JetBookIn sends e-mails to guests and to you at every step of a booking. This page lists every e-mail, when it goes out, and how to change its text, language, timing and look.
Where the e-mails are
Go to JetBookIn → Settings and open the E-mails tab. The screen has:
- a language selector at the top right;
- To guests and To staff: every e-mail with a short description, whether it uses the Default text or is Customised, an on/off switch and Edit;
- Timing: when the reminder-type e-mails go out.
The sender name and address, the address that receives staff e-mails and the header colour are in the Settings tab, section E-mails (see Sender).
The editable e-mails come with the E-mail templates module (Core, on by default, Settings → Modules). If you switch the module off, the scheduled e-mails – before arrival, balance reminder, check-in instructions and review request – are no longer sent.
E-mails to guests
Guest e-mails go to bookings made on your website and bookings you enter yourself with the guest’s e-mail. Booking.com, Airbnb and other platform guests only receive the check-in instructions and the ID details request automatically (through the platform’s relay address), plus anything you send from the booking yourself; the platform sends its own confirmations. Own-use stays (Friends & family) get no check-in message and no review request.
| When it is sent | Default | |
|---|---|---|
| Booking received (awaiting payment) | A booking waits for an offline payment, e.g. bank transfer. Includes the bank details, amount and deadline. | On |
| Booking confirmed | A booking is confirmed (paid online, confirmed by you, or a manual booking with an e-mail). Includes a calendar file (.ics) for the stay. | On |
| Booking changed | You change the dates, room or price and leave E-mail the guest the new dates and price ticked. Shows the new and previous total. | On |
| Booking cancelled | A booking is cancelled (by you or the guest), with the fee and refund. Not sent for unpaid website bookings whose hold simply ran out. | On |
| Payment received | Payments after the first one, e.g. the balance. | On |
| Guarantee card declined Pro | The card saved as a guarantee fails its check before arrival; the guest has 48 hours to add a new card. | On |
| Confirm your booking | Bookings with nothing to pay online (pay at the property): the guest confirms with one click; the dates are held meanwhile. Switching it off confirms those bookings straight away. | On |
| Unpaid booking released | A website booking was not paid in time and its dates were released; nothing was charged, with a link to book again. | Off |
| Booking not finished | Once, 10 minutes after the guest left the payment page without paying, while the dates are still held: a link back to complete the payment. | Off |
| Payment request | You request a payment from the booking: amount, what it is for and a link to pay. | On |
| Payment failed Pro | An automatic balance charge fails; includes a payment link. | On |
| Balance reminder | Before the balance is due, when it is not charged automatically. See Timing. | On |
| Before arrival | A few days before check-in, with the address, a map link and a link to give the arrival time. See Timing. | On |
| Guest ID details request Pro | When you press Ask the guest for their details in a booking (also to platform guests). | On |
| Check-in instructions | Automatically before arrival at the time set in Timing (also to platform guests), with the check-in text of the property, room type and room. Also ready to send on WhatsApp from the booking. | On |
| Review request | After check-out, asking for a review. See Timing. | On |
| Receipt / invoice Pro | With the link to a receipt, invoice or credit note (Receipts & invoices module). | On |
| Link to the booking | When a guest who lost the link asks for it with Find your booking (reference + e-mail). Sent only to the address the booking was made with. | Always on |
The two unpaid-booking e-mails are off because the checkout, the countdown on the booking page and the Finish booking button already tell the guest; more e-mails tend to bother. See Unpaid bookings.
The scheduled e-mails (before arrival, balance reminder, check-in instructions, review request) are each sent only once per booking.
E-mails to staff
Staff e-mails go to the address in Send new-booking alerts to (Settings → E-mails section), or to the site’s admin e-mail when that is empty. They are all on by default.
| When it is sent | |
|---|---|
| New booking (staff) | Every new booking made on your website – when it is confirmed, or when it starts waiting for a bank transfer. |
| Cancellation (staff) | A guest cancels from their booking page. |
| Payment failed (staff) Pro | An automatic charge fails. |
| Transfer receipt uploaded (staff) | A guest uploads their bank transfer receipt, to check against your bank account. |
| Guarantee card declined (staff) Pro | A guest’s guarantee card fails its check before arrival. |
| New review (staff) Pro | A guest leaves a review, with the score and text and a link to publish, hide or reply. |
| Receipt / invoice (accountant) Pro | Sent to the accountant e-mail with the link to a new receipt, invoice or credit note (see Accountant). |
Other alerts
A few operational alerts have fixed texts and are not in the list. They go to the staff address:
- Possible double booking: a calendar import found a stay overlapping one you already have.
- Calendar sync failing: a platform calendar could not be read.
