Email templates & brand
Write an email once, such as an orientation invite or a pre-trip checklist, and send it to travelers with their own name, dates and trip link filled in. Every email uses your logo, colours and signature.
Email templates are switched on per organisation by TravelSpurt. If you don't see Email templates under Control Panel, contact us to turn them on. Owner/Admins set up the brand and templates; Staff can send them from bookings.
Setting up, in order
- Save your email brand (below).
- Create a template and write the email.
- Save it as a version, then click Send test to me.
- Activate the tested version.
- Send it from a booking, start a campaign from it, or automate it from a tour type.
Email brand
Go to Control Panel → Email brand. A live preview shows how your emails will look.
- Logo: choose one from your Media Library or paste its address. Use a PNG or JPG, because many email programs don't show SVG or WebP. Add a short description for screen readers.
- Look: main colour, link colour, header style (a coloured band or a light header with a coloured line) and a font chosen from those that display reliably in email.
- Sender: the From name travelers see, and Replies go to, the mailbox that receives replies. Replies aren't tracked inside TravelSpurt.
- Signature and footer: name, title, phone, email, website, and optional footer text such as your company address.
Click Save brand. It applies to every template straight away. Invoices and other system emails keep their own design.
Create a template
- Go to Control Panel → Email templates → New template.
- Give it a name, such as Welcome dinner selections, and click Create. It starts with a header, a greeting, a text block and your signature.
- Under Details, set the Subject line and optional Preview text, the grey snippet shown after the subject in most inboxes.
- Build the email under Content.
The template list shows each template's status: Active vN or Not active, and a warning when the latest version hasn't been tested.
Content blocks
Pick a block type and click Add block. Use the arrows to reorder blocks and the bin to remove one.
| Block | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Header band | Your logo, with optional text underneath. |
| Hero image | A large photo from your Media Library. A description is required. |
| Title / Text / Bullet list | Headings, paragraphs and lists (one bullet per line). |
| Callout box | A yellow note, purple information or red important box. |
| Detail box | Label and value rows, such as meeting ID and passcode. |
| Time zone list | One start time shown in several time zones, such as an orientation call for travelers in the US and UK. |
| Button | A link to the traveler's trip page, a traveler form (which opens on their trip page) or any https web address. |
| Signature / Logo | Your signature from the email brand, or a standalone logo. |
In text, write **bold**, *italic* and [link text](https://…).
Leave a blank line for a new paragraph.
Merge fields
Merge fields fill in each traveler's details, for example Hello {{first_name}}. You can use
them in the subject and the content.
| Field | Inserts |
|---|---|
{{first_name}}, {{full_name}} | The traveler's first name or full name. |
{{traveler_portal_url}} | The traveler's own trip page link for this booking. |
{{tour_name}}, {{booking_reference}} | The booking's tour name and reference. |
{{departure_date}}, {{return_date}} | The booking's dates. |
{{org_name}}, {{org_phone}}, {{org_email}}, {{org_website}} | Your company details from Settings. |
{{orientation_at}}, {{meeting_url}}, {{meeting_id}}, {{meeting_passcode}} | From the departure's Email details. |
{{hotel_1_name}}, {{hotel_1_check_in}}, {{hotel_1_check_out}} … up to hotel 4 | From the departure's Email details. |
Under Merge fields, every field the email uses must be declared. Add standard fields from the list, or click Declare them when TravelSpurt finds undeclared ones. Mark a field Required and the email won't be sent to anyone it has no value for, so an email never goes out with a gap in it.
The trip page link gives whoever has it access to that traveler's details, and it doesn't expire. If a traveler forwards the email, they forward that access.
PDF attachments
Under Attachments, click Upload PDF to attach up to 3 PDFs, 10 MB in total. Every recipient gets the same files. Attachments are saved with the version, so after adding or removing one, save a new version and test it again.
Save, test and activate
Templates are versioned, so nothing you've sent before is ever changed.
- Click Save as new version, with an optional note on what changed.
- Click Send test to me. You get the email at your login address, marked
[TEST]and filled with sample data. Any problems are listed under the preview. - Click Activate this version. Only a tested version can be activated, and only one version is active at a time.
Version history lets you view any earlier version and click Restore as new version to bring it back. Restored versions need a new test before activation. Duplicate copies a template as a starting point for a new one.
Departure email details
For scheduled departures, open the departure and fill in its Email details card:
- the orientation start time and its time zone;
- the meeting link, ID and passcode;
- up to four hotels with check-in and check-out dates.
Click Save email details. Templates use these through the departure merge fields. An email won't send if a departure date or time it uses is in the past.
Send an email from a booking
- Open the booking and go to 02 Travelers & planning. In the Emails card, click Send email….
- Choose the email. Only active, tested templates are listed.
- Check the Recipients: the travelers on this booking. Anyone who can't be emailed is greyed out with the reason, such as no email address or already sent. Tick Send again to people who already received it to include repeats.
- Use Preview as to see exactly what each traveler will get.
- Click Send to N travelers…, then Yes, send now. Keep the window open until it says Done.
Emails go to the booking's travelers, so add them first. Travelers who've unsubscribed from marketing are flagged but not blocked. Only send to them if the email isn't marketing.
Delivery status and retrying
Sent emails are listed in the booking's Emails card and on each traveler's Comms tab, with a status:
- Sending…, Sent or Delivered;
- Bounced, Marked as spam or Failed.
Click View to see exactly what was sent. Later edits to the template don't change it.
If an email is still Sending… after 5 minutes, it shows Not confirmed and a Retry sending button. Retrying is safe: if the first attempt actually got through, it won't be sent twice.