®The vocabulary
What the names mean
RepBud names things after a safari camp — the Ridge, the Trail, the Lantern, the Boma. Inside the product that is the point: they are easier to hold in your head than four screens all called some variation of “activity”. If you have just arrived, though, they are four words you did not ask for. So here is every one of them, what it actually is, and why it is called that.
You do not need any of this to use RepBud. Everything is labelled by what it does as well, and these pages describe features by function. The names live inside.
The places
Where you are, rather than what you are doing.
The Reserve
RepBud membership itself — everyone using RepBud, across every plan and every role, from a solo rep to a ten-seat team to a free RepBuddy account.
Why that name — A reserve is the land the whole camp sits on. Joining RepBud puts you inside it; which part you work in is a separate question.
The Ridge
Your dashboard — the screen you land on when you sign in, showing the day: what is due, who you are meeting, what has come in and what needs a decision.
Why that name — A ridge is where you stand to see the ground. It is the high point you walk to first, before deciding where to go.
The Boma
The Honours Board — the public record of the first 200 founding members, each with a numbered seat.
Why that name — A boma is the enclosure at the centre of a camp, where everyone gathers round the fire at the end of the day. Founding members have a seat at it.
The working parts
The things you use on a normal day.
Field Log
A record of one client interaction — a meeting, a call, a site visit — captured by typing, speaking or photographing your handwritten notes.
Why that name — Field notes, made in the field. Reps write them standing up, between appointments, which is the whole point.
The Lantern
The review queue. Forward an email or a WhatsApp conversation and it lands here already structured — contacts, action items and suggested follow-ups pulled out — waiting for you to approve or correct it.
Why that name — A lantern is what you hold up to see what is there before you act. Nothing is filed against a contact until you have looked at it.
The Trail
Your follow-up list. Every action item, promise and callback picked out of your logs and emails, dated, prioritised and linked to the right contact.
Why that name — A trail is the line you follow to get somewhere, and the marks left by what came before. Both readings are the job it does.
The Brief
Your morning briefing. Before the day starts it gathers your meetings, overdue follow-ups and the contacts you have not spoken to in a while into one screen.
Why that name — A briefing is what you get before you go out, not a report you write afterwards.
Who's Nearby
Event networking. Check in at a trade show and you can see which other RepBud members are there, and send a connection request to any of them. Checking in is deliberate — nothing shares your location until you do, and your exact coordinates are never shared, only the event and the city.
Why that name — Named for the question it answers. At a show with thirty thousand people, knowing who among them you already know is the whole problem.
Sending a smoke signal
Inviting people to join you. A smoke signal is a short message broadcast to everyone checked in at the same event — dinner after the show, drinks at the stand, or simply "I am here, come and find me". It goes to the floor rather than to one person, which is what makes it useful when you do not know who is free.
Why that name — A smoke signal is the oldest way of telling people at a distance where you are and to come over. That is exactly the job: one signal, everybody who can see it, no list of numbers to work through.
The people
RepBud is a network as well as a CRM, so different parts of the trade join differently.
Reps and DMCs
The paid side: representation companies, PR and tourism boards, and destination management companies. These are the accounts with the full CRM.
Why that name — Named for the job, not the metaphor — these are the words the trade already uses.
RepBuddies
Free accounts for travel agents and tour operators — the buying side — who want to find and stay in touch with the reps behind the brands they sell.
Why that name — The buddy is the person on the other side of the desk. It is a free profile rather than a subscription.
RepBud Ready
Free accounts for lodges, hotels and experiences looking for representation in a market.
Why that name — Ready as in ready to be represented — a property putting its hand up.
RepBud Reporters
Free accounts for travel journalists, editors, photographers and content creators connecting with reps about press trips and stories.
Why that name — Straightforwardly what they do.
Rover
The referral programme, in four tiers: Scout at one referral, Tracker at three, Pathfinder at five and Ranger at ten.
Why that name — Named after exploring the reserve and bringing fellow travel professionals in with you. The tier names are the roles you would hold doing it.
The cabins
The plans. This one is an aviation metaphor rather than a safari one, and it is meant literally — the further forward you sit, the more room you get.
Cabin
What a plan is called inside the product. These pages say "plan"; once you are signed in you will see "cabin". There are five: Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class, First Class and Charter.
Why that name — Everyone who has flown already knows what these mean without being told, which is the point — the ladder explains itself.
Economy
The free plan. 1,000 contacts, five represented clients, one shareable form and Relay file links. No card, no expiry date.
Why that name — Free, and a real seat rather than a demo.
Charter
The team plans — five or ten seats on one invoice, each seat carrying the First Class feature set.
Why that name — You charter an aircraft for a group. It is the same idea: the whole team travels together on one booking.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions about the names
Why does RepBud use safari names for its features?+
RepBud was built for the travel trade, and much of its early use was among reps selling Africa. The names come from a safari camp because that is the world the product grew up in. They also do a practical job: a dashboard called the Ridge, a follow-up list called the Trail and a review queue called the Lantern are easier to hold in your head than four screens all called some variation of "activity".
Do I need to learn the names to use RepBud?+
No. Everything is labelled with what it does as well, and public pages describe features by function rather than by name. The names are there once you are inside and using the product day to day.
What is the Ridge in RepBud?+
The Ridge is your dashboard — the screen you land on after signing in. It shows what is due today, who you are meeting, what has arrived for review and what needs a decision.
What is the Lantern in RepBud?+
The Lantern is the review queue. When you forward an email or a WhatsApp conversation to RepBud, it arrives there already structured — contacts, action items and suggested follow-ups pulled out — and waits for you to approve or correct it before anything is filed.
What is the Trail in RepBud?+
The Trail is your follow-up list: every action item and promise picked out of your logs, emails and meetings, dated, prioritised and linked to the right contact.
What does sending a smoke signal mean?+
It means inviting people to join you. A smoke signal is a short message broadcast to everyone checked in at the same event — dinner after the show, drinks at the stand, or just letting people know where you are. It goes to the whole floor rather than to one person, which is what makes it useful when you do not know who is free.
What is the difference between the Reserve and a cabin?+
The Reserve is RepBud membership as a whole — everyone using it, on any plan. A cabin is which plan you are on: Economy, Premium Economy, Business Class, First Class or Charter.
Have a look for yourself
Economy is free, takes no card and does not expire. The names make a good deal more sense once you are standing in them.
RepBud is designed to assist, not replace, your professional judgement.