Welcome to Tern!
Tern connects travel advisors, their clients, and travel suppliers. Tern exists to empower travel advisors to build their business in the best way possible. Protecting your data and privacy is incredibly important to us at Tern. This document outlines how we use and protect the data you entrust to us.
This Privacy Policy applies to your use of the tern.travel website and the Tern App (collectively “Tern Services” or “the Service”), as well as your relationship with Tern Software Inc. (“Tern”). By using our Service, you agree to both our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy; if you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
This Privacy Policy may change over time. If we make minor changes to it without materially changing your rights, we will post the modified Policy on our website. We will notify you by email, through the Tern App, or by presenting you with a new Privacy Policy to accept if we make a modification that materially changes your rights. When you use the Tern Service after a modification is posted, you are telling us that you accept the modified terms.
Basic principles
- Trust is at the heart of the Tern ecosystem and we take protections of your data seriously.
- Your clients are your clients - When you upload contact information about your clients into Tern that data is yours and only yours. We will never use the information you upload to market to your customers without your explicit consent.
You should read our full Privacy Policy to understand what data we collect, how we use it, and the limited circumstances where we may share it. Please note if you reside in the EU or other regions outside the US, information collected through our Service will be transferred to and processed in the US or elsewhere.
By using our Services, you consent to any transfer and processing in accordance with this Policy. If you have any questions, please contact us at privacy@tern.travel.
What information we collect and store
Tern has three primary user types: travel advisors, travel suppliers, and travelers. The type of information that Tern stores varies by user type. We have outlined the types of data we collect by user type below.
Travel Advisors
Travel advisors use the Tern Services to manage their travel agency business. In using the Service, travel advisors can provide Tern with data including:
- Personal information: including name, email, phone number, passwords, and other personal information.
- Business information: information on their travel business including name, address, phone number, emails, logos, and brand details.
- Financial information: Advisors can use Tern to track financial information including details on commissions, payment schedules, trip costs, expenses, and other related details.
- Client information: Advisors can use Tern to store information on the their clients. This data includes name, email, phone, travel preference, passport information, date of birth, client notes, and other client data.
- Travel information: Advisors can use Tern to plan and manage all details associated with client travel including supplier information, flight numbers, related documents, hotel information, confirmation numbers, and other relevant travel information.
- Review data: In the future advisors may be allowed to add and share data on familiarization trips in Tern. This data may be shared with the community with travel advisor consent.
Travelers
Tern provides a traveler interface that allows travelers to collaborate with their travel advisor. Travelers can use Tern to share preferences with travel advisors, access trip details, and complete other actions related to working with their travel advisor.
- We may receive information about travelers from their travel agent as we act as their CRM provider. Travelers invited into the Tern platform may choose to use this information to pre-populate their Tern profile.
- Travelers may share additional information with Tern such as their travel preferences, loyalty program information, budget details, passport information, travel documents, and other information.
- Travelers should assume that information entered into Tern will be visible and accessible to their travel advisor. Travelers should not enter any information into Tern that they do not wish their travel advisor to see.
- Travelers may share sensitive information like passport data, gender, birthdays, and credit card details for the purposes of allowing their travel advisor to book travel on their behalf.
Suppliers
Travel suppliers include but are not limited to hotels, resorts, cruise lines, destination management companies, tour operators, airlines, etc. Travel suppliers may use Tern to share information on their offerings with travel advisors including managing a brand page, collaborating on itineraries, sharing media, and other such activities.
- Individual representatives of suppliers may create accounts in Tern. As a part of creating an account, representatives will share personal information including name, email address, phone number, job title, and other relevant information.
- Representatives may upload information about the business they represent including, but not limited to: business name, logo, a description, relevant links, related content, and other business information that may be useful to travel advisors or agents.
- Representatives may upload special offers, events, and other information to be shared with advisors.
- Representatives may upload media of their respective properties or services. This media will be accessible to travel advisors to include in itineraries and to share with their clients.
In some cases, Tern may pre-populate supplier information from readily available online sources. Suppliers that wish to have this information removed from Tern may contact us at privacy@tern.travel.
Data Collected on All Users
Tern collects and processes data from users of the system to improve our Services and provide a seamless experience. This data collection applies to all users, including travel advisors, travelers, and suppliers. The types of data we collect may include, but are not limited to:
- Log Data: We collect log data, which may include information such as your IP address, browser type, general location data inferred from your IP address, device information, operating system, the date and time of your visit, and other related technical details.
- Session Recordings: Tern may record and store sessions of users interacting with our platform. These recordings will only be accessed by authorized Tern employees for the sole purpose of improving our Services and enhancing user experience.
- Cookies: Please see the “Cookies” section below to learn more about how we use cookies.
How Tern uses your Data
Tern uses the data collected to provide and improve the Tern Services. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Trip Planning: We enable travel advisors to plan trips that consider their clients' preferences, allowing them to make bookings efficiently on behalf of their clients.
- Financial Tracking: Our platform assists travel advisors in tracking their finances, including commissions owed and applicable fees.
- Traveler Access: Travelers can access their travel plans, provide feedback to their travel advisors, request new trips, and explore personalized recommendations from their advisors.
