Matching program and system for corporate meeting planners and hospitality providers

• US 7,590,592 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2007
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: HJJ Incorporated
• Original Assignee: HJJ Incorporated
• Inventors: Etkin, James M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Campen; Kelly
• Application Number:
  US11/625,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20070118440A1
• Time in Patent Office: 967 Days
• Field of Search: 705/37, 705/26, 705/5, 705/14, 705/8, 705/36.R, 705/9, 235/494
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

The computerized bidding method matches hospitality facility data and meeting requirement data, permits the posting of offers and responsive bidding by both hospitality facility vendors and meeting planners, and facilitates the exchange of data. In a simplified system, meeting planner requirement data (at least meeting planner contact data, facilities requirement data, date range data and price data) is matched to hotel or hospitality vendor data (at least vendor contact data, location data, room quantity data, date available range data, and meeting room data), and the system sends planner offer data to matching hospitality vendors without disclosing the planner contact data. Thereafter, the hotel vendors respond and the responses are sent to the meeting planner posting the offer. The presentation to the planner may be in spread sheet form, sorted by pre-set criteria.

Claims

1. A computerized bidding, matching and information exchange method accessible on a telecommunications network for matching hospitality facility data, representing vendors furnishing hotel facilities, meeting room facilities or other hospitality facilities, with meeting requirement data, representing respective necessities of a plurality of meeting planners for a corresponding plurality of meetings or events, the bidding, matching and information exchange method comprising:

gathering and storing, via said telecommunications network, said hospitality facility data for said plurality of vendors and said meeting requirement data for said plurality of meeting planners in a database accessible via said telecommunications network, said hospitality facility data including at least vendor contact data, location data, room quantity data, date available range data, and meeting room data;

gathering meeting requirement offer data, via said telecommunications network, including at least meeting planner contact data, facilities requirement data, date range data and price data, and

matching meeting requirement offer data with hospitality facility data on said database and communicating said meeting requirement offer data, via said telecommunications network, to matching vendors with the matching hospitality facility data and withholding, from matching vendors, said meeting planner contact data associated with said meeting requirement offer data; and

gathering responsive hospitality bid data, via said telecommunications network, from a plurality of interested matching vendors relative to said meeting requirement offer data and communicating said responsive hospitality bid data, via said telecommunications network, to said meeting planner posting said meeting requirement offer data.

2. A computerized bidding, matching and information exchange method as claimed in claim 1 wherein communicating said responsive hospitality bid data to said meeting planner includes preparing in a spread sheet format said responsive hospitality bid data from a plurality of interested matching vendors.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 including the step of verifying said hospitality facility data for said plurality of vendors and said meeting planner data prior to gathering meeting requirement offer data, matching meeting requirement offer data and gathering responsive hospitality bid data.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the method includes, prior to communicating said responsive hospitality bid data, sorting and ordering responsive bid data based upon predetermined criteria which includes a data characteristic of at least one from the group of price data, location data, meeting room data, and date range data and then preparing said spread sheet with the sorted and ordered data.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 including the step of presenting to hospitality facility vendors and meeting planners who are both offering parties and bidding parties all posted offers and bids unique to those parties.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 including the step of verifying said hospitality facility data for said plurality of vendors and said meeting planner data prior to gathering meeting requirement offer data, matching meeting requirement offer data and gathering responsive hospitality bid data.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the method includes, prior to communicating said responsive hospitality bid data, sorting and ordering responsive bid data based upon predetermined criteria which includes a data characteristic of at least one from the group of price data, location data, meeting room data, and date range data.

8. A computerized bidding, matching and information exchange method as claimed in claim 7 wherein communicating said responsive hospitality bid data to said meeting planner includes preparing in a spread sheet format the sorted and ordered responsive hospitality bid data from a plurality of interested matching vendors.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 including the step of presenting to hospitality facility vendors and meeting planners who are both offering parties and bidding parties all posted offers and bids unique to those parties.