In this article we want to showcase several examples of common automatic Guest Mailer setups which you can apply to your account or use to better understand how the modes and filters can be used.
Important: All of the below are examples of commonly configured emails to be sent automatically. We are not showing content of the message, but rather how the Mailer should be set up and what will be the behavior. Furthermore, these are relatively simple examples. You can always create more complex Mailers using more filters for Auto-send or create several emails from the same type that will contain different content - e.g. one Cancellation email to be sent to Non-refundable bookings while another (with different content) to be sent to Flexible bookings in which case we need to create 2 separate mailers.
Pre-arrival email
Pre-arrival emails can be very helpful in your operations as they can provide a lot of information to guests which otherwise would have been provided over phone or other means, creating a workload for employees that can be avoided. From providing 'how to get here' instructions; check-in times; house rules and more, all this information can automatically be provided to guests through an email, instead of guests not knowing and having to call your property for information.
We have configured:
- the email to be sent 72 hours Before Arrival
- to be sent only to Guaranteed bookings - meaning bookings that have met the guarantee conditions - provided CC details or made the required pre-payment.
Cancellation email
Cancellation emails are just as important as confirmation emails, especially in the cases where you will charge a cancellation fee or will not refund already made payments. With the Guest Mailer you can create various Cancellation emails that will be sent automatically after the booking is marked as cancelled/no-show.
We have configured:
- the email to be sent 1 hour After Cancellation
- this particular one to be sent only to bookings with a Non-refundable guarantee option.
The reason why we are using this filter is due to the different cancellation policies applicable. This email will contain text/content related to this particular cancellation/guarantee policy. We can create other cancellation emails with different content for the other cancellation/guarantee policies.
Feedback email
Feedback is essential for any business. You can set up an email to be sent some time after departure asking guests to share some feedback about their stay with you or have a link to your TripAdvisor page or other review sites, encouraging them to add their review and rating there.
Here is an example setup for a Feedback email:
We have configured:
- the email to be sent automatically 72 hours After Departure
- the email will be sent to all bookings except OTA ones. We've omitted the OTA bookings from receiving it because, in most cases, the OTA itself will send a feedback email to the guest as well and we do not want them to feel spammed for the same thing.
Of course, this is completely optional and you can leave the OTA Booking filter blank and send the email to all bookings.
Reminder to Online check-in
Whether you are a Self Service property or not, having guests check-in online prior to their arrival will definitely reduce the workload, waiting time and queues at Front desk. The purpose of this email will be to be sent to bookings that have not yet checked in online encouraging them to do so or even, depending on your operation, advising them that it is required and urging the follow up to avoid issues on arrival.
We have configured:
- the email to be sent automatically 48 hours Before Arrival. Note that we are using the 'Before arrival' trigger, instead of the 'Up to arrival'. This way, guests that have booked less than 48 hours before their arrival will not receive it. We are intentionally doing this because those guests will receive a confirmation email at the very least which will already encourage them to Check-in online.
- the email will be sent to bookings that have not completed the online check-in procedure.
Welcome letter
Welcome letters can bring an extra element to the guest communication. Reminding guests that they can use the MyBooking portal throughout their stay for booking extra services, housekeeping requests and more can significantly improve operations and automate processes. Furthermore, using welcome letters, you can additionally inform guests about the working hours of your F&B outlets and pool, house rules and more.
We have configured:
- the welcome letter to be sent immediately after arrival
Pre-departure email
Pre-departure emails can be a a helpful element to remind guests about the check-out times; using the MyBooking portal to pay their bill and even Self Check-out. Encouraging guests to use the MyBooking portal to sort out payment of their bill will significantly speed up the Check-out process and even more if you allow Self check-out.
We have configured:
- the email to be sent 18 hours before departure. For this trigger, the Guest Mailer uses 12:00 noon on the departure day as a starting point. This means that the email will be sent around 18:00 on the day before.
Reminder for deposit payment that is late
The purpose of this type of email is to act as a reminder that the required guarantee (e.g. deposit payment or providing CC details) for the bookings has not been made yet and the deadline for arranging it has passed. Please note that in the majority of cases bookings will be guaranteed - those made through the BookDirect (unless you offer a Bank transfer payment option) and those through the OTA's will be automatically guaranteed. Manually created bookings, however, are not automatically guaranteed - they need to be marked as such by a user or guaranteed through the MyBooking Portal by the guest.
An example case is:
- a guest calling on the phone to book a room
- you require CC details and 50% pre-payment
- the guest does not feel comfortable to provide their CC details over phone
- you create the booking and advise the guest that they have e.g. 3 days to go on the MyBooking Portal and safely and securely provide the details and sort the payment
- 4 days have passed and the guest has not followed up, in which case the booking will be marked as Expired guarantee
This email can be automatically sent to such bookings some time before arrival, reminding them about the guarantee and even warning them that you may cancel their booking if they do not follow up soon
We have configured:
- the email to be sent automatically 72 hours before arrival
- the email to be sent to bookings that are made on 'Flexible 50%' guarantee option and that have Expired Guarantee status at that point.
OTA confirmation email
Sending confirmation emails to OTA bookings is a delicate topic due to (but not limited to) 2 main reasons:
- the OTA itself will have already sent a confirmation email to those guests
- when guests pay to the OTA, common practice is that the OTA sends the PMS the prices for those bookings minus their commission. If guests receive a regular confirmation email from Clock PMS+, then quite possibly, prices in that email will not be the ones the guests actually paid to the OTA leading to confusion.
By default, Clock PMS+ will not send a confirmation email when an OTA booking is imported due to the above reasons.
If, however, you want to send some message to the guests, acknowledging the booking, you can do so with the guest mailer. We recommend, however, to not include any information about pricing/rate in such an email to avoid confusion if the guest paid already to the OTA.
We have configured:
- the email will be sent 1 hour After Booking Creation
- we have selected 'Yes' in the OTA Booking filter so only OTA reservations (imported through the Channel manager) will receive this message.
Stay during Holiday email
A lot is happening during Holiday periods - events are happening in and around the hotel; outlets have changed operating hours; there are special offers that can be purchased. All this needs to be communicated to guests one way or another. With the Guest mailer, you can set up an email to be sent to guests that stay in the property within a specific period. In our example, we want to send an email to guests that stay in the Christmas period.
We have configured:
- the email to be sent 24 hours up to the arrival. Note we are using the Up to arrival filter so even last minute bookings receive it.
- the email to be sent only to bookings that will be in the hotel between 24-27 December.