U.S. patent application number 10/145457 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-02 for multi-facility reservation scheduling system.
Invention is credited to Couchman, Gail R., Couchman, Richard S., Jenkins, Michael B., Ralston, Stephen M., Valentine, Debra Deahl.
Application Number | 20030005055 10/145457 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23205384 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030005055 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ralston, Stephen M. ; et
al. |
January 2, 2003 |
Multi-facility reservation scheduling system
Abstract
A computer-implemented method of scheduling a reservation at a
plurality of facilities providing a plurality of services,
comprising receiving a packet of client information from a client
(20), the client information including personal data, service data,
client reservation preference data, and payment data; comparing the
service data to a set of service constraints in order to determine
any limitations on the scheduling of the reservation; inputting the
client information into a scheduling server (80); verifying the
client information; generating a predetermined number of
reservation candidates based upon an analysis of the client
information and the reservation scheduling limitations;
communicating the reservation candidates to the client (20);
generating a reservation based upon the client's selection of one
of the reservation candidates; generating reservation information
related to the reservation, the reservation information including
the client information, the service constraints, a reservation
date, a reservation time, the identity of the available facility
(35), (45), (55), and the resources to be utilized; reporting at
least a portion of the reservation information to the client and
all of the client information to the available facility (35), (45),
(55); and confirming the reservation in the scheduling server (80).
A data processing system (10) for scheduling a reservation from
among a plurality of facilities is also disclosed.
Inventors: |
Ralston, Stephen M.;
(Kissimmee, FL) ; Valentine, Debra Deahl; (St.
Cloud, FL) ; Jenkins, Michael B.; (Orlando, FL)
; Couchman, Richard S.; (Orlando, FL) ; Couchman,
Gail R.; (Orlando, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LOTT & FRIEDLAND, P.A.
P.O. BOX 141098
CORAL GABLES
FL
33114-1098
US
|
Family ID: |
23205384 |
Appl. No.: |
10/145457 |
Filed: |
May 14, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10145457 |
May 14, 2002 |
|
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|
09311095 |
May 13, 1999 |
|
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6389454 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/204 ;
705/5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G16H 40/67 20180101;
G16H 40/20 20180101; G06Q 10/109 20130101; G06Q 10/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/204 ;
705/5 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16; G06F
017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A computer-implemented method of scheduling a reservation at a
plurality of facilities providing a plurality of services,
comprising: receiving a packet of client information from a client,
said client information including personal data, service data,
client reservation preference data, and payment data; comparing
said service data to a set of service constraints in order to
determine any limitations on the scheduling of said reservation;
inputting said client information into a scheduling server;
verifying said client information; generating a predetermined
number of reservation candidates based upon an analysis of said
client information and said reservation scheduling limitations;
communicating said reservation candidates to said client;
generating a reservation based upon said client's selection of one
of said reservation candidates; generating reservation information
related to said reservation, said reservation information including
said client information, said service constraints, a reservation
date, a reservation time, the identity of the available facility,
and the resources to be utilized; reporting at least a portion of
said reservation information to said client and all of said client
information to said available facility; and confirming said
reservation in said scheduling server.
2. The computer-implemented method of scheduling a reservation of
claim 1 wherein said facilities are comprised of at least two
facilities selected from the group consisting of hotels, motels,
arenas, stadiums, convention halls, convention centers, exhibit
centers, and multi-purpose facilities.
Description
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/311,095, filed on May 13, 1999, the
contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to scheduling
systems, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a
multi-facility reservation scheduling system whose implementation
and manipulation are handled over global, wide-area, or local-area
communications networks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In many service-related industries, there exists a need to
accommodate the schedules of clients who wish to utilize a
plurality of services possibly at a multitude of facilities. Hotel
clients often choose a hotel based on the amenities that are
provided on site or in the vicinity of the hotel. A client may for
example desire a suite or that the hotel have a pool. Similarly in
the convention industry, different facilities can provide a vast
array of services. For example, a client may wish to schedule a
convention site based upon the amount of space it has available or
its location or possibly on the convention site's ability to
accommodate audiovisual presentations. Current methods of
scheduling this procedure require a phone conversation with a
scheduler at the facility that will provide the service. Since the
service could potentially be performed at a variety of sites, the
current method could require numerous attempts to contact a variety
of facilities before scheduling a reservation at a facility which
has the resources (i.e., room or conference room availability)
necessary to provide the service at a time which accommodates the
client's scheduling needs. Given the jumbling of locations,
services offered at each location, and variables such as room
availability or client preferences, scheduling each location's
resources for maximum effectiveness can prove to be burdensome,
particularly given the vast amount of data associated with each
client's reservation.
