Customize Email Templates in WaveRez Admin

WaveRez Admin automatically sends emails to your guests at key points in the booking process, and all of those emails are editable under Marketing > Emails > Templates. Five templates are available: Confirmation (sent when an Order is placed), Cancellation (sent when an Order is cancelled), Pre Arrival (a reminder sent a set number of days before the trip), Review (a review request sent a set number of days after the trip), and Cart Abandonment (sent to customers who started a booking online but did not finish). For each template you can change the subject line, add or remove content blocks called modules, insert shortcodes that automatically fill in Order and company details, and write custom content in either a visual editor or raw HTML. Orders that come from an integrated OTA (TripShock, GetYourGuide, or Viator) do not receive all of these emails, because those platforms send their own guest communications.

You need a WaveRez Admin login with access to the Marketing section. If Marketing does not appear in your left sidebar, contact your account administrator to have your user permissions updated.

The email templates live under the Marketing section of WaveRez Admin. The full navigation path is Marketing > Emails > Templates.

Step 1 — Click the back arrow at the top of the collapsed left sidebar. The full navigation menu expands and displays Dashboard, General, Marketing, Support, Integrations, Reseller Marketplace, and Refer & Earn.

Below is the expanded left sidebar showing the full top-level navigation menu in WaveRez Admin.

Step 2 — Click Marketing. The Marketing submenu expands and displays Promotions, Emails, and Booking Portal.

Step 3 — Click Emails. The Emails submenu expands and displays two options, Templates and Export.

Below is the Marketing submenu with Emails expanded to show the Templates and Export options.

Step 4 — Click Templates. WaveRez Admin opens the Email Templates page and loads the Confirmation template by default.

The Email Templates page lists five templates in a panel on the left side of the screen. Click any template name in that panel to switch the editor to that template. The template currently being edited is highlighted in teal.

Confirmation is sent to the guest when an Order is created. Cancellation is sent to the guest when an Order is cancelled. Pre Arrival is a reminder sent to the guest a set number of days before the scheduled trip date. Review is a review request sent to the guest a set number of days after the scheduled trip date. Cart Abandonment is sent to a customer who began a booking on your online booking portal but did not complete checkout.

Below is the Email Templates page showing the template panel on the left with Confirmation, Cancellation, Pre Arrival, Review, and Cart Abandonment listed, and the Confirmation template loaded in the editor on the right.

Modules are the content blocks that make up an email template. The Confirmation, Cancellation, Pre Arrival, and Review templates are all built from modules. The Cart Abandonment template does not use modules and has a fixed layout instead.

Seven module types are available: Rich text (a free-form text or HTML block), Special rich text (a text or HTML block targeted to one specific Trip), One line text (a single-line text block), Trips (displays the Trip name, date, and time from the Order), Buttons (adds a call to action button), Reservation details (displays the full Order summary), and Follow me (adds your social media links).

Step 1 — Click the Built-in modules button at the top of the Templates panel. A dropdown opens listing all seven module types along with an Add Row button at the bottom.

Below is the Built-in modules dropdown showing the seven available module types and the Add Row button.

Step 2 — Click the name of the module you want to add. WaveRez Admin highlights your selection in the dropdown.

Step 3 — Click Add Row. WaveRez Admin adds the selected module to the bottom of the template so you can configure it.

Step 4 — To expand a module and edit its content, click the chevron arrow to the left of the module name. The module expands to show its editing fields.

Step 5 — To reorder a module, click and drag the six-dot handle on the far left of the module row to a new position in the template. The email renders modules top to bottom in the order shown on this page.

Step 6 — To delete a module, click the red trash icon on the far right of the module row. WaveRez Admin removes the module and its content from the template.

The Rich text module is a free-form content block that appears in every email of that template type, regardless of which Trip the guest booked. Use the Rich text module for universal messages such as arrival instructions that apply to all of your Trips, your weather policy, or an unsubscribe notice.

Step 1 — Add a Rich text module to the template using the Built-in modules button and the Add Row button, then click the chevron arrow next to Rich text to expand the module.

Step 2 — Choose your editing mode using the Rich Text and HTML toggle at the top of the module. Rich Text opens a visual editor with formatting buttons for bold, underline, italic, strikethrough, bulleted and numbered lists, text alignment, links, and images. HTML opens a code editor with line numbers where you can paste raw HTML.

Step 3 — Enter your content in the editor. Whichever mode you choose, the content saves to the same module.

