Advanced Email Automator

Automate timely emails to travelers and admins based on booking events, trip dates, enquiries, and payments.

Send the right email at the right time without chasing every booking by hand. The Advanced Email Automator is a premium add-on for the WP Travel Engine plugin that sends emails to travelers or site admins when booking activity happens.

You can use it for trip reminders, feedback requests, payment follow-ups, and other routine messages that usually take up your day. Once you set the rules, the add-on sends those emails for you.

It is a good fit if you run tours and want to stay in touch with travelers without remembering every follow-up yourself. Once you understand the setup, it becomes part of your booking routine.

Key features

Send emails when something important happens - for example, when a new booking comes in, when someone submits an enquiry, or when a review is posted.
Send emails before or after a trip - for example, a packing reminder 1 day before a trek, or a feedback request 2 days after a day tour ends.
Write your own subject and message - you can add details that change for each traveler by using placeholders, such as the traveler's name or trip title.
Turn each notification on or off - keep a message ready for busy season, then switch it off when you do not need it.
Works with thePartial Payment****add-on - this gives you extra payment-related triggers for balance reminders and completed partial payments.

These features are most helpful when you set up a few common emails first. Next, make sure the basics are in place.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have these ready:

WordPress 5.0 or higher - this is the software that runs your website dashboard.
WP Travel Engine plugin installed and activated - a plugin is a small add-on that gives your WordPress site extra features.
A valid license for the Advanced Email Automator add-on - this lets you install and activate the add-on properly.

If all three are ready, you can move on to installation.

Installing the Advanced Email Automator add-on

You only need to do this once. After the add-on is installed and licensed, you can start creating your automated emails.

See how to activate a Pro add-on license key for the full installation and activation walkthrough.

Once the add-on is active, you are ready to create your first email rule.

Feature configuration

You can create notifications for your customers and for your own team. The setup is the same for both, so once you make one, the next one will feel familiar.

Creating a new email notification

What you'll need before you start: the add-on must be installed and active in your WordPress dashboard, which is the main admin area on the left side of your site.

Open Email Notifications settings

You are going to the place where all automated emails are managed.

In your WordPress dashboard, go to WP Travel Engine on the left sidebar. Then open Settings. Next, click Email. Then click Notifications.

When you reach this screen, you are in the right place to add, edit, or turn off automated emails.

Start a new notification

This creates a new email rule.

Click the Create Notification button. You will see a form where you can choose when the email should be sent and what it should say.

If you plan to send different messages for reminders, payments, and follow-ups, create one notification for each purpose.

Configure the notification settings

This part tells the system when to send the email.

Title - Give the notification a name that helps you recognize it later. For example, Trip Reminder Email or Pending Balance Reminder.
Trigger Event - A trigger is the event that tells the system to send the email.
Choose one of these trigger options:
- New Trip Booked
- Before Trip Starts
- After Trip Ends
- Enquiry Form Submitted
- Review Submitted
- Booking Pending
- Remaining Partial Payment Done - requires the Partial Payments add-on
- Due Payment Pending - requires the Partial Payments add-on
Schedule - For time-based triggers, choose how early or how late the email should go out in relation to the event.

For example, say you run a 5-day Himalayan trek. You could set up an email that goes out automatically 2 days before the trip starts. That email could remind travelers to bring warm layers, walking shoes, and their passport.

Take your time here. Once the trigger and timing look right, you can write the email itself.

Set up the email content

This is the part your traveler or admin will actually read.

Subject - This is the email title people see in their inbox.
Body - Write the message in the editor.
Placeholders supported - A placeholder is a tag that gets replaced with real booking details when the email is sent.

Examples of placeholders include {customer_name}, {trip_title}, {booking_date}, {trip_start_date}, {trip_end_date}, and {payment_amount}.

For example, if you write Hi {customer_name}, the system can replace that with the actual traveler's name when the email goes out. That helps each email feel personal without you writing every message by hand.

Keep the message clear and friendly. A short reminder usually works better than a long one.

Enable or disable the notification

This controls whether the email rule is active.

Use the toggle to turn the notification on or off. If you want to keep the setup but stop sending the email for now, turn the toggle off instead of deleting the notification.

That gives you flexibility during low season, sold-out periods, or special promotions.

Save the notification

Saving stores your settings so the automation can start working.

Check the title, trigger, timing, subject, and message one more time. Then save the notification.

