Connect and get in touch with HollyDay Travel Email Instagram Facebook LinkedIn People and Links mentioned in this episode: Smart Traveller Google Reviews Hollydaytravel.com.au Travel Agent Finders Free Resources Holly's comprehensive travel checklist EPISODE SUMMARY The Problem: Pre-Template Era Came from old-school travel agency (manila folders, handwritten notes) Every email written from scratch Rushed, inconsistent messaging Forgotten follow-ups Hours spent on repetitive tasks instead of business growth Time wasted copying from sent folder The Solution: 90+ Email Templates Comprehensive library covering entire client journey From initial inquiry to welcome home messages Guides clients through every step Maintains brand voice while ensuring consistency Key Benefits of Templates Time Savings Consistency & Quality Client Benefits Template Categories & Examples Initial Contact Quote Templates Cruise-Specific Templates Visa Information Booking Process Post-Trip Templates Automated Templates Implementation Strategy Getting Started Practical Steps AI Integration Template Maintenance Success Metrics Call to Action Start tracking repetitive email tasks Create first few templates Share template ideas and questions Focus on exceptional client service through every system Implement gradually but consistently READ THE FULL PODCAST TRANSCRIPT HERE Hello and welcome to episode 6 of Travel Business Unlocked. I'm Holly Velardo, the owner of HollyDay Travel, which is a boutique travel agency based in Port Noarlunga, South Australia. If you are new here, this podcast is all about me sharing my journey in the travel industry and the lessons I've learned. All the practical tips to to help you build a successful business. I believe in being real, sharing both the wins and the challenges with you and giving you so many steps and how-to's so you can implement things right into your business. Today we are going to talk about something that has absolutely transformed my business and this is email templates and automation systems. It's been nearly 8 years since I started HollyDay Travel and when I first started I had no idea about systems. I'd come from a travel agency where I had to create my own invoices, everything was still in manila folders and we'd write on them. There really wasn't a whole lot going on on the computers back then and it was a very old-school way of doing things. So when I started, I knew this needed to change, but at that point every single email was written from scratch. That meant that I was rushing emails, trying to get back to clients as quick as I can. The messaging was really inconsistent. I would forget to do follow-ups and I just spent so many hours on repetitive tasks that really I should have been spending that time to grow my business and work on the actual business and with the clients. So I'm going to share with you today how we have now built a library of over 90 templates that we use. This guides our clients through every step of their journey. This is from that very first inquiry all the way through to the welcome home messages and then of course everything in between. So I just want to remind you as well that if you are enjoying this podcast, I would absolutely love it, love your support by either subscribing, leaving a review so that other small business owners can also find it and see they may benefit from this too. So your support really helps me with continuing to create this content and reaching so many people in this industry. So now let's talk about these email templates and the automation that we use. I know for some of you this might sound a bit boring. Yes, email templates, you know, or a bit technical. But trust me, this is one of the most powerful systems that you can really, really implement into your business. So our templates cover everything from that initial inquiry email that we get. We have an a response that goes out to them through to visa information for specific countries, booking confirmations, quote documents, all sorts of templates for different types of travel, travel pre-departure checklists, welcome home messages, birthday emails, passport expiring and so, so, so much more. Now what's really important, and I want you to think about this here, is that these emails are not about just being a boring template, being robotic, being impersonal. They're all about reflecting you and your brand. So each of our templates are carefully created. We make sure that we still sound us, we sound professional, we sound warm, and more importantly, we follow the HollyDay Travel values and we all sound on brand. So we personalize each and every one of them for the clients. But what we have is that core structure and content that's there. So we can grab this template, fill in a few little bits and pieces, whether it's, you know, a country where the visa is going to be or if it's a quote and we've got some information, but we personalise it for that client. Whether we put a paragraph at the top about a conversation we've had with them, we just always try to keep it all about them so it doesn't feel robotic at all. But they're still getting all that information and the consistency. So there's a lot of reasons and key benefits why you need to have some email templates and automation within your business. Now firstly, and for me, most importantly is the time savings. Like, this is huge. Before we had templates, I would just spend hours and hours every day writing their emails from scratch, writing the same thing over and over again. Sometimes I would click over into the sent folder and copy information over. But realistically, I was doing most of it from scratch. But now what we've been able to do by having these templates is my team and I can respond so quickly to clients. It's consistent. You know, it's the same thing coming from all of us. And it also means we can handle more bookings without working the extra crazy hours that come with all the extra workload. So as an example of this, we do a lot of river cruising and cruising and group tours. And one of the templates that we have set up is each cruise line specific template for that. So for scenic we have, you know, here's your check-in information, the check-in procedures, go and fill in your trip personalizer. Or for MSC, we have their check-in procedures and their booking information all in this email. All we need to do is just personalise that couple of details. The template is there, it tells them how to check in for that cruise, what to do, the steps that are needed, the apps that are needed, or if it's the website, it's all there. All we have to quickly put in is their booking number, which you can copy and paste from the CRM and stick in there so the email's ready in a couple of minutes rather than trying to find this information every single time. So the second major benefit for us is consistency. So whether it's only you in your agency or whether you have a team, it is so, so important that every client receives that same high quality information and experience when they're dealing with you. These templates that we've created ensure that the important details aren't missed. Everything is there. We're not having to always think about what do we need to put in a booking confirmation email, do we need to put in what the changes are for their airfares or, you know, when the deposits are due for that tour or cruise? We don't need to think about that because it's outlined in the template. We just have to fill in the date that it's due or maybe the amount that it's due. So these things, it just creates so much time saving and incredible consistency. So this way, whoever is handling the booking, it's all the same as it comes from them. This has also been really, really important with training my team, allowing us to grow our business as well by having this template system in place. It doesn't matter if we've got a junior agent coming in or we've got someone who's highly qualified and has been here for a really long time, it doesn't matter. These templates are showing that we have the same information going out all the time to the clients. So now you're probably wondering what sort of categories and templates do you actually use? So there are so many. There are so many. As I said, we have over 90 templates, but the ones that we use are for our initial contact. So we have an online booking system in terms of where clients can contact us to make a time to see us, book in and see us, or if we get an inquiry via email, then we have that first initial email response that goes back out. That initial response talks to them immediately. A little paragraph on who are HollyDay Travel, who are we as a team, what service are we going to provide them? And of course, we mentioned the fees that we charge for working with us. So this sets the ground rules very upfront. It shows them the incredible service, the relationship, what we're going to do for them very, very quickly. But it also sets the expectation that if you do want to work with us, there is going to be a fee involved. So there's so many different benefits to that. So that initial email goes out and then obviously we have the quote emails that will go out as well once the clients are happy to pay the fee and go ahead. We have quotes that are set up for all different things. So we have like an all-rounder quote. If someone's looking at doing cruises, tours, flights, accommodation, everything, all in one, then we have that template. Otherwise we do have specific templates just for cruising, just for tours, just for flights. So we can quickly pull these in, put the information we need in, and each template is tailored for that specific booking type. It includes all the relevant information that the client's going to n
