Automatic sending of emails

Emails from Odyssey can be sent automatically, as long as there are no attachments that have to be included. This solution is therefore perfect for the automatic sending of survey/evaluation emails, or a pretrip email that doesn't require any attachments to be included in the sending process.

You can add personalised text at any point prior to the due date.

How to set up automated emailing

1. From the Main Menu | Admin | Email | select the email type, e.g. in the example below we are using the Customer Service email template setting for the "Evaluation" email.

2. Set the number of offset days and select what those offset days are based on, e.g. this email will send 7 days after the Tour End date. To send an email before a tour start date, use a minus before the number, e.g. -20 to send an email 20 days before the Tour start date.

3. Tick the tickbox for 'automatic'
4. There must be a sender email address, and a reply to email address entered in these settings

When do the emails get sent?

When Odyssey calculates that your email should be sent TODAY, based on the rules above:

(and of course, if the email hasn't been sent already, and if there is a valid email address to use)

1. The emails get sent automatically from our Server, once per day. Users do not have to be logged in for the sending to occur, it's hands off!
2. The time of day that the emails will be sent will be determined by Creative Technology, based on your own country's timezone.

Part of the automation process also checks back two days from the current date, to ensure that an email that was due to be sent, but wasn't (in case of some technical hitch, for example) will be now be sent along with those due today.

When you first begin using automated emails:

Odyssey does not look any further back than if an email was due to be sent two days ago.

As an example:

• if you begin using this automatic email feature on 3 June
• for a 20 day prior to departure email
• then only the 20 day emails for Departures departing from approx 21 June (depending on what time of day your emails send, and when you activate the setting) will be sent automatically.
• This is because 3 June, + 20 Days = 23 June, less the 2 days that Ody includes in it's backchecking feature = 21 June

So if you have a backlog of emails due to be sent, they won't be sent automatically. HOWEVER, we can help you with this by adding an extra step in the automation.

We would love to help you - please discuss this with us.

Here's an online date / count calculator that we have found useful:

https://calculat.io/en/date/count-day/60--days--before--july--16