- Supplier Collaboration: We provide a platform for suppliers to share brand materials and updates with travel advisors, facilitating seamless communication.
- Personalizing the Service. For example, we may use your usage data to recommend suppliers as “suggested” based on booking patterns and preferences of your clients.
- Researching new ways to improve the Service and maintaining and improving the content and functionality of the Service.
- Sharing updates on Tern products and services including sending newsletters and other updates.
- Developing new products and services.
- Preventing fraud, criminal activity, or misuses of our Services, and to ensure the security of our IT systems, architecture and networks.
- Complying with legal obligations and legal process and to protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you or other third parties.
When we may share your personal information
We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. However, there are certain circumstances under which we may share your personal information:
- With Your Consent: We will always seek your consent before sharing your personal information with third parties not otherwise listed here. Examples of when we may ask for your consent to share personal information include:
- As a Travel Advisor or Supplier: you may choose to make your profile publicly visible within the Tern network for purposes of community engagement or to be contacted regarding special offers (e.g., FAM trips).
- As travelers on a group trip: You may choose to share basic information with other travelers on the trip.
- As a traveler we will share your personal information with your travel advisor. If you are using Tern to share information with your travel advisor, any data you enter into the system will be accessible by your travel advisor.:
- With service providers: We may share your personal information with vendors who are contractually obligated to provide services to Tern. These may include credit card processors, infrastructure providers, analytics companies, hosting services, email communication software, advertising ad marketing services, customer relationship management and customer support services, and others. Pursuant to our instructions, these parties will access, process or store personal information in the course of performing their duties to us. We take commercially reasonable steps to ensure our service providers adhere to the security standards we apply to your personal information, and to limit their use and other processing of your personal information to the performance of their services for us.
- With law enforcement: We may disclose your personal information to relevant law enforcement bodies if lrequired to or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (i) comply with a legal obligation, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements, (ii) protect and defend our rights or property, (iii) prevent fraud, (iv) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the Service, or the public, or (v) protect against legal liability.
- With professional services, potential purchasers or investors in connection with new funding, a sale, merger, bankruptcy, sale of assets or reorganization of our company. If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, financing due diligence, reorganization, bankruptcy, receivership, sale of all or a portion of our assets, or transition of service to another provider, your personal information and other information may be shared in the diligence process with counterparties and others assisting with the transaction and transferred to a successor or affiliate as part of that transaction along with other assets. .
When we may share non–personal information
Non-personal information is defined as data that cannot be reasonably linked back to you, and is typically combined with other data to form aggregate information. We may share non-personal data collected through Tern services for the following purposes:
- Industry Insights and Reports: We may use non-personal data to provide industry insights and generate reports that support the growth and development of the sector broadly.
- Training materials: We may use non-personal information to create training and education materials for travel advisors, employees, and others in the travel industry.
Cookies
As a Site visitor, we place a small piece of software referred to as a “session cookie” on your computer. If you use the Services and create an account, we also use this cookie to recognize you on return visits and expedite the login process. You can remove this and other cookies through your browser preferences menu, though the exact method varies depending on the type of browser you use – but note that you may not be able to log into our service if your cookies are disabled. If you visit from a mobile device, we may reference your device identifier or other information about where your visit originated.
Our marketing sites may include cookies designed to advertise the Tern Services to you. These cookies remember that you visited the Tern marketing site and we may share this information with third parties, such as advertisers. While these cookies can track that you have visited Tern’s marketing site, they typically can not identify you. Without these cookies the advertisements you see would be less relevant and interesting to you. You can opt out of these cookies using the Cookie banner on our websites.
Our email communications contain web beacons or similar technology which track when the email has been opened or read. This functionality sends the resulting records back to our Service, which may be associated with other information you have provided us.
Email communications
- Our communications including in-app and newsletters contain beacons that allow us to track open rates and click rates.
- You may opt out of emails by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email.
Security, Storage, and Retention of Data
- We use industry standard security practices to safeguard your data. This includes, but is not limited to, data being encrypted at rest and in transmission using industry standard encryption techniques.
- We store and process all data in the United States of America.
- We retain data for as long as it is necessary to provide the service. After six years of inactivity or upon request we will delete Personal Information stored within Tern. Non-Personal information may be stored indefinitely. Data deletion requests should be sent to privacy@tern.travel.
- While we take reasonable precautions to prevent a breach no website is completely secure and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss or other breach will never occur. In the event of a breach, we will take reasonable steps to investigate the situation and, where appropriate, notify affected individuals in accordance with any applicable laws and regulations.
Updating the policy
From time to time we may make updates to this policy. if we make updates that don’t meaningful change your rights we will post an update on the site. In the event that we make changes that meaningfully impact your rights, the types of data we collect, or how we use your data we will send an email and/or post a notification in-app. You agree that continued use of the Tern Services after an update to this policy is posted constitutes implied agreement with the new terms.
Contacting us and accessing your information
If you have any questions about our privacy practices, or if you wish to remove any of your personal information from our records please contact us at either:
Tern Software Inc
Attn: Privacy Team
1111B S Governors Ave #6194
Dover, DE 19904
Or email us at privacy@tern.travel.