Welcome back to Flight Path, your weekly behind-the-scenes look at what we’re building at Tern! This week is packed with major news, impactful product updates, and a special guest interview you won’t want to miss.

Listen to Office Hours Here

https://open.spotify.com/show/5VoYI891SDJkhlQFpuwuip?si=nIBeINnSQVKo4aJR5IpWFg

00:00 – Intro & chaos avoided
David nearly live-streams the episode by mistake. Molly shares sleep deprivation updates (thanks to a teething baby), and we all express gratitude to Faith, Molly’s mom and Tern hero.

03:08 – A feature that brought tears
Molly recalls a powerful moment where an advisor emotionally responded to the new occupancy rates feature — a reminder of why we do what we do.

03:33 – Major News: Tern Acquires Lucia!
Tern officially welcomes Lucia into the family!
Co-founder Grace Van Hollebeke joins the episode to talk about:

• Lucia’s origin story (hint: it started as a college class project!)

• Why vetted freelance co-pilots are essential to ending invisible work

• Her new role as Head of Marketing and Services at Tern

• The power of combining humans + tech to remove manual work for advisors

• Sneak peek at Office Hours podcast and our growing Instagram presence (follow @ternsoftware)

10:30 – The future of co-pilots in Tern
Brad and Molly lay out the vision for Lucia’s integration:

• Context-aware prompts for help (e.g. “need assistance on a group trip?”)

• Embedded support workflows inside Tern

• Empowering co-pilots to deeply understand Tern tools

20:05 – Product Highlights:

• Subfolders in the Library (finally!): Organize templates, activities, and more with nested folders — complete with emojis.

• Flexible Dates for Lodging: Let travelers select custom check-in/check-out dates (perfect for destination weddings & FITs). Combine with occupancy rates for dynamic pricing.

• New “Save to Library” Flow: Save activity templates in 3 clicks instead of 10. Name, folder, and share — all from the itinerary.

• Copy Confirmation Numbers: Tiny change, big impact. One-click copying for commission tracking.

• TICO-Compliant Invoices: Add your agency address directly in business settings.

• New Rich Text Editor in Invoices: The upgraded editor is now PDF-friendly — a big step toward full rollout on trip itineraries.

39:48 – What We’re Working on Next Week:

• Performance & Scalability: Optimizing reporting and load times as large agencies import 1,000s of bookings.

• Trip Funds (early R&D): The team is back in the trenches on payment collection for group trips — but taking it slow and safe. No live release soon, but important foundational work is underway.

• GTM West: David hits the road to represent Tern at his first GTM event. Let us know if you’ll be there!

In this week’s episode of Flight Path, David, Molly, and Brad pull back the curtain on the latest behind-the-scenes progress at Tern. From a milestone host agency partnership to significant product updates, this is a big one. Tune in for a grounded yet energizing look at how the team is learning directly from users, rapidly iterating, and pushing the platform forward—especially when it comes to groups and pricing logic.

Timestamps & Topics:

00:00 - Intro & Weekly Reflections

• Why this episode’s coming at you early (hint: it’s Romance Forum week!)

• Molly’s coffee outing, and how even small personal highlights matter

01:45 - Mobile App Prototype Sneak Peek

• First look at upcoming mobile upgrades with a clickable prototype

• Improving polish, UX, and advisor confidence

02:30 - New User Office Hours: Real Pain, Real Learning

• Molly’s call with a struggling user turns into a breakthrough

• How one advisor planned a cruise live and finally got that “aha” moment

04:15 - Facing the Gaps: Friction, Workarounds & Urgency

• Brad’s back-to-back user calls highlight where Tern still needs to grow

• The emotional and motivational impact of facing real advisor feedback

• Why Tern refuses to silo user research from product ownership

06:50 - Tern at the Romance Forum & TPI Milestone

• David reporting live from Cancun

• Tern’s first appearance at a destination wedding conference

• Launching occupancy-based pricing + variable date selection

• Partnership announcement: TPI becomes Tern’s first enterprise-scale host agency integration

11:48 - Feature Deep Dive: Occupancy-Based Pricing

• Why this long-requested feature unlocks major simplicity

• Clean setup, accurate pricing, and better room capacity validation

• No more creating “fake rooms” just to display rates for different occupancies

15:50 - Child & Pet Pricing? Coming Eventually… Maybe 🐾

• The internal joke behind “no kids, no dogs”

