Flight Path by Tern

Tern Software Inc

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. 5d ago

    Quick Submit Bookings: No Full Trip Required

    🌟Check out Tern Today: https://tern.travel/ Subscribe to our podcast:YouTube: https://youtube.com/@terntravel?si=7yy2A_FGzHSVekKXSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UpK5kLet2B2m6u1xc3fz7?si=qaZbVoYpQHW3D2323cg2ew Follow us on socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ternsoftware?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsi=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ternsoftware Join our community group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1PVUWN6zK1/ Episode OverviewBrad Turner, Head of Design, hosts this week with Molly Johnson, Head of Product, and Jade Pathe, Lead PM, while David travels. The team covers AI templates saving to your library, shared template editing in beta, and a quick submit booking flow that pays you without a full itinerary while Tern builds the trip in the background. Back-office and mobile fixes round it out, with more betas heading toward the user conference. Episode Topics (08:29) AI Chat Saves Templates To Your Library: Save a template right from chat. (09:25) Collaborative Editing For Templates: Beta lets more than one person edit shared workflows. (15:51) Quick Submit Bookings: Get paid without a full itinerary, Tern builds the trip in the background. (22:13) PDF Downloads Add Package And Insurance Docs (23:00) Agency Supplier And Seat Fixes: Merge duplicate suppliers, buy a single seat. (28:18) Mobile Fix For Hidden Back Button Show Highlights Submit a booking and get paid without a full itinerary Tern builds the full trip in the background automatically Multiple people can now edit shared templates in beta AI chat saves new templates straight to your library Back-office fixes smooth out supplier mapping and statements

  2. Sep 4

    PDF Itinerary Exports Now Fit How You'll Use Them

    🌟Check out Tern Today: https://tern.travel/Subscribe to our podcast:YouTube: https://youtube.com/@terntravel?si=7yy2A_FGzHSVekKXSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UpK5kLet2B2m6u1xc3fz7?si=qaZbVoYpQHW3D2323cg2ewFollow us on socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ternsoftware?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsi=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ternsoftwareJoin our community group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1PVUWN6zK1/Only 9 Flight Path t-shirts left. See how you can claim yours here: https://forms.tern.travel/t/sf9P2kDxozus Episode OverviewEpisode 101 brings David, Brad, and Jade (filling in for Molly) to ship Tern's top-voted Canny request: customizable PDF itinerary exports. They also cover fixing hotel photos with AI and human review, shared library editing, and quality-of-life updates, then look to User Conference on October 22. Episode Topics(07:03) PDF Export Overhaul. Toggle daily overview, itinerary detail, documents, and layout instead of one bloated export(17:02) Hotel Photos and Descriptions. A new tool pairs AI analysis with human review to replace outdated content.(27:03) Shared Library Editing. A sharing drawer moves toward view and edit access for teams, in closed beta.(29:10) Option Block Visibility. Selections show in the activity log, not just email.(30:51) AI Usage Reset Timing. Usage limits reset in each user's own time zone.(31:09) Duplicate Booking Flags. Shows which duplicates came from a migration(33:53) AI Reconciliation. PDF parsing is more reliable, near-matches flag for review Show HighlightsSend a short, client-ready PDF, not a 100+ page documentHotel content overhaul pairs AI screening with human reviewLibrary items moving toward true shared editing for teams

  3. Aug 28

    Flight Path Turns 100: Tern's Financial Tools Timeline

    🌟Check out Tern Today: https://tern.travel/ Subscribe to Tern on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@terntravel?si=u0VwC9jh1Hru9Hej Limited edition Tern swag. Fill out the form here: https://forms.tern.travel/t/sf9P2kDxozus Episode OverviewDavid Shull (CEO), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Brad Turner (Head of Design) mark 100 episodes of Flight Path with a look back at two years of memories and a status update on Tern's financial tools, including outbound invoicing, service fees, agent billing, and full accounting, and where each stands with their payment processor and compliance review. The team also covers the week's product work: more consistent booking integrations, contact archiving, and a round of quality of life upgrades across the back office and advisor workflow, plus the announcement of a new Tern podcast for advisors and agency owners and a 100th episode giveaway for the community.Episode Topics(00:00) 100th episode celebration: David, Molly, and Brad revisit favorite Flight Path memories from two years of recording.(10:31) 100 t-shirt giveaway: subscribe on YouTube, comment, and submit the form for a chance at limited edition Tern swag. Enter here: https://forms.tern.travel/t/sf9P2kDxozus(12:41) Booking integration consistency: bookings through partners like Project Expedition now always go through, with clear notifications when a booking requirement still needs to be met.(15:28) Contact archiving: archive inactive contacts to keep automations and search clean while keeping full trip history.(17:53) Financial tools timeline: status update on outbound invoicing, service fees, agent billing, and full accounting, moving through payment processor testing and compliance and bank partner review.(26:34) Back office and AI reconciliation: agency admins get an agent view of unclaimed bookings, and AI reconciliation now handles larger statement files with smarter supplier matching.(31:00) Advisor workflow updates: send email directly from the inbox tab, a new "in-law" contact type, and autofill for client billing addresses.(32:47) Agency onboarding AI skill: ask Tern's AI chat to interview you about your agency setup and build a task list to get everything configured right.(38:15) New Tern business podcast: launching next week with guests including the president of Travel Planners International and the CEO of Classic Vacations.Show HighlightsFinancial tools timeline gives agencies a clear read on when invoicing, service fees, and full accounting will roll outBooking integrations now separate the client's booking from agency reporting for more reliable syncingNew AI onboarding skill acts as a guided setup partner for agenciesA new Tern podcast is coming, focused on business lessons for advisors and agency ownersFree swag giveaway for the first 100 people who enter, to celebrate the community

