Flight Path by Tern

Tern Software Inc
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Welcome to Flight Path, your weekly insider’s guide to the latest in travel technology with Tern, the premier platform for travel advisors. Join us every Friday as Tern’s R&D leadership takes you on a journey through what’s new and exciting in Tern, unveiling the features and updates shipped each week. Hosted by Tern’s co-founder and CEO David Shull, Head of Product Molly Johnson, and Head of Design Brad Turner, Flight Path offers a unique peek behind the curtain of building the best platform for travel advisors. From in-depth discussions about new releases to behind-the-scenes insights into the design and development process, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the innovation and hard work that drive Tern’s success. Whether you’re a travel advisor looking to stay ahead of the curve or a tech enthusiast curious about the latest advancements in travel technology, Flight Path is your go-to source for all things Tern. Tune in every Friday and let us navigate you through the future of travel. Hosts: David Shull: Co-founder and CEO of Tern Molly Johnson: Head of Product at Tern Brad Turner: Head of Design at Tern

  1. 3 days ago

    Commission Reconciliation Just Got a Whole Lot Simpler

    Episode Overview:David, Molly, and Brad are back with a packed episode covering the biggest AI chat upgrades to date, a major new agency back-office feature, and a meaningful update to groups. This week's AI updates go deeper than new features: they address the frustration advisors have felt when the chat forgets their preferences, and start to answer the bigger question of how AI memory should actually work inside a platform built for travel. On the agency side, a long-requested feature around unclaimed commissions is heading into beta, and it closes a loop that agencies have been managing manually for years. Episode Topics:(0:00) Week in Review: Molly's QA life, Brad's AI usage rollout, David's Singapore trip with the APAC team(5:27) AI Can Now Search Your Photo Library: The chat can pull images directly from your branded content folders using metadata and folder names, putting the right photo in the right place without manual searching.(7:21) Save Your Writing Style to Chat: Advisors can now tell the AI to save preferences like tone, formatting, and style directly from a conversation, so it carries those instructions into future sessions.(8:18) How AI Memory Actually Works in Tern: David explains why AI doesn't "learn" on its own, what evals are, and how Tern is building structured memory objects so preferences persist across conversations.(14:19) Unclaimed Commission Feature Heading to Beta: Agents can now view unclaimed bookings at their agency, claim the ones that belong to them, and get notified on approval, cutting out the manual back-and-forth that agencies have relied on outside the platform.(21:15) Quality of Life Updates: Reorderable lodging rooms on itineraries, year-over-year reporting comparisons replacing month-over-month, and a new search infrastructure powering faster, smarter task search across the app.(25:46) Groups Subtrip Syncing: Beta progress update, including the new ability to opt existing trips into syncing behavior and controls that let advisors edit individual subtrip fields independently.(29:27) What's Coming in Two Weeks: Tern Pro AI usage limits go live July 1, more agency back-office features shipping shortly after, and continued itinerary improvements. Show Highlights:AI chat can now pull photos directly from your library by folder name and metadataWriting style preferences can be saved mid-conversation and applied to future chatsUnclaimed commission claiming is coming to beta, with approval workflow and email notifications built inYear-over-year reporting comparisons now replace month-over-month KPIsTask search now covers title, description, trip, and contact, and is significantly fasterGroup subtrip syncing beta is expanding with opt-in for existing trips and independent field editing