- Calendar sync stopped and Calendar sync working again (Pro, Calendar sync alerts module): a calendar has not synced for some hours in either direction, and when it works again.
- Payment received for expired booking: a payment arrived after the booking’s hold had ended, so you can check it.
With the Greece pack, a monthly e-mail can also go to your accountant (see Accountant).
Editing an e-mail
- Choose the language at the top right (see below).
- Click the e-mail’s name or Edit. A panel opens with the description at the top.
- Send this e-mail: untick to stop sending it in this language.
- Subject: plain text, merge tags allowed.
- Message: the WordPress editor, with headings, bold, italic, links, lists and alignment, and a Text tab for HTML.
- Insert information: click a chip, e.g. Guest first name, to insert its tag (
{first_name}) where the cursor is. Hover a chip to see the tag. - Check the Preview: it updates as you type, using your latest booking (with booking JB…) or a sample booking if you have none yet.
- Optional: type an address in Send a test to (empty = your own login e-mail) and press Send test. The subject starts with [Test].
- Press Save.
Reset to default appears once you have changed the text: it brings back the original wording for the language selected. The switch in the list turns an e-mail on or off without opening it.
Every e-mail is wrapped in the same simple layout: a header bar with your site name in your header colour, and a white card with your text. Booking details are best added with {stay_table}, a ready-made table with the reference, room, dates, price lines, total, paid and balance.
Tip: keep a link to {manage_url} in every guest e-mail. That is where guests pay, cancel, give their arrival time and fill in their details.
One text per language
Each language has its own texts. Guests receive e-mails in the language they booked in; for bookings you enter, in the booking’s E-mail language. The language selector lists English and every language installed in WordPress (Settings → General → Site Language in WordPress installs them).
- As long as you have not changed an e-mail in a language, guests get JetBookIn’s own translation of the default text (English where JetBookIn does not speak the language).
- When you customise an e-mail in one language, do it in the others too – the other languages keep the default text until you do.
- The on/off switch is per language as well. To stop an e-mail completely, switch it off in every language you use.
- Names, descriptions and tag labels on this screen stay in your dashboard language, whichever language’s texts you are editing.
On sites with Polylang or WPML, the room and property names, check-in instructions and links in the e-mail also come in the guest’s language. See Multilingual sites.
Showing a sentence only when it applies
Wrap text in {if tag}…{/if} to show it only when that tag has a value. For example, the default Booking confirmed e-mail contains:
{if check_in_time}<p>Check-in from {check_in_time}, check-out until {check_out_time}.</p>{/if}If you have not set a check-in time for the property, the whole sentence disappears instead of reading “Check-in from ,”.
- The block is kept when the tag has any value; it is removed when the tag is empty.
- Blocks cannot be nested: do not put an
{if}inside another. - Paragraphs left empty are removed, so you do not get blank gaps.
- Use the Text tab of the editor when you wrap whole paragraphs, so the tags sit outside the
<p>.
Useful ones: {if details_needed} (only while the guest’s ID details are missing), {if bank_details} (only while a bank transfer is awaited), {if check_in_instructions}, {if property_phone}, {if request_note}.
Merge tags
Type a tag in curly brackets, e.g. {guest_name}, in the subject or message. Dates use your WordPress date format and the guest’s language; amounts are written with two decimals and the currency code (540.00 EUR). A tag JetBookIn does not know is left as it is, so a typo shows up in the preview.
