Overview
Ensuring guests receive their booking confirmation emails is a crucial step in the reservation process. These emails confirm the reservation, provide booking details, and establish a point of contact for any inquiries.
Sometimes, confirmation emails may be misclassified as spam or fail to reach the recipient. This is due to email service providers strengthening their spam filters to reduce unwanted emails.
Starting in February 2024, Google and Yahoo have introduced mandatory requirements for email authentication. This article explains the necessary email authentication updates for sending emails through your Zaui system, as well as best practices to improve deliverability.
What’s Covered in This Article
- Transactional vs. Marketing Emails
- Verify and Authenticate Your Domain (Required)
- Email Best Practices
Transactional vs. Marketing Emails
Before reviewing best practices, it's important to understand the difference between transactional and marketing emails:
| Setting | Definition |
|---|---|
| Transactional Emails | Sent to confirm a purchase or transaction, such as booking confirmations, receipts, and itineraries. |
| Marketing Emails | Sent to promote a product or service, such as newsletters, promotions, or special offers. |
Your Zaui system only sends transactional emails. However, some transactional emails may still be flagged as spam, so we strongly recommend completing the domain authentication process.
Verify and Authenticate Your Domain (Required)
To improve email deliverability, you must verify and authenticate your domain. This links your website’s domain with zaui.com, ensuring that email service providers recognize Zaui as an authorized sender.
To complete this process, follow the steps outlined in this article.
Email Best Practices
Be Moderate with Pre-Tour and Post-Tour Emails
Zaui allows you to send automated Pre-Tour and Post-Tour notifications to guests, but it's best to use them sparingly—ideally, within a week before or after the tour date.
Why this matters:
- Frequent tour-related emails could be flagged as marketing emails, which require customers to opt in.
- Overuse may increase the risk of emails being marked as spam, affecting overall deliverability.
Allow Customers to Opt In for Marketing Emails
- Zaui notifications are transactional, meaning guests cannot unsubscribe from them.
- If a guest receives a marketing email they didn’t opt into, they may flag it as spam, impacting your sender reputation.
- To collect customer emails for marketing purposes, include an opt-in checkbox during the booking process or add a reference in your terms and conditions.
Use a Dedicated Email Platform for Marketing Emails
For marketing emails, use a dedicated email marketing platform such as:
- Mailchimp
- Constant Contact
- Campaign Monitor
- Your CRM’s email feature
Monitor Your Spam Complaint Rate in Gmail’s Postmaster Tools
Keep your spam complaint rate below 0.3% in Gmail’s Postmaster Tools. A low complaint rate ensures better email deliverability.
If your complaint rate is too high, email providers may start blocking your messages.
Avoid Spam-Triggering Words and Formatting
Certain words and formatting can trigger spam filters.
Avoid using:
- Words like “free” or “guarantee”
- Excessive exclamation marks (!!!)
- ALL CAPS in subject lines
For best results, keep subject lines concise and informative, without unnecessary promotional language.
Next Steps
- Verify and authenticate your domain to comply with email security updates.
- Monitor email deliverability using Gmail’s Postmaster Tools.
- Use a separate platform for marketing emails to protect your sender reputation.
By following these steps, you can ensure booking confirmation emails reach your customers’ inboxes.