[0004] Previous attempts have been made to provide systems through
which the scheduling of remote locations may be achieved. For
example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,403 to Gabriner et al (the '403
patent) describes a genetic algorithm scheduling system which
includes a system of encoding and testing hard constraint
information. The general scheduling system has information about
the scheduling problem, in the form of the resources available for
performing tasks, a description of the tasks to be performed, and
information about the problem domain.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,173 to Strum et al. (the '173 patent)
describes a computer-based surgical services management system for
communicating between sites of a surgical services facility. The
system includes repeaters, remote access via modems, data archives,
reactive and predictive scheduling, analysis, data maintenance,
telephone communications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,907 to Crane (the
'907 patent) describes a real-time medical facility management
system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,353 to Pinsky et al. (the '353 patent)
describes a network for providing medical interpretations of
radiological images on a national or regional basis. U.S. Pat. No.
5,321,605 to Chapman et al. (the '605 patent) describes a system
for managing process flow information related to a multiplicity of
interrelated organizational tasks.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,531 to Levine (the '531 patent)
describes an electronic rescheduler for promptly and efficiently
rescheduling appointments in a two-part procedure. The first step
includes the selection of one or more time periods during which a
new appointment would be desired, and in the second step a new
appointment is chosen from the selected time periods. The system is
telephonically-driven. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,105 to Cummings, Jr.
(the '105 patent) describes a health care management system. U.S.
Pat. No. 5,113,380 to Levine (the '380 patent) describes an
electronic rescheduler. U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,315 to Garcia (the '315
patent) describes a hospital computerized system for entering
information pertinent to a patient's stay in the hospital. U.S.
Pat. No. 4,937,743 to Rassman et al (the '743 patent) describes a
method and system for the prospective scheduling, monitoring and
management of resources using a computer system.
[0007] None of the foregoing systems, each of which is incorporated
herein by reference, provides a system which utilizes technology
offering access to each of the remote locations via a global
communications network such as the Internet.
[0008] None of the foregoing systems provides an efficient system
for making a reservation from multiple facilities, each of which
facilities includes multiple resources for providing a variety of
client services, such as convention space availability, room
availability, spa facilities and a pool.
[0009] Consequently, there is a need in the art for a computer
implemented multi-facility scheduling system which enables a remote
scheduler to arrange client reservations for a variety of services
to be provided at a variety of facilities in an efficient,
cost-effective manner.
[0010] There is a further need in the art for a multi-facility
scheduling system to permit a client, or a person acting on the
client's behalf, to obtain a variety of scheduling options in order
to effectively and efficiently schedule reservations available at a
variety of locations.
[0011] There is a further need in the art for a multi-facility
scheduling system which can also be manipulated on a
facility-by-facility basis, with interaction among the various
facilities via an electronic communications mechanism such as, for
example, the global communications network known as the
Internet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention solves significant problems in the art
by providing a computer-implemented system for scheduling
reservations at a plurality of facilities that fall within client
defined parameters.
[0013] Generally described, the present invention provides a
computer-implemented method of scheduling a reservation at a
plurality of facilities providing a plurality of services,
comprising: receiving a packet of client information from a client,
the client information including personal data, service data,
client reservation preference data, and payment data; comparing the
service data to a set of service constraints in order to determine
any limitations on the scheduling of the reservation; inputting the
client information into a scheduling server; verifying the client
information; generating a predetermined number of reservation
candidates based upon an analysis of the client information and the
reservation scheduling limitations; communicating the reservation
candidates to the client; generating a reservation based upon the
client's selection of one of the reservation candidates; generating
reservation information related to the reservation, the reservation
information including the client information, the service
constraints, a reservation date, a reservation time, the identity
of the available facility, and the resources to be utilized;
reporting at least a portion of the reservation information to the
client and all of the client information to the available facility;
and confirming the reservation in the scheduling server.
