Direct bookings
How a Hotel Can Win Back Guests Who Leave the Booking Engine
Most people who open your booking engine leave without booking. Some were only checking prices. Others got distracted or wanted to ask someone first. An abandoned booking email is a short, polite reminder to that second group. It goes out soon after they leave and shows the dates and room they picked.
Does it actually work?
It's one of the few hotel emails with a clear number behind it. Revinate's 2026 benchmark data, which is vendor data, shows abandoned booking emails opening at 62.92% and converting at 6.86% globally. Some regions convert at over 13%. Revinate also puts the average booking value from these emails at $1,289. That's high because the guest had already chosen dates and a room before they left, so the hard part of the sale was already done. You're not persuading anyone. You're reminding them.
A word of caution on numbers. Vendor figures come from the vendor's own customers, and you'll see much bigger claims on other blogs. I'd treat 6.86% as a fair starting guess and then measure your own.
The one thing it depends on
You can only email someone if you have their address. So the first question is when your booking engine asks for it. If the email field sits on the payment page, most people who leave will leave before you have it. If it comes on the first guest details step, you'll catch far more of them.
Ask your booking engine provider two things. Does it save the address when a guest leaves part way through? And can it send an email from that? Some engines and guest platforms do this themselves. Others need an add-on. CartStack, formerly RezRecover, is one. It lists Cloudbeds, SynXis, Little Hotelier and Guestline among the engines it works with. It captures the address as the guest types, so check that against your privacy notice before you switch it on.
When to send, and what to say
Revinate's advice is to send the first email within an hour and follow up over the next 24 to 72 hours. I'd keep it to two emails, maybe three. More than that starts to feel like being followed around the shop.
The first email should do one thing. Show the dates and room they picked. Add the price they saw and a button that takes them straight back to that booking, with everything still filled in. Put a real name at the bottom with a phone number or WhatsApp link, because some people left with a question. The second email can answer the usual worries, like the cancellation policy or what's included. I wouldn't open with a discount. Once guests learn that leaving gets them 10% off, some of them will leave on purpose.
Before it goes live, test it on yourself. Start a booking and walk away. See what lands. Then check that a guest who comes back and books doesn't get the reminder anyway.
Is it allowed?
That depends on where your guests are, so check with someone who knows your market. This is general guidance, not legal advice. In the UK, the ICO says the soft opt-in can apply without a purchase if "negotiations for the sale" took place. The person must actively express an interest in buying, for example by asking for a quote. A guest who entered dates and an email address may fit that. Either way, every message needs a simple way to opt out. For texting, see hotel SMS consent rules.
What I'd do this week
Open your own booking engine and find the step where it asks for an email. If your engine shows it, look at how many bookings were started and not finished last month. Then write the first reminder yourself, in your own voice. Hold back about one abandoner in ten and send them nothing, so you can see what the email really adds. There's more on that kind of test in the smallest automation project that can prove ROI.
BonsAI Luxury can set this up as a single-workflow pilot, and you approve every message before it sends.
Sources
- Plan hotel emails around the guest journey, Revinate 2026 benchmark data (vendor data), checked 6 October 2026.
- Hotel email marketing, Revinate (vendor data), checked 6 October 2026.
- Why your hotel needs an abandoned cart campaign, Revinate, checked 6 October 2026.
- CartStack for hotels, CartStack, checked 6 October 2026.
- How do we comply with the PECR electronic mail marketing rules?, UK Information Commissioner's Office, checked 6 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is an abandoned booking email for a hotel?
It is a short reminder sent to someone who started a booking on the hotel's website and left before paying. It shows the dates and room they picked and links straight back to that booking.
Do abandoned booking emails work for hotels?
Revinate's 2026 benchmark data, which is vendor data, shows them opening at 62.92% and converting at 6.86% globally, with some regions above 13%. Treat that as a starting guess and measure your own with a holdout group.
When should a hotel send an abandoned booking email?
Revinate advises sending the first email within an hour and following up over the next 24 to 72 hours. Two or three emails in total is enough.
Can a hotel email a guest who did not finish booking?
It depends on where the guest is. In the UK, the ICO says the soft opt-in can apply without a purchase if the person actively expressed an interest in buying. Every message needs a simple opt-out. This is general guidance, not legal advice.