY - Property location image (dynamic) - Automatically use the current image tied to the property address.

Other updates 🔁

• New toggle to enable or disable auto‑play on both video backgrounds and slideshows, so you control exactly how dynamic your guidebook home feels.

• Automatic image compression to optimize performance and keep your visuals smooth while your guidebook loads quickly on mobile and desktop.

Why this matters for hosts ⭐

• Make your guidebook feel like a custom guest app, not a static document

• Highlight your brand and property story the moment guests open the guide

• Increase engagement with your content, so guests find what they need faster and message you less

How to use it ⚙️
Go to your guidebook → Settings → Guidebook home background → choose your preferred option, upload your media, set auto‑play on or off, and hit save. Your changes go live instantly for all guests.

Your articles just got a major visual upgrade! 🎉

You can now add up to 5 images to each article and display them in a beautiful, carousel‑style slideshow right at the top, giving guests a richer, more interactive first impression.

This feature came directly from host feedback 💬again —you wanted an easier way to show guests important details like parking, access points, and key amenities without cluttering your article, and now you can do it visually and effortlessly.

From your dashboard, simply choose Slideshow under Cover media, then use Add new image(s) to upload —perfect for walking guests step by step through parking, access, and amenities. 🅿️🔑🛏️

On the guest side, the slider dots below the cover image make it easy to swipe through each photo on mobile, so you can spotlight what matters most and help guests instantly understand what they need—all from their phone 📱.

You can now view Guest Sessions and see the exact questions guests are asking inside your guidebook 🤖. This gives you clear insight into:

🔍 What guests are actually asking

🧩 Where your guidebook content may be missing or unclear

📝 Which articles you should add or improve to reduce repetitive questions

How it helps: Your AI chatbot only answers based on the articles in your guidebook. If a guest asks something that isn’t covered—like “Is there a washer and dryer?”—the chatbot will respond with a general message such as “Sorry, I don’t have that information.” ❓. By reviewing Guest Sessions, you can quickly spot these gaps and add new articles so future guests get instant, accurate answers.

Result: Fewer guest messages 📉, smarter answers 🧠, and a smoother guest experience 🚀

Check out our Help Center at: https://help.smoothstay.io/creating-rich-content/how-to-use-the-ai-chatbot

We’re excited to announce the launch of Reservation Links—a powerful new way to share your SmoothStay guidebook privately and securely with individual guests! 🎉

✅ Unique Reservation Link: Every reservation now generates a guest-specific, secure guidebook link.

✅ Time-Based Access: Articles marked as restricted by you (like access codes or check-in details) are visible only from your set lead time until check-out—never before or after.

✅ Enhanced Control: Instantly update or revoke access by editing or deleting the booking.

✅ Guest Activity Tracking: See exactly when each guest last accessed their guidebook.

Creating reservation links is a manual process for now, but it serves as a solid foundation for sending invitations to guests (email and SMS), upcoming integrations with property management systems and future automation tools we'd like to deploy such as task and maintenance operations and inventory tracking for supplies.

Read our how-to-guide here: Reservation links: secure, guest-specific sharing

We’ve reimagined your Content Hub to make managing articles simpler and more intuitive. The updated sidebar displays your categories and subcategories just like an index, complete with the number of articles in each section—so you always know where your content lives and what needs attention. 

• ✅ Instantly glance through categories and subcategories

• ✅ See article counts to stay on top of your updates

• ✅ Effortless access makes editing and re-organizing a breeze

And with quick search (CTRL + K) released a few days ago, locating any article is faster than ever. This improved workflow means less time searching and more time focusing on what matters.

Guests and hosts now enjoy instant search results for articles as they type, making it faster and easier to find helpful information.

• ✅ Results appear almost immediately with each keystroke

• ✅ Less waiting, more convenience

• ✅ Improved navigation throughout your guidebook

🎉 Plus, you can now search directly from your Content Hub, making it quicker to locate and edit articles right in your dashboard. This update streamlines the editing process—and there are more enhancements on the way.

Guests can now view articles faster.

Previously, when the Home, Search, Map, or AI Chatbot (paid plans) pointed to an article, the guidebook would reload and reopen on that page. While effective, it slowed things down.

⚡ Now: Articles open instantly in a popup window—keeping guests in the flow without refreshing the entire guidebook. This update means:

• ✅ Faster, more fluid browsing

• ✅ Less waiting, no reloads

• ✅ A clean, app-like experience for guests

🎉 A small tweak with a big impact—helping your guidebooks feel even more seamless.

Other Bug Fixes & Improvements:

• Fixed an issue when filtering content by unit in your dashboard

• Fixed an issue when importing a Google Place whereas some details were not being pulled up correctly

• Improved AI Playground training in queue notices

• Other small UX improvements