[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also
comprises a data processing system for scheduling a reservation at
a plurality of facilities providing a plurality of services,
comprising a receiver for receiving a packet of client information
from a client, the client information including personal data,
service data, client reservation preference data, and payment data;
a constraint determiner for comparing the service data to a set of
service constraints in order to determine any limitations on the
scheduling of the reservation; an inputter for inputting the client
information into a scheduling server; a verifier for verifying the
client information; a candidate generator for generating a
predetermined number of reservation candidates based upon an
analysis of the client information and the reservation scheduling
limitations; a candidate communicator for communicating the
reservation candidates to the client; a reservation generator for
generating a reservation based upon the client's selection of one
of the reservation candidates; a reservation information generator
for generating reservation information related to the reservation,
the reservation information including the client information, the
service constraints, a reservation date, a reservation time, the
identity of the available facility, and the resources to be
utilized; a reservation information reporter for reporting at least
a portion of the reservation information to the client and all of
the client information to the available facility; and a reservation
confirmer for confirming the reservation in the scheduling
server.
[0015] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the
method further includes the step of allowing reservations to be
rescheduled or canceled, and the data processing system includes a
reservation modifier for rescheduling or canceling
reservations.
[0016] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the
step of receiving the packet of client information is accomplished
via the Internet, a local area network, or a wide area network.
[0017] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a computer-implemented method of scheduling a reservation
at a plurality of facilities providing a plurality of services.
[0018] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
data processing system for scheduling a reservation at a plurality
of facilities providing a plurality of services.
[0019] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent upon reading the following
specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relationship
between the clients, the organizations, and the
organizations'facilities of the scheduling system of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 2 is an illustration of the flow of information
throughout the scheduling system of the present invention, from the
initial contact by a client or client's representative through the
transmission of reservation information for integration into an
application program such as a billing program.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the method of the
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIGS. 4A and 4B are a flow chart illustrating the steps
required by a user to book a hotel reservation using the method of
the present invention.
[0024] FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flow chart illustrating the steps
required by a user to book a convention using the method of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0025] Referring initially to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, in which
like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views,
in a preferred embodiment the scheduling system 10 of the present
invention allows a client 20 to contact, via computer
implementation, any one of an organization's 30, 40, 50 multiple
facilities 35, 45, 55 to schedule a reservation. A facility is a
physical site, such as a hotel, motel, or convention center.
Referring to FIG. 2, a client 20 may either be the client 21 or the
client's representative 22, such as in the case of a booking agent
seeking a specific type of facility for a customer.
[0026] An organization 30, 40, 50 is the service provider whose
multiple facilities 35, 45, 55 are accessible using the
computer-implemented scheduling system 10 of the present invention.
Each organization 30, 40, 50 may group its facilities 35, 45, 55,
using remote scheduling servers 38, 48, 58, so as to permit access
to each facility's 35, 45, 55 schedules. For instance, facility 35a
is independently connected to a scheduling server 38a, while
facilities 35b, 35c, and 35d are collectively connected to a
scheduling server 38b. The distinction between these types of
groupings is that the server 38a connected to facility 35a can only
access scheduling information for facility 35a, while the server
38b connected to facilities 35b, 35c, 35d can access all three of
these facilities'scheduling information. The scheduling information
maintained on the various servers 38, 48, 58 is accessible via an
electronic communications link 70 between the servers and, for
example, a global communications network such as the Internet.
[0027] Access to each organization's 30, 40, 50 collective
scheduling information begins at the scheduling system's 10 central
schedule servers 80. When the client 20 wishes to schedule a
reservation, the client 20 connects to the scheduling system 10 by
connecting to one of the central schedule servers 80 via the
electronic transmission mechanism 70, which network may take the
form of the Internet, a local area network (LAN), wide area network
(WAN) or even a telephone call. The client 20, by entering a
predetermined access code, is able to access an organization's
facilities. Once the client 20 accesses a specific organization,
the scheduling system 10 prompts the client 20 to provide client
information for the purpose of scheduling a reservation.
[0028] Client information includes personal data about the client,
such as the client's name, address, telephone number, and the like;
service data, such as the space requirements, room requirements and
facility capability stipulations; payment data, such as the
client's credit card information;
[0029] and client reservation preference data, such as the
preferred date, time, and specific location where the client would
like to schedule a reservation. The scheduling system confirms the
information received from the client with the client and verifies
certain of the information, such as for instance the client's
payment information, (as depicted in FIG. 2 at reference number
160), by communicating, via means familiar to those of ordinary
skill in the relevant art, with sources of such information, such
as the credit card company.