    31 min

  2. 19 Jun

    Agency Payout Rules That Actually Fit How You Work

    Episode Overview: Brad Turner (Head of Design) and Molly Johnson (Head of Product) host this week's episode, joined by Spencer, one of Tern's lead engineers on AI. With David traveling back from a team offsite in Singapore, the three dig into a packed week of shipping: agency supplier payout rules, a wave of AI chat improvements, and a long list of quality-of-life fixes. Spencer pulls back the curtain on how Tern builds and evaluates its AI features, including how advisors can get more out of chat today. Q3 planning is underway, and there's plenty on the horizon for both advisors and agencies. Episode Topics: (00:00) Week in Review Brad, Molly, and Spencer share what the first post-webinar week looked like, from shipping payout rules to thinking through what comes next for chat. (06:52) Agency Supplier Payout Rules Molly walks through the new ability to set commission payout eligibility rules by supplier type, so agency owners spend less time manually adjusting dates and advisors get cleaner expected commission reports. (11:13) AI Chat: Publish Trips and Reliability Fixes Spencer covers two chat updates shipped this week: the ability to publish trips directly from chat, and under-the-hood reliability improvements so chats handle deploys and errors more gracefully. (17:30) Quality-of-Life Updates Brad and Molly run through a full list of fixes and polish, including AI reconciliation line item deletion, year-over-year KPI comparisons, confirmation number visibility for unauthenticated clients, and a mobile chat submit button fix. (25:00) How to Get More Out of AI Chat Spencer breaks down how Tern optimizes chat behind the scenes and shares practical tips: use the light model for simple tasks, open chat from the trip you're working on, and start new chats more often instead of letting one run forever. (39:34) What's Coming Next Spencer is focused on search infrastructure improvements starting with tasks. Molly is deep in Q3 planning, with new advisor and agency features on the way. Brad is preparing for the Tern Pro upgrade rollout and a new booking import integration. Show Highlights: Agency owners can now set commission payout rules by supplier type, with the ability to override per specific supplierExpected commission dates now calculate automatically, so advisors no longer have to guess or do manual mathTrips can now be published directly from AI chatStarting fresh chats per task, instead of one long-running chat, extends usage and improves output qualityOpening chat from inside a trip eliminates the need for the AI to search, saving tokens and timeYear-over-year KPI comparisons now available, replacing month-over-month which wasn't useful for travel's seasonal patternsLibrary search is on the way: Spencer recommends naming your photos well now so the AI can find them later

    42 min

  3. 12 Jun

    What Agentic AI Actually Does for Your Advisory Business

    Episode Overview: Fresh off their biggest webinar yet, David Shull, Molly Johnson, and Brad Turner sit down for the behind-the-scenes debrief. This episode unpacks what didn't get enough airtime during the live event: how agentic AI works differently from regular chat AI, why a single email demo moment stopped the webinar chat cold, and what it means for advisors that personalization no longer requires manual context-loading. The team also walks through group subtrip syncing in detail, the new mark-as-booked AI workflow for agents who just need to get paid, and a candid conversation about AI usage costs and what Tern is absorbing to make this accessible. Next week brings a special guest while David heads to Singapore. Episode Topics: (00:00) Post-webinar check-in: energy levels and webinar-week survival (05:37) Behind the scenes: what almost broke during the live AI demos (09:13) The email demo moment that hit home for advisors everywhere (11:31) Webinar highlights: what each host remembered most (15:20) Group subtrip syncing: a deep-dive demo of the beta feature (22:00) Packing lists and destination guides, now fully personalized by AI (26:18) Mark as booked via AI: how new agents can submit a booking in a few clicks (30:00) AI and pricing: reading, writing, and creating packages (32:08) AI usage transparency: what agentic AI actually costs and why (41:01) Scheduled agents: what David wants advisors to try first (43:19) Week ahead: payout date logic beta, unclaimed bookings, and David's Singapore trip Show Highlights: Agentic AI pulls client context automatically, so packing lists and destination guides are personalized before you type a word The email integration demo moment landed because it named a pain advisors assumed they'd always have to live with Group subtrip syncing lets advisors update 300 subtrips at once from a single group itinerary The mark-as-booked AI workflow lets new agents submit a booking with a receipt and a few approval clicks Tern blended its AI and note taker usage allocations into one pot and absorbed the added cost without raising prices Scheduled agents can now automatically draft follow-up emails based on trip returns, birthdays, and supplier promotions

    42 min

  4. 5 Jun

    We Redesigned the Itinerary (And Shipped 6 AI Updates)

    Episode Overview: David Shull, Molly Johnson, and Brad Turner recap a packed pre-webinar week on Flight Path. The team walks through a full itinerary redesign with new header layouts and font options, six new AI chat capabilities, and a candid conversation about AI pricing, usage efficiency, and what Tern Pro means for advisors. The episode closes with quality-of-life improvements across bookings, commission reconciliation, and consortia preferences. Next up: the AI launch webinar on June 10 at 3:30 PM Eastern. Episode Topics: (00:00) Week in review The team shares a fragmented but productive week, with hiring momentum and webinar prep dominating the schedule. (04:01) Itinerary redesign Brad and Molly walk through four new header display options, three font choices, and a series of fast-follow fixes shipped within days of launch. (12:33) Bulk consortia preference updates Advisors can now filter their client list and mass-update opt-in preferences across Signature, Travel Leaders Network, and Virtuoso, replacing a clunky export process. (15:39) New AI chat capabilities Six updates: file upload in chat, voice input, automatic context from the current page, manual context pinning, pricing and payment schedule generation, and rotating AI tips. (23:30) Tern Pro and AI pricing David explains why AI costs behave differently from traditional software, and what Tern is doing to keep AI accessible while building a sustainable business. (33:47) AI efficiency improvements Two major optimizations: a light model option that uses roughly a third of the credits of premium, and caching that cuts first-message costs by 4 to 6 times. (44:01) Quality-of-life updates Accreditation selection moved earlier in the booking flow, a last-updated sort on the commission report, and significant AI reconciliation improvements for large supplier files. Show Highlights: Itinerary headers now support full-bleed images, larger images, or minimized headers, with serif, sans-serif, or standard font options AI chat now accepts file uploads, voice input, and automatic page context so advisors spend less time explaining and more time getting things done Caching reduced first-message AI costs by 4 to 6 times, launched mid-week in direct response to advisor feedback AI reconciliation now handles large supplier files and retains all line items even when a supplier match is missing Webinar: June 10, 3:30 PM Eastern

