System and method for coordinating travel itineraries
First Claim
1. Method for coordinating a plurality of outbound and inbound itineraries, comprising:
- receiving a destination location, a plurality of origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler,receiving an indication regarding a relative weight between price and schedule for at least some of the outbound and inbound itineraries;
accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations;
identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information;
labeling the identified itineraries such that each of the identified outbound and inbound itineraries is associated with at least a price and schedule;
determining a suggested outbound and inbound itinerary from the labeled itineraries between the destination location and each origin location based upon the indication of the relative weight, andpresenting the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries for review.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The methods and systems for coordinating the travel itineraries of multiple travelers, who are leaving from more than one origin location, but are arriving at the same destination location, provide automated techniques for determining which itineraries for each traveler best meets the specified criteria for the trip. For example, a travel organizer may specify certain travel criteria for a trip, such as the relative importance of the travel schedules versus the price. A set of suggested travel itineraries that most closely meet the specified criteria are then provided, in addition to the amount of time between when any two travelers arrive at and/or leave from the destination location, and the price. Furthermore, the travel coordination techniques provide flexibility by allowing replacement of one or more of the suggested itineraries with other possible itineraries and recalculation of the time amounts and the price(s).
49 Citations
38 Claims
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1. Method for coordinating a plurality of outbound and inbound itineraries, comprising:
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receiving a destination location, a plurality of origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler, receiving an indication regarding a relative weight between price and schedule for at least some of the outbound and inbound itineraries; accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations; identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information; labeling the identified itineraries such that each of the identified outbound and inbound itineraries is associated with at least a price and schedule; determining a suggested outbound and inbound itinerary from the labeled itineraries between the destination location and each origin location based upon the indication of the relative weight, and presenting the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries for review. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for coordinating a plurality of outbound and inbound itineraries, comprising:
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at least one client element for receiving a destination location, a plurality of origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler, and wherein said at least one client element is also for receiving an indication regarding a relative weight between price and schedule for at least some of the outbound and inbound itineraries; at least one processing element for accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations, wherein said at least one processing element is also for identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information, wherein said at least one processing element is for labeling the identified itineraries such that each of the identified outbound and inbound itineraries is associated with at least a price and schedule, and wherein said at least one processing element is further for determining a suggested outbound and inbound itinerary from the labeled itineraries between the destination location and each origin location based upon the indication of the relative weight; and at least one display element for presenting the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries for review. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification