📌 This article answers the following questions:
- How do I automatically follow up with a customer who hasn’t completed their booking?
- How do I set up an automatic reminder for abandoned baskets?
- What timeframe can I set to trigger the automatic reminder?
- How can I customise the reminder message to encourage the customer to complete their booking?
Why is this important?
Online, travellers are often interrupted whilst making a booking (a phone call, a poor internet connection) or encounter difficulties with their bank during payment. Without any communication from you, they may end up booking with a competitor.
Setting up an automatic follow-up allows you to:
Recover revenue that seemed lost.
Reassure your customer by showing them that you’re available to help.
Save valuable time thanks to full automation.
Follow the step-by-step guide
Step 1: Access your personalised messages
This interface allows you to manage all the automated communications sent to your customers.
In the left-hand side menu, click on ‘Personalised messages’.
Step 2: Select the message type
Choose the automatic message template you wish to set up:
Non-payment: applies when a customer abandons their basket before completing payment for their stay.
Payment error: applies when a bank transaction fails, most commonly during the validation stage (3D Secure).
These automated reminders encourage your customers to return to your booking engine to complete their booking.
Step 3: Set the sending conditions
Configure the conditions that trigger your automated message:
Select one of the two templates provided.
Set the time at which your message is sent.
Specify the timeframe to be observed following your customer’s action.
These settings allow you to follow up with your customers at the right time without being intrusive.
Step 4: Customise your message
Configure the elements of your email to encourage your customer to finalise their booking.
Email subject line: Enter a clear and explicit title. This is the first thing your customer will see (e.g. ‘Finalise your booking at [Name of your establishment]’).
Sender’s address: Select the email address that will be displayed as the sender of the message.
Discount: Enable this option to offer a discount (fixed amount or percentage). The discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
Customer name: Choose the name format to use to personalise the header of your message.
Message: Write the body of your email. State that the booking is pending and invite the customer to complete their payment via the link provided.
Reply-to address: Set the email address where you wish to receive replies from your customers.
Step 5: Preview your email
Before sending, check how your message will look to your customers.
This step allows you to check:
The layout and overall readability.
The accuracy of the information provided.
That clickable links are working correctly.
If you spot an error, go back to the previous steps to adjust your content before confirming activation.
Step 5: Activate your automated message
Once you have finished configuring your message, confirm its publication:
Click the ‘Activate’ button.
Your email is now active.
Automatic messages will be sent to your customers according to the trigger conditions defined during setup.
Let the magic begin!
Once you’re happy with your content, all you need to do is publish the email. From now on, elloha works for you behind the scenes, 24 hours a day, to recover your lost bookings.
Key points
Recover revenue: Turn abandoned baskets into actual bookings.
Proactive customer service: Help your guests resolve any payment issues.
Fully automated: Once set up, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.