Experience the difference of "Elite".

Two questions about quoting vs answering

Monica R
Apr 2, 2019 3:36 PM
Joined Feb, 2018 86 posts

I've looked through the forums to see if anyone else has asked these questions, and I don't see it, so I'll ask.

Question 1: When I manually create an inquiry, it has a space for "comments" however these comments show up in the email when I answer it. I thought those comments were just for me to see. Thank goodness I scrolled all the say down and saw them, so I could manually delete them. If the guests can see that field in their email message, what is that comment section for?

Question 2: In answering a manually created inquiry, a quote gets created and appears at the bottom of the email. However, after I hit "send email now" I'm confused as to why the system urges me to send the quote again in a separate email, after I've just sent the quote in a reply. Am I making sense?

Thank you!

BlueMtnCabins
Apr 3, 2019 2:56 PM
Joined Jun, 2016 1115 posts

Monica R said:

I've looked through the forums to see if anyone else has asked these questions, and I don't see it, so I'll ask.

Question 2: In answering a manually created inquiry, a quote gets created and appears at the bottom of the email. However, after I hit "send email now" I'm confused as to why the system urges me to send the quote again in a separate email, after I've just sent the quote in a reply. Am I making sense?

Thank you!


because you used a "reply to inquiry" instead of "send quote" for your manual reply possibly?
here is the template i Use for quote ( here in forum it is not formatted but real template has boldface, highlights, bullet points, links, property photo etc) :


Hi {CFIRST},

Thank you for your inquiry about {PDISPNAME} ({PIMGCAPTION}). Our cabin is a private vacation home, rented out by owners Victoria and Todd (we do not use a management company or an agent).

The quote is shown below for the dates you requested.

First, please review Booking and Rental information for our cabin:

NO smoking ~ NO pets ~ NO house parties.
Must be at least 25 years of age to rent, and be present during the entire stay (No third party rentals). Minors under 18 can only stay with parent, legal guardian or responsible adult.
No occupancy above total {PXOLIMIT} persons (which includes all children ages 0 and up), with maximum {PXMAXADULTS} persons over 14 years of age. Our quoted rates are the same for one guest or {PXOLIMIT}, but we do not permit over limit occupancy.
{QFPAMT} is due to reserve the property; Balance will be due {QSPDAY} days prior to check-in date. If reserving within {QSPDAY} days from check-in date, the full amount is due immediately.
Availability is real time and may change after this email is sent. Property is not reserved until deposit (or full balance) is paid and booking is accepted.
Rental Deposit of {PXDEPOSIT} will be refunded/released within 14 days after check-out if there are no damages or excessive cleaning required (See the Rental Agreement for more details).
Rental Agreement must be signed by primary Guest if you decide to book.
Guest signing the Agreement must provide valid photo ID which matches the name on the credit card used for payment. If not returned within 72 hours from booking acceptance, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and issue a refund.
60 day cancellation policy (full refund if cancelled by renter 60 or more days before the scheduled check-in).
We strongly recommend to protect your trip by obtaining Travel Insurance, especially if your stay is during winter months.
Payments accepted: Venmo, PopMoney, Zelle, major credit cards, personal or cashiers check, money order (at least 35 days prior to check in date), PayPal. Credit card convenience fee may apply.
Address, driving directions and check in instructions will be provided after balance is paid and few days prior to check in. See distance from the cabin to popular area destinations.
Owners reserve the right to install and operate security/image capture devices on the property outside for the express purpose of securing the property, driveway, entryway, parking, dwelling and its contents and ensuring occupancy/pet rules compliance.
Check in is {PCHECKIN} ET and check out is {PCHECKOUT} ET unless pre-arranged otherwise in advance. Late check outs may be subject to docking of the deposit.
WI-FI is available via satellite service (typical speed up to 12 Mbps; Connection speed/availability is not guaranteed).
Property has yard, fire pit and ample parking.
Questions? Check our Vacation Guide, FAQ and What is provided
See the Reviews of our cabins.
'Like' {PDISPNAME} on Facebook - we post updates, specials, or availability due to last minute cancellations.

{QPROPAVAILOTHER}
Please use the buttons at the bottom to view more information about the quote or to accept it and checkout. Our checkout form is simple to use and very secure.

{QHCTAB}

Chris Hynes
Apr 5, 2019 1:20 PM
OR Team Member Joined Oct, 2012 1400 posts

Thanks @BlueMtn! Some more details:

1) The comments field is used for any guest comments that they include in their inquiry -- if it comes from a widget or listing site that supports it.

If you don't want to include that field in the response, edit the inquiry response templates and delete that field reference

2) There are two different email you can do -- one answering just the inquiry, one sending the quote. Many people like to do a simple inquiry response and then a detailed quote email to minimize the potentiality that they get blocked out by spam filters. Or maybe they want to respond to the inquiry but not send over the quote yet because they need more details.

If you just want to send one email, the easiest way is to edit the inquiry available response info to include the {QCTAB} quote charges merge field and then don't send the quote response.

Monica R
Apr 5, 2019 7:48 PM
Joined Feb, 2018 86 posts

Thank you for taking time to answer (both of you!)

Chris, you said:
"There are two different emails you can do -- one answering just the inquiry, one sending the quote."

Yes I see that, and I always choose "reply to inquiry" which automatically includes the quote box at the bottom of the email. That's what confused me. Because after I send it, the system prompts me to send the quote again. I guess in my mind, I'm thinking I just sent the quote as part of the reply, but now I realize that maybe the system doesn't realize that it already included a quote in the first reply.

I will ignore the prompt to send the quote a second time.

Thank you again for your help!

Monica R
Apr 5, 2019 7:56 PM
Joined Feb, 2018 86 posts

Thank you! By the way, when I hit "reply to inquiry" my template is similar to yours wherein it gives info about the house, things to do in the area, etc. and there is a quote at the bottom with the clickable links.

I guess my question was if the "reply to inquiry" automatically includes a quote anyway, why the need for the "quote only" email?

Thank you!

Paul W
Apr 11, 2019 9:21 AM
OR Team Member Joined Jun, 2009 825 posts

Hi Monica,

The second quote email is an artifact from years ago, and we've never dropped it. When we started out, users mostly responded to inquiries and there were a lot of question-only ones. We wanted to give a "clean" response where you could offer a message and then also include a link to the quote but also have a quote email that mostly just showed the quote details. Nowadays, there are fewer questions and more direct bookings. The quotes you do send tend to be fine with a single email.