Traveller contact numbers are what makes TourRelay's WhatsApp blasts work. This tutorial covers how to add and edit them, how to blast targeted details (flights, rooms, seats) to the right sub-group, and what happens to those numbers when the trip is over.
Collect only what the trip needs: full name and mobile number at minimum, plus optional logistics fields. Do not enter passport numbers, NRIC, FIN, or any identity document β TourRelay is built for operational data, and the form will reject identity-document text in any notes field.
Where the traveller list lives
- Open the trip from the dashboard.
- The trip workspace has two tabs at the top: Overview and Travellers. Click Travellers.
The Travellers panel has three sub-tabs, each showing different columns:
| Sub-tab | Columns you can edit |
|---|---|
| Details | Mobile number Β· message |
| Transport | Seat number Β· flight remarks |
| Accommodation | Room number Β· accommodation remarks |
The Message field on the Details tab and the remarks on the other tabs are kept separate β editing the flight remarks on the Transport tab never touches the message or accommodation remarks, and vice versa.
Add a traveller
Click Add traveller
Above the list, click Add traveller. The Add a traveller dialog opens.
Enter the name and mobile
Type the traveller's full name and mobile number. The mobile is validated as an international (E.164) number β start with
+and the country code, e.g.+60123456789. It must also be a real, allocated number for its country β made-up or unallocated numbers are rejected.Add remarks (optional)
Add any general notes the agent should know β allergies, accessibility, dietary needs.
Save
The traveller appears in the list immediately.
Edit contacts, seats, and rooms inline
All editable fields live directly in the table (or in stacked cards on a phone). Type into any cell β mobile, seat, room, or remarks β and the changes buffer until you save.
Switch to the right sub-tab
Edit seats on Transport, rooms on Accommodation, mobiles and messages on Details.
Type the new values
Invalid mobiles show an inline error under the field and a warning toast so you can fix them before saving.
Click Save Changes
The Save Changes button at the bottom of the list writes every buffered edit in one batch.
On read-only views (locked or completed trips) mobiles are masked so a glance at the screen does not expose them. While the trip is editable, the full number shows so you can correct typos.
Assign seats and rooms by flight or hotel
Every traveller is on every flight and every hotel β there is no per-row linking step any more. The Flight (or Hotel) picker next to the sub-tab buttons sets the context: pick one and each row's Seat (or Room) box writes that traveller's seat/room for that flight or hotel. Same flight number on departure and arrival legs counts as one option; a multi-night stay at one hotel also collapses into a single option showing its days.
The picker options come straight from your itinerary β so build the ITINERARY first if you have not already.
Every traveller stays listed on every sub-tab β the picker doesn't narrow the list, it decides which flight or hotel the Seat/Room columns write to. Pick SQ123 and each row's Seat box assigns that traveller's seat for SQ123; pick Hotel Sakura and each Room box assigns that traveller's room there. The per-row message, file upload, and attachment actions work on every tab, and the WhatsApp blast uses the selected flight/hotel's details for everyone on the list.
Blast targeted details via WhatsApp
Blasting the Transport or Accommodation tab sends the selected flight's or hotel's details β plus each traveller's own seat or room β to the whole list.
Open the right sub-tab
The WhatsApp blast button only appears on the Transport and Accommodation sub-tabs β not on Details, because a generic "details" blast needs a flight or hotel to describe.
Click WhatsApp blast
The Send WhatsApp blast dialog opens with a recipient preview. Each traveller is either included or listed with a skip reason β Invalid mobile number, and so on. With a flight or hotel picked in the filter dropdown, the blast describes that flight or hotel and carries each traveller's own seat/room for it β the dialog title names it.
Confirm and send
The button reads Send to N traveller(s) with the live count. Click it to fire the blast. A result toast tells you how many were sent, skipped, or failed.
Each blast uses your agency's approved WhatsApp template. Recipients are recomputed server-side at send time, so even if the list changed between opening the dialog and clicking send, the right people get the right message.
Message a traveller individually
The Details tab also has per-traveller messaging actions. Each row gets a Send WA button and an Upload file button (managers and back-office staff, while the trip is editable and WhatsApp is enabled for the trip).
Click Send WA on the traveller's row
The Send WhatsApp message dialog opens with the traveller's Message field pre-filled as the starting text β edit it freely.
Send
The message goes out over WhatsApp to that one traveller, using your agency's approved template. A toast confirms it was sent.
The button is disabled when the traveller has no valid mobile number β fix the mobile first, then send. Individual sends count toward the trip's Connectness performance score, just like blasts.
Keep files with a traveller
Use Upload file on a traveller's row to keep e-tickets, boarding passes, or booking confirmations with that traveller:
- On the Details tab, click Upload file on the traveller's row and pick the file.
- Uploaded files appear under the row as file cards showing the real filename and size. Each card has a View action (eye icon) that opens a full-screen preview (images inline, PDFs in the viewer).
- Send (from the card or inside the preview) delivers that attachment to the traveller on WhatsApp as a document message (PDF) or image β ideal for park or zoo entrance passes.
- Remove deletes an attachment from the traveller.
Attachments live on the traveller record for the trip; they are visible to agency staff only. Sending a file uses the same WhatsApp pipeline as your other messages, so free-trial limits and sent history apply.
What happens to contact numbers when the trip ends
TourRelay is designed around a simple privacy rule: traveller contacts exist for the trip, and the trip only. Here is how that works in practice.
During the trip
- Mobile numbers are visible to managers, back-office staff, and the assigned agent only.
- They are never exposed externally. Traveller rows, mobiles, seats, rooms, and addresses stay inside the trip workspace and are visible only to agency staff β never shared outside the agency.
When the trip completes
- The trip becomes read-only. The hourly cron locks the trip 24 hours after the last itinerary item ends; 90 days later it is auto-archived and hidden from the dashboard.
- Editing, adding, removing travellers, and blasting are all disabled once the trip is locked β the data is frozen for the record.
Removing individual travellers early
To remove a single traveller and their data before the trip ends:
- Open the Travellers tab while the trip is still editable.
- Click the red trash icon in the row's action group (right side).
- Confirm in the dialog. The traveller and their mobile are hard deleted immediately.
Heads-up on bulk redaction. The product spec calls for every traveller's mobile to be auto-redacted in bulk when a trip completes (the "deleted upon completion" rule). The redaction logic exists in the codebase and is tested, but it is not yet wired to a cron or a button, so today mobiles are preserved β frozen and read-only β on completed trips rather than auto-wiped. If your agency has a hard retention deadline, remove travellers manually before the trip locks, or contact support to redact a completed trip's contacts in bulk.
Quick reference
| Action | Where | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Add a traveller | Add traveller (Travellers tab) | Manager, Back-Office |
| Edit mobile / seat / room | Inline cells + Save Changes | Manager, Back-Office |
| Assign seats/rooms per flight / hotel | Flight / Hotel picker on the sub-tab | Manager, Back-Office |
| Blast flight / hotel details | WhatsApp blast on the sub-tab | Manager, Back-Office, Agent (WhatsApp enabled) |
| Message one traveller | Send WA on the row (Details tab) | Manager, Back-Office, Agent (WhatsApp enabled) |
| Upload a traveller file | Upload file on the row (Details tab) | Manager, Back-Office |
| Remove a traveller early | Red trash icon in the row actions (editable trip only) | Manager, Back-Office |
What's next
- Run the tour day-to-day β check-in items and blast live updates and photos to these contacts.
- File an incident report β record anything that goes wrong for the back office.
- Add travellers β the field-level reference.