[0030] Once the scheduling system 10 receives the packet of client
information from the client 20, it compares the service data to an
existing set of service constraints in order to determine any
constraints on the scheduling of a reservation for the client. For
instance, if a client 20 wishes to schedule a conference that
requires an auditorium, facilities without an auditorium will be
excluded or segregated from the candidate list.
[0031] Once the central scheduling server 80 generates the
reservation scheduling limitations, the limitations and the client
reservation preferences are utilized in order to generate a
predetermined number of reservation candidates. The central
scheduling server 80 communicates the requests to the remote
schedule servers 38, 48, 58, which actually generate the candidates
and pass them back to the central server 80. Each remote schedule
server 38, 48, 58 generates reservation candidate using data from
the particular facilities 35, 45, 55 to which each remote server
38, 48, 58 has access. Thus, the scheduling server 80 generates the
reservation candidates by communicating with the organization's
remote schedule servers 38, 48, 58 which in turn communicate with
the organization's facilities 35, 45, 55, to determine which of the
facilities are available to provide the requisite services at the
preferred date and time. The availability and downtime of the
facility and resources is considered during the scheduling process.
The operating hours of the facility, rooms and equipment, and the
working hours of the staff contribute to the determination of
availability. A scheduling restriction at a particular date and
time, such as preventive maintenance or a staff meeting, is defined
as downtime. Availability masks are specified to define when an
entity is available. An availability mask consists of the start
time, frequency, day of week, and duration. For example, for a
facility with operating hours of 9 am to 7 pm Monday through
Friday, and 9 am to 12 pm on Saturday, a mask is created for each
weekday beginning at 9 am for 10 hours, and one for Saturday
beginning at 9 am for 3 hours. A duration is defined for each
reservation. Therefore, the scheduling process considers the
following issues when attempting to schedule a reservation:
[0032] Resources required by the client
[0033] Availability masks defined for the facility
[0034] Availability masks defined for the resources required by
procedures in the schedule group
[0035] Existing reservations for the resources required by the
client
[0036] Client's preferred reservation time and place
[0037] The facilities 35, 45, 55 communicate their availability
back to the central scheduling server 80 via their respective
remote schedule servers 38, 48, 58. The scheduling server 80 then
communicates the various reservation candidates directly to the
client 20. If the client 20 wishes to select one of the reservation
candidates, the client 20 so notifies the scheduling server 80. If
the client does not want to select any of the reservation
candidates, an alternative set of reservation candidates is
generated in the same manner as the initial set of candidates. Upon
receipt of the client's notification as to which reservation
candidate the client wishes to select, the scheduling server 80
communicates the notification to the selected facility 35, 45 55,
via the facility's remote schedule server. The schedule server 38,
48, 58. The scheduling system 10 then generates information related
to the selected reservation, including the client information, the
service constraints, the reservation date and time, the facility at
which the reservation will occur, and the specific resources to be
utilized at the facility during the reservation. Resources include
the specific room to be utilized for the reservation, along with
the staff and equipment required to fulfill the reservation. Staff
denotes the technical, professional, or administrative staff whom
are represented within the facility. Equipment denotes the types of
machinery or apparatus located within the facility. The scheduling
system 10 then reports all of the reservation information to the
facility 35, 45, 55 at which the service will be performed, and a
portion of this information--the client information, the
reservation date and time, and the facility's identity--to the
client 20, and confirms the reservation with the facility 35, 45,
55 at which the reservation is scheduled to occur. In connection
with the scheduling of the reservation, a unique reservation number
is transmitted to both the client 20 and the facility 35, 45, 55 at
which the reservation is scheduled.