  4. Aug 21

    Collaborators Can Now Apply Your Trip Automations

    Episode Overview David Shull (CEO), Brad Turner (Head of Design), and guest host Jade Pathe cover a back-to-basics week at Tern. Headline: collaborators can now see and apply automations and workflows on a shared trip, closing a gap for agencies working as a team. Also: itinerary view tracking, editable Project Expedition descriptions, agency tags, AI chat email parity, and smarter passport reads. Next week: PDF export customization and hotel content work ahead of the user conference. Episode Topics (05:23) Itinerary View Tracking: see when a shared link was last viewed, deduplicated hourly, to spot login mismatches.(09:13) Editable Project Expedition Descriptions: post-booking descriptions can be edited and localized; pre-booking stays locked.(13:34) Agency Tags: admins add locked, agency-level tags to shared trips, searchable in commission reconciliation.(17:02) AI Chat Email Parity: CC/BCC and individual sends now match standard Tern email.(18:56) Smarter AI Chat on Passports: reads expiration and legal name instead of guessing, fixing false errors.(21:07) Collaborators Can Apply Automations: view and apply automations and workflows on a shared trip, with sync when owners match.(26:16) Reconciliation by Group Number: search bookings by group number during reconciliation.(27:20) Client-Facing Email Setting: set an email separate from your Tern login for client materials.(29:27) Billing Address Autocomplete: credit card auth forms auto-fill billing address. Show Highlights Collaborators can finally see and apply automations on a shared trip.AI chat matches full email functionality and reads real passport data.Editable tour descriptions post-booking, without breaking the supplier's record.Sharper reconciliation: locked agency tags and group number search.Next up: PDF export customization and hotel content ahead of conference. Keywords Tern, Flight Path podcast, CRM for travel agents, automation templates, travel advisor workflow, AI product tools, product updates

  5. Aug 14

    Email In Tern Finally Works Like Real Email

    Episode Overview This week's Flight Path brings hosts David Shull (CEO and Co-Founder), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Brad Turner (Head of Design) through one of the biggest update weeks yet. The headline is a full rework of email in Tern: CC and BCC support, a wider recipient picker that isn't locked to trip contacts, and a new toggle between sending as one thread or as individual mail-merge style emails. Alongside that, rooms and cabins can now carry their own photos directly, ALG reservations import straight into itineraries through a new formal partnership, and group trip workflows can finally be set to apply only to regular trips. The episode wraps with a run of quality-of-life fixes advisors have been asking for. Next week brings a deep-dive ALG Vacations webinar and an early look at a new hotel discovery experience. Episode Topics (02:46) Email Overhaul. CC/BCC support, an expanded recipient picker, and a thread vs. mail merge toggle unify email across the app.(09:00) Room Media. Photos now attach directly to individual rooms and cruise cabins instead of living inside text descriptions.(12:19) ALG Import Integration. A new formal partnership pulls ALG reservations line by line into Tern itineraries, with an AI chat option.(17:43) Group Trip Workflows. Auto-apply workflows can now be scoped to regular trips only, so they no longer misfire on groups.(20:53) Quality of Life Round-Up. Custom default cover photos, one-click address field copying, added credit card authorization details, and card-type icons. Show Highlights Email in Tern now behaves like the inbox advisors already know, closing out a 500+ vote requestRoom and cabin photos sell the room, not just the tripALG bookings import without manual re-entry, with an AI-assisted path tooGroup workflows and regular trip workflows finally stay out of each other's way Keywords Tern, Flight Path podcast, itinerary builder, travel advisor workflow, AI product tools, product updates ALG Vacations Webinar Want the deep dive on the ALG import integration? Register here: https://tern.travel/events/tern-alg-vacations

