Email templates - Linked to properties

It would be nice if when creating custom email templates we are able to apply the template to all properties or specific properties....then when sending one of the email templates from a booking ONLY those emails that are associated with either ALL or that property are presented to choose from. Would save time having to sift through the whole list to find the email template we are looking for.

What templates are you customizing per property? Most of the time it's better to create a single template and then use custom fields to customize the parts that are relevant to a specific property.

For example: https://www.ownerrez.com/support/articles/pre-arrival-email-templates-triggers-custom-fields

Some property-specific emails that we send that can't be used universally are:

Check-in Instructions
Follow up email w/link to specific page for review
Notify Housekeeper
Remind Housekeeper
Housekeeper report
Put out the trash reminder (for guest)

@Valerie R - I have similar emails, what works for me is to create a custom field and then put unique text in for each property. There are no limits to how much content you can put in a custom field, I have one that are my house rules with dozens of bullets, and of course they are unique per property

Here are two of my custom fields. Both look much nicer than this forum, the actual text is formatted with bullets/bolding/etc

Parking Directions (PXPARKING)
Property A:
- Drive straight into garage and turn left before bike storage area, then continue straight through passage to Fraser Building
- Elevators will be on your left
- park either on this level or turn right to descend to 1st level
Property B:
- Drive straight into garage and turn left before bike storage area and find a nearby spot
- Elevators will be on your left
- If there are no spots, circle around and drive up the ramp behind the bike storage and park on the 2nd level

Wireless (PXWIRELESS)
Property A:
- Building Wireless: FCFPinternet password is fakepw1
- 4573 Unit Wireless: SkiCountry password is fakepw2
Property B:
- Building Wireless: FCFPinternet password is fakepw3
- 3501 Unit Wireless: SkiCountry password is fakepw4

... and in my template emails I just insert the custom field code shortname between braces like {PXPARKING}, at the appropriate place in the template. You can preview how the template will look for each property.

Thanks Rich, for the suggestions. I also love the custom fields for the bookings. But this won't help me much in the situation I am describing.

For instance, I have 2 properties that I might need to send an email to a guest to remind them to put out the trash for pick up. I'd rather send them a reminder email than include the information in the Guest Instructions, because it is my experience that guests don't read those instructions unless they are looking for some piece of information in particular (like the address of the property or the wifi information). Plus this would not apply to EVERY guest, just the ones who might be staying during dates that include a trash pick up day.

This is why I made the suggestion originally.

Is this something where you could create a template the check in for all properties, but offers the specific reminder for those properties where trash needs to be put out? Just an idea. I think some of property management gets creative because we have many different ways to accomplish a similar task. I like the way you are thinking about this.

If you have a custom field that's only used on some properties for trash instructions or other special case things, that's fine too -- leave the other properties blank and it'll render as a blank in the email. Just make sure the surrounding design of the email is fine with having a blank there or content and you'll be good to go.

Thanks for the suggestions about adding custom fields.

But back to the original topic...the screen shot below illustrates why I made this suggestion. If we were able to link email templates to particular properties then when sending an email from a booking instead of seeing a long list of templates (like in the screen shot) the system could only show those templates linked to that property.

https://snipboard.io/Kq2DNE.jpg

Valerie - It likely possible to replace all of the individual emails you have that are specific to a property with a single version, and then use the custom fields. I think it would be a lot easier to manage that way, because if you want to add something that applies to all units then you would add it in one place rather than in your email for DP, CMR, BB, etc. I guess I'm just restating my prior post suggestions, which is that custom fields are the way to go to avoid duplication.

But maybe the OR guys will have a way to do what you're asking...

Hi Valarie,
I have a a similar situation with different specifics. In my case every condo has a different wifi password, some have mini-split a/c units and some have central air...it was crazy trying to get the right instructions to the right guest without a 10-page arrival note. I simply couldn't use the same for all.

For these situations that require personalized or specific info, I created "Arrival Info" templates "by property" versus sending to all. This way I can adjust just that unit if the password changes - or if anything else in that specific property changes. If you have 20+ properties this may be a big task but hopefully you only have to do it once. I have 14 and I find this to be the easiest and most "property specific" way to address the nitty gritty property-specific details. For example, I have 102 Arrival Info template but also have 202, 203, 204, etc.... It has been a lifesaver to be able to send very detailed info. And, the guest truly thinks you have sent them a custom email meant just for them.

Good luck! Happy to help if needed. Beth

Hi Beth,

Yes, I have the same situation as you, multiple properties with property-specific information that can't really be combined into one generic message and custom tags.

For now, (until we can associate email templates to specific properties so that when we need to send an email template on a booking we are only presented with those templates associated with that property instead of ALL of them), I've changed the way I've labeled my templates to help weed out templates I don't need to see.

I did this by adding a prefix of "y (auto)" to each email template that is linked to a trigger and sent automatically. I chose "y" because it was near the end of the alphabet so would put the template at the bottom of the list and added "(auto)" to remind myself that it is a triggered message.

This leaves all of the other templates without the "y (auto)" displayed at the top of my list. I identify each property's templates by using its property code at the beginning of the template name so that all of the templates belonging to that property are grouped together.

Each property has 5-6 email templates that can be manually sent for each booking so this makes it a lot easier to see those templates quickly when sending rather than having to scan through the list of 110 templates (currently) to find the one I'm looking for.

Maybe this suggestion might help anyone else facing the same situation.

You can. Define a template and specify which property it applies to on a trigger.

Yes, you can identify which property the template belongs to on a trigger.

But if you have email templates that are not on a trigger, you can't.

PropertyAtemplate
PropertyBtemplate

When you need to send, just select PropartyATemplate or PropertyBtemplate before sending form a drop down list.

When you have 10 properties in one account and there are multiple email templates per property that I might want to manually send to the guest, that means the list of templates that I have to search through to find the particular template I wish to use is LONG. So it isn't a matter of choosing one template for property A or one template for property B.

I've organized my template list by naming criteria, that groups the templates per property, and also a naming criteria that moves all of the triggered emails to the bottom of the list so that I don't have to sift through all of those too.

My suggestion was just for the OR developers to consider that when I am using the "Send Email" option on a booking, the system should look at the property related to the booking and ONLY show those templates that I've assigned to that property. Then I might only need to see 5 or 6 templates instead of 50 or 60.

Sorry I do not have same dilemma. I have one template of each kind for all properties. The paragraphs that are property-specific (such as one property has gas grill and another has charcoal grill, for example, so instructions for those) are defined as "custom field", populated with content relevant to given property, and inserted into the respective template by property. If given paragraph does not apply to given property, then that custom field is simply left blank under that property definition.

I have a similar issue. I have a few properties and for example the check in info is different with each unit. Do we have a solution yet?

Rana - can you give an example?

In my email templates I do this

Arriving at the property - {PXPARKING}

Depending upon the property, the guest gets a paragraph with detailed parking instructions.

Not sure about your use case, but you could literally insert an entire email worth of content uniquely per property as long as it is constant, meaning never changes.

I don't see a use case here that cannot already be accomplished using triggers and custom field codes, so I don't think any development is necessary.