There may be situations where a customer's email address is not available at the time a booking is created. In these cases, the booking can still be completed. However, it is important to understand how the system manages customer records and what actions should be taken afterward to ensure accurate profile management and reliable guest communications.
This article explains the booking process, highlights key considerations and outlines recommended best practices.
Overview
When creating a booking through the dashboard BOOK NOW process (back-office booking) without completing the guest validation step, the only mandatory fields at Checkout are the customer’s first and last name. A booking cannot be completed without this information.
Note:
If the booking is made after validating the customer first (Dashboard BOOK NOW with guest validation step, or BOOK FOR ITINERARY), certain customer details, including first name, last name and email address, are automatically populated at checkout and cannot be edited.
What happens when the email is not available at the time of booking
If a booking is created without validating the customer first, and the first and last name are entered but the email address is left blank, the booking can still be completed.
Before completing the booking, a warning message will be displayed with the following options:
Cancel - Return to the booking process
Make Booking - Continue and complete the booking without an email address
If the booking is completed without an email address, the system automatically creates a customer profile and assigns a system-generated email address in the following format:
[email protected]The booking is then associated with the newly created customer record/profile.
Important implications
Until a valid customer email address is added:
The customer will not receive email notifications
Booking status updates cannot be delivered
Marketing email templates cannot be sent
The booking may not be accessible through the Guest App
Additional bookings created using different email addresses may result in duplicate customer profiles.
Best practices
Update the customer email address as soon as possible
The email address acts as the unique identifier for customer profiles within the platform. If a booking is created without an email address, update the customer profile with the customer's correct email address as soon as it becomes available.
Once updated, the change automatically synchronizes with:
Associated bookings
Guest App
Email communications and notifications
Never use a company email address
If the customer's email address is not available at the time of booking, do not enter a company email address or any generic email address as a substitute.
Using a company, generic email address can:
Create inaccurate customer profiles
Cause booking association issues
Prevent proper guest communication
Lead to duplicate customer records
It is preferable to complete the booking without an email address and update the customer profile later with the correct information.
Keep PMS data aligned
If a PMS integration is enabled, ensure that the customer's email address is updated in the PMS as well.
Keeping customer information consistent across systems helps prevent synchronization issues and duplicate customer records.
Resolve duplicate customer profiles promptly
Multiple customer profiles may be created for the same customer when bookings are associated with different email addresses, temporary system-generated email addresses, or incorrect and generic email addresses.
When duplicate profiles are identified:
Identify the customer profile that contains the correct customer email address. If necessary, update one of the bookings with the correct email address first.
Use the Assign another customer functionality to reassign bookings from incorrect or temporary customer profiles to the correct customer profile.
Review existing bookings to ensure they are all associated with the correct customer profile.
Verify that future bookings are created under the correct customer record.
This helps maintain a single customer profile, ensures an accurate booking history and supports reliable guest communications.
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