Inviting Guests and Collaborators to a Trip
Last updated April 23, 2026
How to Invite Guests
Trips in Plan Harmony are built to be shared. Guests can see the itinerary, collaborate on events, vote on optional activities, and receive notifications when things change.
To invite a guest, open the trip and click the Invite Guests button on the trip header (below the banner). A dialog titled Invite a Guest opens with two fields: a name and an optional email address.
Three Ways to Add Someone
| Method | Best For | Account Required? |
|---|---|---|
| By email (existing user) | Someone who already uses Plan Harmony | Yes |
| By email (new user) | New to Plan Harmony | An invitation email is sent |
| Placeholder guest | Children, plus-ones, travelers without email | No |
Inviting by Email
Enter the guest's name and email address, then click Send Invite.
- If the email matches an existing Plan Harmony user, they're added to the trip instantly and receive a notification.
- If the email is new, Plan Harmony sends an invitation email with a link to create an account and join the trip.
Either way, the guest appears in the trip's guest list immediately and the avatar shows up on the trip header.
Adding a Placeholder Guest
If you're traveling with someone who doesn't have email — a child, a plus-one, or someone whose contact details you'll collect later — enter their name only and leave the email field empty. The button changes to Add Guest. Click it to add them to the trip.
Placeholder guests appear in the Trip Guests list and can be included in events, budget splits, and headcounts. They do not receive any notifications. You can edit a placeholder later to add their email, which converts them to an invited guest and sends an invitation.
Managing Existing Guests
Open Settings → Trip Guests to see everyone on the trip. Each row shows the guest's avatar, name, email (if present), and role.
Editing a Placeholder
Placeholder guests have a pencil icon next to their role label. Click it to open the Edit Placeholder Guest dialog, where you can update the name or add an email. If you add an email, the placeholder is converted to an invited guest and a trip invitation is sent.
Removing a Guest
Owners, organizers, agency members, and planners cannot be removed from this screen — they retain control of the trip. Any other guest can be removed with the × button, which prompts a confirmation before revoking access.
Roles
Plan Harmony uses role labels internally to distinguish different types of participants:
| Role | Who | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | The person who created the trip | Full control |
| Organizer | A co-lead on the trip | Full control |
| Editor | A standard guest | View and edit the itinerary |
| Viewer | A read-only participant | See but not edit |
| Agency | The travel agency on agency-planned trips | Full control |
| Planner | Individual agency staff working on the trip | Full control |
New guests invited through the dialog are added as editors by default. Trip owners and agency planners can remove guests but the UI does not currently expose a role-change control for standard editors.
Tips
- Duplicate prevention is built in. If the email you enter is already on the trip, Plan Harmony blocks the invite and shows "This email has already been invited to the trip."
- Invitations queue up before dates. You can invite guests immediately after creating the trip — they don't need to wait for departure day.
- Placeholder guests count in events. When you create events and the guest list is pre-filled, placeholder guests are included alongside everyone else.
- Share a link instead of an invite. If you just want to send someone the itinerary to look at — say, a parent or travel agent — enable Make this trip shareable in Settings → Sharing and copy the public link instead of sending an invitation.