Important Background on Packages
In Tern, a package represents a set of line items that are processed as a single purchase from a single supplier. Everything goes on the card in a single swipe.
The traveler sees one price. You track the individual components behind it, for your own records, for refund management, and for accurate authorization.
That's what packages are built for.
For more information on what packages should and shouldn't be used for, please review Packages in Tern: what they're for (and what they're not).
Overview of Itemized Package Pricing
Itemized package pricing lets you build a trip with multiple activities - each with its own cost - while keeping everything under one package with a single price point and supplier for the traveler.
This is especially useful when a trip includes:
Activities or add-ons with individual costs to track (e.g., for refunds)
Selections like room types or optional add-ons that affect the final package price
Insurance options sold by the same supplier as the package (for example, cruise line insurance offered alongside a cruise package)
On the traveler side, items with a configured cost are shown with their individual price before authorization. Items that require a selection (such as room type) show their cost until the traveler makes a choice. Once all selections are made and the package is authorized, travelers see only the final total — no line-item breakdown. Items with no cost configured are shown as "Included."
Before we jump in: key terms
These three things sound similar but mean different things.
Package base price: A flat starting amount you can set on the package itself, before any per-item costs are added.
Per-item cost: The individual price assigned to each activity, lodging, or add-on inside the package. These roll up into the package total as travelers make selections.
Package total: What travelers see and authorize. It equals the package base price plus the per-item costs of any items they've selected.
How it works
On the advisor side
Each item in the itinerary can have its own cost configured—or no cost at all. These individual costs roll up into a package price that updates as selections are made.
Cost behavior by item type:
Package base price: the starting cost of the package that itemized costs are added to
Fixed items: show as included in the package price on the traveler side, but tracked individually on your end for refund purposes
Optional add-ons: not included in the starting price until the traveler selects them
Items with room/selection options: show a starting price based on the cheapest available option
Items without itemized pricing, or with a $0 cost: show as "Included" with no price breakdown. These items do not add to the package total, even if they have a cost entered. This also applies to non-itemized insurance options in the package.
Manual insurance options: when a manual insurance quote is added to a package, it behaves as an optional add-on. Without itemized pricing, the option displays as "Included · Optional" to travelers (or "Included" once selected). Insurance taxes and fees do not roll into the package or trip totals — they are informational only. If no insurance option is selected, the Insurance Options section is hidden from invoices. It is excluded from the starting price and only added to the package total if the traveler selects it.
If a package is set to deposit and final balance, items moved into that package will retain any deposit amount already assigned to them. If you add itemized pricing to an activity after it's in the package, you'll see an optional deposit field — fill it in if you want that item's deposit to roll up into the package deposit total.
Entering a lump-sum total price: If you want to show travelers one total price without breaking it down by item, go to the Bookings tab and find the pricing table. At the very top of the table is a row labeled with your package name followed by (Base price) — this row is separate from the individual activity rows below it. Click into the Itemized cost column on that row and enter your total price. The field saves automatically. The total shown at the bottom of the table is read-only and calculated automatically — do not try to edit that number directly. Important: If you only see fields for currency, taxes, and fees — and no (Base price) row — you are viewing an individual activity inside the package, not the package-level pricing table. Navigate back to the Bookings tab to find the package row.
If the package total is higher than your lump-sum price
A lump-sum base price does not replace the costs of itemized items. If any item inside the package still has itemized pricing turned on, its cost is added on top of the base price. For example, a base price of $2,484 plus an itemized hotel at $2,364 gives a package total of $4,858.
To check which items are adding to the total, open the package and look at the Itemized cost column in the Pricing items table:
If a row shows a dollar amount, that item has itemized pricing turned on and its cost is added to the package total.
If a row shows Included, that item is not adding anything to the package total.
To stop an item from adding to the package total:
Click the item's row in the Pricing items table. This opens that item's Booking & Pricing page.
Click Remove itemized pricing in the Itemized pricing box. The box changes to an Add itemized pricing button. Leave that button alone.
Go back to the package. The item's row now shows Included.
Repeat for every row that shows a dollar amount you don't want added to the total.
Check the Package price at the bottom of the table. It now matches your base price.
Note: Changing the item's cost type (for example, from per person to flat rate) does not take it out of the package total. Only Remove itemized pricing does that, or setting the item's cost to $0.
Note: Travelers authorize the package total. If a traveler already authorized a package before you corrected its total, contact Tern support.
On the traveler side
Travelers see a package price that reflects the base cost plus any priced items. As they make selections, the package price updates accordingly.
