Automating Trip Created Workflows
Tern now supports an Immediate trigger option for two key automation events:
Trip Created Automation Trigger
Status Changed Automation Trigger
This allows advisors to automate actions that occur immediately when a trip is created or its status changes, enabling faster and more efficient workflows.
The following automation triggers will also continue to be triggered immediately:
Client Approves Trip
Client Authorizes Payment
Client Requests Trip Edits
ℹ️ You can also trigger automations without a date or status event
Using the Automation Added trigger, an automation will fire the moment it's added to a trip or contact — whether manually or via a workflow. This is useful when the first thing a workflow needs to do isn't tied to any date, status change, or client action.
Trip Created Automation Trigger
Create a New Workflow
Navigate to Workflows in Tern.
Click the + Create New Workflow button (top right corner).
Name the workflow (e.g., Trip Created).
Add an Automation to the Workflow
Click + Add Automation.
Name the automation (e.g., Trip Request Confirmation).
Select Trip Created as the trigger event.
Choose Immediate as the timing.
Define the Automation Action
Click + Add Action and select an action type:
Send an Email (e.g., a welcome email to the client)
Create a Task (e.g., assign a follow-up task for the advisor)
Fill in the relevant details (email content, recipient, task description, etc.).
Set the automation to active when applied
Set the Workflow to Active
Ensure the is set to Active so that it triggers upon trip creation.
Example Use Case
If you have a trip request form and want to immediately send a confirmation email with next steps and add a task to remind yourself to follow up, you can:
Configure a workflow to auto-apply upon trip creation.
Add a welcome email automation set to trigger immediately.
Ensure the email is sent to the primary contact who filled out the form.
Trip Status Changed Automation Trigger
This automation is useful for triggering actions when a trip's status changes (e.g., from Inquiry to Planning).
Steps to Set Up:
Create a New Workflow
Navigate to Workflows and click + Create New Workflow.
Name the workflow (e.g., Status Change Follow-Up).
Set the workflow to auto-apply when a trip's status changes.
Add an Automation to the Workflow
Click + Add Automation.
Name the automation (e.g., Booked Confirmation Email).
Select Status Changed as the trigger event.
Choose Immediate as the timing.
Set the Automation to active when applied
Define the Automation Action
Select an action (send an email, create a task, etc.).
Fill in the necessary details.
Set the Workflow to Active
Ensure the workflow is set to auto-apply if you are interested in it getting automatically added to any trip that moves to the relevant booking status.
Example Use Case
If you want to create a task for the advisor when a trip moves to Planning and a client approves the trip, you can:
Configure a workflow to auto-apply upon status change.
Add a task automation that immediately creates a task (e.g., "Review client preferences and send itinerary options").
Important Considerations
Manual vs. Automated Trips: The Trip Created automation applies to both trips created from a form and those created manually in Tern.
Travelers Added: If a trip has no travelers at creation, emails won't send since there are no recipients.
Tag-Based Workflows: For automations based on specific trip types (e.g., group trips), use tag-based workflows to auto-apply workflows based on trip tags.
Automation Added Trigger
This trigger fires immediately when an automation is added to a trip or contact — whether manually or via a workflow. It's the most flexible immediate trigger because it's not tied to trip dates, status changes, or any other event.
Which path should I use?
There are two ways to use the Automation Added trigger. Choose the one that fits your setup.
Option A — Build it inside your workflow (most common)
If you are setting up a workflow and want the automation to fire when the workflow is applied, add it directly inside the workflow. Go to Library → Workflows → open your workflow → click + Add Automation → New Automation. You do not need to visit Library → Automations for this. The automation will live inside the workflow and will not appear as a standalone record in the Automations library.
Option B — Build it as a standalone template in Library → Automations
Use this path only if you want to save a reusable automation template that you plan to apply manually to individual trips or contacts outside of any workflow.
The steps below describe Option B. If you are using Option A, build the automation directly inside your workflow instead.
Steps to set up (Option B — standalone template):
Navigate to Library > Automations and create a new automation
Select Automation Added as the trigger event
Add your action (send an email, create a task, etc.)
Set the automation to active when applied
⚠️ The automation must be active when added for it to fire. Toggling from inactive to active will also trigger it, and toggling back and forth will re-fire each time.
Example use cases:
Send a service-level welcome email the moment a workflow is applied — no status toggling needed
Fire a branded email immediately when a tag-based workflow kicks off
Trigger a one-off automation on a specific trip or contact without building a full workflow
Sending at an offset from when the automation is added
In addition to firing immediately, you can set the Automation Added trigger to fire a set number of days after the automation is added to a trip or contact. This is useful when you want to send a follow-up message a day or two after a workflow kicks off, without building a separate date-based automation.
For example, if you want to send a welcome email the moment a workflow is applied and then a follow-up email the next day, you can set up two automations with the Automation Added trigger — one set to fire immediately and one set to fire 1 day after being added.
Note: The same active-when-added rule applies to offset automations. The automation must be active when it is added to the trip or contact for the offset timing to take effect.
Next Steps
Test your workflow by creating a new trip.
Monitor automation logs to ensure emails and tasks are being executed as expected.
Provide feedback to Tern support if you encounter any issues.