This guide builds one real automation from start to finish: a pre-arrival sequence for a villa in the Grenadines. The same steps apply to a welcome series for a Kingstown shop, a renewal reminder for a credit union or a follow-up for a tour operator.
Step 1: Map the journey on paper
Before opening any software, write down what guests need and when. For our villa:
- At booking: confirmation (sent by the booking system).
- 21 days before arrival: travel guide, covering flights into Argyle International Airport, connecting flights or ferries to the island, currency and what to pack.
- 7 days before: transfer details, arrival time request, provisioning order form.
- 1 day before: short reminder with the caretaker’s WhatsApp or phone number in +1 784 format.
- 3 days after departure: thank-you and a short survey.
Step 2: Prepare the data
An automation is only as good as its data. You need each guest’s email, first name and arrival date in a custom field. Import them from your booking system or add them through a form.
Step 3: Choose the trigger
In Mailpro, create a new automated email and choose a date-based trigger on the arrival date field, with an offset of minus 21 days. Other triggers include a sign-up, a click or a field change; see the full list of automation triggers.
Step 4: Write each message
Keep each email short and practical. Use dynamic fields for the guest’s name and arrival date. Remember that prices for provisioning might be quoted in Eastern Caribbean dollars (XCD) while guests think in US dollars, pounds or euros, so be clear.
Step 5: Add conditions
If a guest has not clicked the arrival-time form in the 7-day email, send a gentle reminder two days later. If they have, skip it. Branching like this, using automation actions, stops you pestering people who have already responded.
Step 6: Set the send time
SVG uses Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−4) all year. Many villa guests are in Europe or North America. Choose a morning hour that works for most of them, and avoid the middle of their night.
Step 7: Test with a real date
Create a test contact with your own email and an arrival date three weeks away. Check each message arrives on the right day, the links work and the details are correct. Test on a phone.
Step 8: Switch on, then review
Activate the automation and look at the automated email statistics after the first few guests. Update content before each season, and after anything that changes travel, such as a new flight route or a hurricane affecting ferry services.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Too many steps: five emails before a three-night stay is too many. Start with two or three and add only if guests ask for more information.
- Forgotten content: last year’s ferry times, an old menu or a price that has changed. Put a reminder in your calendar to review every automation before the season.
- Wrong time zone: calculating send times on Atlantic Standard Time when most guests are in Europe.
- No human fallback: always include a way to reach a real person, such as a phone number in +1 784 format or an email address that is monitored.
- Ignoring bounces: a guest with a mistyped email gets none of your messages. Check bounces weekly and phone guests whose emails fail.
Adapting the sequence for other businesses
A credit union can use the same structure for new members: a welcome email on joining, a guide to online banking a week later and a reminder about a first appointment. A school can send a new-parent sequence before the start of term. A Kingstown retailer can follow a first purchase with care instructions, then a review request, then a loyalty offer. The logic is the same: map the journey, collect the data, choose the trigger, write short messages and test.
Permission and service messages
Pre-arrival emails about a booking are service messages that guests expect. The post-stay offer is marketing: send it only to guests who agreed to receive news. That keeps you in line with GDPR and CASL for overseas guests, even though SVG has no dedicated anti-spam law.
Mailpro’s automations are included in your account, priced by the emails you send. For other ideas, see the automated emails overview for SVG.