Automatic booking confirmation emails and SMS to customers

Purpose

1.1. Automate the dispatch of booking confirmation messages via email and SMS immediately after a shuttle reservation is recorded, ensuring real-time notification to clients.
1.2. Guarantee accuracy and timeliness in customer communications, reduce manual intervention, and enhance transparency throughout the booking experience.
1.3. Embed essential booking details (date, pickup location, time, contact info) into outbound messages for client readiness and to minimize scheduling errors.
1.4. Facilitate operational scalability by supporting bulk messaging during peak demand, localized communication per customer preference, and multi-language templates for international clientele.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. New booking entry created in the reservation system.
2.2. Payment successful status flagged in financial gateway.
2.3. Update to an existing booking (change in time, service, or passenger details).
2.4. Manual confirmation override or administrative booking input.

Platform Variants

3.1. Twilio SMS
- Feature/Setting: Use Programmable Messaging API; configure to POST booking payload with customer phone and message body.
- Example: `POST /2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages.json` with To, From, and Body parameters.
3.2. SendGrid
- Feature/Setting: Use Mail Send API with dynamic template ID to personalize booking info.
- Example: `POST /v3/mail/send` with recipient, subject, and dynamic_template_data.
3.3. Mailgun
- Feature/Setting: Send email via Messages API; specify subject, text, and recipient.
- Example: `POST /v3/{domain}/messages` with to, subject, and html fields.
3.4. Nexmo (Vonage)
- Feature/Setting: SMS API; send confirmation SMS with booking specifics.
- Example: `POST https://rest.nexmo.com/sms/json` with api_key, api_secret, to, from, text.
3.5. Amazon SES
- Feature/Setting: SendEmail API, set Source and Destination, and embed booking data.
- Example: Use `SendEmail` with custom template and destination.
3.6. Amazon SNS
- Feature/Setting: Publish SMS messages to individual mobile numbers.
- Example: `Publish` with Message and PhoneNumber.
3.7. SMTP2GO
- Feature/Setting: Transactional Email API; assign template and merge fields for booking.
- Example: `POST /v3/email/send` with dynamic booking content.
3.8. Plivo
- Feature/Setting: Message API; initiate SMS using POST with source, destination, and text.
- Example: `POST /v1/Account/{auth_id}/Message/`.
3.9. ClickSend
- Feature/Setting: SMS API for booking messages; email API for confirmations.
- Example: Use `/v3/sms/send` or `/v3/email/send`.
3.10. Infobip
- Feature/Setting: SMS/API; assign sender, destination, and personalize text.
- Example: `/sms/2/text/advanced` endpoint.
3.11. Postmark
- Feature/Setting: Email API with template support for booking data injection.
- Example: `POST /email/withTemplate` with TemplateModel data.
3.12. Pusher Beams
- Feature/Setting: Trigger push notifications to mobile devices for immediate alerts.
- Example: `POST /publish_api/v1/instances/{instance_id}/publishes/interests/{interest}`.
3.13. Firebase Cloud Messaging
- Feature/Setting: Send message API; trigger app notifications for mobile reservation confirmations.
- Example: Use `/v1/projects/{projectId}/messages:send`.
3.14. Mandrill (Mailchimp Transactional)
- Feature/Setting: Transactional email API; include merge vars for booking content.
- Example: `messages/send-template`.
3.15. Outlook Graph API
- Feature/Setting: SendMail API; automate email confirmation from business account.
- Example: `POST /me/sendMail` with subject, to, and booking body.
3.16. Slack
- Feature/Setting: Incoming Webhooks; optionally notify internal ops channels of booking success.
- Example: POST JSON to Webhook URL with booking info.
3.17. WhatsApp Business API
- Feature/Setting: Template messages sent via API for booking confirmations.
- Example: `POST /v1/messages` with template parameters.
3.18. Aircall
- Feature/Setting: API triggers click-to-call SMS or voicemail confirmations to customer numbers.
- Example: `POST /v1/calls`.
3.19. HubSpot
- Feature/Setting: Workflow Automation; send booking confirmation emails via form submission triggers.
- Example: Enable emails in booking form workflow.
3.20. Freshdesk
- Feature/Setting: Automated ticket creation and notification; inform customer on booking case open/close.
- Example: Trigger automations rules on new booking events.

Benefits

4.1. Delivers instant booking proof, lowering inbound customer queries and stress.
4.2. Reduces manual errors and administrative workload on staff.
4.3. Supports personalized messaging for brand consistency and customer engagement.
4.4. Enhances operational transparency and improves customer satisfaction through timely, accurate communication.
4.5. Scales with business growth, handling high message volumes automatically.