Email automations overview

Automations are the emails that go out on your behalf at the right moment in every rental. They turn a one-time transaction into a relationship and they save you the time you would otherwise spend copy-pasting the same messages all day.

The rental lifecycle timeline

TrailerBase ships with nine automations that line up with the natural moments in a rental. You can toggle each one on or off independently.

1. Inquiry — someone asks about availability but has not booked. Fires a friendly acknowledgement with a call to book.
2. Quote — you send a pricing quote. Fires a polished quote email with a one-click booking link.
3. Booking confirmed — payment clears and the booking is live. Fires an instant confirmation with pickup details and the rental agreement.
4. Pre-pickup reminder — typically 24 hours before pickup. Reminds the renter of the time, address, and what to bring.
5. Post-pickup welcome — immediately after pickup. Thanks them, shares 24/7 support contact, and sets expectations for the return.
6. Pre-return reminder — typically 4 hours before the return window closes. Includes return instructions and a link to request an extension if they need more time.
7. Post-return thank-you — right after the trailer is marked returned. A warm "thanks, see you again" with their receipt.
8. Review request — 48 hours after return. Asks for a Google or Facebook review with one-click links to each.
9. Next-booking nudge — 30 days after return if they have not booked again. A gentle re-engagement with a repeat-renter promo code if you have one.

Why the timeline matters

These nine touches are not arbitrary. They map to research on rental customer lifetime value:

• Early touches (Inquiry, Quote, Booking) convert interest into revenue.
• In-rental touches (Pre-pickup, Post-pickup, Pre-return) reduce support calls and no-shows.
• Post-rental touches (Thank-you, Review, Nudge) build repeat bookings and online reputation.

Turning off too many automations is the single most common reason operator revenue per renter is lower than it should be.

Toggling each automation

Go to Settings > Automations. You will see all nine listed with a toggle on each.

• Toggle on — the automation is active and will send for future rentals.
• Toggle off — no sends until you turn it back on. Existing scheduled sends are canceled.

Toggling is per automation, so you can run a minimal setup (just the three critical ones) or the full nine.

Channel mix

Every automation sends email by default. On the Advanced plan you can also enable SMS per automation — typically helpful for Pre-pickup and Pre-return reminders where timing matters and inbox fatigue is real.

Where the content comes from

Every automation is backed by an editable template. You can rewrite the subject, the body, the timing, and whether it includes attachments. The default templates are production-ready and tuned for the rental industry, so most operators only tweak the signature and signoff before turning them on.

Customization that matters most

If you only change three things, change these:

1. Your signoff — replace the default "The Team at {{business.name}}" with your actual name. Renters want to know who to thank.
2. The pickup instructions in the Pre-pickup reminder — add your gate code, directions, or a specific landmark that helps renters find you.
3. The review links in the Review request — paste your actual Google and Facebook review URLs so the one-click buttons work.

What happens when a renter unsubscribes

Unsubscribes only apply to marketing-style messages (the Review request and Next-booking nudge). Transactional messages (Confirmation, Reminders, Receipt) continue to send because they are legally required for the rental. This keeps you compliant with CAN-SPAM and GDPR without forcing you to think about it.

Start with all nine on, let them run for two weeks, then use the Tracking email performance tab to find the ones worth polishing.