Skift Take
TUI was doing "the connected trip" before Booking.com was born. But it needs to fine-tune its pricing and flexibility to stay competitive.
TUI Group sees an opportunity to leapfrog from selling package holidays with static prices to helping travelers book individual trip components with dynamic pricing.
The Hanover-based travel colossus has not yet "materialized its strong positioning" to offer its customers a more flexible packaging of flights, accommodation, and experiences to create a connected trip booking, said Sebastian Ebel, chairman and CEO of TUI Group, during an earnings call on Wednesday.
Ebel said TUI had to move faster, noting that Booking Holdings was now also putting investment into next-gen AI to advance Booking.com's connect trip strategy.
The CEO said the company needed to focus on strategic initiatives, including long-promised dynamic packaging, where trip components are bundled together. Trip pricing would ideally reflect supply and demand signals, and more customization and upselling would be possible.
Ebel was particularly worried about maintaining and growing market share, specifically in the UK, where TUI is said to have lost its leadership footing.
He said that UK inventory