Experience the difference of "Elite".

Required custom field content

Status: Requested 3 Votes
Rich S
Jan 17, 2019 10:24 AM
Joined Dec, 2018 301 posts

I think I asked about this previously, but in case it was part of another discussion I'll add it as a feature request.

It would be super helpful to have a checkbox when setting up a custom field to flag that it must have content.

At the most simple implementation perhaps the existence of a custom field without content could simply be shown as a red number on top of the Bookings menu, similar to what occurs when there are unread inquiries.

Or here's a really simple approach - If the flag is set the field will be filled with content in red such as
"Alert: We have notified the owner that the information they intended to provide here is missing"
By doing this the email sent to the guest will at least have unusual content, and since I always cc myself on guest emails and scan them I'd probably notice and fix the problem.

A stronger implementation would prevent the sending of automated emails if the field is referenced in the email but was empty. Either prevent the sending or alert the owner or both.

I'm thinking of a checkbox in the custom field setup like this: [ ] Must have content for new emails, bookings, etc

I'm already finding after just several weeks of using OR that because I don't have to manually draft emails to send I am paying less attention to the arrival day and lead up to bookings. That's what I want, but there's a risk that I forgot to setup of the keycodes when the booking was created and as it stands now, the emails would be sent without anything in the field. And it's very easy to overlook the absence of content like that.

My only alternative at the moment here is to create a special email that gets sent to a service like ITTT or Zapier on the day after booking and parse the content looking for valid keycodes. And then emails me daily until I fix it. But that's a messy solution and I'd rather hope that OR can provide some kind of safety net instead.

Rich S
Feb 11, 2019 10:38 AM
Joined Dec, 2018 301 posts

Now that I've been using custom fields for keycodes for over a month, I'm finding that about every 4th time I import I completely forget to set up the custom fields (I use them for keycodes)

Of course, it happens when I'm distracted and fighting various fires. I **do** remember to use the channel bridge, mostly because I know that it's essential otherwise the email automation doesn't happen. But it's too easy to forget about the custom fields.

So...... pretty please, I'll email many beers if y'all can implement some kind of safety net that reminds me when this has been overlooked in a booking.

Rich S
Feb 11, 2019 11:16 AM
Joined Dec, 2018 301 posts

A thought - How about showing the guest name in RED on in the Ribbon and Month views of the booking tab? That seems like a very small update what wouldn't affect the UI very much, but it would be quite noticeable to us users.

- RED TEXT for the guest name
- RED TEXT in the hover summary