System and method for allocating a conditional purchase offer for a travel related services reservation to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer driven electronic commerce system
First Claim
1. A method of using a computer system to allocate a conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer-driven system, comprising:
- receiving on said computer the conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation in a specified relevant market area;
identifying via said computer at least one of the plurality of entities capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer;
wherein the identifying step comprises;
searching a database to identify hotel properties within the relevant market area that can satisfy the conditional purchase offer; and
for each identified hotel property, identifying the entity associated with the identified hotel property; and
determining each identified entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area;
determining a percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to each of the identified entities in the relevant market area;
determining a relevant market share gap for each of the identified entities by subtracting the percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to the entity in the relevant market area from that entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area; and
allocating the first-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer to the identified entity having the largest negative relevant market share gap.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of allocating a conditional purchase offer for a product or service to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer-driven system. The conditional purchase offer for the product or service in a specified relevant market area is received and at least one of the plurality of entities capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer are identified. A first-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer is allocated to one of the identified entities and, if it is determined that that entity cannot accept the conditional purchase offer, then a second-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer is provided to one of the remaining entities. The opportunity to accept the offer is provided to each entity according to the allocation until an entity accepts the conditional purchase offer or no eligible entities remain.
154 Citations
78 Claims
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1. A method of using a computer system to allocate a conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer-driven system, comprising:
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receiving on said computer the conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation in a specified relevant market area; identifying via said computer at least one of the plurality of entities capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer;
wherein the identifying step comprises;searching a database to identify hotel properties within the relevant market area that can satisfy the conditional purchase offer; and for each identified hotel property, identifying the entity associated with the identified hotel property; and determining each identified entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area; determining a percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to each of the identified entities in the relevant market area; determining a relevant market share gap for each of the identified entities by subtracting the percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to the entity in the relevant market area from that entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area; and allocating the first-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer to the identified entity having the largest negative relevant market share gap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for allocating a conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer-driven commerce system, comprising:
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an electronic storage device for storing information on entities and hotels capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer; and a central controller for processing the conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation in a specified relevant market area, the central controller in communication with the electronic storage device to identify at least one of the plurality of entities capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer, wherein the central controller searches a database in the electronic storage device to identify hotel properties within the relevant market area that can satisfy the conditional purchase offer and the entity associated with each of the identified hotel properties; wherein the central controller searches a database stored in the electronic storage device to determine a relevant market share gap for each of the identified entities by subtracting a percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to the entity in the relevant market area from that entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area and the central controller allocates the first-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer to the identified entity having the largest negative relevant market share gap. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method of using a web server to allocate a conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer-driven system, comprising:
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receiving on said web server the conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation in a specified relevant market area from a buyer filling out at least one electronic form on a web page provided by the web server; identifying at least one of the plurality of entities capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer;
wherein the identifying step comprises;searching a database to identify hotel properties within the relevant market area that can satisfy the conditional purchase offer; and for each identified hotel property, identifying the entity associated with the identified hotel property; and
further comprising;determining each identified entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area; determining a percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to each of the identified entities in the relevant market area; determining a relevant market share gap for each of the identified entities by subtracting the percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to the entity in the relevant market area from that entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area; and allocating the first-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer to the identified entity having the largest negative relevant market share gap. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A system for allocating a conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation to one of a plurality of entities in a buyer-driven commerce system, comprising:
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a web server providing a web page accessible by a buyer; a storage device for storing information on entities and hotels capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer; and a computer processor for receiving the conditional purchase offer from the buyer utilizing a web browser to access the web page and for processing the conditional purchase offer for a hotel reservation in a specified relevant market area, the processor in communication with the storage device to identify at least one of the plurality of entities capable of satisfying the conditional purchase offer, wherein the processor searches a database in the storage device to identify hotel properties within the relevant market area that can satisfy the conditional purchase offer and the entity associated with each of the identified hotel properties; wherein the processor searches a database stored in the storage device to determine a relevant market share gap for each of the identified entities by subtracting the percentage of first-look opportunities previously provided to the entity in the relevant market area from that entity'"'"'s market share percentage in the relevant market area and the processor allocates the first-look opportunity to accept the conditional purchase offer to the identified entity having the largest negative relevant market share gap. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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Specification