• Future roadmap nods toward child pricing logic

17:10 - Clean Pricing Inputs: One Click, No More Deleting Zeros

• Quality-of-life update that smooths pricing input workflows

• How small UI changes prevent big data entry mistakes

21:00 - Complete Tasks from the Overview Tab

• Minor tweak, major time-saver: mark tasks as done without extra clicks

• Why this fits the long-term vision of the trip dashboard

22:52 — Sticky Headers & Save Feedback on Activities

• Quiet magic: keeping context visible while editing

• How one engineer (Zach!) proactively improved debug UX for everyone

25:24 - What’s Coming Next: Folders & Mobile Authentication

• Subfolders rolling out for activity templates and email templates

• Why refactoring now helps scale all libraries down the line

• Upcoming: one-click traveler login links for smoother mobile access

27:36 - Another Groups Milestone: Variable Date Selection

• Travelers can now pick their own check-in and check-out dates

• Especially impactful for weddings and all-inclusive trips

• More flexibility without breaking your room block logic

30:15 - Liberty Bell Challenge Metaphor & Closing Gratitude

• Why the team is running back-to-back marathons for the sake of the community

• Shoutout to Tern’s users—your feedback drives everything

• Join the livestream replay on YouTube for feature demos and Romance Forum highlights

Welcome back to Flight Path! This week; David, Molly, and Brad — unpack a packed week of updates, team reflections, and product evolution. Coming off Memorial Day and a week at ASTA, the team brings fresh insights and exciting momentum. If you’re a Tern user or just travel-curious, this episode is packed with meaningful updates, feature walkthroughs, and what’s coming next.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 — Intro & Memorial Day Weekend Recap

• 01:49 — Major Product Milestone: New Bookings Tab Replaces Pricing

• 05:54 — Why this redesign matters + what users are loving already

• 09:05 — Under-the-hood complexity: Packages, nesting, and how the new UI simplifies it

• 12:08 — Language alignment: From confusion to clarity in workflows

• 16:25 — Editor Migration Update: What happened, what we fixed, and what we learned

• 20:47 — Deep Dive: The % bug that caused content loss and our team’s recovery response

• 22:54 — Why content reliability is non-negotiable + the systems now in place to prevent future issues

• 26:41 — Quality-of-life features: Workflow automation visibility + one-click loyalty number copying

• 29:20 — Coming Next Week: Destination weddings, Romance Forum, and new group travel tools

• 32:00 — Mobile upgrades kick off: What's happening on app, web, and iPad next

• 34:00 — Final thoughts, a look ahead, and an invitation to share feedback

00:00 — Intro & ASTA Check-in
Brad and Molly explain why David's out and set the tone for an episode full of reflections and updates post-webinar.

02:30 — The Hiring Squeeze
The team discusses the intense hiring phase, balancing product momentum with the need to grow thoughtfully.

03:45 — Shared Folders Launch
No more one-by-one item sharing! Learn how new bulk folder sharing is already saving advisors hours of work—and bringing some to tears of joy.

06:30 — Design Simplicity Behind the Scenes
Brad and Molly unpack the UX decisions and technical challenges behind making folder sharing feel as intuitive as Google Drive.

07:50 — Trip Overview Feedback & What’s Next
User feedback is shaping this evolving “hub” for trip planning—quick add, task toggles, booking visibility, and more are on the way.

09:20 — The Future is Customizable
Tern is considering a more customizable trip overview experience. Think "views" tailored to how you run your business.

11:00 — Upcoming Folder Features
Get ready for subfolders and expanded folder support across email templates, forms, and more—rolling out in priority order.

13:45 — How We’re Future-Proofing
Molly shares how engineers are building common components now to reduce complexity later.

14:45 — Ursula’s Strong Start
The new designer is already shipping high-impact features—like an easier way to recover accidentally deleted trips.

16:00 — Redesigning Pricing → Bookings
A major update is coming: pricing is becoming bookings, with a cleaner, table-based view including confirmation numbers.

18:00 — Groups + Flexible Pricing
Advisors can soon set different prices based on room occupancy (single/double/triple), making group travel planning much simpler.

20:00 — Big Features Before the Romance Forum
Tern is prepping for the Romance Forum by rolling out features advisors need most for destination weddings and groups.

