Global reservations transaction management system and method
First Claim
1. A processor-readable medium comprising code representing instructions to cause a processor to:
- receive guest information from a first guest, said guest information including at least one item selected from the group of a name, a market segment, and a point of origin;
receive a room request from said first guest, said room request from said first guest including at least one item selected from the group of an arrival date, a length of stay, and at least one room attribute;
determine, based at least partially on the received guest information, a predetermined category of guests within which the first guest can be classified, the predetermined category of guests including guests having similar guest profile information;
determine, based at least partially on the received room request, a predetermined category of room from which the room request can be satisfied;
access an inventory of hotel rooms that is organized as a hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes associated with a room;
wherein said hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes comprises;
a plurality of first attribute combinations, second attribute combinations, and third attribute combinations, wherein each said first attribute combination comprises at least one second attribute combination and each said second attribute combination comprises at least one third attribute combination;
determine whether a room satisfying said at least one room attribute in said room request is available within said inventory of rooms based on said plurality of attributes associated with said room; and
determine a room rate for said first guest based on the predetermined category of guests and further based on a forecast of demand for a room from the predetermined category of room, said forecast of demand being based on historical data.
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Abstract
A reservation system and methodology ensures that all changes to a database in a federation are reliably and immediately communicated to all of the other databases in the federation. The system communicates information concerning hotel reservation transactions. The system comprises multiple applications each associated with one or more databases including hotel reservation data. The databases in the federation reflect transactions that are communicated to other databases and they also employ information received from other databases in determining the transactions that their associated local applications permit and the way in which they are processed. In one embodiment of the invention, communication among databases occurs through the Internet and data storage devices via secure packetized messages addressed to objects that represent the relevant databases. The system of the present invention also preferably includes a central database that functions as the primary source for verifying reservations and hotel data. Additionally, the system of the present invention also includes a yield subsystem that allows hotels to increase revenues. The yield subsystem calculates rates and availability based upon forecasted changes in supply and customer segment demand.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A processor-readable medium comprising code representing instructions to cause a processor to:
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receive guest information from a first guest, said guest information including at least one item selected from the group of a name, a market segment, and a point of origin; receive a room request from said first guest, said room request from said first guest including at least one item selected from the group of an arrival date, a length of stay, and at least one room attribute; determine, based at least partially on the received guest information, a predetermined category of guests within which the first guest can be classified, the predetermined category of guests including guests having similar guest profile information; determine, based at least partially on the received room request, a predetermined category of room from which the room request can be satisfied; access an inventory of hotel rooms that is organized as a hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes associated with a room; wherein said hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes comprises;
a plurality of first attribute combinations, second attribute combinations, and third attribute combinations, wherein each said first attribute combination comprises at least one second attribute combination and each said second attribute combination comprises at least one third attribute combination;determine whether a room satisfying said at least one room attribute in said room request is available within said inventory of rooms based on said plurality of attributes associated with said room; and determine a room rate for said first guest based on the predetermined category of guests and further based on a forecast of demand for a room from the predetermined category of room, said forecast of demand being based on historical data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system, comprising:
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an interface configured to receive guest information and a room request from a first guest; and a processor in communication with the interface, the processor being configured to; determine, based partially on received guest information, a predetermined category of guests within which the first guest can be classified, the predetermined category of guests including guests having similar guest profile information, determine, based at least partially on the room request, a predetermined category of room from which the room request can be satisfied, access an inventory of hotel rooms that is organized as a hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes associated with a room, wherein said hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes comprises;
a plurality of first attribute combinations, second attribute combinations, and third attribute combinations, wherein each said first attribute combination comprises at least one second attribute combination and each said second attribute combination comprises at least one third attribute combination;determine whether a room satisfying at least one room attribute in said room request is available within said inventory of rooms based on said plurality of attributes associated with said room, and determine a room rate for the first guest based on the predetermined category of guests and further based on a forecast of demand for a room from the predetermined category of room, the forecast of demand being based on historical data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A system, comprising:
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a centralized database configured to store historical data and information associated with an inventory of rooms for a first lodging property and information associated with an inventory of rooms for a second lodging property; a first external database in communication with the centralized database, the first external database being configured to store inventory information associated with the first lodging property, the inventory information including availability information and pricing information associated with the first lodging property; a second external database in communication with the centralized database, the second external database being configured to store inventory information associated with the second lodging property, the inventory information including availability information and pricing information associated with the second lodging property; and a reservations management system in communication with the centralized database and at least one database selected from the group of the first external database and the second external database, the reservations management system being configured to; determine, based at least partially on guest information for a guest, a predetermined category of guests within which the guest can be classified, the predetermined category of guests including guests having similar guest profile information, determine, based at least partially on a room request made by the guest, a predetermined category of room from which the room request can be satisfied, access an inventory of hotel rooms that is organized as a hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes associated with a room, wherein said hierarchal combination of a plurality of attributes comprises;
a plurality of first attribute combinations, second attribute combinations, and third attribute combinations, wherein each said first attribute combination comprises at least one second attribute combination and each said second attribute combination comprises at least one third attribute combination;determine whether a room satisfying at least one room attribute in said room request is available within said inventory of rooms based on said plurality of attributes associated with said room, and determine a room rate for the guest based on the predetermined category of guests a forecast of demand for a room from the predetermined category of room, the forecast of demand being based on historical data received from the centralized database. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification