In this guide
A website enquiry is the start of a conversation. Help the customer make a decision by understanding their brief, explaining suitable options and agreeing what happens next. You do not need a complicated sales system; you need clear ownership and a record that the team keeps up to date.
Give every enquiry an owner
Bring enquiries from website forms, telephone, email and social messages into one manageable process. Record the date, source, holiday interest, responsible adviser, current stage and next action. Check for duplicates before two colleagues contact the same person.
Set a response standard you can meet during your opening hours. If the customer is waiting for research or a supplier answer, tell them when to expect an update. A receipt acknowledgement should not suggest that a quotation is already being prepared if nobody has reviewed the request.
Give every enquiry a next action
A simple record helps the adviser and customer keep moving.
Name the owner
Check for duplicates and record the source, holiday interest and realistic response standard.
Confirm the missing parts of the brief
Clarify dates, departure, travellers, room needs, budget and the priority that matters most.
Explain why the options fit
Use checked details, a clear price basis and meaningful differences between options.
Agree a time and record the outcome
Note the next contact, then update the record when the customer books, pauses or declines.
Confirm the brief before researching
Start with the information that changes the recommendation:
- Travel dates or flexibility and preferred departure points.
- Who is travelling and the room arrangements needed.
- A comfortable budget range and what that budget needs to include.
- The experiences or facilities that matter most.
- The preferred contact method and when the customer hopes to decide.
Ask only for personal information needed at this stage. Use your established secure process for travel documents or sensitive details needed later. Do not ask for passport copies in a general marketing form.
A first reply to adapt:
Thank you for your enquiry about [holiday]. I can help you compare the options. To make the suggestions useful, could you confirm [the two or three details still needed]? You mentioned [verified priority]; is that the most important part of the trip for you? I will then [realistic next step and timing].
Avoid making customers repeat information they have already supplied. If the request is outside what you sell, explain that promptly rather than producing an unsuitable quote.
Explain why the options fit
Present a manageable selection and explain the meaningful differences. For example, one option might meet the preferred departure time while another offers a different room arrangement. Base the comparison on current, checked details, not assumptions about a hotel or destination.
Make the price basis, inclusions, exclusions and important conditions clear. Identify the next booking step. Only describe a price as held, or a deadline as fixed, when that is genuinely the case. Recheck availability when the customer is ready to proceed. Read the website readiness guide for the offer checks.
Agree a useful follow-up
Ask when the customer would like to discuss the options. Record the agreed date and channel. A useful follow-up answers a decision, rather than simply asking whether they are ready to pay.
As agreed, I am checking whether the [option] meets your priorities. Was anything unclear about [relevant inclusion or choice]? If your dates or plans have changed, let me know and I can explain what that means for the options.
Stay within what the person requested. A requested quote or brochure can be solicited marketing; it does not automatically authorise unrelated offers or an ongoing promotional sequence. Pure administrative messages are different from marketing, but adding a promotion changes their purpose. Check the email and WhatsApp guides before adding further marketing.
Close the loop
Record whether the enquiry booked, needs an agreed later contact, was unsuitable, was lost for a stated reason or received no response. Do not label silence as a price objection. Stop unnecessary chasing and respect requests not to be contacted.
Review a small sample regularly. If customers repeatedly ask the same question, improve the website page or quote explanation. If suitable enquiries stall, review the choices, communication and follow-up before buying more traffic.
Use the measurement guide to connect enquiry records to later bookings. Keep the customer's decision time in mind when comparing results.
A useful follow-up answers a decision
Example wording to adapt after agreeing the contact with the customer.
As agreed, I am checking in
Does [option] meet the priorities you described for [holiday]?
Was anything unclear?
I can explain [relevant inclusion or choice] if it would help you compare the options.
Have your plans changed?
If your dates or needs are different, let me know so I can explain what that means for the options.
Your first task
Choose five current enquiries and check that each has an owner, an accurate brief, a clear next action and an appropriate contact plan. Fix gaps before adding another marketing campaign.
Further reading
Sources and further help
Use the official guidance below when checking settings, eligibility and responsibilities. Platform features and rules can change.