Below is a Rich text module expanded with the HTML mode selected, showing the code editor with line numbering.

The Special rich text module is a content block that only appears in emails for Orders containing one specific Trip. Use the Special rich text module when instructions differ by activity, for example a waiver reminder that should only go to guests who booked a jet ski rental, or a meeting location that only applies to one tour.

Step 1 — Add a Special rich text module to the template using the Built-in modules button and the Add Row button, then click the chevron arrow next to Special rich text to expand the module.

Step 2 — Choose your editing mode using the Rich Text and HTML toggle at the top of the module. Rich Text opens a visual editor with formatting buttons. HTML opens a code editor where you can paste raw HTML.

Step 3 — Enter the content that should only go to guests who booked one particular Trip.

Step 4 — Click the Select Trip dropdown at the bottom of the module and choose the Trip this content applies to. WaveRez Admin will only include this module in emails for Orders that contain the selected Trip.

Below is a Special rich text module expanded to show the visual editor toolbar and the Select Trip dropdown beneath it.

Shortcodes are placeholders that WaveRez Admin replaces with real information when the email sends. Typing {first_name} into a subject line or a text module produces the guest's actual first name in the email they receive. Shortcodes are available on the Confirmation, Cancellation, Pre Arrival, and Review templates, and a notice listing the available shortcodes appears near the top of each of those templates.

The available shortcodes are {order_id} and {amount} for Order information, {first_name} and {last_name} for guest information, and {partner_title}, {partner_address}, and {partner_phone} for your company information.

Type the shortcode exactly as shown, including the curly braces, into any subject line or text module on the Confirmation, Cancellation, Pre Arrival, or Review template.

The Confirmation email is sent to the guest when an Order is created. The Confirmation template is the only template with two subject line fields.

Step 1 — Click Confirmation in the template panel on the left. WaveRez Admin loads the Confirmation template in the editor. The Confirmation template is also selected by default when you first open the Email Templates page.

Step 2 — Edit the Subject field to change the subject line guests see when they receive their booking confirmation. The default value is "Customer Receipt/Purchase Confirmation."

Step 3 — Edit the Booking modification subject field to change the subject line used when a booking is modified.

Step 4 — Add, remove, or reorder modules as needed. By default the Confirmation template includes the Trips, Reservation details, Buttons, and Follow me modules.

Step 5 — Click Save layout in the bottom right corner. WaveRez Admin saves your changes to the Confirmation template.

The Cancellation email is sent to the guest when an Order is cancelled.

Step 1 — Click Cancellation in the template panel on the left. WaveRez Admin loads the Cancellation template in the editor.

Step 2 — Edit the Subject field to change the subject line guests see when their booking is cancelled.

Step 3 — Add, remove, or reorder modules as needed using the Built-in modules button and the Add Row button.

Step 4 — Click Save layout in the bottom right corner. WaveRez Admin saves your changes to the Cancellation template.

The Pre Arrival email is a reminder sent to the guest a set number of days before their scheduled trip date. The Pre Arrival email is on by default.

Step 1 — Click Pre Arrival in the template panel on the left. WaveRez Admin loads the Pre Arrival template in the editor.

Step 2 — Click the Days dropdown at the top of the template and select how many days before the trip date the reminder should send. Selecting 1 sends the reminder one day before the trip.

Step 3 — Check the Mode dropdown at the top right of the template to determine if it's on or off.

Step 4 — Edit the Subject field to change the subject line guests see when they receive the reminder.

Step 5 — Add, remove, or reorder modules as needed. The Pre Arrival email is the best place to include arrival time, parking instructions, waiver links, what to bring, and your weather policy.

Step 6 — Click Save layout in the bottom right corner. WaveRez Admin saves your changes to the Pre Arrival template.

Below is the Pre Arrival template with the Days dropdown open showing the day options and the Mode dropdown to its right.

The Review email is a review request sent to the guest a set number of days after their scheduled trip date. The Review template lets you choose which Order statuses receive the request.

Step 1 — Click Review in the template panel on the left. WaveRez Admin loads the Review template in the editor.

Step 2 — Click the Days dropdown at the top of the template and select how many days after the trip date the review request should send.

Step 3 — Check the Mode dropdown at the top right of the template to determine if this email is on or off. Review email will be off by default upon account creation.

Step 4 — Edit the Subject field to change the subject line guests see when they receive the review request.