  6. Aug 8

    Building The Ledger Behind Your Bookings

    Episode OverviewDavid Shull (CEO), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Katie Williams (COO) recap this week's agency owner webinar and dig into why Tern is building its own general ledger and payment infrastructure instead of integrating with QuickBooks. They cover what's live in closed beta now, what's coming next, and why real money means accuracy comes before speed here. The episode wraps with this week's product updates and a look ahead to Virtuoso Travel Week. Episode Topics(03:49) Why The Webinar Mattered: Katie on why gathering every agency owner in one room was a stake-in-the-ground moment for the industry.(09:50) The Rollout Plan: Molly on what's live in closed beta now versus what's coming with payments and the ledger.(13:41) Building An Immutable Ledger: Why real money means treating "ship fast" as the exception, not the rule, here.(19:59) Why Not Integrate With QuickBooks: David and Molly on why standard accounting software wasn't built for travel.(26:33) Getting Your Agency Onboard: Katie on how to get in touch, plus a new referral program.(30:17) Shared Search Arrives: Anyone can now find shared trips and contacts, a long-requested fix.(31:51) Addresses That Fill Themselves: Google Places autofill lands in forms and trip locations.(34:08) Group Trip Summary: An at-a-glance view of travelers, cost, and expected commission across subtrips. Show Highlights Tern is building payments and a general ledger from scratch, purpose-built for travelGlobal search now surfaces shared trips and contacts across the teamAddress autofill via Google Places is live in forms and trip locationsGroup trip summaries give an instant read on cost and commissionA new agency referral program launches next week with a $750 credit for qualifying switchesKeywords Tern, Flight Path podcast, payments, product updates, travel advisor workflow, AI product tools

  7. Jul 31

    Back to Basics Is Shipping the Fixes You Asked For

    Episode OverviewDavid Shull (CEO, Co-Founder), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Brad Turner (Head of Design) open Flight Path's first full week of the Back to Basics campaign, the product push sparked by advisor feedback in the Facebook community. The team walks through a run of advisor-side fixes: credit card authorizations now autofill client addresses, room and cabin numbers get a dedicated field visible on web and mobile, traveler access errors are clearer, forms now say "legal first name," and AI chat can build smart flights. Molly covers the agency side, including commission rate changes that push to unpaid payouts and new granular permission controls. They close with a look ahead to the August 5 webinar on commission tools and service fees, and Virtuoso Travel Week.Episode Topics(00:45) Week in Review, Molly hits a milestone processing real money through Tern wallets while testing agency service fees; Brad shares new hires joining the design and marketing teams.(09:47) Back to Basics Origins, the hosts unpack the Facebook feedback thread that reshaped the roadmap and the "lean into the sting" mindset behind it.(11:26) Addresses & Credit Card Auth, client billing addresses now autofill on contact profiles, a top-voted Canny request.(14:41) Room & Cabin Numbers, a structured, easy-to-find field now shows on the overview page in both web and mobile.(17:25) Clearer Traveler Access Messaging, travelers get specific next steps instead of a dead-end access error.(18:56) Legal First Name & Smart Flights, forms clarify legal vs. preferred name, and AI chat can now build smart flights.(22:20) Agency Back to Basics, commission rate pushes to unpaid payouts, new granular permissions, backdated payouts, and agent lookup for host agencies.(26:31) What's Coming, a preview of the August 5 webinar's commission reconciliation and service fee tools.Show HighlightsCredit card authorization addresses now save automatically to the client's contact profile.Room and cabin numbers have a dedicated field visible right on the overview page.Traveler access errors now point to a clear next step instead of a dead end.Commission rate updates can push automatically to unpaid, on-hold payouts.New granular agency permissions let owners limit access to sensitive controls.August 5 webinar will preview centralized service fee and commission tools for agencies.KeywordsTern, Flight Path podcast, CRM for travel agents, AI product tools, travel advisor workflow, payments, forms, product updates

  8. Jul 24

    Trip Statuses Now Update Themselves Automatically

    Episode OverviewDavid Shull (CEO), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Brad Turner (Head of Design) walk through a stacked update week: trips can now automatically move between statuses like traveling and traveled based on trip dates, a new Planned Bookings report makes it easy to audit anything that slipped through uncommitted, and the agency back office gets its own dashboard home plus new commission documentation and rate-change tools. A long list of quality of life fixes rounds things out. Next week: more on payments and reporting. Episode Topics(06:11) Automated Trip Statuses. Trips now move between statuses like traveling and traveled automatically, based on trip start and end dates, using Tern's existing automation triggers.(15:50) Planned Bookings Report. A new report surfaces bookings still marked as planning so advisors and agencies can catch anything that should have been marked booked.(19:57) Reporting Filters. New filters for trip tags, client state, and consortia or marketing codes make it easier to slice booking and client data for lead tracking and tax reporting.(22:45) Agency Back Office Home. All agency admin workflows, suppliers, commission reconciliation, and payouts now live in one dashboard, separate from the agent experience.(24:00) Commission Documentation and Rate Changes. Commission types can now require documentation, and rate changes can retroactively apply to commission already received but not yet paid.(29:02) Quality of Life Upgrades. Auto-formatted date fields, traveler age shown at trip start, visible terms and cancellation policies on the itinerary, full-resolution photo downloads, and bulk apply counts. Show Highlights One of the most requested features ever (500+ merged votes) is liveNew audit tools help advisors catch bookings before they cost commissionAgency back office now has a single home for suppliers, commission, and payoutsCommission rate changes can now apply retroactively where policy allowsSmall but mighty fixes: dates, traveler age, and cancellation policies just got easier to find KeywordsTern, Flight Path podcast, automation templates, travel advisor workflow, product updates, CRM for travel agents

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

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