21:00 — Expanding Our Mobile Strategy
Big moves are coming: a dedicated mobile roadmap, client-side app improvements, and eventually an advisor mobile app too.

23:30 — Call for Feedback: What Should the Mobile App Look Like?
Brad invites you to share examples and inspiration for what you'd love to see in a redesigned mobile experience.

24:40 — Wrap-up & What’s Coming Next
This might be the Molly & Brad show for now—but David will be back, and so will more big updates.

In this episode:

• [00:00] Webinar week hangover – The team reflects on the excitement (and exhaustion) of delivering the biggest webinar yet.

• [01:45] Launching three core features – From folders and subfolders to packing lists and booking overviews, the team dives into what shipped—and what blew users' minds.

• [05:00] Community-driven dev – Real-time beta feedback turned into same-day launches thanks to Tern engineers going above and beyond.

• [08:45] The chat that stole the show – From fairy godmothers to pun-fueled feature hunts, we highlight the wild and wonderful comments that made the event unforgettable.

• [11:00] Folders explode in popularity – Nearly 1,000 folders created in under 24 hours (and subfolders are already on the way).

• [13:00] Packing lists go live – Over 200 created in a day. This AI-powered feature helps advisors personalize client experiences like never before.

• [16:00] Signature integration surprise – The chat lit up with requests for consortia integrations—proof that the collaboration wave is building.

• [18:00] Series A funding explained – Why we announced it, what it means, and what it doesn’t. Spoiler: We’re not selling out, we’re doubling down.

• [22:00] Growing the team intentionally – A look at how the team plans to scale without compromising product quality or support.

• [26:45] What’s next – From group booking enhancements to mobile improvements and back-to-back travel conferences, the momentum continues into next week.

This week’s episode of Flight Path brings you behind the scenes of what might just be Tern’s most dramatic product launch yet. David, Molly, and Brad dive into a whirlwind week of sprinting toward next Thursday’s webinar, onboarding new teammates, and launching features that are already changing how advisors work.

🎯 What’s Inside This Episode:

00:00 - Intro + Webinar Anticipation
David tees up the most exciting Tern webinar to date (next Thursday at 4pm ET), and reflects on how every new launch truly gets more impactful as the company grows.

01:07 - Molly’s Week: Engineering Slides + Prompts
Molly shares her dual identity this week as both slide engineer and prompt engineer—including her surprisingly nerve-wracking moment demoing destination guide updates at the internal engineering meeting.

02:34 - Brad’s Week: A Growing Design Team
Brad celebrates the arrival of Ursula, doubling the size of Tern’s design team, and reflects on conversations with agency owners that reaffirm how impactful Tern has become.

04:11 - David Recaps Legato Conference
David returns from the Legato conference energized by community feedback and stories of how Tern is transforming travel businesses—from destination wedding pros to brand-new agency owners.

06:20 - Share & Win: Webinar Referral Giveaway
Tern has launched a unique referral code for each user—shared via email, Intercom, and an in-app pop-up. Every sign-up using your code = one entry to win a free cabin at the Tern Users Conference. 🎟️

08:33 - Invoicing Updates
Molly details major improvements to Tern’s invoicing, including an all-new email flow that lets you generate and send invoices to clients in just seconds. Community feedback = implemented.

11:31 - Signature Integration Progress
Brad shares progress on Tern’s first-ever two-way data sync—a major integration with Signature that lets contact data flow seamlessly between systems. It’s built, internally tested, and now in Signature’s hands.

15:51 - AI + Google Maps: Destination Guides Just Leveled Up
Molly demos jaw-dropping updates to destination guides: now you can ask for walking-distance cafes with live Google Maps links, or even get walking directions from a specific hotel. This is AI personalization made real.

25:14 - Quality of Life Corner
Brad drops a string of long-awaited UI/UX wins:

• ✅ Fixed the infamous “jumping” date picker

• ✅ Smarter automation triggers for copied workflows

• ✅ Bigger file support for booking imports

• ✅ Cleaner drag-and-drop in the form builder

29:32 - Looking Ahead: Feature Flags & Feature Drops
Next week is all about the webinar. Molly hints at several features being held back for a Thursday morning drop. Expect fireworks. ✨

31:02 - Team Growth + Closing Thoughts
With new hires and massive launches on deck, the team reflects on what it means to keep building fast and keep showing up for the Tern community every week. Plus, a heartfelt thank-you to the listeners who make Flight Path part of their weekly routine.

