In our last update, we discussed the significant strides we've made in enhancing Tern, especially with our innovative forms tool and integrated scheduling feature. Today, I'm thrilled to share a deeper dive into the exciting developments we're working on for Tern, set to roll out in the coming months.
Our vision at Tern is to streamline the entire trip management workflow for advisors by March 2024. This ambitious goal entails incorporating capabilities for handling new client requests, invoicing, trip planning, trip approval, credit card authorization, and providing a comprehensive client-facing itinerary – all within one seamless experience.
Tern will continue to build game-changing back-office tools with an advanced CRM, efficient inbox management, and more, saving you time and significantly enhancing the client experience.
Navigating compliance and travel law can be overwhelming for travel business owners. We've identified several areas where Tern can significantly reduce this burden while also improving the client experience.
A robust set of Terms and Conditions is crucial for protecting your business. We recommend working with a travel attorney to finalize your T&Cs. Once you have a set of Terms that cover your business, you'll be able to enter them into a new Waivers and Agreements section in Tern.
Tern will use these terms and conditions to collect reliable, effortless opt-in. We're introducing a new form element that lets advisors gather consent on any form, creating a new activity record in the client's contact history.
Designing Terms and Conditions as a core principle in Tern ensures that you have a clear record of each client's agreement to your T&Cs, accessible directly from their contact record.
Accurately confirming trip and traveler details is vital for risk management. Traditional methods can lead to overlooked details and weak paper trails.
Tern is changing this by presenting all traveler details in an easy-to-read summary view as part of the trip approval process. This is created automatically from the CRM with no duplicate data entry required by the advisor.
Clients can confirm these details and provide legal sign-off, ensuring accuracy. Key trip details are reviewed with Tern intelligently displaying these pages for additional confirmations. This robust system creates a dependable paper trail, crucial in situations where client-provided information is incorrect.
The final step before booking is ensuring proper authorization for credit card usage, a critical aspect in defending against chargebacks. Tern is revolutionizing this process by eliminating repetitive data entry.
Our updated booking and pricing tab includes a section for linking supplier T&Cs, which will be included in the authorization flow, ensuring client opt-in for each expense. Clients can approve deposits and final payments securely. Storing their card details securely and in a PCI compliant way.
Tern will provide visual indicators of authorization status, helping you stay compliant and informed about when it's safe to use a client's credit card for specific expenses. This not only streamlines compliance but also significantly reduces the number of forms your clients need to fill out, enhancing their overall experience.
For travel advisors, managing a high volume of emails is a daily challenge. Our upcoming integration directly with your email uses AI to detect and sort confirmations. You’ll be able to easily associate these confirmations with specific activities within Tern. This feature simplifies email management, ensuring that vital trip information is efficiently organized and accessible.
Our approach to automation is intentional and strategic. We first focus on building robust, best-in-class tools, and then layer on automation. Soon, Tern will introduce automation that enhances our top-tier CRM, applying task lists based on trip stages, automating task creation based on activities or suppliers, and even automating client engagement for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. As Tern evolves, it will increasingly serve as your proactive, 24/7 assistant.
Thank you for being a part of the Tern journey. We're excited about these new developments and the impact they'll have on the travel advisory industry. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to revolutionize travel management together.