The Evolution of Dynamic Packaging: What’s Next?

In an era where consumers expect more personalization, flexibility, and instant availability, the traditional approach to travel packages is no longer sufficient. Dynamic packaging allows businesses to create unique, real-time travel packages by combining various components (e.g., flights, accommodations, attractions) based on live data. It's a direct response to shifting market demands. This article explores the current state of dynamic packaging technology, its challenges, and what developments are needed for widespread adoption.

What’s Changing in Customer Behavior?

Modern travelers don’t want to choose from pre-made offerings. They want to decide how, when and on what terms they travel.  

Today’s travelers don’t plan a year in advance. More and more people are booking spontaneous trips, often at the last minute. According to the American Express Global Travel Trends Report 2024, 78% of respondents expressed a desire to take a spontaneous trip, and 77% of Millennials and Gen Z travelers admitted they had already booked trips without extensive planning.

This shows a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. For tour operators, it means they must offer not only flexible options, but also the ability to quickly combine services and confirm bookings in real time. That’s exactly where dynamic packaging is needed. It enables immediate responses to customer needs and assembles offers based on current availability and pricing.

Technology Behind the Scenes

For dynamic packaging to work effectively in practice, a solid technological infrastructure is essential to connect data from different sources in real time:

• Reservation and distribution systems (CRS, GDS).

• Channel managers and Property Management System (PMS) platforms.

• Booking engines and third-party supplier APIs.

The challenge lies in getting this ecosystem to work together seamlessly to deliver a fully bookable, customised offer in seconds. Without reliable integrations, the “dynamic” in dynamic packaging loses its meaning.

The graph below shows how different systems need to communicate effectively for dynamic packaging to function properly:

The Critical Role of the CRS

A Central Reservation System (CRS) works as the hub that manages availability, pricing, and real-time bookings, both for single properties and large networks. For dynamic packaging to operate smoothly, it needs to be tightly integrated with a CRS that provides accurate, live availability and pricing data.

However, many businesses face integration challenges when their CRS is not designed with dynamic packaging capabilities in mind. Legacy systems may struggle with the speed and flexibility required and create bottlenecks in the package creation process. Successful implementations typically require either significant upgrades to existing systems or adoption of newer platforms specifically designed for this purpose.

The Ease of Reservation Challenge

Research shows that while travelers desire personalisation, they find the process of manually assembling trip components time-consuming and frustrating. According to a recent Travel Port survey, 71% of travelers report feeling unconfident by the number of decisions required when booking travel independently. The study revealed that travellers spend an average of 4 hours researching and booking components for a single trip, often across multiple platforms.

The solution is booking a personalised trip with just a few clicks. Combining the ease of traditional package booking with the personalisation of dynamic packaging. Building a customised trip by independently connecting different elements is tedious and exhausting for travellers. The answer is to allow customers to book packages tailored to their personal needs easily (with just a few clicks) through any sales channel, for example mobile. This is precisely what Resabee Travel Tech offers.

Another key consideration is enriching traditional package holidays with dynamic elements and allowing travellers to personalise their experience while maintaining the simplicity of booking.

Ultimately, offering personalised trips with the same few-click ease as traditional packages, across all sales channels, delivers what modern travelers want without the booking frustration.

What's Next? Key Trends and Future Directions

Several trends are shaping the future of dynamic packaging:

• AI and dynamic pricing - Machine learning algorithms can automate personalization based on user behavior and market trends, creating more relevant offers while optimizing margins. Leading travel brands have implemented AI-driven recommendation engines that can predict ancillary services a traveler might want before they even search for them.

• Enhanced data utilization - As businesses collect more customer data, they can develop deeper insights into traveler preferences, enabling more precisely targeted package components.

• Expansion of B2B2C models - Dynamic packaging is evolving as a tool not only for direct consumer sales but also for travel agents and distribution partners, creating new revenue opportunities.

• Mobile-first experiences - The dominance of mobile booking has continued its upward trajectory since 2022, when Phocuswright, reported that 47% of OTA gross bookings were made via mobile. By 2024, industry data showed that mobile bookings had surpassed the 60% mark for most major OTAs. Companies like Expedia Group have reported that app users consistently generate more than three times the lifetime value compared to website-only customers.

Implementation Considerations

Organizations looking to implement dynamic packaging should consider several factors:

• Integration capabilities - Assess how well a solution connects with existing CRS and third-party systems.

• Component flexibility - Ensure the system can manage various package components (accommodations, transportation, activities) with equal sophistication.

• Response time - Test the platform's ability to deliver instantly bookable packages without delays.

• Scalability - The solution should adapt to your business model and grow with your needs.

• Total cost of implementation - Consider not just licensing costs but also integration expenses, training requirements, and potential operational changes.

Various technology providers, including companies like Resabee Travel Tech, offer dynamic packaging solutions with different strengths and specializations for travel businesses at various stages of digital maturity.

If you need more information, reach out to our sales team and book a meeting to get answers to your questions.

Conclusion

Dynamic packaging represents an important evolution in selling travel and addresses the expectations of modern travellers for personalisation and immediacy. The future of travel booking clearly favors flexible, responsive approaches over static packages. Organizations that invest in the right technology infrastructure now will be better positioned to meet customer expectations in the years ahead.