Systems and Methods to Provide Offers to Travelers

• US 20110264501A1
• Filed: 04/25/2011
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Clyne, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 9,471,926 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/405 Establishing or using transaction specific rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/009 User recognition or proximity detection

Abstract

In one aspect, a computing apparatus includes: a transaction handler configured to process transactions; a data warehouse configured to store transaction data recording the transactions and to store event data for travel related events; a pattern detector configured to identify correlation data relating transaction patterns in the transaction data and the events identified in the event data; a portal configured to, in response to an occurrence of a first event, provide merchants with a report of a predicted spending pattern, including the identification of a set of consumers, identified based on the correlation data and data identifying the first event; a score generator to compute a value score for a traveler based on transaction data of the traveler; and a data services platform configured to provide the value score to a hotelier in response to a transaction processed by the transaction handler to check in the traveler at the hotelier.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

processing, by a transaction handler, transactions of a traveler, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of the traveler, as issued by the issuer, being submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the traveler, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;

computing, by a computing device coupled with the transaction handler, a value score of the traveler based on the transactions processed by the transaction handler, the value score indicative of a value of the traveler to merchants of a predetermined type; and

providing, by the computing device, the value score of the traveler to a first merchant of the predetermined type in response to the traveler being identified to the transaction handler via the account identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the merchants provide hotel services.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the traveler is identified to the transaction handler in a transaction to check the traveler into a hotel operated by the first merchant.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the value score of the traveler facilitates a decision by the first merchant to provide an offer to the traveler.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

registering the traveler based on the account identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enrolling the traveler in a program that provides travel related incentives to the travelers who are enrolled in the program; and

generating a model to compute the value score of the traveler based on transaction data of the travelers who are enrolled in the program.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the traveler whose value score is provided to the first merchant has not yet been enrolled in the program.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the value score is determined based on a factor value of an aggregated spending profile of the traveler;

and the factor value is relevant to the predetermined type of merchants.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the factor value is computed using the transaction data of the traveler based on factor definitions determined from a factor analysis of transaction data of a plurality of users.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the value score is determined based on a distance to a spending cluster identified from a cluster analysis of transaction data of a plurality of users.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the value score is further based on data identifying one or more events related to travel.

12. A tangible computer-storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising:

identifying, by the computing device, transaction data related to travel spending;

identifying, by the computing device, data representing events;

correlating, by the computing device, the transaction data related to the travel spending and the data representing the events; and

predicting, by the computing device, spending patterns in response to an event, based on the correlating the transaction data related to the travel spending and the data representing the events.

13. The computer-storage medium of claim 12, further comprising:

identifying a set of customers based on the spending patterns.

14. The computer-storage medium of claim 13, further comprising:

registering a plurality of merchants in a program; and

providing identifications of the set of customers to the merchants who have registered in the program.

15. The computer-storage medium of claim 12, further comprising:

identifying an offer relevant to the spending patterns; and

providing the offer to the set of customers on behalf of a merchant.

16. A computing apparatus, comprising:

a transaction handler configured to process transactions, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of a user, as issued by the issuer, being submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the user, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;

a data warehouse coupled to the transaction handler to store transaction data recording the transactions, the data warehouse configured to further store event data for events related to travel;

a pattern detector coupled with the data warehouse to identify correlation data relating transaction patterns in the transaction data and the events identified in the event data; and

a portal configured to provide a report of a predicted spending pattern identified based on the correlation data and data identifying a first event, in response to an occurrence of the first event.

17. The computing apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a score generator to compute a value score for a traveler based on transaction data of the traveler; and

a data services platform configured to provide the value score of the traveler to a hotelier in response to a transaction processed by the transaction handler to check in the traveler at the hotelier.

18. The computing apparatus of claim 17, wherein the data services platform is configured to provide the value score of the traveler via at least one of:

a query application programming interface, a web service, and a subscription service.

19. The computing apparatus of claim 17, wherein the value score is further based on the predicted spending pattern.

20. The computing apparatus of claim 16, further comprising:

a gateway configured to register account identifiers and mobile phone information of travelers, wherein the gateway is configured to provide to the travelers, via communications to mobile phones of the travelers, travel related offers identified based on the predicted spending pattern.