| Tag | What it shows |
|---|---|
{site_name} |
Website name |
{guest_name} |
Guest full name |
{first_name} |
Guest first name |
{ref} |
Booking reference |
{room} |
Room type(s) |
{check_in} |
Check-in date |
{check_out} |
Check-out date |
{nights} |
Number of nights |
{guests} |
Guests, e.g. 2 adults, 2 children; with several rooms, 2 rooms, … |
{total} |
Total price |
{paid} |
Amount paid |
{balance} |
Balance due |
{details_url} |
Link to the guest’s ID details form |
{check_in_instructions} |
Check-in instructions (property, room type and room), line breaks kept |
{check_in_video} |
Link to the check-in video (room, room type or property – the most specific one) |
{room_number} |
Booked room(s) by name, e.g. Room 12 |
{details_needed} |
Set while the guest’s ID details are missing (use in {if details_needed}…{/if}) |
{balance_due_date} |
Date the balance is charged/due |
{hold_until} |
Time the dates are held until (unfinished booking) |
{request_amount} |
Requested amount (payment request) |
{request_note} |
What the payment request is for |
{request_url} |
Link to pay the request |
{request_expires} |
Date the payment request link expires |
{price_change} |
New and previous total, after staff changed the dates or guests |
{refund} |
Refund amount (cancellations) |
{penalty} |
Cancellation fee |
{manage_url} |
Link to view/manage the booking |
{card_deadline} |
Until when the guest can add a new card after a declined card check |
{proof_url} |
Staff link to the booking whose transfer receipt was uploaded |
{verify_url} |
Link the guest clicks to confirm a booking without online payment |
{book_url} |
Link to book the room again (its page on your website) |
{pay_url} |
Link to pay the balance |
{review_url} |
Link to leave a review: your custom review link if set, otherwise your own review form (Guest reviews module), otherwise the booking page |
{property_name} |
Property name |
{property_address} |
Property address |
{property_phone} |
Property phone |
{check_in_time} |
Check-in time |
{check_out_time} |
Check-out time |
{map_url} |
Google Maps link |
{registry_number} |
Registration number (e.g. ΑΜΑ, CIN, NRUA) |
{stay_table} |
Booking summary table (HTML) |
{bank_details} |
Bank transfer details (only while a transfer is awaited) |
{transfer_deadline} |
Date the bank transfer must arrive by |
{transfer_amount} |
Amount to pay by bank transfer |
{review_score} |
Review score out of 10 (new review e-mail only) |
{review_title} |
Review title (new review e-mail only) |
{review_text} |
Review text (new review e-mail only) |
{reviews_url} |
Link to the Reviews screen (new review e-mail only) |
{document_title} |
Document type and number, e.g. receipt ΑΠΥ-12 (receipt/invoice e-mails only) |
{document_number} |
Document number (receipt/invoice e-mails only) |
{document_url} |
Link to view/print the document (receipt/invoice e-mails only) |
Tags such as {request_amount}, {hold_until} or {review_score} only have a value in the e-mail they belong to; elsewhere they are empty. When a message is sent on WhatsApp or copied as text, {stay_table} is left out and links are written as text: address.
Timing
The Timing card at the bottom of the E-mails tab has its own Save button.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| “Before arrival” e-mail: days before check-in | 3 | The Before arrival e-mail goes to confirmed bookings this many days before check-in. |
| Check-in instructions: send | 1 day before arrival | Never (off), On the day of arrival, or 1, 2 or 3 days before arrival. |
| … at | 10:00 | The hour (your site’s time zone) from which the check-in message goes out on that day. It is checked every hour, so it arrives within the hour. |
| Booking.com and Airbnb guests – Send to them too | On | Platform guests get the check-in message through the platform’s relay address. Untick to send it only to your own guests. |
| Balance reminder: days before it is due | 3 | The Balance reminder goes this many days before the balance due date, for bookings whose balance is not charged automatically to a saved card. |
| Review request: days after check-out | 1 | The Review request goes this many days after check-out. |
| Review link | Empty | Optional. Empty = guests rate their stay on your own website (Guest reviews module; the booking page if the module is off). Set a link, e.g. your Google review page, to send guests there instead. |
Example: a 3-apartment villa in Crete
Guests mostly arrive in the afternoon by car from Heraklion. A good set-up: Before arrival 5 days before (time to plan the drive, with the map link and a request for their arrival time), Check-in instructions 1 day before at 18:00 (lockbox code and Wi-Fi fresh in their inbox the evening before), review request 1 day after check-out. Put the general text (parking, Wi-Fi) in the property’s check-in instructions and each apartment’s lockbox code in that room’s own check-in lines; {check_in_instructions} combines them.
Sender, alerts address and header colour
Open the Settings tab, section E-mails, and press Save settings when done.
| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Send new-booking alerts to | Empty (the site admin e-mail) | Where all staff e-mails and alerts go. One address; use a shared mailbox or a forwarding rule if several people need them. |
| From name | Empty (your site name) | The sender name guests see, e.g. Villa Elia. Used when a From e-mail is set. |
| From e-mail | Empty | The sender address. Empty = WordPress’s own default (often wordpress@yourdomain). Use an address on your own domain, the mailbox you send through under Outgoing mail (SMTP). |
| Header colour | #1c1a17 (JetBookIn ink) | The bar with your site name at the top of every e-mail. Pick any colour or a preset – JetBookIn ink, Violet, Sea, Olive, Terracotta, Paper. The text turns white or dark to stay readable. |
Outgoing mail (SMTP)
Without it, your web host’s own mail function sends the e-mails, and many hosts send mail poorly: booking e-mails then land in spam or never arrive. With Outgoing mail (SMTP) every e-mail of your site goes through your own mailbox’s server instead – booking e-mails, WooCommerce, WordPress and contact forms too. No separate mail plugin is needed. Administrators only.
