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dynamic packaging 2.0

Posted by simon ashwin On Thursday 15 Feb 07

Technology is always evolving. Sometimes this is in the shape of new products and at other times it’s just a step change taking place, which has a marked impact on the way the travel industry conducts business.

New products are things like the online booking systems, the first viewdata-masking selling systems and dynamic packaging. I believe we are about to have another step change. This will come in the form of a true comparative holiday search for travel agents, across all product sources, combined with rich content to provide agents with a vastly improved selling environment - comparable to anything available to consumers online.

In the technology world we like to give these step changes names, and I’ve christened this ‘Dynamic Packaging 2.0′. A true comparative search is an important step forward. This is because consumers don’t care about clever use of technology - all they really want is a good match with their holiday requirements.

Dynamic Packaging 2.0 will offer a search across pre-packaged holidays and those created dynamically in real-time. It will provide agents with a complete comparison and offer add-to-favourites features that make it easier to shortlist and compare from the vast array of holiday options on offer, via a single enquiry. In Dynamic Packaging 2.0, enhanced search will be combined with much richer content in the form of maps, video and audio - all designed to support the sales process and transform the computer on a retail travel counter from an ordering point to an interactive selling environment.

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dynmic pricing changes travel bookings

Posted by simon ashwin On Friday 09 Feb 07

“Did you book on the internet?” The question pops up almost every time holiday travel is mentioned. People boast about how much they saved online in much the same way they claim to have won significant sums at Las Vegas casinos. Perhaps I’m too sceptical but if everyone wins in Las Vegas, why is America’s gambling headquarters crammed with vast glitzy structures built as if money is no object? Why do casino signs offer cheap-as-chips breakfasts just to get me through the door?Travel industry bosses no longer caution against booking on the internet. Doing so has become too widely accepted. Instead, they agree, you’ll probably save. But, they warn, the situation can turn nasty if something goes wrong. The inevitable retort from people who always shop online for their holidays: “They would say that, wouldn’t they?” Nonetheless, if we take seriously warnings that all may not run smoothly, we should probably also heed experts’ advice about travel insurance. If you shop online, they say, make sure you seek out insurance that covers such hiccups. Two useful snippets of travel industry jargon are dynamic pricing and dynamic packaging.

 

Dynamic pricing is a concept many people use – even if they’ve never heard the term – when they shop online. Also called fluid pricing, it’s an increasingly common reaction to supply and demand. It just means what you pay for today’s flight and what you pay for tomorrow’s flight may be radically different. Airlines pioneered the concept: tickets cost more when there’s great...

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