Step 5 — Select which guests receive the review request using the three checkboxes. Send Review Email to Customers Marked as Confirmed sends to guests whose Order status is Confirmed. Send Review Email to Customers Marked as No Show sends to guests whose Order status is No Show. Send Review Email to Customers With Unconfirmed Status sends to guests whose Order status is Unconfirmed. Select any combination, or select all three to send the review request to every guest.

Step 6 — Add, remove, or reorder modules as needed.

Step 7 — Click Save layout in the bottom right corner. WaveRez Admin saves your changes to the Review template.

Below is the Review template showing the Days and Mode controls, the Subject field, and the three recipient status checkboxes.

The Cart Abandonment email is sent to a customer who started a booking on your online booking portal but did not complete checkout. WaveRez sends the email 30 minutes after the customer's cart expires. Cart abandonment emails apply to online booking portal carts only, so Orders that come from TripShock, GetYourGuide, or Viator never trigger a cart abandonment email.

The Cart Abandonment template does not use modules. Instead the template has a fixed layout with an on and off toggle, a subject line, a single content block, and a customizable button.

Step 1 — Click Cart Abandonment in the template panel on the left. WaveRez Admin loads the Cart Abandonment template in the editor.

Step 2 — Switch the Cart abandonment emails enabled toggle on. WaveRez Admin begins sending the cart abandonment email 30 minutes after a customer's cart expires without a completed booking. Switching the toggle off stops WaveRez Admin from sending the email entirely.

Step 3 — Edit the Subject field to change the subject line customers see. The default value is "Did you forget something?"

Step 4 — Edit the message body under the Content heading. Choose Rich Text for the visual editor with formatting buttons for bold, underline, italic, lists, alignment, links, and images. Choose HTML to paste raw HTML instead.

Step 5 — Edit the Button text field to change the wording on the call to action button that returns the customer to their booking. The default value is "Finish your booking."

Step 6 — Click Save layout in the bottom right corner. WaveRez Admin saves your changes to the Cart Abandonment template.

Below is the Cart Abandonment template showing the enable toggle, the subject line, the content editor with the default message, and the button text field.

Orders that originate from an integrated OTA (TripShock, GetYourGuide, or Viator) do not receive every WaveRez email. The OTA handles its own guest communications, so WaveRez suppresses the emails the OTA already sends.

Every email template in WaveRez Admin saves using the same button. Changes are not saved automatically.

Step 1 — Make your edits to the subject line, timing controls, modules, or content.

Step 2 — Click Save layout in the bottom right corner of the template editor. WaveRez Admin saves all changes to that template.

WaveRez does not send confirmation emails for Orders that originate from an integrated OTA. TripShock, GetYourGuide, and Viator send their own booking confirmations, so WaveRez suppresses its confirmation to avoid sending the guest two conflicting emails. Direct the guest to the confirmation the OTA sent them. This is expected behavior and does not indicate a problem with your email templates.

Check the Bounce List under the Support menu in the left sidebar. If the guest's email address appears on the bounce list, delivery failed, most commonly because of a typo in the email address entered at the time of booking. The bounce list displays the reason for each bounce.

Changes to an email template are only saved when you click Save layout in the bottom right corner of the editor. Switching to a different template in the left panel before clicking Save layout discards unsaved changes. Return to the template, re-enter your changes, and click Save layout before navigating away.

This happens when custom HTML pasted into a Rich text or Special rich text module includes its own button or footer while the template still contains the built-in Buttons module or Follow me module. Delete the redundant built-in module by clicking the red trash icon on that module's row, then click Save layout.

The Special rich text module only targets one Trip, selected in the Select Trip dropdown at the bottom of the module. If no Trip is selected in that dropdown, or the wrong Trip is selected, the content will not target correctly. Expand the Special rich text module, confirm the correct Trip is chosen in Select Trip, then click Save layout.

Shortcodes must be typed exactly as shown, including the curly braces, for example {first_name} rather than first_name or [first_name]. Shortcodes are available on the Confirmation, Cancellation, Pre Arrival, and Review templates. Correct the shortcode syntax and click Save layout.

Confirm the Cart abandonment emails enabled toggle is switched on under Marketing > Emails > Templates > Cart Abandonment. WaveRez sends the email 30 minutes after the customer's cart expires, so a customer who abandoned a booking within the last half hour has not reached the send window yet. Cart abandonment emails apply to online booking portal carts only and are never sent for Orders originating from TripShock, GetYourGuide, or Viator.