🔗 Links & Resources:

• 📅 Register for the Webinar: https://www.tern.travel (look for your referral code!)

• 💬 Join the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/terntravel

• 🎧 Subscribe to Flight Path: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube (@TernTravel)

Welcome back to Flight Path—the podcast where the Tern team shares what’s new, what’s launching, and what’s ahead in the world of travel tech.In this episode, David (CEO), Molly (Head of Product), and Brad (Head of Design) take you behind the scenes on one of the most requested and complex features Tern has ever built: invoicing.

From shifting product perspectives to learning directly from advisors, this episode is a deep dive into how great software is born—not just from ambition, but from listening.

Also in this episode: brand color customization is now live! Brad reveals the math (yes, math!) and thoughtful UI tweaks that ensure every client-facing element reflects your unique brand, from buttons to hover states.

Plus, a sneak peek at what’s coming next—from library folders and group occupancy logic to the upcoming May 15 webinar (and how sharing it could win you a cabin at the user conference).

Whether you're a Tern power user or curious about how vertical SaaS platforms are reshaping travel operations, this episode is for you.

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 – Team check-in: inbox chaos, Slack sleuthing, and monster energy truths

04:45 – The big one: Why Tern built invoicing, and how it works

07:00 – Demo walkthrough: invoice generation, customization, client view

11:00 – What makes Tern’s invoicing different (automated, connected, visual)

14:30 – Canada-specific needs, seller of travel compliance, and credentials

17:30 – Invoicing in “easy mode”: send an invoice before building a full trip

20:00 – Reflections on product development: getting it right vs. getting it fast

23:00 – What “beta” means at Tern and what’s coming next for invoicing

26:00 – NEW: Custom brand colors (and the behind-the-scenes design magic)

31:30 – Accessibility, gradients, hover states—and how design meets polish

33:00 – Quality of life win: landing page links now behave like itinerary links

36:00 – What’s next: folders, trip overview tab improvements, groups updates

38:00 – May 15 webinar: big launches, special guests, and a giveaway teaser

39:30 – Wrap-up + how to register and spread the word

Welcome to Flight Path — your weekly update on all things Tern.

In this high-energy episode, David, Brad, and Molly recap an incredible week of updates, community connections, and big steps forward for the product. They reflect on advisor stories from Clia, including mobile workflows and switching host agencies just to get access to Tern — and dive deep into the latest AI, quality of life, and product upgrades that are reshaping the advisor experience.

00:00 – Intro & Weekend Check-in
David’s back from Clia, Brad’s parents are in town, and Molly just got back from coffee with an advisor going “all in” on Tern.

02:40 – Clia Recap: The Mobile-First Future
David shares conversations from the Clia trade show, including an advisor who runs her entire business from a foldable phone — driving Tern's continued investment in mobile.

04:45 – Changing Hosts for Tern
A powerful user story: an advisor switched host agencies just to access Tern’s full suite. Vertical integration is actually driving business decisions.

06:00 – Event Season & User Conference Updates

• Tern is attending the Path and ASTA conferences in May

• September’s user conference now has a payment plan: $350/month with a roommate

• May 15th webinar teased as a potential industry inflection point

07:00 – Major AI Itinerary Updates

• AI now supports structured fields for lodging and flights when importing itineraries

• Improved formatting, fewer embellishments, and real-time efficiency boosts

• Real-world advisor feedback is driving adoption and improvements

• Don’t miss the story about using destination guides to locate public bathrooms in Europe 💡

11:50 – Quick Wins & Quality of Life Upgrades
Brad introduces a wave of small but mighty product improvements:

• Add pricing items directly from the Pricing tab (no itinerary required!)

• Smart behavior when converting items into an itinerary

• Cruise search now supports ship name search thanks to advisor Tim

• Smarter email workflows: search by email and auto-exclude travelers without emails

• It’s all part of Tern’s mission to save clicks and reduce friction

18:20 – Survey on Collaboration Needs
Tern is exploring how it can support advisors working with virtual assistants, freelancers, or agency teammates. A short, anonymous collaboration survey is launching to inform what comes next.

