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Communication

Inbox

Every customer conversation in one shared inbox: emails, WhatsApp messages, texts, website chat and enquiries, next to the customer’s bookings and balance. Assign, add internal notes, use saved replies and AI drafts, and see at a glance who is waiting too long for an answer.

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Who it's for

Why operators use Inbox

Teams answering travellers across email, WhatsApp, text messages, website chat and enquiry forms, who are tired of switching between apps.

Highlights

  • Every conversation in one shared inbox, linked to the customer and their bookings
  • Email forwarded in from your own mailbox, with replies kept in the same thread
  • WhatsApp, SMS and website chat in the same place
  • Assign conversations, add private notes, use saved replies and track first-reply time
  • AI reply drafts written from the conversation, which you review before sending

Every conversation in one place

A question about a trek arrives by email, a follow-up by WhatsApp, a date change by text, and a fourth enquiry from the website form. If each lives in a different app, nobody knows who answered what, and the traveller waiting longest is the one forgotten. The Inbox gathers every customer conversation into one shared inbox: emails, WhatsApp messages, texts, website chat and enquiries.

Each conversation sits next to the customer and their bookings and balance, so whoever answers sees that this is the traveller with a 600 balance due on Friday’s departure before they reply.

Channels you switch on

Email works through your inbox address: customers’ emails to it, and their replies to your answers, land in the Inbox with correct threading. Forward your own mailbox to that address to catch every email. Website enquiries, date requests and contact forms start a conversation and stay on the Enquiries page too. “Message us” adds a small chat button to every page; visitors leave a message and get your answer by email.

WhatsApp and SMS reuse the connections you already set up in the WhatsApp and SMS notifications plugins, and their messages arrive through signature-checked webhooks. For WhatsApp, add the Meta app secret. For SMS, Twilio receives replies on an ordinary number; Sparrow SMS in Nepal needs a shortcode and keyword, and can send an automatic reply of up to 160 characters.

Working as a team

Assign conversations to the right person, add internal notes the customer never sees, and use saved replies for the questions you answer every day. Set how quickly you aim to answer, from 30 minutes to a day; conversations without a first reply by then are flagged as overdue, so a message that arrived at 17:55 doesn’t wait until someone happens to scroll down.

With the AI assistant on, you can ask for a reply draft written from the conversation, which you review before sending. The AI website assistant can also answer “Message us” chats and hand them to the Inbox with the whole chat when a person is needed.

Evidence when a payment is disputed

If a traveller disputes a card payment, the messages you exchanged about the booking can be gathered into the dispute’s evidence pack, oldest first, across email, WhatsApp, SMS and web chat. Internal notes are never included. If you switch the Inbox off, nothing new arrives or is stored, and existing conversations are kept for when you switch it on again.

Setting up Inbox

  1. 1Switch on the Inbox. Turn the plugin on and note your inbox email address.
  2. 2Forward your mailbox. Forward your bookings mailbox to the inbox address so every email arrives.
  3. 3Choose the channels. Keep email and enquiries on, and switch on “Message us”, WhatsApp and SMS as you need them.
  4. 4Connect WhatsApp and SMS. Set up those plugins first, then add the Meta app secret or the Sparrow shortcode and keyword.
  5. 5Set your reply target. Choose how quickly you aim to answer, so late conversations are flagged.
  6. 6Write saved replies. Add answers to the questions you get every day.

Features

What's included, plan by plan

Switch on Inbox once. Each part below turns on with the plan that includes it, and you choose which ones to use.

  • Shared inbox

    Growth & Scale

  • AI website assistant

    Growth & Scale

Settings

What you can set up

Inbox works out of the box with sensible defaults. These are the choices you can make, straight from your console.

Channels

Email
Customers’ emails to your inbox address (see above), and their replies to your answers. Forward your own mailbox to that address to catch every email.
“Message us” on your website
A small chat button on every page. Visitors leave a message here and get your answer by email.
Website enquiries
Enquiry, date-request and contact forms start a conversation. They stay on the Enquiries page too.
WhatsApp
Needs WhatsApp notifications with your WhatsApp Business number, and the Meta app secret below.
Text messages (SMS)
Needs SMS notifications. Incoming texts: Twilio, or Sparrow SMS with a shortcode and keyword (below). Replies go out through the same account.

Replies

Answer within
Conversations without a first reply by then are flagged as overdue.
30 minutes1 hour2 hours4 hours8 hours1 day

SMS from Sparrow SMS (Nepal)

Sparrow shortcode
Sparrow forwards incoming texts only for a shortcode and keyword set up with them. Ask Sparrow SMS for one, then paste the URL shown above into its incoming-SMS settings.
Sparrow keyword
The first word customers text, e.g. TREK. Without a shortcode, customers can’t text you through Sparrow: use Twilio for an ordinary two-way number.
Automatic text reply
Sparrow texts this back at once (160 characters at most). Leave empty for no automatic reply.

Communication

How communication plugins fit in

Communication plugins control how you talk to travellers: a shared inbox for email, WhatsApp, SMS and website chat, email from your own domain, campaigns, automated messages and text reminders.

  1. 1

    Switch it on

    Open Plugins in your console and turn it on. No code and nothing to install.

  2. 2

    Make your choices

    Adjust the settings to match how your business works, or keep the defaults.

  3. 3

    It works everywhere it should

    Your website, checkout, emails and console pick it up straight away.

Related

More communication integrations

All integrations

Part of Shared inbox, AI website assistant in Tourtify.

FAQ

Inbox: questions

Do I need WhatsApp and SMS plugins for the Inbox?

Only for those channels. Email, website enquiries and “Message us” work with the Inbox alone.

Can I reply on WhatsApp after a day has passed?

WhatsApp only allows free text within 24 hours of the customer’s last message. After that, choose an approved template to continue.

Do customers see internal notes?

No. Notes are for your team and are never included in evidence packs either.

What happens to conversations if I switch it off?

They are kept. Nothing new arrives while it is off, and everything is there when you switch it on again.

Which plans include Inbox?

Inbox is available on Growth & Scale, at no extra cost.

How do I switch on Inbox?

In your Tourtify console, open Plugins, find it in the list and switch it on. Its settings open straight away, and you can switch it off again at any time.

Do I need a developer?

No. Plugins are built into Tourtify and set up from the console. Where an outside account is involved, such as a payment provider, you connect it by entering your account details.

Does Inbox work with my other plugins?

Yes. Every plugin is built and maintained by Tourtify, so they work together: discounts, deposits, vouchers and fees all add up correctly at checkout.

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