When a guest purchases a ticket on your website, they’re likely counting down the minutes until a confirmation email comes through.
This is because every customer wants reassurance that their order was processed successfully, and that’s exactly what that email accomplishes.
You might be thinking, “Doesn’t an order confirmation page reassure the guest the same way?”
While a landing page confirming the order can put guests at ease, they’re also expecting a follow-up email with more information about their visit.
What should an order confirmation email include?
Should I personalize my order confirmation emails?
Order Confirmation Email Template
How to optimize your order confirmation emails
- 1. Use a friendly, conversational tone
- 2. Set proper expectations
- 3. Provide a map and directions to help guests get there
- 4. Offer suggestions for what customers can do
- 5. Include a photo or video from the experience they booked
- 6. Share your customer service contact information
- 7. Ask if they want to add anything else
- 8. Stay on brand
What should an order confirmation email include?
An order confirmation email ensures every guest that their transaction went through successfully.
This follow-up message not only acts as a proof of purchase for your guests but should also provide them with valuable information about your attraction.
It should include a description of the services purchased, the amount paid, your contact details, and more. Here are seven key elements every order confirmation email should have:
- Guest contact details: Remind guests of the email or phone number they used at the time of purchase. This way they’ll know where to expect further communication from your company.
- Order summary: A summary of the services purchased, including ticket information, date and time of visit, and any upgrades added.
- Cost breakdown: Keep the costs of visiting your attraction transparent. Break down the actual cost of the ticket compared with taxes and any additional fees the guest paid.
- Confirm payment method: Remind them what form of payment and shipping address they used.
- Ticket delivery: Guests will want to know where and how to access their tickets. Tickets purchased online often come embedded in the email or attached as a PDF. Make sure to highlight where and how guests can access their tickets.
- Day of visit information: Explain what guests need to bring with them on the day of their visit to gain access to your attraction. Do they need to print their tickets or simply have a QR code handy? Do they need to show an ID? Carefully spell this out in your order confirmation email.
- Pre-experience to-dos: Remind guests of pre-visit tasks, such as downloading an app or filling out digital waivers. For example, you could use Xola’s built-in waiver solution to send guests the waivers via email. This makes it easy for them to sign any paperwork at home so that they can start having fun as soon as they arrive at your venue.
- Contact information: Let guests know the best way to reach your company.
Your order confirmation email will likely be the first email communication your brand has with your guests. Now that you have access to your guests’ inboxes, leverage this as an opportunity to further engage with them.
You could, for example, feature a couple of relevant blog posts at the end of your email to bring guests onto your website again. You could also include a call-to-action button prompting guests to “Click Here to Learn More Before Your Visit” that brings them back to a relevant page on your website.
These marketing tactics can make guests more familiar with your brand before they even step foot in your venue.
Should I personalize my order confirmation emails?
An order confirmation email is always personalized. It contains information specific to a guest’s purchase, including their contact, payment, order, and ticket details.
To personalize your email even further, make sure to refer to your guest by their first name in both the subject line and in the body of the email.
Now consider what information would be helpful for this particular guest’s experience. Look at what you know about this guest based on their interactions with your company. Then send them tailored recommendations based on that.
If they’re visiting with children, for example, your email can focus on kid-friendly activities. And if they purchased an all-day ticket, they’ll likely want to eat at some point throughout their visit. You can then send them personalized restaurant offers to help them plan their meals ahead of time.
Order Confirmation Email Template
Not sure how to write an order confirmation email? We’ve drafted a simple template to get you started.
Start with a personalized message thanking the guest for their purchase before delving into further detail later in the email. Here’s what that might look like in practice:
Subject: Thank you for your purchase, [First Name]! See you soon.
Body: Hi [First Name],
Thank you for your recent ticket purchase! We’re so excited to welcome you to [attraction name] on [date of visit]. You’ll find your tickets attached to this email, as well as additional information about your reservation below.