21:00 – Next Week’s Launches: Invoicing is Here!
Molly gives a sneak peek into Tern’s beautiful, smart invoicing tool landing next week.

• Fully integrates with trip pricing

• Handles authorizations, partial payments, and more

• “Feels like we’re a grown-up company now.”

24:50 – Signature Integration in Beta
Brad previews the first beta for syncing with Signature’s marketing platform.

• Advisors can update preferences in Tern → pushed to Signature

• Signature updates → pulled back into Tern

• Broader support for Virtuoso and other consortia is on the roadmap

26:00 – Rethinking Contact Structure
Molly shares early research around smarter contact hierarchies (especially for family records). If you’ve got opinions, email her: [email protected]

28:00 – Looking Ahead: Board Meeting + More to Come
David previews next week’s board meeting in NYC and promises a big update at the May 15th webinar.

Welcome back to Flight Path! In this week’s episode, David, Brad, and Molly reflect on a whirlwind of product improvements, user interviews, and upcoming events. From AI-powered enhancements to better formatting tools, a redesigned trip overview tab, and smarter invoicing flows, the team shares what’s new, what’s coming soon, and what they’ve learned from talking to advisors.

This episode offers a candid behind-the-scenes look at what it means to build a product with your community, not just for it.

Timestamps & Highlights:

[00:00] – Welcome from David, Brad, and Molly – and a shoutout to last week’s community response

[03:30] – Upcoming Tern events: Cruise360 + May 15th product launch webinar

[05:44] – Feature shipped: Ability to cancel stuck processing tasks

[06:41] – New business credential display (and what it unlocks for invoicing)

[08:36] – Major AI import improvements: cleaner formatting, better parsing, no more data loss

[12:18] – Formatting, bolding, and lists retained through AI assist 🤯

[14:16] – A deep dive into how advisor feedback is reshaping the product

[15:50] – What advisors are asking for and how Tern is solving it: forums, payment splits, cruise library search, content folders

[20:32] – Redesigning the trip overview tab with real-world workflows

[24:27] – What we’re learning about card authorization and compliance in luxury markets

[25:42] – Why Tern’s product and design team stays close to users

[28:28] – Want to talk to Brad or Molly? Just email them 😉

[29:17] – What’s coming next: folders, new trip dashboard, invoicing, and more

This week on Flight Path, the Tern team opens up about a powerful week of reflection, product progress, and community feedback. Fresh off their leadership offsite, David, Molly, and Brad take you behind the scenes of what’s changing, what’s improving, and how a fiery Facebook thread sparked renewed energy and commitment across the company.

From simplifying forms to improving email deliverability, this episode offers a mix of tactical product updates and a raw, honest conversation about where Tern is going—and how feedback is driving the way.

✨ What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Opening Check-In + Detroit Offsite Recap
– Team reflections on vision-setting for 2025–2027
– Why Tern isn’t building “just another tool,” but a new infrastructure for modern travel agencies

Big Update: Responder Optional on Forms
– Say goodbye to duplicate entry! You can now remove the responder field entirely for simpler, one-page forms
– When to keep it, when to ditch it, and how to decide based on your use case
– Behind the scenes: Why this took longer to build (hint: it’s smarter than it looks)

Email Deliverability Improvements
– What caused some automations to trip spam filters
– How Tern is now throttling large sends to protect your domain’s reputation
– Better reliability, still industry-best deliverability with Gmail/Outlook integrations

Trip Type Labels Now Live
– New labels clearly distinguish between group trips, subtrips, and regular trips
– Prevents accidental deletions and improves UI clarity for both advisors and support teams

Feature Focus: The Facebook Thread Heard ’Round the World

– What happened in the community group this week
– Why it hurt, why it mattered, and how it turned into a catalyst
– How Molly and Brad are diving into user calls, digging into workflows, and sharpening the roadmap

Key Themes:
✅ Tern is transitioning from “feature build mode” to “usability mode”
✅ The roadmap now prioritizes smoother workflows, better defaults, and smarter content
✅ Features like library folders, context-aware dashboards, and quicker access to form responses are coming

Upcoming Improvements to Watch For:

• Folder-based library organization

• Dashboard-level overviews across bookings and tasks

• Cleaner, smarter UI updates for key workflows

• Continued investment in making Tern intuitive for both early adopters and the broader travel community