Overview:In this exciting third episode of the Flight Path podcast, David Shull, Brad Turner, and Molly Johnson discuss major updates at Tern, dive into user feedback, and preview upcoming features designed to enhance the travel advisor experience. They announce their next product webinar on August 7th and cover key topics like e-signatures, flight legs, and group travel.
Key Highlights:
- Episode Kickoff (00:21)
David opens the podcast with enthusiasm, celebrating their third episode and encouraging listeners to subscribe on YouTube or Spotify. He also highlights their upcoming product webinar on August 7th, which will showcase improvements to advisor workflows. - Weekly Recap (01:31)
Brad shares his productive week tackling design improvements and feedback, while Molly talks about her deep dive into the feedback tool, which led to the prioritization of key updates like e-signatures. Both reflect on the importance of these smaller tweaks in improving the user experience. - Feature Releases (04:23)
The team discusses recently shipped features:- Phone number additions to credit card authorization forms
- E-signatures for forms (expected to ship soon)
- Itinerary date adjustments now maintain activity placements
Smaller, impactful updates like pagination preservation are also covered, showing how Tern is focused on improving daily workflows.
- Upcoming Improvements (07:10)
Brad and Molly preview future feature releases, including:- The ability to hide prices on itineraries, especially useful for proposals and trips.
- Adjustments to lodging pricing options (e.g., total per night vs per room).
- Localization of date formats to match users’ regional preferences (US, Canada, UK).
- Deep Dive: E-Signatures (13:00)
Molly provides insight into the complexity of e-signatures, explaining how it goes beyond adding a text box and involves creating legal safeguards. She details the integration of PDF receipts for form responses and the importance of phased releases. - Flight Legs & Lodging Updates (19:25)
Brad and Molly discuss the long-awaited release of Flight Legs and Lodging check-in/out dates. They explain how these features allow itineraries to accurately display multi-leg flights and lodging stays across multiple days. They also share behind-the-scenes learnings from user feedback and iteration on design tweaks. - 2024 Roadmap (27:47)
Molly outlines the second half of 2024:- August will focus on closing foundational agency features, including supplier payments and unclaimed bookings.
- Flight status updates will roll out soon, along with advisor-level commission tracking.
- September will focus on group travel, a top-requested feature, with self-service sign-ups and inventory management expected in later releases.
- November/December will be about polishing existing features based on user feedback.
- Exciting Things Ahead (36:57)
Brad looks forward to the August 7th webinar, while Molly can’t wait to test the new flight status updates. David wraps up the episode, sharing his excitement about returning to the office after traveling and preparing for the team’s presence at Virtuoso Travel Week.
Calls to Action:
- Subscribe to the podcast on YouTube or Spotify.
- Don’t miss the August 7th webinar at 3 PM ET, where the team will reveal new features designed to streamline advisor workflows.
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