[0038] The scheduling system 10 of the present invention also
includes the capability of handling the rescheduling or canceling
of previously-scheduled reservations. A client 20 may connect to
the scheduling server 80 via the method discussed above and, once
connected, may notify the scheduling server 80 of his reservation
number, at which time the scheduling server 80 will locate the
reservation information generated when the reservation was
scheduled. Once the reservation information is retrieved, the
scheduling server 80 will provide the client 20 with options
regarding the reservation, including without limitation
confirmation, cancellation, and modification. If the client 20
wishes to cancel the reservation, the scheduling server 80 will
notify the facility 35, 45, 55 at which the reservation is
scheduled to occur, in order that the facility 35, 45, 55 can
remove whatever restrictions were placed upon it, in terms of
resources, by the scheduling of the reservation, thus freeing up
those resources for a different client's use. Should the client 20
wish to reschedule the reservation, the scheduling server 80 will
obtain from the client 20 a new set of client reservation
preference data and will, in the same manner described above,
generate a new set of reservation candidates from which the client
20 may select in order to reschedule his reservation.
[0039] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the scheduling system 10 of the
present invention is also capable of allocating facilities and
resources to clients who seek and/or receive services without a
reservation, i.e., walk-in clients 23, and of reallocating
facilities and resources in situations where clients with scheduled
reservations to not appear for their reservations without canceling
their reservations. When such situations occur, personnel at the
facility 35, 45, 55 affected by the walk-in or no-show enter into
the facility's remote schedule server 38, 48, 58 appropriate
information pertaining to the resources encumbered (in the case of
a walk-in) or available (in the case of a no-show), and this
information is in turn transmitted via the electronics
communications network 70 to the central scheduling server 80.
[0040] Looking at FIG. 2, once the reservation is generated and
confirmed with the client 20, the reservation information can also
be made available for export to an external system 90, such as a
billing program. For example, once the reservation is generated,
the client information, including payment information, can be
integrated into an organization's billing program so that the
client 20 is appropriately billed for the services rendered at the
facility 35, 45, 55 at the time of the reservation.
[0041] FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a typical operation of
the scheduling system of the present invention. In steps 305-315,
the reservation candidates are generated. Once steps 305, 310, 312,
and 315 occur, and the system generates a set of reservation
candidates, steps 320, 325, and 330 repeatedly determine if the
client has selected a reservation candidate. In step 335, once the
client selects a reservation candidate, the reservation information
is generated, and in step 340, the reservation information is
transmitted, as discussed above, to the client and facility. In
step 350, the reservation information is transmitted to the
external system 90 for integration into another application.
[0042] In an alternative embodiment of the scheduling system of the
present invention, the client 20 can access multiple organizations
30,40, 50 for the purpose of scheduling reservations at any of the
multiple organizations'multiple facilities 35, 45, 55. For example,
one organization 30 may consist of 7 facilities and a second
organization 40 may consist of 3 different facilities. Under the
alternative embodiment of the present invention, the client 20,
either directly 21 or through his representative 22, may access
scheduling information from both organizations and therefore
schedule a reservation based upon the availability of up to ten
(10) different facilities. Under such a scenario, the various
organizations' 30, 40, 50 scheduling information is compiled in a
consolidation server 60.
[0043] FIGS. 4A and 4B are a flow chart illustrating the steps
required by a user to book a hotel reservation using the method of
the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, interaction
between the user and the system implementing the method is
accomplished via the Internet, a local area network, or a wide area
network.
[0044] In step 402, the user inputs preliminary search criteria
such as the city and state where the hotel reservation is needed,
and the arrival and departure dates to the hotel. Next, in step
404, the user inputs the search method the user is interested in.
Different search methods available can include, without limitation,
searching for a hotel near an address, a hotel near an airport or a
hotel near a point of interest such as a local tourist attraction.
Search options relevant to the selected search method can then be
selected in step 406 to further refine the search query. Once the
query has been fully specified, it is tested for ambiguities in
step 408 to ensure that an accurate search is performed. A typical
ambiguity which can be discovered during this check includes, for
example, multiple cities that match the name entered by the user.
If an ambiguity is identified, in step 410 the user is presented
with a list of the possible choices which can resolve the
ambiguity.
[0045] Once the search query has been finalized and tested, in step
412 the user is presented with a list of hotels which match the
search criteria. The user may optionally request additional
information on one or more of the displayed facilities (414). If
the choices displayed to the user are unacceptable, or if no
choices are shown because there are no hotels matching the search
criteria, the user may elect to run a new search (416).
Alternatively, the user may select one of the hotels in the
displayed list (418).
