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What is dynamic packaging?

Dynamic packaging means building a trip at the moment of booking from separate parts, such as a flight, a hotel, a transfer and a tour, with live availability, one total price and your margin. A static package is put together in advance, with set dates, contracted allotments and one published price per date.

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How dynamic packaging works

  1. The traveler asks

    Destination, dates, number of travelers and any wishes: hotel category, board basis, a tour on day three.

  2. The system searches your suppliers

    Flights from a GDS or an airline API, hotels from a bedbank and your own contracted hotels, transfers and tours from local partners, all at once.

  3. Your rules combine the options

    Which hotels go with which flights, minimum connection times, preferred partners, and what to show first.

  4. One price, with your margin

    The margin is applied per component or per package, and the traveler sees one total. The price is checked again with each supplier before payment.

  5. One booking, every supplier

    After payment, each part is booked with its supplier. You get one booking record with every supplier reference, and the traveler gets one itinerary under your brand.

Dynamic vs static packages

Most tour operators sell both: set departures for groups and series, and dynamic packages for tailor-made requests.

Dynamic and static packages compared
Static packageDynamic package
Put togetherIn advance, before the seasonAt the moment of booking
InventoryContracted allotments and charter seatsLive supplier availability, plus your own contracts
PricePublished price per date and room typeCalculated for each request from live prices and your margin
DatesSet departures and durationsAny dates the suppliers can offer
Your riskUnsold allotments and seatsNo stock to sell, but prices change until the traveler pays
Best forGroups, series, charters and set itinerariesTailor-made trips, independent travelers and short breaks

What a dynamic packaging system needs

  • Connections to the suppliers you contract with, whether that is a GDS, a bedbank, local partners or your own hotel contracts.
  • A rules engine for which components go together, by destination, dates, budget, hotel category and board basis.
  • A margin engine that can price per component or per package, and per sales channel.
  • A price check with every supplier before payment, because prices change between search and checkout.
  • Clear handling when one part fails: replace it, ask the traveler, or cancel the rest.
  • One booking record with every supplier reference, and documents that go out under your name.

When dynamic packaging is worth it

  • You get many requests with different dates and wishes, and your team spends hours putting quotes together by hand.
  • You want to sell beyond your allotments without contracting more stock up front.
  • You want travelers or agents to book a full trip online, not just ask for a quote.
  • If you sell only set departures, a static package system is enough. You can add dynamic packages later, in a separate phase.

Dynamic packaging software for tour operators and DMCs

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Thinking about dynamic packages?

In a free 20-minute call we look at how you sell today and tell you honestly whether dynamic packaging is worth it for you, with a price range.

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