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.  (However, as at May 2026, further development is being carried out to include the sending of previously stored attachments with automated emails.)

You can add personalised text at any point prior to the due date.  Learn more about personalised text here.

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.   

   You land on the Template settings

   Click on the Automation button

• You are delivered to the automation settings:

• Tick the tickbox for 'Can be sent automatically'.  
  • NOTE:  A message will appear, advising you to let the team at Creative Technology know that you wish to begin using the automated email process.  We need to enable this for you, at our end.  

Control who receives this automated email by making the following selections

• Select the Trail/s (L1) that this automation applies to, e.g. if you only want the automated sending of emails to apply to the Alps to Ocean trail, then tick the Alps to Ocean tickbox.
• Select the Tour Type, e.g. Guided, Package, Custom.  Use this option if, for example, you only wish Guided Tour customers to receive this email template.
• Select the Booking Method, e.g. Direct, Agent, or Online.  Use this option, if example, you only wish customers who have come to you via an agent to receive  this email template.

Email addresses:

• Enter an email address into the Automated Sender email address field, if you wish the email to be sent from a specific email address.  e.g. all booking enquiries could be replied to from "enquiries@yourdomain.com"
• Enter an email address into the Automated Reply to email address field, if you wish all replies to be sent to a specific email address.  e.g. any replies to survey emails could be sent to "feedback@yourdomain.com"

2. Click the Templates button to return to the Templates settings

• 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.
• Select which contact type can receive this email, e.g. only Guides might be the intended recipient of this email.  Only one contact type can be selected.

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