Packages are a means of combining several different services into a single product that you can sell on your website, such as vacations, escorted tours, or special offers. A package is usually a combination of a land service (hotel) and a transport (usually flights) to which additional services can be added, such as transfers, car rentals, activities, or pre- and post accommodations.
There are five types of packages that can be sold through the system:
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When booking a Special Offer package that is based on self-operation flights, and no price list has been defined for the flights, once calculating the total package selling price, the system will consider the flights as priced with a zero rate. |
For more information, see: Products - Static Packages
Static packages are packages that are fully operated by your company. These packages are constructed through the system and comprised of components with a fixed selling price. This is useful for organizations that sell packages and need to be able to commit to a specific price. Passengers are limited to the services offered through the package, but are guaranteed that the price remains stable throughout the entire season.
In the Administration Tools, static packages are created in Products - Static Packages.
A static package must include at least two services (one of them must be a hotel or package), and can have up to five destinations. Additional services that can be included in a static package are flights, transfers, insurance, restaurants, and activities, or even a pre-purchased package (contract). These other services can be included in the base price of the static package or provided at additional cost - with the exception of flights. Flights are always included in the base price of the static package.
You can have recurring static packages that are sold during a range of dates you define, or the static package can be created as a one-time package sold for a specific dates. You have the option of defining on which weekdays the package starts.
Static packages are constructed primarily from internal contracts (although flights can come from a GDS), and as such require more maintenance. If you want to update a component, in the package, you are going to need to update the relevant contract.
The total net cost of all the package components are calculated automatically from multiple price lists to which you should then add markup.
In the Reservations System, a static package is sold as a vacation. The passengers that reserve the vacation can select from a list of available accommodations included in the package, and also add extra activities.
In the travel file, the vacation is created as a gross (selling price) transaction for the entire package, and the individual components are created as net (buying price) transactions, including additional transfers. Extra activities that the passenger reserves are added as standard transactions.
For more information, see: Setup - Website Definitions - Content - Services - Dynamic Packages
Dynamic packages are a combination package of transportation and land services (usually flight+hotel), which are priced at a discount. The package is created based on the service prices and availability at the time the passenger enters the query in the Reservations System. The destination, duration, and services selected by the user are flexible. Customers can add additional services to the package, which are priced at the standard price.
The content for dynamic packages is delivered from internal contracts and third party interfaces with which you have reached a commercial agreement.
The pricing is dynamic, and is determined according to the calculation method you choose for selling the package.
In the Administration Tools, dynamic packages are enabled as a product in Setup - Website Definitions - Content - Services - Dynamic Packages, which is where you configure the definitions that apply towards selling this product, such as the included services and pricing method.
In the reservations system a dynamic package is sold as a vacation wizard.
In the travel file, the transaction that is created for the dynamic package is a gross (selling price) transaction, and the individual components are created as net transactions. The name of the transaction is a combination of the destination and number of nights (for example Amsterdam 5 Nights).
In the Reservations System, the dynamic package interface offers an enhanced user experience that is oriented towards B2C users (but can be used in all selling channels), which is limited to creating dynamic packages for a single destination or fly and drive (flight + car rental). With this interface, the departure and arrival flights are displayed in side by side view, and the hotels are displayed with the lowest price available. Other price levels can be viewed on the hotel details page.
You can purchase packages and tours from third parties and sell them on your website. These are managed internally as contracts, and the prices, dates, and destinations are determined entirely according to that contract. These packages and tours are operated entirely by the third party, which is the supplier. Tour contracts require allocations for each departure date.
In the Reservations System, a package contract is sold as a Package, and a tour contract is sold as an Escorted tour. In the search results, the passengers book the services as is, and are unable to change or add any services to what is included in the contract. If you want to offer different options, you need to create a separate contract for each option you want to sell.
In the travel file, the transaction that is created for the package or tour is a standard transaction.
For more information, see: Products - Self-Operation Tours
A self-operation tour is an organized tour which you create and either operate or sell. The tour can be sold as a closed tour to a single customer who operates the tour, or you can operate the tour as an open tour to which passengers can register through the Reservations System. This type of tour typically includes a guide, transportation, hotel, and various other services (including attractions). Self-operation tours can have an unlimited number of destinations.
In the Administration tools, self-operation tours are created in Products - Self-operation Tours.
There are two types of self-operation tours:
Tour based on a fixed number of passengers. An example of this is a tour based on the number of bus seats.
Tour based on the number of hotel allocations. This tour is based on the number of available hotel rooms (at one or more hotel options) for each night of the tour.
Each type of tour can be operated according to one of the following tour modes:
Regular tour: This is a "stand-alone" tour that can be defined either on the basis of a fixed number of passengers or available hotel allocations.
Modular tour: This is a tour composed of more than one regular tour. Each regular tour is considered a module of the modular tour.
Self-operation tours can only be built with internal contracts.
For tours that you are operating, you can create a group travel file. The group travel file contains all the transactions for the services included in the self-operation tour, and is used for operating the tour with the suppliers. When a passenger registers for the self-operation tour, an individual travel file is opened for the passenger, and he is added to the group travel file as a passenger in the relevant transactions.
A single tour cannot be defined for a range of dates. For multiple tours, you need to create a separate self-operation tour for each departure date. To simplify the process, an existing self-operation tour can be copied, and the date changed.
In the reservations system a self-operation tour is sold as an Escorted tour. In the search results, each tour is displayed once (together with the tour plan, which can include an itinerary), and the passenger needs to click on Dates and Prices to see the different dates and prices, and select a tour. Once a departure date is selected, you are redirected to the tour page, where you can choose from the different plans that are available for the tour.
In the travel file opened for the passenger, the escorted tour is created as a gross (selling price) transaction for the entire package, and the individual components are created as net (buying price) transactions. Additional services added by the passenger, (If this option is available in the tour) such as transfer and activities are created as standard transactions.
For more information, see: Products - Bundling Wizard
The bundling wizard allows you to create packages that are comprised of components from multiple sources (internal contracts, online interfaces, and GDS).
For airlines, the bundling wizard can be used for providing an ongoing solution towards selling seats on distressed flights. There is a single price for the package you are selling, but the airline can adjust the rate of the flight component as necessary to make the package price more attractive.
Travel agencies can use the bundling wizard to build packages around specific events, such as the Formula 1, or the Final Four. The main attraction is the event, which can be combined with hotels and flights (also another method for leveraging distressed flights). These types of packages are usually built around specific dates.
When booking the package, you have the flexibility of removing the event and only booking the flight and hotel.
In the Administration Tools, the bundling wizard can be found in Products - Bundling Wizard.
The bundling wizard at a minimum requires a flight and a hotel. If you are creating an Event-led package, you also need an activity contract for the event component.
The pricing mechanism is flexible to allow you to maximize the profit. You can apply default markup percentages for hotels and flights, or specify separate markup values for the individual hotel and flight combinations that comprise the package.
The bundling wizard can only be used for creating packages to a single destination.
In the reservations system a package created through the bundling wizard is sold as a Special offer. The bundling wizard can be sold through B2C using a widget, and the generic user interface in B2E and B2B configurations.
