Writing supplier and booking emails with AI

A supplier email has one job: make a request nobody can misread. AI can help with the wording. It can't be trusted with the details.

Why this is different from a client reply

Agents sell travel products and services on behalf of a supplier¹. Suppliers, whether a hotel, a transfer company or a tour operator, work from your exact request. A small slip can mean the wrong room type, a missed pickup or a booking nobody can find.

Client replies can be warm and a little loose. Supplier emails should be short, specific and boring. That suits a language tool well, because it can follow a fixed layout every time.

Put the fixed facts in a block

Start your request with a block of facts you've copied from your records, then ask the tool to write around it.

• Booking reference or record locator. A record locator is how a booking is identified in a reservation database².
• Traveller names as on the booking.
• Dates, nights and the service you're asking about.
• Room type, number of guests or vehicle type, if relevant.
• Your agency name and your contact details.

Then tell the tool: "Use the facts exactly as given. Don't change, round or add anything." Give it the facts in the same order each time, so you can compare them quickly.

Four common email types

For changes, always put the old and new details next to each other. Bookings keep a history of what was entered², and your email should make the change as clear as that record does.

Keep refund and terms questions with the supplier

Don't ask the tool whether a booking is refundable or what a cancellation fee will be. It doesn't know the supplier's terms, and a confident guess is worse than none. Ask the supplier, and quote their answer. Where law or consumer rules are involved, the official consumer body in your country is the place to look.

Tone

Most suppliers are busy. Ask for one thing per email where you can, and put the ask in the first line. If a tool gives you a long polite introduction, cut it. A clear subject line helps, such as "Change request: [reference], [guest surname], [new dates]".

Even small variations in phrasing can change what a model produces³. For supplier work that's a reason to save one prompt that works and reuse it, rather than rewording it each time.

Before you send

Open the booking record next to the draft and tick off each fact. Look hardest at:

• the reference number, character by character
• surname spelling
• arrival and departure dates
• anything the tool put in that you didn't

Then keep the supplier's reply with the booking. The reply, not the draft, is the proof of what was agreed. A step-by-step version sits on the checking page.

What not to paste in

Supplier emails rarely need a passport number, a date of birth or payment card details. Leave them out of the AI request, even if the supplier's form asks for them later. Where a supplier genuinely needs those details, use the channel the supplier asks for. The reasons are on the client privacy page.