This guide covers how to create and optimize landing pages for your group trips in Tern: the structure of a landing page, how to fill it with content, how to customize the sign-up form, and what the client experiences.
Your group trip's sales page
A landing page in Tern is your dedicated, public-facing sales page for a group trip. It generates excitement, provides the essential information, and guides potential travelers through signing up. It works alongside a fully built-out group trip itinerary.
Before you start: the group trip itinerary
Set up your group trip and its itinerary before building the landing page.
Group trips only. Landing pages are available for group trips, not regular individual trips. Planning for a single client or couple? You don't need a landing page. Build the trip as a regular trip, click Preview to check how it looks, then Publish and share the itinerary link with your client. The published itinerary shows your branding, cover photo, activity photos and full day-by-day details. Cruises added from the Cruise Library also include ship details, deck plans and port maps. See How to Share a Trip With Your Client and How They Access It and Previewing your Itineraries.
Itinerary first. The landing page pulls from and refers to your group trip's itinerary, so get your activities, lodging, and dates in place first.
A common way to start an itinerary is by parsing a PDF:
Find the full itinerary on the tour operator's website
Use your browser's print function (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P)
Choose Save as PDF or Print to PDF as the destination
Save the PDF
In Tern, go to your group trip's Itinerary section and use Import PDF to parse it
Keep the PDF open for reference while you build the landing page.
How a landing page is structured
Go to your group trip > Landing Page. The page has these sections:
Page title. The main headline.
Overview. A brief, compelling description of the trip.
Featured images. A photo carousel at the top.
Itinerary display. Your itinerary, built in the Itinerary section of the group trip, links and displays automatically below the overview and above your custom sections. You don't add it manually, and its position can't be changed.
Sections. Customizable content blocks below the itinerary. Use the arrows to reorder them relative to one another.
Sign up form. The form travelers use to register.
Building the page
Page title
Click the Page Title field and enter a title, for example "Costa Rica: A Journey Through Paradise."
If you want an image as a section heading instead of text, you can put a blank character (U+2800) in the title field. That makes the text invisible so your image serves as the visual heading.
Overview
Write a concise, exciting summary. Focus on enticing the client rather than listing every detail, since the full itinerary is linked below. Pulling compelling phrases from your vendor's itinerary PDF or website is a good starting point.
Featured images
Click + Add Image. You can upload several at once.
Aim for at least four or five high-quality images to fill the carousel.
Click each image and select Stretch Image so it adjusts to different screen sizes without white borders.
Sources worth using: vendor websites (right-click and Copy Image, not image address), your own photos if you've been to the destination, and royalty-free stock sites such as Unsplash.
Adding sections
Click + Add Section
Enter a section title, for example What's Included, Trip Highlights, Video Overview, Accommodations, or Pricing
Add your content:
Text. Paste descriptions, bullet points, or paragraphs. If you're pasting from another tool, paste into a Google Doc first, then copy from there into Tern. This preserves basic formatting and avoids hidden code issues.
Images. Add images inside section content to break up text.
Video. Paste a YouTube or Vimeo URL directly into the content area and Tern embeds the player.
Use the up and down arrows to reorder sections. What's Included and Pricing usually work well near the top.
The arrows move custom sections only, not the itinerary.
Section ideas: what's included (services, meals, activities), pricing (costs, deposits, payment schedule, any early bird discounts), trip highlights, a video overview, accommodations, and an FAQ.
Customizing the sign-up form
The sign-up form is what collects client data for their subtrip, so it's worth getting right.
From the Landing Page section, click Edit Sign Up Form
Add a form description, an introductory message or images
Set which traveler details are required:
Email. Worth requiring, so you always have contact info for their subtrip.
Birthday and address can also be required.
For international trips, add a passport question. Either a single select ("Do you have a passport?" with yes, no, and applied and waiting), or a short text and date field asking when it expires or when they expect to receive it.
Always include a Signature field. Drag it in from Form Elements. This confirms agreement to your terms and conditions.
Add any other custom questions, such as citizenship, dietary restrictions, or bed preference
Add an Info Form section at the bottom with a disclaimer, for example reminding clients to click Next and Submit on each page and that their reservation isn't confirmed until the deposit is paid
Save and Close
If you require passport info, you'll need to follow up with clients who don't have one yet. Consider giving them an alternative path, such as emailing you for a Trip Request form.
Testing the full client flow
Walk through the sign-up journey exactly as your clients will.
Click Publish on the Landing Page section
Copy the landing page link
Open an incognito or private browsing window, which is essential for simulating a client who isn't logged in
Paste the link and review the live page
Click Sign Up and fill out the form using a test email not connected to your Tern account
Retrieve the verification code from your test inbox and enter it
Choose a room or cabin from the options you configured, and watch the remaining inventory update
Select any optional add-ons
Review the deposit and total due, enter test card details, sign electronically, agree to terms, and submit the authorization
Review the post-sign-up view of the subtrip itinerary and payment details
The form has two parts from the client's side: information gathering first, then itinerary-based selections and payment.
Managing subtrips after sign-up
Once a client signs up, whether on their own or through you, Tern automatically creates a subtrip for them under your main group trip.
Finding them. Subtrips are listed in your group trip's Overview section. Click one to manage it.
They're independent. Each subtrip is its own trip.
Client view. Clients only see their own subtrip itinerary.
Inventory. Room selections on subtrips automatically update the overall total inventory.
Common questions
Can I create a landing page for a single client or an individual (FIT) trip?
No. Landing pages are only available for group trips. For a single client, publish the trip and share the itinerary link instead. Your client sees a branded, day-by-day itinerary in any web browser, with no app needed. Use Preview first to check what they'll see; your client only sees what you've published.
Can I show a map on my client's cruise itinerary?
Yes. When you add a cruise from the Cruise Library, each port can show a map in the itinerary view. The map appears in Preview and in your client's itinerary, not on the Edit Port Info screen. If you add a photo to a port, the photo shows instead of the map.
What if an individual trip grows into a group?
Create the group trip first. Then open the regular trip, click the three dots near the Publish button and select Move to group. The trip becomes a sub-trip and keeps its own settings and itinerary. You can then build the landing page on the group trip.
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