A customers emails three dive shops at 9pm — availability, pricing, what to bring. You see it at 7am. By the time you type your reply, they've already booked somewhere else.
That's not a staffing problem. It's an inbox problem.
Gmail already has the fix, and it takes 15 minutes to set up.
A Gmail filter reads every incoming email the moment it arrives and routes it — no human needed. Pair that with a Template you've already written once, and you're two clicks from a professional reply the second you open your inbox
1. Save your booking inquiry reply as a template
If you set up Gmail Templates from this article, you already know how it works. If not, that's the five-minute setup to do first.
Your booking inquiry template should answer every question a first-timer asks in one go: what's available (or how they find out), what's included, what to bring, and how to confirm. One email that closes the loop before they email three more shops.
I've included two ready-to-copy templates at the bottom of this email — one for individual bookings, one for groups.
2. Build the filter that catches every inquiry
In Gmail, a filter is a rule that fires the moment an email arrives. You're going to tell Gmail: any email that looks like a booking inquiry gets labeled, starred, and never sent to spam — automatically, before you've opened your inbox.
Click the dropdown arrow on the right side of Gmail's search bar
In Subject, type: booking
In Has the words, add: availability|dive|trip|certification|group
Click Create filter
On the actions screen, check: Apply the label → select "Booking Inquiries" (create the label here if it doesn't exist yet); Star it; Never send it to Spam
Check Also apply filter to matching conversations — this retroactively labels your existing inbox
Click Create filter
Important note: The pipe symbol “|” means “OR” when creating a filter or search. In step 3 above, that means the filter will catch emails that contain the words “availability OR dive OR trip OR certification OR group”. If you just use a space between words, Google will interpret it as “AND” which will only catch emails that have all of the words: “availability AND dive AND trip AND certification AND group” in the same message.
The filter is live. Every matching email from here on arrives pre-sorted, starred, and labeled before you see it.
3. Reply in 2 clicks when it lands
Open any starred, labeled email and do this:
Click Reply
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the lower-right corner of the compose window
Click Templates → select your booking inquiry template
Fill in the [bracket variables] — available dates, pricing, anything specific to this guest
Send
That's the whole workflow. The guest who emailed three shops at 9pm has your reply waiting when they wake up.
To build the muscle memory before the next real inquiry arrives: find an existing booking email in your inbox, open it, and run through the reply with your template. Thirty seconds of practice and it's automatic.
What this filter-and-template pair handles for you
Once labels and filters are running, every category of guest email becomes a sorted queue with a reply ready:
Email type | Filter criteria | Template to pair |
|---|---|---|
Booking inquiry | Subject: "booking", "availability", "dive", "trip" | Booking inquiry reply |
Group booking | Subject: "group", "corporate", "team", "event" | Group rate + availability reply |
Cancellation request | Subject: "cancel", "cancellation", "refund" | Cancellation policy + options |
Rescheduling request | Subject: "reschedule", "change", "move my" | Reschedule + available dates |
Certification question | Subject: "PADI", "certification", "cert", "license" | Cert requirements + course options |
Equipment rental | Subject: "rental", "wetsuit", "BCD", "gear" | Equipment list + pricing |
Post-dive complaint | Subject: "problem", "disappointed", "unsafe" | Acknowledgment + follow-up step |
Two things to look out for
Keywords cast a wide net at first. Filtering on "cancel" catches cancellation requests — but also "I can't wait, I'm so excited to cancel my desk job for a week of diving!" Start with Subject-only filtering (not "Has the words" body search). Watch the Booking Inquiries label for a week and remove keywords that are misfiring. You can edit a filter at any time in Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses.
Filters match future emails only — unless you check the box. By default, a new Gmail filter applies only to emails that arrive after you create it. Your existing inbox stays unsorted. The fix is the checkbox: "Also apply filter to matching conversations" on the actions screen. Check it before you save and Gmail retroactively labels everything in your inbox that matches. Do this once, correctly, and you're done.
Reply if I can help with anything at all. I answer every email.
-Dave
P.S. Gmail's filter limit is 1,000 per account. You will not hit it. I checked.
Sample booking inquiry reply templates
"Hi [FIRST NAME],
Thanks for reaching out — happy to help you book a dive.
WHAT WE HAVE [AVAILABILITY NOTE — e.g., "We run two-tank boat dives Tuesday through Sunday, departing at 8am. To check specific dates, reply here or book at [BOOKING LINK]."]
WHAT'S INCLUDED — [DIVE COUNT]-tank dive to [SITE TYPE — e.g., coral reef, wall, wreck] — All tanks and weights — Divemaster guide in the water — [EQUIPMENT — e.g., "Wetsuit, BCD, and regulator rental available at $[X] per set. Bring your own if you have it."]
WHAT TO BRING — C-card (physical card or photo on your phone) — Government-issued photo ID — Reef-safe sunscreen (no oxybenzone or octinoxate — we sell it at the shop if you need some) — [PAYMENT NOTE — e.g., "Cash or card. Balance due at check-in."]
PRICING [PRICE PER PERSON]. Groups of [NUMBER]+ receive [DISCOUNT OR PERK].
[CERTIFICATION NOTE — e.g., "Open Water minimum. If it's been more than 12 months since your last dive, let me know — we'll add a quick refresh in the shallows at no charge."]
Any questions before then, just reply here.
See you in the water, [YOUR NAME] [SHOP NAME] [PHONE OR WHATSAPP FOR DAY-OF CONTACT]"
"Hi [FIRST NAME],
Group dives are our favorite — here's what we can do for you.
GROUP OPTIONS — Shared boat: [PRICE PER PERSON] per person, groups up to [MAX SIZE] — Private charter: [PRIVATE PRICE] for the boat, up to [MAX SIZE] divers [Private charter minimum: [NUMBER] people — best value for groups of [NUMBER]+]
WHAT'S INCLUDED [Same as individual inquiry — equipment, gear list, guide in the water]
BOOKING To hold a group date, we require [DEPOSIT — e.g., "a 50% deposit"]. I'll send a payment link once we confirm the date and headcount.
[AVAILABILITY NOTE — e.g., "For [DATE RANGE MENTIONED], we have [OPEN / LIMITED / FULL] availability. Let me know your preferred dates and I'll confirm."]
What dates are you looking at and how many divers?
[YOUR NAME] [SHOP NAME] [PHONE OR WHATSAPP]"