Email Notifications

E-mail notifications are used to inform customers, administrators, and other recipients about new bookings and booking status changes. To configure them correctly, first create a sender e-mail account, configure SMTP, test the connection, and then assign the account to the plugin and individual locations.

Create an E-mail Account

Navigate to ‘Car Rental Booking System’ -> ‘E-mail Accounts’ and click ‘Add New E-mail Account’.

Enter a name for the account, then configure the available tabs.

Sender

• Sender Name – enter the name that should appear as the sender of notification e-mails.
• Sender E-Mail Address – enter the e-mail address that should be used as the sender address.

SMTP Authentication

Open the ‘SMTP Authentication’ tab and enable ‘SMTP Authentication’. SMTP is the recommended method for sending notification e-mails reliably.

Enter the SMTP details provided by your hosting company or e-mail service provider:

• Username – usually the full e-mail address of the sender account.
• Password – enter the password assigned to the e-mail account.
• Host – enter the SMTP server hostname.
• Port Number – enter the SMTP server port.
• Secure Connection Type – select SSL, TLS, or None according to your provider’s configuration.

If you are not sure which values to use, contact your hosting provider or e-mail service provider for the correct SMTP settings.

E-Mail Testing

Open the ‘E-Mail Testing’ tab before using the account for booking notifications.

1. Enter a test recipient address in ‘Receiver E-Mail Address’.
2. Click ‘Send a message’.
3. Check whether the message was received and review the server response displayed by the plugin.

If the test message is not sent successfully, review the SMTP configuration before continuing.

Set the Default Sender E-mail Account

After creating and testing the account, navigate to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Car Rental Booking System’ -> ‘Email’.

Select the account in ‘Default Sender E-Mail Account’. This account is used as the default sender for notifications generated by the plugin.

Configure E-mail Notifications for a Location

E-mail notification settings in Car Rental Booking System are configured individually for each location.

Navigate to ‘Car Rental Booking System’ -> ‘Locations’, edit the location you want to configure, and open ‘Notifications’ -> ‘E-Mail’.

General

The ‘General’ tab contains the main notification settings for the location.

• Sender E-Mail Account – select the e-mail account that should be used to send notifications for bookings associated with this location.
• Recipient E-Mail Addresses – enter the addresses that should receive notifications about new bookings, for example the business owner, booking administrator, or other staff members. Multiple addresses can be entered separated by semicolons.
• New Booking Notifications Sending To Customers – enable this option to send an e-mail notification to the customer when a new booking is created.
• New Booking Notifications Sending To Defined Addresses – enable this option to send a new booking notification to the addresses entered in ‘Recipient E-Mail Addresses’.
• WooCommerce New Booking Notifications – enable this option if WooCommerce should send its new booking e-mail notification when WooCommerce integration is used.

Text

The ‘Text’ tab allows you to add custom content to e-mail notifications depending on the current booking status.

For each supported booking status, you can define a custom ‘Header’ and ‘Text’:

• Pending (new)
• Processing (accepted)
• Cancelled (rejected)
• Completed (finished)
• On hold
• Refunded
• Failed

This allows you to provide additional status-specific information in the notification sent to the customer.

Check the Mail Log

If e-mail notifications are not being sent correctly, navigate to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Car Rental Booking System’ -> ‘Log manager’ -> ‘Mail’.

The mail log contains information about messages sent by the plugin and any errors returned during the sending process. SMTP connection or authentication errors usually indicate that the SMTP username, password, host, port, or secure connection type should be checked.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Are E-mail Notifications Sent?

New booking notifications can be sent when a booking is created, depending on the notification settings configured for the location.

Customers may also receive notifications when the booking status changes.

Customers Receive E-mails, but I Do Not Receive Booking Notifications

Check the following:

• Make sure your e-mail address is entered in ‘Recipient E-Mail Addresses’.
• Make sure ‘New Booking Notifications Sending To Defined Addresses’ is enabled.
• Check the spam or junk folder of the recipient mailbox.
• Review the ‘Mail’ log for sending errors.

Customers Do Not Receive E-mails

First, use the ‘E-Mail Testing’ tab of the sender account to verify that the plugin can send a test message.

If the test fails, review the SMTP configuration and check ‘Settings’ -> ‘Car Rental Booking System’ -> ‘Log manager’ -> ‘Mail’ for additional information.

E-mails Are Going to the Spam Folder

Make sure SMTP authentication is enabled and that the sender account uses the correct SMTP configuration provided by your hosting company or e-mail service provider.

If the configuration is correct but messages are still classified as spam, contact your e-mail provider or hosting company to review the mail server and domain configuration.

The Booking Cannot Be Completed on the Final Step

Make sure the ‘Debug’ option in ‘Car Rental Booking System’ -> ‘E-mail Accounts’ -> ‘SMTP Authentication’ is disabled. Debug mode should only be enabled temporarily when diagnosing SMTP communication.

How Can I Change the E-mail Notification Template?

The default booking e-mail template is located in:

{YOUR_WORDPRESS_FOLDER}/wp-content/plugins/car-rental-booking-system/template/email_booking.php