Tokens in an email editor look like placeholders until you see them filled in. The preview shows the email as one real guest will receive it, with their name, their booking, and their dates in place of the tokens.
Do this before every send that uses tokens. It is the only way to catch a token that resolves to nothing, and an empty token in a greeting is the most visible mistake an email can make.
Previewing with a real guest
Open the email in the editor.
Select Preview at the bottom of the editor.
At the top of the preview window, select Select example.
Search for a guest and select their name.
The preview reloads with that guest's information in place of every token.
Choose the guest deliberately
Previewing against a guest whose profile happens to be complete tells you very little. The point is to find the cases that break.
A guest with a full profile, to confirm the email reads correctly when everything is present.
A guest missing something, a first name or a birthdate, so you can see what a token does when it has nothing to resolve to.
An OTA booking, where names are often abbreviated or masked and a greeting can come out looking wrong.
A guest on the actual audience you are about to send to, rather than the first name in the list.
If a token comes back empty, the fix is usually in the data rather than the email. See Audience filters: guest and profile for finding guests missing a field before you send.
What this does not do
It is not a delivery test. The preview shows the content, not how a mail client renders it. For that, send yourself the campaign.
It does not show dark mode. See Designing emails for dark mode.
One guest at a time. There is no way to preview the whole audience at once and spot every empty token, so choose your examples with that in mind.
A guest looking correct here does not mean they are reachable. Consent and a valid address are separate questions.
What to do next
Once the content is right, check how it will look in a real inbox. See Designing emails for dark mode.
Getting help
Open Help at the bottom of the left menu and choose Talk to Us, or email support@bookboost.io.