What It Does
When you build a group trip, each traveler or party that signs up gets their own sub-trip. Group trip syncing connects those sub-trips back to the parent itinerary. Shared content like the description, dates, room options, photos, and documents flows down from the group trip, while anything that needs to stay specific to an individual traveler stays editable on the sub-trip. This means you can update the itinerary once and publish those changes across every sub-trip instead of editing each one by hand.
Before We Jump In
This feature is in closed beta. We will improve it further before releasing it to all advisors. Currently:
It only works for new group trips created after you are in the beta group
There is no way to "opt out" a group trip from the new sync behavior (let us know if you need that please!)
A few terms used throughout this article:
Group trip: The parent itinerary that holds the shared trip content. This is where you make changes you want every sub-trip to receive.
Sub-trip: An individual traveler's or party's version of the trip. A sub-trip is created when someone signs up, either self-service or manually.
Synced content: Content that flows from the group trip down to sub-trips. A sync icon appears on the sub-trip to show the content is linked to the parent.
Unlocked content: Content you can edit directly on a sub-trip. Unlocked content does not sync, so changes on the group trip will not overwrite it.
How It Works
When a sub-trip is created, it inherits content from the group trip and displays a sync icon on the linked sections. The following content syncs from the group trip to its sub-trips:
Itinerary description
Check-in and check-out dates
Room and cabin options (pre selection)
Rooms not in 'option mode'
Media and photos
Documents
You can still add new documents directly to a sub-trip. Any documents added on the group trip will also appear on the sub-trip.
The Booking and Pricing tab is fully unlocked on every sub-trip. It does not sync. This is intentional, because booking and pricing details are usually specific to each traveler. On a sub-trip you can independently:
Mark an item as optional for that sub-trip
Update prices and per-person costs
Change payment and installment schedules
Edit commission information (received and expected)
Update booking information and confirmation numbers
How to Push Updates to Sub-trips
Use these steps when you want changes made on the group trip to reach the sub-trips.
Open the group trip itinerary. Make your changes here, not on an individual sub-trip. For example, you can swap a room option, add a document and make it visible to travelers, set a photo to inactive, or add a new optional activity.
Click "Sync to Sub-trips." Tern gives you two options. Choose Sync and publish to push the changes and make them immediately visible to travelers without publishing each sub-trip individually. Choose Sync to push the changes without publishing, so you can review and publish each sub-trip yourself.
Wait for the sync to finish. Tern processes the sub-trips and reports the result. If every sub-trip syncs cleanly, you are done. If one or more sub-trips cannot sync, you will see a sync error.
You'll Know It Worked When
The synced changes appear on the sub-trip. For example, a swapped room option shows the new room, an inactivated photo no longer appears, and a document marked visible to travelers is now listed on the sub-trip.
What Does Not Sync
Some content stays specific to each sub-trip and will not sync from the group trip. Keep these in mind so you know when manual updates are required:
Booking and pricing details. Prices, payment schedules, commission, booking status, and confirmation numbers never sync. Update these per sub-trip.
Package updates. A package syncs to a sub-trip once, when the sub-trip is created. After that, changes to a package's deposit or total cost on the group trip do not sync. Update package pricing per sub-trip.
New packages. A package added to the group trip after sub-trips exist does not sync to those sub-trips in this version.
New bookings. A booking added on the group trip's Bookings tab after sub-trips exist does not sync to those sub-trips.
Room options where a selection has already been made. See below.
When a Room Selection Has Been Made
If a traveler or you have already selected a specific room option on a sub-trip, that room is no longer locked to the group trip. You can edit it directly. For example, you can add a cabin number or tailor the room description to that traveler. After a selection is made, future room updates pushed from the group trip will not sync to that sub-trip.
Working Around Unlocked Content
Because booking, pricing, and packages do not sync, here are two ways to apply broad changes without editing every sub-trip by hand:
Use AI Chat for targeted updates. If you need to make the same booking or pricing change across multiple sub-trips, ask AI Chat to make those updates for you. It will not process hundreds of sub-trips at once, but it can handle a batch of changes that would otherwise be manual.
Replace an activity instead of editing it. New activities do sync, including any pricing and inventory you add. If you have a large pricing change on an activity and travelers have not booked it yet, you can add a new activity, sync it to all sub-trips, and delete the old one. Note: this approach works for activities, not packages.
Common Issues
"Couldn't sync sub-trips, review sync errors." At least one sub-trip could not receive the update. Click into the error to see which sub-trip failed and why. A common cause is an activity that falls outside the sub-trip's trip dates. For example, if a sub-trip leaves a day early, an activity scheduled on that final day cannot sync to it. Open the affected sub-trip from the error to adjust it.
A booking or pricing change I made on the group trip did not appear on the sub-trips. This is expected. Booking and pricing are unlocked and never sync. Update those details on each sub-trip, or use AI Chat to apply the change across sub-trips.
A package price change on the group trip did not reach the sub-trips. This is expected. Packages sync only once, when the sub-trip is created. Update package pricing per sub-trip.
My existing group trips did not start syncing after I joined the rollout. Syncing applies automatically only to new group trips created after you are added. Existing group trips are not converted automatically.