Open Settings → E-mails, tick Send e-mail through my mail server, fill in the fields and press Save settings. Then press Send a test e-mail to me.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Mail server (SMTP host) | Your mailbox’s outgoing server, e.g. smtp.hostinger.com, smtp.gmail.com (Google Workspace) or smtp.office365.com (Microsoft 365). Your mailbox provider lists it. |
| Encryption and Port | Most servers: TLS (STARTTLS) on port 587. Some use SSL on port 465. Choosing the encryption fills in the usual port. |
| Username | Usually the full e-mail address of the mailbox. |
| Password | The mailbox password. Google and Microsoft accounts with two-step sign-in need an app password instead (created in the account’s security settings). It is stored hidden. |
E-mails that other plugins still send “from” WordPress’s made-up wordpress@ address get your From e-mail instead – most mail servers refuse to send for an address that is not theirs.
Tip: if the test fails, the message under the button is your mail server’s own answer, e.g. Could not connect to SMTP host (wrong server, port or encryption) or Could not authenticate (wrong username or password). The last failed e-mail also shows on this card.
E-mail log Pro
Part of JetBookIn Pro: switch on E-mail log in Settings → Modules. Sending through your own mail server, and the e-mail after 3 failures in a row, work without it.
Settings → E-mail log lists every e-mail your site sends – JetBookIn’s, WooCommerce’s, WordPress’s and other plugins’ – newest first: when, to whom, the subject, which plugin sent it, whether it went out through your mail server or your web host, and Sent or Failed. Search by recipient or subject, or show only failed e-mails.
- Open an e-mail (click its subject) to see the details and, for a failed one, the mail server’s answer and the e-mail itself.
- Send again sends a failed e-mail once more – after you fixed the mail settings, for example. The new attempt appears as its own line, marked sent again.
- Keep entries for (days): 30 by default; older entries are deleted every night.
- Also keep the content of e-mails that were sent: off by default, because e-mails hold guests’ personal details. The content of failed e-mails is always kept (for the same number of days) so they can be sent again.
- When 3 e-mails in a row fail, you get one e-mail about it (at most once a day), sent through your web host’s own mail function in case your mail server is the problem.
- A personal data erase request (WordPress → Tools → Erase Personal Data) also removes that address from the log.
The log records nothing about opens or clicks.
E-mails to your accountant
- Receipts & invoices Pro – Settings → Receipts & invoices: Accountant e-mail and E-mail every new document to the accountant. Each new receipt, invoice or credit note is sent with the Receipt / invoice (accountant) template, as a separate e-mail – never copied on the guest’s. E-mail every new document to the guest uses the guest template.
- Monthly figures Greece pack – Settings → Greek compliance: Accountant’s e-mail and E-mail the accountant every month: the bookings and the ΤΑΚΚ figures of the previous month, as spreadsheets. Sent on the 1st of each month, by departure date. See Greece.
Making sure e-mails arrive
JetBookIn sends through WordPress (wp_mail), so it uses whatever your site uses. Many hosts send mail poorly by default, and booking e-mails then land in spam or never arrive.
- Switch on Outgoing mail (SMTP) and send through your mailbox’s server.
- Send from an address on your own domain (From e-mail), the same mailbox you send through.
- Ask your host or domain provider to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for that domain.
- Send a test with Send test to a Gmail and an Outlook address and check they arrive in the inbox.
- Look at the E-mail log now and then: failed e-mails show why, and can be sent again.
Important: if a test says The e-mail could not be sent. Check your site’s mail configuration (SMTP)., WordPress itself could not send it – no guest e-mail will go out until this is fixed.
Questions
I switched off an e-mail but German guests still get it.
The switch is per language. Choose German in the language selector and switch it off there too.
Can I send the check-in instructions earlier than 3 days before?
Not automatically; the choices are the day of arrival or 1 to 3 days before. Put the arrival information you want sent earlier in the Before arrival e-mail, whose days you can set freely – or send the check-in message by hand from the booking at any time.
Can I have one set of instructions for every apartment and a different door code for each?
Yes. The property’s check-in instructions, each room type’s and each room’s own lines are joined, general to specific, in {check_in_instructions}.
Why didn’t a Booking.com guest get the confirmation e-mail?
Platform guests are confirmed by the platform. JetBookIn only sends them the check-in instructions, the ID details request and the messages you send yourself.
Can several people receive the new-booking e-mails?
There is one alerts address. Use a shared mailbox or a forwarding rule in your mail provider.
Can I change the alerts about double bookings or calendar sync?
Their wording is fixed in the dashboard. A developer can override the admin-conflict, admin-sync-failing and admin-late-payment templates by copying them to yourtheme/jetbookin/emails/.
I changed an e-mail and now want the original text back.
Open it and press Reset to default.