Start with the guest’s next step
A useful pre-arrival email answers a practical question: what has been booked, what needs to be completed, or how to arrive. Decide the purpose of each message before writing the sequence. Avoid sending the same information in several emails.
Send a clear booking confirmation
Send the booking dates, accommodation choice, payment received and remaining balance as soon as the reservation is confirmed. Include one reliable link back to the booking, where the guest can find their details and preparation tasks.
Ask for information early enough to use it
Schedule an intake request while there is still time for the team to act on the answers. Explain why you need dietary requirements, experience levels or arrival information. A clear completion date helps guests prioritise the request.
Separate preparation from arrival instructions
Send packing advice, travel preparation and activity information in advance. Put the exact address, check-in time, pickup details and local contact in a shorter arrival email closer to the departure. Guests should be able to find that message easily while travelling.
Use booking details in the message
Insert the guest’s actual departure, room choice and payment status instead of asking them to interpret a generic message. Check the sequence when a booking changes or is cancelled, so old information does not keep going out.
Review the sequence with your team
Walk through the emails as a guest on a phone. Check every link, date and instruction. Ask the hosting team whether the sequence produces the information they need, and remove messages that do not lead to a useful action.
Start with four messages, not a daily campaign
For a retreat beginning on 14 June, the confirmation can explain the booking and payment schedule immediately. A preparation email on 24 May can link to the participant questionnaire, dietary questions and waiver. A balance reminder should use the actual due date. Arrival instructions on 11 June can contain the meeting point, transfer details and host contact.
Use completion status to choose the next message
If a guest has already supplied their arrival time, ask only for what remains incomplete. If their balance has been paid, stop the balance reminder. A cancellation or departure change should be reviewed before the next scheduled message is sent. These conditions make an automated sequence feel attentive.
Make one person responsible for replies
Replies are part of the service. Choose who monitors them and how a changed arrival or room request reaches the departure record. A useful automation does not end at a sent email; it leaves the guest with a clear next action and the team with somewhere to handle the answer.
Put it into practice
- One purpose and one clear next step per email.
- Booking details and timing match the guest’s departure.
- Forms and payment links lead to the correct booking.
- Arrival instructions are easy to find on a phone.
- Changes and cancellations stop irrelevant messages.