What travelers see:
Items with selections (e.g., room type, add-ons): shown with their cost until after the selection is made
Fixed items with a configured cost: shown with their individual price so travelers can see the breakdown. Fixed items with no cost configured: shown as "Included."
Once all selections are made and the package is authorized, travelers see a single final price—no more itemized breakdown.
Setting up itemized package pricing
Build your itinerary by adding all relevant activities, lodging, and add-ons.
For each item, configure a price if applicable. Leave it blank for items with no individual cost.
For items with multiple options (e.g., room types), set a price per option—the cheapest becomes the starting price.
Mark optional add-ons as optional so they don't inflate the starting price.
Go to the Bookings tab to review the full package cost as it builds.
When ready, publish your itinerary and share the link with your traveler.
Traveler selection flow
Once the traveler opens the itinerary link:
They'll see the package starting price and any items with selection options.
They make their selections (e.g., room type, optional add-ons).
Each selection updates the package total in real time.
If the package uses a deposit schedule, selections made during this step are factored into the deposit amount before authorization.
If the package is already set to "ready for authorization," they're taken directly to the authorization screen after selections.
After authorizing, all selections show as included—no more line-item breakdown.
Authorization can be configured for full payment, deposits, or an installment schedule—just like any other booking.
Other reasons your deposit field may be grayed out:
• The payment schedule is not set to "Deposit and Final Balance."
• Your activity has pending pricing selections that need to be finalized first.
• The deposit is being automatically calculated from individual activities in the package - set deposits on each activity, and the package deposit will update.
FAQs
Can I track costs for items that aren't shown to the traveler?
Yes. Items like prepaid gratuities can have a cost on your side for tracking and refund purposes, while appearing simply as "Included" to the traveler.
What happens to the package price when a traveler selects a room or add-on?
The package total updates to reflect their selections. The advisor side updates as well, so you always have a current view of the booking cost.
What if a traveler doesn't select an optional add-on?
Optional add-ons are excluded from the starting price and only added to the package total if the traveler selects them.
Is itemized deposit support available?
Yes. If your package is set to deposit and final balance, you can assign a deposit amount to individual items. Those deposits roll up into the total package deposit, so the traveler sees the correct amount when they go to authorize.
Why don't I see a deposit field when I add itemized pricing to an item?
The deposit field only appears when the package itself is set to deposit and final balance. Since the payment schedule lives at the package level, make sure that's configured first — then the deposit field will show up when you add or edit itemized pricing on an item.
Can I adjust a price after it's been set?
Yes. You can edit any item's price at any time from the itinerary. The package starting price will update automatically.
The package total price field isn't editable
The package total shown at the bottom of the pricing table is a read-only summary — it's calculated automatically from individual item costs and the base price, so it can't be edited directly. To change the total, either update the cost on each individual item in the table, or enter a lump-sum total in the Itemized cost column on the package row labeled "(Base price)" at the top of the table.
Why is my package total higher than the base price I entered?
If the package total is higher than your base price, at least one item inside the package still has itemized pricing turned on, and its cost is being added on top. In the Pricing items table, any row that shows a dollar amount in the Itemized cost column is adding to the total. Open that item, click Remove itemized pricing, and its row will show Included. Setting a package-level flat rate to $0 does not fix this.
Can I include travel insurance in a package?
Yes. If you're selling insurance from the same supplier as the package, you can attach a manual insurance quote to the package and assign it an itemized price. It will appear as an optional add-on. If the traveler selects it, the cost rolls into the package total and gets authorized in a single payment. Quotes from integration partners like Faye and Arch are not added to a package and remain separate.
Why is the deposit field grayed out on my package?
If your agency has itemized package pricing enabled, the package-level deposit is automatically calculated from the deposits you set on each individual activity inside the package. To enter a deposit, open each activity within the package, go to its Booking & Pricing tab, and set the deposit amount there. The package deposit will update automatically.
Can I hide per-item prices inside a package while still showing prices for other items on the trip? No. The "Show Trip Total Only" setting under Price Visibility on the Overview tab hides all pricing across the entire trip, not just package line items. There is currently no way to selectively hide only package-internal prices while showing prices for items outside the package.
Do travelers see an itemized breakdown during authorization even if pricing visibility is set to "Total Only"? The authorization form shows each bookable item (package or individual activity) and its total amount - not an itemized breakdown of items within a package. Pricing visibility settings control what appears on the Pricing tab and in invoices, not the authorization form.