Method and system for automatically planning, booking, and calendaring travel arrangements

• US 20030023463A1
• Filed: 04/16/2001
• Published: 01/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Red Sky Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Red Sky Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Miller, Len, Dombroski, Frank, Jacobs, Francis
• Application Number:
  US09/836,141
• Publication Number:
  US 20030023463A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A system for automatically planning, booking and calendaring travel arrangements includes a data storage device, a booking engine, an output device and a processor. Maintained in the storage device is a database of user profile information. The processor receives a travel request input including travel request data gathered from a user'"'"'s calendar application. The stored user profile information and the travel request data is used to automatically formulate a travel request in response to the travel request input. The travel request includes airline, hotel and rental car reservation information. A travel query file is automatically created from the travel request. The creation of the travel query file includes: automatically executing an air booking process, based on at least two categories of user preference information selected from the categories of lowest price, arrival/departure time, airline, non-stop, duration, alternate airports and full fare automobile upgrades; automatically executing a car booking process; and automatically executing a hotel booking process. The travel query file is submitted to the booking engine for creating a travel request query. The travel request query is submitted to a travel distribution system for retrieving air, car and hotel availability information. Retrieved air, car and hotel availability information is used to create a suggested travel itinerary, which is outputted for display. The suggested travel itinerary can be manually changed or confirmed. The confirmed travel itinerary can be processed to automatically create and store appointment events in a user'"'"'s calendar application.

Claims

1. A system for automatically planning, booking and calendaring travel arrangements, the system comprising:

a data storage device;

a booking engine;

an output device;

a processor programmed to;

maintain in the storage device a database of user profile information including information regarding air travel booking preferences, car booking preferences, hotel booking preferences and personal preference air travel ratings,

receive a travel request input including travel request data gathered from a user'"'"'s calendar application,

use the stored user profile information and the travel request data to automatically formulate a travel request in response to the travel request input, the travel request including airline, hotel and rental car reservation information,

automatically create a travel query file by applying business rules to the travel request, including;

automatically executing an air booking process based on at least two categories of user preference information selected from the group of categories of lowest price,

arrival/departure time, airline, non-stop, duration, alternate airports and full fare automobile upgrades,

automatically executing a car booking process for selecting, and

automatically executing a hotel booking process,

submit the query file to a booking engine for creating a travel request query,

submit the travel request query to a travel distribution system for retrieving air, car and hotel availability information,

receive from the travel distribution system the air, car and hotel availability information and create a suggested travel itinerary,

output for display on a user display device the suggested travel itinerary,

allow manual changes to be made to the suggested travel itinerary,

accept manual confirmation of the suggested travel itinerary; and

process data from the confirmed travel itinerary for automatically creating and storing appointment events in a user'"'"'s calendar application.

2. A method for automatically planning, booking and calendaring travel arrangements, the method comprising:

maintaining in a computer storage device a database of user profile information including information regarding air travel booking preferences, car booking preferences, hotel booking preferences and personal preference air travel ratings;

receiving a travel request input including travel request data gathered from a user'"'"'s calendar application;

using the stored user profile information and the travel request data to automatically formulate a travel request in response to the travel request input, the travel request including airline, hotel and rental car reservation information;

automatically creating a travel query file by applying business rules to the travel request, including;

automatically executing an air booking process based on at least two categories of user preference information selected from the group of categories of lowest price, arrival/departure time, airline, non-stop, duration, alternate airports and full fare automobile upgrades,

automatically executing a car booking process for selecting, and automatically executing a hotel booking process,

submitting the query file to a booking engine for creating a travel request query;

submitting the travel request query to a travel distribution system for retrieving air, car and hotel availability information;

receiving from the travel distribution system the air, car and hotel availability information and creating a suggested travel itinerary;

outputting for display on a user display device the suggested travel itinerary;

allowing manual changes to be made to the suggested travel itinerary;

accepting manual confirmation of the suggested travel itinerary;

automatically creating and storing appointment events in the calendar application using data from the confirmed travel itinerary.