    46 min

  5. 29 May

    Plan the Surprise Your Client Will Never See Coming

    Episode Overview: David, Molly, and Brad are back with a packed episode recorded live from the ASTA conference in San Diego. David joins on four hours of sleep after a booth that stopped fellow exhibitors mid-floor. This week covers two long-requested features now live, a wave of AI chat improvements, and a look ahead at group subtrip syncing, itinerary style updates, and the June 10 product launch webinar. Episode Topics: (07:14) Hide activities from travelers Advisors can now hide individual itinerary items from the client view. Canceled bookings drop off automatically. Surprise plans, future content, anything not ready for the client stays on your board, off theirs. (11:42) Insurance inside packages Manual insurance quotes can now live inside a package. Clients see accurate total pricing when they select coverage, no workarounds, no separate line items. (14:44) AI chat updates Dashboard chat panel is now opt-in from Customize. Cruise bookings can be built end to end through conversation. Contact addresses can be read, added, and updated via chat. Trip sorting by name and date is live. (23:08) Quality of life Agency supplier library gets a one-click CSV export. Supplier statements sort by most recent by default. Trip transfers auto-prompt a republish. Show Highlights: You now control exactly what travelers see on their itinerary Insurance finally works inside package pricing AI chat accessible straight from your dashboard Nine new Turn and Learn lessons live this week

    32 min

  6. 22 May

    Tern's AI Guides You Through Your Work

    Episode Overview: David Shull, Molly Johnson, and Brad Turner cover a week of meaningful AI chat improvements. The biggest change: instead of typing answers back into the chat, advisors can now pick from clickable options and move through workflows in seconds. David demos this live, including a cruise search pulling ports, ships, and cabin options on command. Abby, Head of Customer Experience, walks through the relaunched Tern and Learn training hub, which now ships content alongside every weekly product update. Agency permissions, preferred supplier tags, and a quality-of-life roundup round out the episode. Episode Topics: (0:00) Week in Review Early advisor reactions in the Facebook group about the AI assistant saving hours on 60-day cruise itineraries. (4:46) Tern and Learn Update Abby walks through the relaunched training hub at turn.travel/learn and new agency owner courses shipping in near real time. (11:37) AI Chat: What Shipped Clickable multiple-choice responses, automatic chat renaming, and expanded cruise port knowledge. (14:06) AI Onboarding Demo David demos the onboarding skill live, showing the AI asking targeted questions and walking through a cruise search by port and date. (17:17) More AI Updates Trip details section awareness, default currency support, ship-specific search, and cabin options. (20:33) Agency Permissions New role-level controls over team data access and credit card visibility on trips. (22:49) Supplier Tags and Preferred Status Preferred supplier star indicator for agents and custom tags for filtering by region, consortia, or travel type. (26:03) Quality of Life Updates Trip board performance improvements, insurance refresh, and filtered contact list export. (29:43) Commission Improvements RTF file support, statement-level adjustments, and orphaned commission cleanup on deleted statements. (37:24) Week Ahead Insurance in a package, itinerary item hiding, rule-based commission dates, group subtrip syncing in beta, and ASTA Conference in San Diego. Show Highlights: AI chat surfaces clickable options so advisors stop typing answers mid-workflow Onboarding skill tailors the experience based on what the advisor wants to do first AI searches cruise ports, ships, and cabin options when building itineraries Preferred supplier tags guide agent booking behavior without cluttering client-facing profiles AI commission reconciliation now supports RTF files and statement-level adjustments Tern and Learn ships training content the same week new features go live Keywords: Tern, Flight Path podcast, CRM for travel agents, AI product tools, travel advisor workflow, itinerary builder, product updates