Feel free to contact us via phone or email if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Thank you,
[Your Name and Title]
Now you’ll include all the information outlined above, including an order summary, relevant visitor information, and your contact details.
How to optimize your order confirmation emails
Let’s take a look at eight ways you can make an awesome first impression on your future guests — and how a few travel companies are putting this to practice in their order confirmation emails.
1. Use a friendly, conversational tone
Airbnb always makes guests feel like they’re receiving an email from a friend or colleague instead of a company.
A travel company should always greet guests by their first name in the email subject line and body. Do your best to avoid industry jargon and instead write in a friendly, conversational tone that makes your guests feel happy about their visit.
As you can see in the email example above, Airbnb happily announces, “You’re going to Reykjavik!” to get guests excited about their upcoming trip.
Airbnb then sends a follow-up email closer to the date of the stay telling guests to “Pack your bags!” Again, the company is using a friendly tone to build excitement around the experience.
2. Set proper expectations
As mentioned previously, your confirmation email should do more than just assure your guests that their transaction was processed successfully. It should also provide them with the necessary information to make the most of their visit.
This means you should include any information that can impact their visit, such as weather, ride maintenance issues, parking directions, attraction hours, etc.
You can see this in practice with Booking.com’s confirmation emails. The example above is a screenshot of a section of the email that provides guests with “Important Details,” such as COVID restrictions and check-in information.
3. Provide a map and directions to help guests get there
It’s also a good idea to include a map or directions to help guests reach your attraction. Consider including directions for different modes of transportation, too, since tourists might be visiting via public transportation.
4. Offer suggestions for what customers can do
Take a look at how Laki Tours in Iceland includes hotel and restaurant recommendations in its confirmation emails. The whale-watching tour operator knows that guests will likely be hungry after the tour, so it recommends a couple of dining options nearby.
Attractions can similarly help guests plan their visit by offering them recommendations on what to do.
You can suggest an exciting new restaurant, share more about a unique exhibit, or send them a sneak peek of your newest ride. This is a great way to build on the enthusiasm guests are feeling when they first buy their tickets.
5. Include a photo or video from the experience they booked
Visuals are a great way to build excitement before your guests visit, too. Include any photos or videos of the experience they just booked to build up the hype. Guests love seeing user-generated content such as photos taken by previous guests having fun.
6. Share your customer service contact information
Don’t forget to include your customer service phone number and email in your message. Encourage guests to contact you with any questions or special requests, and make sure your email and phone number are easily visible in the email.
7. Ask if they want to add anything else
Your guests are going to be very excited after they finally hit the purchase button. You should catch them while they’re in a great mood and try to upsell your experience. Ask them if they’d like to add anything else to their reservation, such as drink packages, fast passes, or in Vrbo’s case, extra trip protection.
Vrbo, a vacation rental marketplace, offers guests the option to purchase damage insurance in its order confirmation email.
Guests likely weren’t aware that damage insurance was available until receiving this email, so this is useful information they may want to consider for their trip. Vrbo’s graphic does a great job quickly breaking down the benefits of purchasing damage insurance, as well as what kind of traveler should consider it.
8. Stay on brand
Your email communications should align with your branding and overall guest experience. Your email should, for instance, contain your company logo and match your brand colors. The tone should also match your company’s tone on your website and social media.
Virgin Voyages is one of the best examples of a travel company that sticks to its branding. “Welcome aboard, Sailor” the cruise company leads its email with, keeping up the playful tone that falls in line with the brand’s personality.
Keeping your brand in mind when crafting your email communications will help customers better connect with your company.
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The guest experience starts when a visitor lands on your website and your order confirmation email is no exception.
This will likely be the first email communication your company exchanges with your customers, and it’s an opportunity to make a good first impression.
Your email should confirm your guest’s order and provide them with all the necessary information for their visit in a friendly, conversational tone. More importantly, it should make them excited about their upcoming visit.
Make sure to greet them by their first name — and don’t forget to tell them that your team can’t wait to see them soon.
