This is the agent's playbook for running a trip live, from the first activity to the last. It covers the three things an agent does on the ground: check in items as they happen, post updates with photos, and push those updates via WhatsApp, Facebook, or just for the record.
Where agents work
Agents sign in to their own dashboard at /leader, where they see only the
trips they've been assigned to. Open an assigned trip to access the
itinerary, updates, travellers, and all the tools below.
The trip workspace works on a phone, mid-trip, on patchy data. Every action below is one or two taps.
Three ways to capture what's happening
These are easy to confuse. They write to different places and feed the Tour rating differently.
| Check in | Edit actuals | Post update | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When | The activity is starting | After the planned slot has passed | Anytime |
| Button | Check in (map-pin pill) | Update (row expander) | Post update |
| Captures | Actual start time (auto) | Corrected time, title, location, notes, photos | A feed entry: text + photos |
| Time | Server "now" in trip timezone | Free-text the agent types | None β numbered feed item |
| Feeds performance | Yes (stamps actual time) | Yes | Yes (counts as item-updated) |
1. Check in an activity (one tap)
Check-in is the fastest capture. The moment an activity starts, tap the pin β TourRelay stamps the actual time for you. No forms, no typing.
Find the item in the itinerary
Each itinerary row has a Check in pill with a map-pin icon, outlined and neutral when pending.
Tap Check in
The pill flips to Checked in (filled, coloured), the actual time is stamped to the current time in the trip's timezone, and you see a "Checked in" toast.
That is it β no dialog, no save button. The itinerary refreshes instantly.
Check-in captures the time server-side, so it is always correct in the trip's timezone regardless of the agent's phone clock. Once tapped, the button locks β you cannot check the same item in twice. The original capture time is preserved permanently, even if you edit the actual time afterwards.
Forgot to check in on time? No problem β open the item's actuals form (see below) and type the real start time. The capture time stays as the moment you first tapped; the actual time becomes what you typed.
See also: Check in an itinerary item.
2. Update the itinerary as it unfolds
The actuals form is for everything check-in does not capture: a delayed departure, a changed venue, extra notes, and photos. It becomes available once an item's planned slot has passed β tap to open it.
Expand the row
Tap the Update toggle on the itinerary row (it only appears after the planned time has passed). A form expands below the row.
Fill in what changed
Set the actual time (e.g.
14:20), update the service / activity, location, and notes (e.g. "Delayed 20 min β new pickup at Lobby B"). Each field shows the planned value as a hint so you can see the delta.Add photos (optional)
Tap the dashed Add photos tile to attach up to 6 photos, 8 MB each. Photos upload one at a time as you pick them.
Choose how to share
Decide how this update reaches people (see the share matrix below).
Click Save update
A "Last saved" timestamp appears inside the panel. You can keep editing any field and save again β the check-in capture time is never overwritten.
3. Post an update to the feed
The update composer is for free-form announcements that are not tied to a specific itinerary row: "Bus arriving at Lobby A in 10 minutes, please be ready."
Scroll to Post an update
The composer sits in the Updates panel on the trip page.
Write the message
Type into What's happening? (up to 4,000 characters). Example: "Meet at Row H by 5:40am. Bus departs at 6:00am sharp."
Add photos (optional)
Attach up to 6 photos β a meeting point, a bus, a hotel entrance.
Choose how to share
Pick none, one, or both of the share options below.
Click Post update
The update appears in the trip workspace immediately, numbered in sequence with your name as author.
You can Remove your own updates at any time.
How to push: WhatsApp, Facebook, or record-only
Every update can be pushed three ways. The checkboxes appear on both the actuals form and the update composer.
| Option | What it does | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Record only (leave both off) | Saves the update to the trip. No external push. | Trip workspace, Tour rating |
| Also post to Facebook | Posts the text (and photos) to your agency's connected Facebook Page. | Actuals form + update composer |
| Send update on WhatsApp | Blasts the update as a template message to every traveller with a valid mobile. | Actuals form (after save) + update composer |
| Blast via WhatsApp (per existing update) | Re-blasts an already-posted update, optionally to a selected subset. | Each row in the update feed |
Send via WhatsApp (blast)
When you tick Send update on WhatsApp (composer) or click Share via WhatsApp (actuals form, after saving), the Send via WhatsApp dialog opens:
- Pick Message All or Message Selected (checkboxes per recipient).
- Confirm the template β TourRelay auto-picks the approved template that matches the content: a photo template if the update has photos, otherwise the default text template.
- Click Send blast. A result screen reports how many were delivered and any that failed.
WhatsApp blasting needs to be set up for your agency first. If you do not see the WhatsApp option, or you see a "WhatsApp not ready" panel, ask your account owner to finish WhatsApp setup under Settings β WhatsApp in the app.
Post to Facebook
Tick Also post to Facebook to push the same update to your agency's Facebook Page β text-only updates go to the Page feed; updates with photos are uploaded as unpublished photos and posted as a multi-photo feed post. If your agency has not connected Facebook, the checkbox is disabled with a "(connect in Settings)" hint.
Record only
Leave both options off to keep the update private to the trip β it still appears in the trip workspace and feeds the Tour rating, but nothing is pushed to WhatsApp or Facebook. Use this for routine notes that do not need a push.
When editing is locked
All writes β check-in, actuals, updates, incident reports β are gated by the trip state:
- Draft / Active (upcoming or ongoing) β full editing.
- Completed (today's date is past the end date) β read-only. The check-in button, actuals form, and composer all hide; the feed shows a "This trip is read-only" notice.
- Locked (24h after the last itinerary item) β same: fully frozen.
- Archived β hidden from the agent's trip list.
Quick reference
| Action | Button | Locks on completed? |
|---|---|---|
| Check in | Check in (map-pin pill) | Yes |
| Edit actuals | Update β Save update | Yes |
| Post update | Post update | Yes |
| Share to WhatsApp | Send update on WhatsApp / Share via WhatsApp / Blast via WhatsApp | Yes |
| Post to Facebook | Also post to Facebook | Yes |
| Record only | Leave both options off | No (always available while trip is editable) |
What's next
- File an incident report β record anything unwarranted that happened, for the back office.
- Review tour rating β see how the trip rated after it ends.
- Post updates and Check in an itinerary item β the field-level references.