Advice: Gather invitation email tips & templates

You can give your guests and attendees guidance and advice in your invitation email, here's how.

The "Add additional notes to the invite" box in the Send Invite box allows you to add a custom message to your guests and attendee travelers, here are some tips on what to include and some examples from actual AmTrav clients.

Tips:

1. "Please read this:" Chances are good that your travelers are busy adults who might skip over your instructions. Two things you can do: first is encourage them to read the email, the second is to ensure that your instructions are short and to-the-point.
2. Give guidance: AmTrav pre-populates many fields for your travelers searches and travel policy guides your attendees, but feel free to highlight key points in the invite email: what airports and hotels to use, when travelers should arrive by and depart after, etc.
3. Travel policy: If your travelers are new to corporate travel or new to AmTrav, mention the travel policy. Travel policy guides travelers to itineraries that work for them and for you, but inexperienced travelers may not realize that they can choose out-of-policy options when necessary (if no in-policy options are available or make sense). See Example 5 below for a great way of disclosing and discussing policy.
4. Give contact information: If you think your travelers may have questions then you can include your contact information to answer questions. Also, if you put your email in the CC box in Sent Invite (recommended), any email replies from the traveler will come to you.

Here are some example emails sent by AmTrav customers, feel free to copy and adapt for your Gather meeting!

Example 1:

*Please read these booking instructions!*

You are receiving this invite because it is time to start booking your flight/car and hotel for your trip to Springfield from 7/18 to 7/21. If you need to book outside of policy dates or parameters provided, just remember to explain why you are needing that option on the final booking page.

When booking a Flight:

- Please arrive by 4:00 PM on Monday 7/18 in time to get to the hotel for the welcome dinner.

- Our meetings end at 12 noon on Thursday 7/21, please select flights departing after 3:00 PM.

When booking a Car Rental, please book within policy below:
- Please an Enterprise rental (if available) as this will bypass any need to expense and must follow if you do not have a company card
- Standard/full-sized vehicles are preferred
- We will provide rental car insurance once the vehicle is booked

If you have any questions, or need any assistance in the booking process, please don't hesitate to continue to reach out to me or any member of our travel team. Thank you.

Example 2:

At this time, we would like you to start booking your flights. Here are some details and guidelines to follow when booking your flights:

Meetings Location: Crowne Plaza - Bloomington, MN
Destination Airport: Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Meetings Dates: August 22-25, 2022

Please RSVP on AmTrav and book your flights!
Even if you don't need a flight, here's your invitation to RSVP and book your fall meeting flight. Please click the link given at the bottom of the email that says "Book Your Trip." That link will bring you to AmTrav. On the top you will see a box labeled "Personal Invites." Please click the blue button labeled: RSVP. A sidebar will pop up asking if you will be attending the meeting. If you are not attending meetings, please RSVP "No." If you are attending meetings, please click "Yes." That will activate the "Book Flight" button and can book your flights as you normally would, although it does have some additional parameters in place for acceptable flight times and costs. If the best flight possible is outside the preset parameters of time or budget, please book it and add your explanation in the notes. Once you book it, an approval request will go to Alissa automatically and you will be notified when it is approved. We have a single payment option ready for you to use for this flight, so no need to use your PPM credit card.

If you do not need to book a flight because you are local to Minnesota, simply click "Don't Need a Flight."

If you have any questions about how to use this new tool, please contact Cassie Jean Louis.

We look forward to seeing you at the meetings in August!

Example 3: 

Dear attendees,

Please use this link to book flights online for the Big Event, September 16-17, 2022. Please book by next Sunday, July 17, 2022.

At the bottom of this email, please click on "Book your Trip" and RSVP "Yes."

During the booking process, you may receive a message that airfare is outside of parameters. Some will be higher than our estimate due to fuel costs, but you can still book those options. Go ahead and complete the booking. The system will automatically send your itinerary to me for approval.

ARRIVE: Please plan flights to arrive in Dallas/Fort Worth the afternoon or evening of Thursday, September 15th. There are no group functions scheduled this day, you may arrive any time you wish based on your schedule.

DEPART: Flights to be booked to depart Dallas-Fort Worth airport on Saturday, September 17th at 5:30pm or later as the program concludes at 3:15pm.

HOTEL: I will reserve all hotel rooms at the Dallas Marriott for Thursday and Friday nights. A final logistics email will be distributed approximately two weeks prior to the program.

Please email me with any questions or wish to inform me that you plan to extend your trip for personal reasons.

Best regards,
Jane Doe
janedoe@amtravcustomer.com

Example 4:

Time to book your travel!

Considerations:

Registration will be open from 5 - 7 PM EST on Thursday, July 7 so we ask that you book your flights to arrive before that time, if possible. The Convention will end on Sunday at 1 PM EST. Allow at least 30 minutes for travel to/from the airport via Metro or Lyft.

If you are traveling with a child, you will also book their travel here. This is the only instance in which the companion field should be used.

Please book your flights no later than 5 PM on Monday, June 27. You will receive a confirmation of your flights by the end of day Tuesday provided we have all the needed information.

If for any reason you are unable to access the Amtrav platform or otherwise book your flight please reach out to me directly by Monday so that we can get you squared away.

Example 5:

Acme Corp. looks forward to hosting you for the upcoming New Graduate Summit this June in Scottsdale! Please use the link at the bottom of the email to book your travels according to meeting parameters, which have been placed below for your convenience.

Arrivals: June 6 into PHX at or before 4:30pm to arrive in time for 6:00pm welcome dinner

Departures: June 8 out of PHX at or after 2:00pm, as meeting closes at 12:00pm

Only economy fares will be approved due to compliance. Kindly note the booking system will advise if your flights are outside of parameters or budget. You may still proceed through with your booking request in these instances - the request is just subject to an additional approval process after your submission & prior to actual ticketing. We are aware flight costs and availability greatly vary & will consider these exceptions thoughtfully, conferring with you if any further action is needed beyond your booking request.

Questions? Contact your dedicated event planner, Alexi at alexi@alexievents.com.

Example 6:

*Please read these instructions!*

- Arrive: please arrive into Boston Logan Airport (BOS) by 4:00 PM on 7/25

- Getting to the hotel: please take Uber or Lyft (or if you're brave, the MBTA Silver Line)

- Stay: Seaport Hotel Boston, checkin 7/25, checkout 7/28, select the Room Block Rate

- Getting from the hotel: we'll have buses take folks to the airport on 7/28

- Depart: please book flights leaving Boston Logan Airport after 2:00 PM on 7/28.

Questions? Contact your dedicated event planner, Sam at samantha@alexievents.com.