    38 min

  7. 15 May

    Your AI Assistant Now Lives Where You Work

    Episode Overview: David Shull, Molly Johnson, and Brad Turner cover a packed week. AI chat gets its own home in the navigation with new capabilities to search cruise templates, build comparison breakdowns, and add port images in seconds. The team also walks through agency updates on supplier management, commission payout logic, contact deduplication, and cleaner client payments. Register for the June 10 agentic AI reveal to see the full picture. Episode Topics: (0:00) Weekend check-in Back office deep dive and a live AI preview at the Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum. (7:25) AI chat gets its own home Dedicated navigation icon with recent history, suggested prompts, and a full-screen experience. (9:57) Cruise itineraries and comparisons in chat Search templates, build full itineraries, and generate side-by-side cruise comparisons from a few messages. (14:14) AI adds port images automatically Chat populates images for every port on a cruise itinerary in one step. (18:26) AI free beta and upcoming limits No usage caps for now. Limits and upgrade options arriving over the next month. (22:00) Preferred suppliers and custom tags Mark preferred suppliers and add searchable tags that surface to advisors at booking. (23:45) Commission payout logic per supplier Set timing rules by supplier type so advisors stop entering expected commission dates manually. (26:43) Clearer client payment balances Invoices now show total cost, amount paid, and balance due, with on-property charges listed separately. (31:59) Contact deduplication org-wide One-click merge for suggested duplicates, now working across all advisors and shared contacts. (35:51) Required fields on client forms Red star indicators and automatic scroll to missed fields on submit. (38:30) Insurance per itinerary and reporting updates Insurance options per itinerary, an advisor sales pie chart, and balance due fields added to reports. (40:19) Trip names on calendar payments Payment entries now show the associated trip name alongside the activity. (42:16) Advisor and supplier survey Tern is surveying advisors on their supplier experience, with $250 gift card giveaways for participants. Show Highlights: AI chat has its own navigation hub with history and suggested prompts Chat builds cruise itineraries and comparison grids from a few messages Port images populate automatically through chat Preferred supplier marking and custom tags give agencies more control at booking Supplier payout logic removes manual commission date entry Client invoices now clearly show what is still owed Contact deduplication works org-wide with one-click merging

    44 min

  8. 8 May

    AI That Matches Clients to Supplier Deals

    Episode Overview: David Shull, Molly Johnson, and Brad Turner had a week that felt bigger than most. A host agency came back after 14 months to demo their full workflow in Tern, and the before-and-after data on advisor sales moved the room. That energy carries through everything the team shipped: meetings now live inside Tern, AI chat can find the right client for a supplier promo and send a personalized email in one click, and agencies can finally assign workflow tasks to specific team members. Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum is next week, and there's more in the pipeline than the team is ready to say out loud. Episode Topics: (00:00) A host agency demo, 14 months in the making, shows real before-and-after conversion data. (09:11) Calendar meetings appear inside Tern, with one-click contact profiles and note taker controls. (16:29) Workflow tasks can now be assigned to specific team members or VAs at the template level. (21:47) AI chat improvements: send emails from chat, auto-populate hotel properties, create trips without a client name or exact dates. (25:01) Live demo: supplier promo email becomes a personalized client outreach, sent in one click. (33:47) Trip creation moves to a drawer layout. Agencies get a new setting to lock trips to agency access. (35:34) What's coming: group subtrip syncing, collaborator credit card permissions, Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum. Show Highlights: Calendar meetings now live in Tern with note taker controls built in AI can go from a supplier email to a sent, personalized client outreach without leaving Tern Workflow tasks are now assignable to team members and VAs at the template level New agency setting prevents advisors from removing agency access on their way out

    38 min
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About

Welcome to Flight Path, your weekly insider’s guide to the latest in travel technology with Tern, the premier platform for travel advisors. Join us every Friday as Tern’s R&D leadership takes you on a journey through what’s new and exciting in Tern, unveiling the features and updates shipped each week. Hosted by Tern’s co-founder and CEO David Shull, Head of Product Molly Johnson, and Head of Design Brad Turner, Flight Path offers a unique peek behind the curtain of building the best platform for travel advisors. From in-depth discussions about new releases to behind-the-scenes insights into the design and development process, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the innovation and hard work that drive Tern’s success. Whether you’re a travel advisor looking to stay ahead of the curve or a tech enthusiast curious about the latest advancements in travel technology, Flight Path is your go-to source for all things Tern. Tune in every Friday and let us navigate you through the future of travel. Hosts: David Shull: Co-founder and CEO of Tern Molly Johnson: Head of Product at Tern Brad Turner: Head of Design at Tern

Information

  • Creator
    Tern Software Inc
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    93
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Tern Software Inc
  • Show Website
    Flight Path by Tern

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