Dynamic tour packaging vs dynamic bundling - which is which?

Dynamic packaging projects seem to be the flavour of the month in the UK at the moment. All tour operators seem to want to dynamic package - and if you are a travel technology provider who doesn’t have a dynamic packaging solution then you are behind the curve.

However I wonder whether we are using the correct terminology. Should we really be talking about dynamic bundling instead?

Here is the complete definition from Wikipedia (with my emphasis)

Dynamic Packaging is a method that is becoming increasingly used in package holiday bookings that enables consumers to build their own package of flights, accommodation, and a hire car instead of a pre-defined package.

Dynamic packages differ from traditional package tours in that the pricing is always based on current availability, escorted group tours are rarely included, and trip-specific add-ons such as airport parking and show tickets are often available. Dynamic packages are similar in that often the air, hotel, and car rates are available only as part of a package or only from a specific seller.

The term “dynamic packaging” is often used incorrectly to describe the less sophisticated process of interchanging various travel components within a package, however, this practice is more accurately described as “dynamic bundling“.

True Dynamic Packaging demands the automated recombination of travel components based on the inclusion of rules that not only dictate the content of the package, but conditional pricing rules based on various conditions such as the trip characteristics, suppliers contributing components, the channel of distribution, and terms of sale.

Ed Whiting, writing on his Travel Remark blog, defined a dynamic package as:

A dynamic package combines and prices the components (flight + hotel) from various sources in real time or near real time.

Now Ed knows a lot more about dynamic “stuff” than I do - however doesn’t his definition sound more like dynamic bundling?

If you were feeling mischievous you could write a letter of complaint to the Advertising Standards Agency - because what a number of travel technology providers are actually selling are dynamic bundling systems!

My vote though would be for someone to go and edit Wikipedia!

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