System and Method of Transferring Reservations for Transportation Services
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of transferring reservations for transportation resources, comprising:
- establishing an agreement between first and second vendors through a transportation service provider which provides for transfer of a reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor, the agreement including a revenue sharing provision which is managed by the transportation service provider;
transferring the reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor when the first vendor cannot service the reservation inquiry which originated from a customer to the first vendor, the second vendor providing a rental resource to the customer in accordance with the reservation inquiry if selected by the customer; and
receiving payment from the customer for the rental resource through the transportation service provider which distributes the payment between the first and second vendors in accordance with revenue sharing provision of the agreement.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computer system makes reservations for transportation services. Vendor information for rental resources is stored in a central database. A customer makes a reservation inquiry. The central database is searched to find availability of the rental resources for the reservation inquiry. A rate is calculated for the rental resources based on customer-supplied and vendor-supplied information, as well as public sources. The availability of the rental resources and rates are reported to the customer. The customer selects the desired rental resources. The customer selection is confirmed with the vendor. An estimate of charges is provided initially and then updated following the customer'"'"'s use of the reserved rental resources. Vendor payments are aggregated for multiple reservations. Travel-related tools are provided for the customer while utilizing the reserved rental resources. If one vendor cannot service a customer, the system transfers the reservation to another affiliated vendor.
-
Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A computer-implemented method of transferring reservations for transportation resources, comprising:
-
establishing an agreement between first and second vendors through a transportation service provider which provides for transfer of a reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor, the agreement including a revenue sharing provision which is managed by the transportation service provider; transferring the reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor when the first vendor cannot service the reservation inquiry which originated from a customer to the first vendor, the second vendor providing a rental resource to the customer in accordance with the reservation inquiry if selected by the customer; and receiving payment from the customer for the rental resource through the transportation service provider which distributes the payment between the first and second vendors in accordance with revenue sharing provision of the agreement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A computer-implemented method of transferring reservations for transportation resources, comprising:
-
establishing a relationship between first and second vendors which provides for transfer of a reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor, the relationship including a revenue sharing arrangement; transferring the reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor which provides a rental resource to the customer in accordance with the reservation inquiry; and distributing payment between the first and second vendors in accordance with the revenue sharing arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A computer program product usable with a programmable computer processor having computer readable program code embodied therein, comprising:
-
computer readable program code which provides for establishing an agreement between first and second vendors through a transportation service provider which provides for transfer of a reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor, the agreement including a revenue sharing provision which is managed by the transportation service provider; computer readable program code which transfers the reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor when the first vendor cannot service the reservation inquiry which originated from a customer to the first vendor, the second vendor providing a rental resource to the customer in accordance with the reservation inquiry if selected by the customer; and computer readable program code which provides for receiving payment from the customer for the rental resource through the transportation service provider which distributes the payment between the first and second vendors in accordance with revenue sharing provision of the agreement. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A computer system for transferring reservations for transportation resources, comprising:
-
means for establishing an agreement between first and second vendors through a transportation service provider which provides for transfer of a reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor, the agreement including a revenue sharing provision which is managed by the transportation service provider; means for transferring the reservation inquiry from the first vendor to the second vendor when the first vendor cannot service the reservation inquiry which originated from a customer to the first vendor, the second vendor providing a rental resource to the customer in accordance with the reservation inquiry if selected by the customer; and means for receiving payment from the customer for the rental resource through the transportation service provider which distributes the payment between the first and second vendors in accordance with revenue sharing provision of the agreement. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
-
Specification