Flight Path by Tern

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Episode Overview

David Shull (CEO and Co-Founder), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Brad Turner (Head of Design) walk through a big week for agency finances. Agents can now send commission invoices straight to suppliers, agencies can invoice anyone from the back office, and reporting updates in near real time. Plus a test of lower-cost AI models and a round of mobile-friendly fixes. With User Conference less than two weeks out, the team previews payouts and service fees coming next.

Episode Topics

(07:56) Real-time reporting: New bookings show up in reports almost instantly.

(10:12) Commission invoices: Agents send branded invoices to suppliers while bank details stay encrypted.

(13:37) Agency invoicing: Invoice agents, suppliers, or clients, with Airwallex payments coming soon.

(16:57) Lower-cost AI models: Testing cheaper models that could mean more AI usage on every plan.

(21:58) Quality of life: Consistent duplicating, publish and preview on every trip page, mobile fixes.

(29:23) Week ahead: Payouts closed beta and service fees early access.

Show Highlights

Request supplier commission without leaving Tern

Basic invoicing can now live in your back office

Reports reflect bookings as soon as they’re logged

More AI usage at the same plan price is the goal

Email Molly for payouts and service fees accessKeywords

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Episode Overview
David Shull (CEO and Co-Founder), Molly Johnson (Head of Product), and Brad Turner (Head of Design) share a week of releases focused on putting your agency's brand in front of clients. Brad covers custom itinerary subtitles and branded client emails. Molly walks through quick submit booking and a smarter team page that sets up a future agent CRM, and Brad closes with new AI automation controls. With the user conference 20 days out, the team teases three big launches on day one.

Episode Topics
(08:25) Custom itinerary subtitles: Write your own line under the trip title, including on group itineraries.
(12:51) Quick submit booking: Add a booking, trip, and contact from one dashboard form, now with non-commissionable bookings.
(16:08) Branded client emails: Authorization and insurance opt-out receipts now show your business name and logo.
(19:02) Team and billing page: Filters, exports, custom columns, last login, and an all-members view for hosts.
(24:06) AI automations: Pick standard or premium models, and AI drafted emails now use email variables.

Show Highlights

• Itineraries and client receipts now read as coming from your agency
• Agency owners can track advisor activity without a custom report
• Simple AI automations can run on a lighter model to save usage
• Payouts closed beta is expected soon

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Episode Overview

CEO David Shull, Head of Product Molly Johnson, and Head of Design Brad Turner walk through a new opt-in credit card authorization flow that lets clients choose exactly what they authorize. They also cover mobile-friendly search pages, an experiment to lower AI costs, and near real-time reporting, then preview Quick Booking and the Users Conference.

Episode Topics

(02:15) TPI onsite: Molly shares how AI reconciliation handled a 275-step supplier statement cleanup.
(12:09) Opt-in authorization: clients now check each item they want to authorize.
(18:25) Mobile updates: Trips, Tasks, and Contacts fit your phone, with a labeled Actions menu.
(23:05) Lowering AI costs: a live experiment tests more efficient tool use.
(30:48) Quality of life: cleaner dashboard payments, near real-time KPIs, and AI chat variables.
(34:18) Looking ahead: Quick Booking beta and collaborative trip templates.

Show Highlights

• Clients choose exactly which items to authorize
• Search pages work better on your phone
• KPI dashboard updates in near real time
• Quick Booking beta arrives next week
• Users Conference registration closes October 1

🌟Check out Tern Today: https://tern.travel/

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Episode Overview

David Shull, Molly Johnson, and Brad Turner cover this week's reporting overhaul: near real-time dashboard metrics, locked-in currency rates, and protection against deleting trips with commission. The episode closes with a first look at the 2026 Tern User Conference in New Orleans, over three times last year's size.

Episode Topics

(08:40) Near real-time dashboard metrics -Homepage sales and commission numbers now update close to live, replacing the old 20-30 minute delay.

(19:06) Filter reports by supplier tag - Sales and booking reports can now be filtered by supplier tags, including consortia tags.

(21:32) Currency rates lock in - Multi-currency bookings lock their conversion rate at booking and payment for accurate reports.

(22:34) Trip deletion blocked with commission - Trips with received commission can no longer be deleted; archiving still works

(24:02) 2026 Tern User Conference preview - New Orleans, 300+ advisors, full engineering team on site, first-ever live stream. Feedback forums return.

Show Highlights

Dashboard numbers update almost live, cutting the old 20-30 minute delay

Currency rates lock in at booking and payment

Trips with received commission are protected from deletion

2026 User Conference: 300+ advisors, first live stream, New Orleans

🌟Check out Tern Today: https://tern.travel/

Subscribe to our podcast:
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• Episode Overview
• Brad 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

🌟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

🌟Check out Tern Today: https://tern.travel/

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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

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

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 request
• Room and cabin photos sell the room, not just the trip
• ALG bookings import without manual re-entry, with an AI-assisted path too
• Group 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

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 travel
• Global search now surfaces shared trips and contacts across the team
• Address autofill via Google Places is live in forms and trip locations
• Group trip summaries give an instant read on cost and commission
• A new agency referral program launches next week with a $750 credit for qualifying switches

Keywords Tern, Flight Path podcast, payments, product updates, travel advisor workflow, AI product tools