TRAVEL SAVINGS ASSESSMENT

• US 20060069592A1
• Filed: 08/05/2005
• Published: 03/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Parker, Michael, Sauser, Olivier, Di Florio, Dionino
• Granted Patent: US 7,788,116 B2
• 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 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies

Abstract

A method and system for travel savings assessment is disclosed. The invention analyzes the total travel spend of an entity with many members, employees, or other personnel who incur travel costs using various metrics, estimates the savings that may be achieved by known or new entities, calculates and produces periodic reports that track an entity'"'"'s progress towards obtaining the estimated savings, and can also estimate the potential savings of an entity.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating an assessment of travel savings comprising:

creating a plurality of clusters based on first travel data, wherein said first travel data is related to known entities;

receiving second travel data associated with a new entity;

assigning said new entity to one of said plurality of clusters to create an assigned cluster; and

,

generating an assessment of travel savings for said new entity based on said assigned cluster.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a host system for facilitating a savings assessment model.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving said first travel data related to known entities.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating a travel savings assessment report for said new entity.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving said first travel data from at least one of credit card transactions, joint venturer and a travel agency.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising cleaning said first travel data.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising integrating said first travel data from multiple sources.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of creating a plurality of clusters is repeated periodically.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating published fares for a plurality of airport pairs.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising deleting said first travel data prior to creating a plurality of clusters.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising deleting said first travel data prior to creating a plurality of clusters, wherein said deleted travel data corresponds to said known entities who have traveled less than 10 travel segments in a year.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving second travel data includes receiving usage data for at least one travel carrier.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a decile within said assigned cluster for said new entity.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said new entity is a known entity.

15. A computer-readable storage medium containing a set of instructions for a general purpose computer comprising:

creating a plurality of clusters based on first travel data, wherein said first travel data is related to known entities;

receiving second travel data associated with a new entity;

assigning said new entity to one of said plurality of clusters to create an assigned cluster; and

,

generating an assessment of travel savings for said new entity based on said assigned cluster.