In this episode, David, Molly, and Brad reflect on a packed week at Tern. From in-person team bonding to product rollouts and user empathy exercises, they share what’s new, what’s coming, and how it all ladders up to building the best possible platform for modern travel advisors.
Episode Topics:
- (00:49) New Hire Offsite Recap
- Tern’s remote team came together in Plymouth, MI for a new hire orientation focused on building connection, culture, and context. The highlight? A hands-on storytelling activity where teammates pieced together Tern’s origin story through photos and milestones. It sparked emotion, reflection, and a shared appreciation for how far the company has come.
- (08:30) Advisor Simulation
- To help team members build empathy for the advisor experience, Tern ran a live simulation where employees role-played travelers, advisors, and suppliers. Each group planned a custom trip to Italy under real-world pressures like unclear preferences, last-minute changes, and tight deadlines. For engineers and designers, it was a powerful way to understand the complexity advisors manage every day.
- (14:27) Mobile App Upgrades
- Tern’s traveler-facing mobile app just got a major usability update. Trips are now clearly split into “Upcoming” and “Past” tabs, helping travelers easily find relevant information. Visual design improvements also polish the overall look and feel. Advisors are encouraged to prompt their clients to update their app for the best experience — especially as Tern rolls out its new content editor.
- (17:19) Agency Tools in Beta
- A new feature allows agencies to require specific fields — like confirmation numbers or supplier names — before a booking can be marked as complete. This helps improve reconciliation and reporting accuracy. The feature is currently in beta with one agency, and the team is gathering feedback to refine the experience before a broader rollout.
- (24:09) Improved Onboarding for New Users
- New advisors now land in a clean, guided interface when they join Tern. Instead of being dropped into a pre-filled demo trip, they’re offered clear paths to add a trip, log a booking, or start a credit card authorization. These small changes make the platform more approachable — and even longtime users are loving the improved flow.
- (28:22) What’s Next: The New Editor
- The long-awaited new rich text editor is rolling out for trips and activities. It enables cleaner formatting, improved styling, and better compatibility across web and mobile. To ensure a smooth transition, the team conducted a detailed side-by-side QA comparing old vs. new formatting. Travelers on outdated app versions may not see formatting correctly, so advisors should encourage updates.
- (32:20) Contact Form Improvements
- Tern is refining how contact forms work when travelers don’t include email addresses for every person in their party. These updates will reduce the creation of duplicate contacts and make it easier to collect and update traveler details — especially for group and family bookings.
- (20:17 & 35:10) Admin-Level Supplier Templates
- Tern is researching how to let agency owners define default terms, cancellation policies, and payment details at the supplier level. This feature would save advisors time and reduce errors, especially for large teams. The team is currently collecting feedback to shape what this capability might look like.
- (23:25) Quick Wins & Quality of Life Updates
- A highly requested update now lets advisors mark payments as “paid” directly from the authorizations table — no need to click in and scroll. It’s a small change, but one that eliminates extra clicks and keeps workflows fast and efficient.
Show Highlights:
- A behind-the-scenes look at how Tern onboards new team members and builds culture remotely
- A live simulation that gave engineers a firsthand view into the advisor experience
- Major traveler app updates designed to reduce confusion and improve design
- A preview of agency tools that improve accuracy, compliance, and speed
- An upgraded rich text editor and improvements to contact management
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