Docs / Communications / Email & Notifications

Email & Notifications

Emails are the closing punctuation on every flow: confirmations, receipts, reminders, warnings. They have to be reliable (90 %+ inboxing), fast (under 30 seconds of action), and branded (look like ABc, not a generic SaaS template).

What we send

Trigger	To	Template	Channel
Sign-up	User	`welcome_owner` / `welcome_public`	Email
OTP request	User	`otp_phone` / `otp_email`	SMS / Email
Password reset	User	`password_reset`	Email
KYC submitted	Owner	`kyc_submitted`	Email
KYC approved / rejected	Owner	`kyc_decision`	Email
Property live	Owner	`property_published`	Email
Booking confirmed	Guest + Owner	`booking_confirmed_guest`, `booking_confirmed_owner`	Email + SMS
Payment received	Guest	`payment_receipt` (PDF attached)	Email
Balance due tomorrow	Guest	`balance_due_tomorrow`	Email + SMS
Pre-stay reminder T−1d	Guest	`pre_stay_reminder`	Email + SMS
Booking cancelled	Guest + Owner	`booking_cancelled`	Email
Refund processed	Guest	`refund_processed`	Email
Post-stay review request	Guest	`review_request`	Email
Team invite	Invitee	`team_invite`	Email
Login from new device	User	`security_new_device`	Email
OTA new booking	Owner	`ota_booking_in`	Email
OTA sync failed	Owner	`ota_sync_failure`	Email
Payout settled	Owner	`payout_summary`	Email

Confirmation email — preview

inbox · priya@example.com

ABc

Booking confirmation

You're booked, Priya. 🎉

Confirmation #ABC-24817 · Park View Hotel, Manali

Check-in	Sat 27 Dec 2026 · 14:00
Check-out	Tue 30 Dec 2026 · 11:00
Room	Deluxe King × 1
Guests	2 adults · 1 child
Total paid	₹22,230

View booking Add to calendar

Cancellation Free cancellation till 26 Dec, 14:00. After that, 50 % refund within 24 h of check-in.

Park View Hotel · Old Manali, HP · +91 98xxxxxx21 · View directions

You received this because you booked on abc.com. Need help? Contact support

Template gallery — more previews

The same brand shell, different jobs. Each template has a hand-written plain-text fallback and is rendered in EN + HI based on the user's profile language.

otp_email · "Your sign-in code"

ABc

Sign-in code

Your sign-in code

Use this code to finish signing in. It expires in 10 minutes.

428 619

Didn't try to sign in? Ignore this email and consider changing your password.

balance_due_tomorrow · reminder

ABc

Balance reminder

Your balance is due tomorrow

Hi Ramesh — your check-in at Park View Hotel is in 1 day. The remaining balance becomes due at check-in.

Total₹25,200

Paid (cash)₹10,000

Balance due₹15,200

Pay balance now

You can also pay at the desk in cash, UPI or card.

booking_cancelled · refund issued

ABc

Cancellation

Booking cancelled · refund on the way

Hi Priya — we've cancelled ABC-24817 for Park View Hotel, 27–30 Dec.

Cancellation policyFlexible

Refund amount₹22,230 (100 %)

MethodRazorpay → original card

Reach your bank in3–7 working days

Sorry to see you cancel. Save your dates? Browse other options.

review_request · 1 day after checkout

ABc

How was it?

How was Park View?

Hi Daniel — hope you enjoyed your stay! A quick rating helps Rohan's team and future guests.

Tap a star

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Write a full review

ota_booking_in · to owner

ABc

Booking.com · new reservation

+ ₹19,800 · 3-night Booking.com reservation

Daniel Chen · Family Suite · 02–05 Jan · 2 adults

Gross₹19,800

BDC commission (15 %)−₹2,970

Net to property₹16,830

View booking ABC-24812

pre_stay_reminder · T−1 day

ABc

Check-in tomorrow

Bag is packed? See you tomorrow!

Hi Priya — your stay at Park View Hotel starts tomorrow at 14:00.

Address	Old Manali, HP
Front desk	+91 98xxxxxx21
Booking ref	ABC-24817

📍 Directions 🗓 Add to calendar

Template engine

We use MJML as the authoring format and ship HTML + plain-text variants on every send. Each template has:

Subject line (with variables, e.g. Your stay at {{property.name}} is confirmed)
Pre-header (visible in the inbox preview)
HTML body (responsive, branded)
Plain text fallback
Locale (English + Hindi initially)
Test-render endpoint that fills with realistic sample data

Delivery pipeline

Trigger event

→

notify-svc resolves template + recipient

→

Compose & enqueue (Redis)

→

Worker sends via Postmark

→

Postmark relays to inbox

→

Webhook back: delivered / bounced / opened

Provider — Postmark

Why	Detail
Transactional focus	Built for receipts, OTPs & alerts — not marketing. Bounce/complaint thresholds suited to our use.
Separate streams	Transactional + broadcast streams kept apart so a marketing campaign can't drop our OTP deliverability.
Strong deliverability tools	SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup wizard, inbox-placement reports, bounce categorisation.
Webhooks back	delivery, bounce, complaint, open, click — feeds into our audit log.
Fallback	If Postmark down > 5 min, queue auto-fails over to SES with a different from-domain.

SMS & WhatsApp

Email isn't enough in India — OTPs and last-minute alerts go by SMS, post-confirmation comms (richer media) go by WhatsApp.

SMS — MSG91 / Gupshup

DLT-registered headers, transactional templates for OTP + booking confirmation. Per-region pricing tracked.

WhatsApp Business API

Pre-approved templates for confirmation, balance reminder, pre-stay info. Guest must have opted in.

V1.1

Push (mobile app)

FCM / APNs when the mobile app ships.

Failure modes & retries

Outcome	What we do
Soft bounce	Retry after 30 min, 2 hr, 6 hr (3 attempts), then mark `soft_bounced`.
Hard bounce	Mark recipient `email_blocked`; alert user via SMS / in-app banner to update email.
Complaint (spam)	Auto-unsubscribe; flag for manual review.
Postmark down	Queue holds for 5 min then fails over to SES with alt from-domain.
SMS gateway 5xx	3 retries with exponential backoff; alert on persistent failure for OTP traffic.

Brand & tone

Subject lines under 50 chars where possible. Lead with what changed, not the brand.
Friendly but not flippant — "You're booked" rather than "🎉🎉🎉 BOOKING!!!!".
Always include a one-line "what to do next" near the top.
Hindi versions when the user's profile language is hi-IN; never auto-translate inline.
Plain-text fallback is hand-written, not stripped HTML.

Compliance

SPF, DKIM and DMARC configured on day one for the sending domain.
Unsubscribe footer on every marketing email (transactional emails are exempt).
DLT registration for all SMS sender IDs (Indian requirement).
WhatsApp opt-in stored as a verifiable consent record.
No personal data in email subject lines (privacy on shared phones).