[0046] Once a user has selected a hotel matching the search
criteria, the user is presented with a second list containing the
available room types at the selected facility meeting the search
criteria (420). If none of the room choices are acceptable, the
user may elect, in step 422 to return to the hotel list and
possibly select a new hotel or run a new search. If the user finds
the room choices acceptable, the user can then select one of the
room choices shown (424) and will then be shown the booking
policies for the particular room. The policies include such
information as, advance reservation requirements, cancellation
deadlines, and cancellation charges. If these policies are
acceptable to the user she can proceed with the booking of the room
(428). Alternatively, if the booking policy does not meet the
user's approval, the user can elect to be returned to the hotel
list and possibly select a new hotel or run a new search.
[0047] If the user elects to proceed with the reservation, the user
will be requested to log into the system by providing a user ID and
password (430). It is envisioned in this example that the user will
have registered previously and will have provided log in
information during registration. Once logged in, the user can
select a payment method, such as a credit card, which has been
previously provided during registration, or can enter new payment
instructions (432). Once the payment information has been entered,
the user is presented with a display (434) of the reservation which
is about to be booked and is asked to confirm that all, of the
information displayed is correct (436). If the reservation
information is confirmed by the user, the reservation is booked
(438) and a final display is shown with reservation confirmation
information (440). If no confirmation is received from the user,
the process is terminated without booking a reservation.
[0048] FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flow chart illustrating the steps
required by a user to book a convention reservation using the
method of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment,
interaction between the user and the system implementing the method
is accomplished via the Internet, a local area network, or a wide
area network.
[0049] In step 502, the user inputs preliminary search criteria
such as the city and state where the convention is to be held, and
the start and end dates of the convention. Next, in step 504, the
user inputs the search method the user is interested in. Different
search methods available can include, without limitation, searching
for a venue near an address, a venue near an airport or a venue
near a point of interest such as an attraction relevant to
attendees of the convention. Search options relevant to the
selected search method can then be selected in step 506 to further
refine the search query. Options of particular relevance to a user
booking a convention include, without limitation, minimum and
maximum size of rooms available at the venue, availability of hotel
rooms in the vicinity of the venue, price range, services available
to convention organizers, and the like. Once the query has been
fully specified, it is tested for ambiguities in step 508 to ensure
that an accurate search is performed. A typical ambiguity which can
be discovered during this check includes, for example, multiple
cities that match the name entered by the user. If an ambiguity is
identified, in step 510 the user is presented with a list of the
possible choices which can resolve the ambiguity.
[0050] Once the search query has been finalized and tested, in step
512 the user is presented with a list of venues which match the
search criteria. The user may optionally request additional
information on one or more of the displayed venues (514). If the
choices displayed to the user are unacceptable, or if no choices
are shown because there are no venues matching the search criteria,
the user may elect to run a new search (516). Alternatively, the
user may select one of the venues in the displayed list (518).
[0051] Once a user has selected a venue matching the search
criteria, the user is presented with a second list containing the
available conference room types at the selected venue meeting the
search criteria (520). If none of the conference room choices is
acceptable, the user may elect, in step 522 to return to the venue
list and possibly select a new venue or run a new search. If the
user finds the conference room choices acceptable, the user can
then select one of the conference room choices shown (524) and will
then be shown the booking policies for the particular conference
room and venue. The policies include such information as, advance
reservation requirements, cancellation deadlines, and cancellation
charges. If these policies are acceptable to the user the user can
proceed with the booking of the venue (528). Alternatively, if the
booking policy does not meet the user's approval, the user can
elect to be returned to the venue list and possibly select a new
venue or run a new search.
[0052] If the user elects to proceed with the reservation, the user
will be requested to log into the system by providing a user ID and
password (530). It is envisioned in this example that the user will
have registered previously and will have provided log in
information during registration. Once logged in, the user can
select a payment method, such as a credit card, which has been
previously provided during registration, or can enter new payment
instructions (532). Once the payment information has been entered,
the user is presented with a display (534) of the reservation which
is about to be booked and is asked to confirm that all of the
information displayed is correct (536). If the reservation
information is confirmed by the user, the reservation is booked
(538) and a final display is shown with reservation confirmation
information (540). If no confirmation is received from the user,
the process is terminated without booking a reservation.
[0053] Accordingly, it will be understood that the preferred
embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed by way of
example and that other modifications and alternations may occur to
those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and
spirit of the appended claims.
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