Streamline Your Online Bookings with Automated Emails: A Must-Read for Tour Operators

You’re excited and you can’t wait to go, but you haven't heard from them since you made the booking.

No follow-up emails on what you should expect, no reminders, and no confirmations.

How frustrating!

As a tour or attraction operator, you don't want your customers to feel the same way. You want them to have the best experience possible, even before they arrive.

Automated emails can help you streamline your online bookings and provide a seamless experience for your customers. With automated emails, you can send confirmations, reminders, follow-up emails and even upsell without lifting a finger.

Not only does this save you time, but it also keeps your customers informed at every stage of the booking process, even after their experience with you has ended.

Now that you understand the importance of automated emails for your tour or attraction business, let's dive into the different types of emails you can send and how they can benefit your customers and your business.

By the end of this article, you'll have a clear understanding of how to implement automated emails and take your online bookings to the next level. So, let's get started!

6 Types of Automated Emails for Tour & Attraction Businesses

From abandoned carts to requesting reviews, automating these emails can save you valuable time each week while also enhancing your guest experience and increasing your revenue.

There are two main types of guest communication emails you can automate: Transactional or Promotional.

Transactional emails

These are emails sent to customers triggered by an action such as booking or canceling a tour, confirming payment, and more.

Examples of transactional emails include booking confirmations, payment receipts, survey invitations, loyalty program updates, and cancellation notifications.

Promotional emails

On the other hand, promotional emails are designed to entice customers to book or rebook tours.

These emails can include special offers, discounts, and exclusive deals. They can also be used to promote new tours or attractions, seasonal events, and more.

Examples of promotional emails are newsletters, abandoned carts, discounts or promotions, event reminders, and special offers.

Let's take a closer look at the types of automated emails.

1. Booking Confirmation Emails (Transactional)

This is the most basic but important email after your customer has booked an experience with you.

You’ll want to automate these to send out immediately after a guest makes a booking and provide them with important details about their activity, such as their tickets, the date, time, location, and any pre-booking requirements.

This lets them know they’ve successfully booked and gives them the information they need to prepare before arriving, which helps reduce the number of no-shows and cancellations on your end.

In the Communications Template in RocketRez, you can use tags that pull information about the tour, the customer’s order number, their membership number and any answers they filled out during their purchase.

2. Pre-Trip Reminder Emails (Transactional)

These emails are usually sent a few days before the tour or activity to remind your guest of their booking, as well as provide them with any last-minute details or instructions on what they should prepare.

This can include directions, what to wear, what to bring, parking instructions, or anything else that might be relevant.

You can also include links to your online waiver forms, cutting down on time spent checking guests in.

This ensures that your customers show up fully prepared for their activity or tour with you, and also reduces the likelihood of any last-minute issues or confusion.

Depending on the type of tour or activity you offer, here are some ideas of what you can include in your pre-trip reminder emails:

• Online waiver forms for your guests to sign
• Instructions on how to get to the tour or activity location
• A full list of what your customers should bring with them
• Any contingency plans in case of inclement weather
• Information about payment and cancellation policies
• Questions or requests that you need from your customers before their trip (e.g., dietary restrictions, medical information etc.)

3. Booking Cancellation Emails (Transactional)

Sometimes, unforeseen circumstances mean you need to cancel the activity or tour and this is where automated booking cancellation emails come in handy.

They’re already prepped to go out immediately with all the information your customers need, from cancellation policies to refunds and frequently asked questions.

And if a customer has to cancel their booking with you, it's crucial to remember that their perception of your brand is still influenced by their ongoing experience with you.

By providing clear communication and helpful information, you can ensure that they remember your brand positively – and may even encourage positive word-of-mouth about your business.

4. Payment Request Emails (Transactional)

If you offer big-ticket activities such as private events or yacht charters, you’ll probably encounter customers who prefer to pay for their booking in instalments.

With RocketRez, you can take a 50% down payment at the time of booking, and send an automated email with a payment link one week before the event for the remaining balance.

By automating these payment requests, you can save time and reduce the need for manual follow-up with customers, saving you and your staff even more time so you can focus on providing an exceptional experience.

5. Post-Trip Follow-Up Emails (Promotional)

Once a customer’s trip is over, you can send them an automated follow-up email thanking them for choosing your business and asking how their experience was.

This provides valuable feedback that can help you improve future trips or services, and encourages customers to leave reviews on sites like TripAdvisor or Google which adds visibility and builds brand awareness.

You can even include a link to a customer satisfaction survey in your follow-up email, so you can get detailed information on how to improve your services and better meet the needs of your customers.

Plus, if they had a great experience, they may be more likely to recommend your attraction to their friends and family!

Additionally, you can also use these emails to offer promotions or discounts on future bookings, encouraging customers to return and visit with you again.

Here are some ideas of content you can include in your post-trip follow-up emails:

• Your link to a customer satisfaction survey
• Promote upcoming and new events or tours, for example, a Mother’s Day-specific brunch at the zoo, or a new behind-the-scenes tour at the aquarium
• An exclusive discount or promotion on future bookings as a thank you for having booked with you
• Your social media links and your branded hashtag where they can find you, encouraging them to share their experience
• Your newsletter sign-up link, where they can stay connected and learn about your upcoming promotions, events, and news
• Testimonials and pictures from happy customers
• New gifts and souvenirs in your gift shop or online store

6. Optional Add-ons and Up-Selling Emails (Promotional)

Now that you've got the basics down, it's time to take your automated emails to the next level with optional add-ons and recommendations.

These can include anything from upgrades to premium experiences or additional activities that complement the tour or activity they've already booked. By offering these add-ons, you not only increase your revenue but also enhance their overall experience with you.

With RocketRez, you can easily set up these emails and tie them to specific tours to occur automatically at a set period before their activity’s start date. This is a great opportunity to provide a personalized experience and generate extra revenue per customer.

Pro tip: Make sure to include high-quality images and descriptions of the add-ons, along with their prices and any additional information they need to know.

Benefits of Automated Emails for Tour Operators

Now that we've covered the different types of automated emails that you can send to your customers, let's dive into the benefits of using them (in case you still aren’t convinced).

A. Save time by streamlining your tour operations

With automated emails, you can easily answer your customer’s most frequently asked questions, reducing their wait time and improving their overall experience with you.

This also increases your operational efficiency and frees up your staff to focus on providing better service.

B. Build stronger relationships with your customers

Personalization is the future of travel, and by sending personalized follow-up emails, you can show your customers that you value their business and care about their experience.

This not only increases customer loyalty but also leads to positive word-of-mouth marketing, as happy customers are more likely to recommend your tours to their friends and family.

For example, you can send automated birthday emails or anniversary emails and offer a special discount or a free upgrade as a special thank you.

C. Boost your revenue with upselling and cross-selling

Automation can help you increase your marketing output, giving you more opportunities for sales to increase your booking revenue.

For instance, if a family just booked a guided tour of a dinosaur museum, you can suggest adding a photo package that captures their memories or a behind-the-scenes tour that offers a more in-depth look at how fossils are discovered.

Once you have a template going, you can ensure that you’re sending out the right offers regularly to your customers.

Start using automated emails now

Automated emails are a powerful tool that can revolutionize your business operations and provide numerous advantages.

With RocketRez's guest experience platform, you can effortlessly send all of these automated email types. To learn more about how RocketRez can help your business, book a solutions showcase with our experts today.

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