You may have noticed that reservations you receive through Booking.com, Expedia, etc., don't include all of the guest information you typically require. To help you efficiently collect this information, we've created an example email template that you can use to send to guests who book through Booking.com or Expedia. This may help you get the guests' information before they arrive. Feel free to modify and customize the content to suit your needs.
To create this email template within your ThinkReservations, please do the following:
Click on our logo in the upper left-hand corner (It looks like a house with two dots).
Scroll down to the Email Configuration heading and click Email Templates.
Click New.
Confirm Type is set to Reservation.
Put the name you want this template to be called into the Name field.
Put what you want the email's subject to be into the Subject field.
Note: This field can accept personalized variables. The available personalized variables are listed in a table below the Cancel and Save buttons.
In the Message field, put the following:
Hello ${customer.first_name},
Thank you for making a reservation at {your property name}! When you made your reservation through Expedia, some information we required wasn't provided by Expedia. Please reply with the following:
<b>Second Guest Name:</b> ________________________________________
Only your name was listed on the reservation, and we require that all guests' names be on file in the event of an emergency. Please provide the name(s) of additional guest(s).
<i>If you are traveling alone, let us know, and we'll change the number of guests to "one" on the reservation.</i>
<b>Estimated Arrival Time:</b> ________________________________________
Check-ins are scheduled from ADD_YOUR_CHECK-IN_TIME_RANGE_HERE. Please let us know what time you'll be arriving.
<b>Cell Phone Verification: :</b> ________________________________________
<b>Email Verification:</b> ___________________________________
Our cell phone number on file for you is ${customer.cell_phone}.
Please provide your personal email address if you would prefer that we email you directly.
<b>Mailing Address:</b> ___________________________________
Please provide your complete mailing address.
<b>Dietary Restrictions / Food Allergies:</b> ___________________________________
Please let us know if any of the guests staying with us during your reservation have any dietary restrictions, food allergies, or both.
For reference, your reservation Confirmation ID is ${reservation.confirmation_id}.
We look forward to completing your reservation and hosting you at {your property name}!
Sincerely,
Your Innkeeper
8. Leave Attachment #1 and Attachment #2 set to None.
9. Click Save.
You can also create automatic email templates in Expedia. Please contact Expedia support for more information on their automated message rules.