Once saved, your notification is ready. Next, it helps to understand what each trigger actually does.

Supported triggers explained

Trigger name	Description
New Trip Booked	Sends the email when a new trip booking is completed.
Before Trip Starts	Sends the email a set time before the trip start date.
After Trip Ends	Sends the email a set time after the trip end date.
Enquiry Form Submitted	Sends the email when someone sends an enquiry through your trip page.
Review Submitted	Sends the email when a traveler leaves a review for a trip.
Booking Pending	Sends the email when a booking is marked as Pending.
Remaining Partial Payment Done	Sends the email when the remaining balance is paid. Requires the Partial Payments add-on.
Due Payment Pending	Sends the email when a payment is due. Requires the Partial Payments add-on.

Once you know what each trigger means, it becomes much easier to decide which emails you want to automate first.

Examples of use

Trip Reminder - If you run a rafting day trip, send a reminder 1 day before departure with the meeting point, reporting time, and what to wear.
Post-Trip Feedback - If you run a 2-night wildlife package, send a feedback email 2 days after the trip ends while the experience is still fresh in the traveler's mind.
Follow-up on Enquiries - If someone asks about a family tour or group discount, send an automatic reply right after the enquiry so they know you received it.
Encourage Pending Payments - If a traveler books a multi-day trek with a deposit, send a reminder when the remaining payment is still due.

You do not need to set up every possible email on day one. Start with the messages you send most often.

Troubleshooting

My automated emails aren't sending

Start by checking your email sending setup on the website. If you use SMTP, that means a plugin or service that helps your website send email more reliably. If that setup is broken, your automated emails may never leave the site.

Then check the notification itself. Make sure the right trigger is selected. Make sure the schedule makes sense. Make sure the notification toggle is turned on.

If the email depends on a payment trigger, confirm that the Partial Payments add-on is also active. Once those basics are correct, test the email again.

I want to test an email before it goes live

Create a test trip and make a test booking with your own email address. That lets you see exactly what your traveler would receive.

For a Before Trip Starts email, use a very short delay if your setup allows it, such as 1 minute. That way you do not have to wait until the next day to see the result.

After the test email arrives, review the subject, message, and timing. Then adjust the real notification if needed.

The placeholders show up as plain text instead of real customer info

This usually means the placeholder is not written in a way the system can use. Check that you used a supported placeholder and that it matches information that exists in the booking or trip.

For example, a traveler name placeholder only works if that booking actually has traveler details saved with it. If the data is missing, the system cannot fill it in.

If one placeholder does not work, test with a common one linked to every booking, such as the trip title or booking date.

I set up a Before Trip Starts email but it went out at the wrong time

First check the trip dates on the booking or the trip itself. If the trip start date is wrong, the reminder timing will also be wrong.

Then review the schedule setting in the notification. Make sure you chose the correct time direction, such as before instead of after, and the correct amount, such as 1 day instead of 1 hour.

It helps to test this with a sample trip that starts soon. That makes timing mistakes easier to spot.

I turned on a notification but nothing seems to happen

Check whether the event you selected has actually happened yet. A notification set to After Trip Ends will not send until the trip end date has passed.

Also check whether your test booking matches the trigger. For example, a payment reminder will not send for a booking that has already been fully paid.

If the setup looks right, run one small test with a new booking or enquiry that matches the rule exactly.

FAQs

Can I send different emails for different trips?

This page covers the general notification setup. If you need trip-specific email wording, check whether your current setup supports that or use the Per Trip Emails add-on if that is part of your workflow.

A good example is sending one packing list for a luxury city tour and a different one for a mountain trek.

Yes. The Remaining Partial Payment Done and Due Payment Pending triggers need the Partial Payment add-on.

Without that add-on, those two triggers will not work.

Will these emails replace my default booking confirmation email?

No. These are additional automated emails.

Your normal booking confirmation email still works as usual. Use this add-on for extra follow-ups, reminders, and admin alerts.

Can I turn off a notification without deleting it?

Yes. Use the notification toggle to switch it off.

This is useful if you only send certain messages during peak season, festival departures, or special campaigns.

How many automated emails can I set up?

Set up as many as you need for your business.

Many tour operators start with three or four. For example, one booking follow-up, one trip reminder, one review request, and one payment reminder.

If you're still stuck or have a question we didn't cover, our support team is happy to help. Reach out at our support page and we'll get you sorted.

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