Software to provide geographically relevant website content

• US 8,443,053 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bookit Operating LLC
• Original Assignee: Bookit.com Incorporated
• Inventors: Finlaw, Arthur P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Imad
• Application Number:
  US13/242,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20120035967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/218
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Internet based software application that identifies the geographic location of each a website visitor by their IP address to provide geographically relevant content to each individual visitor in a customized web page. In an embodiment, content can be further customized by web page viewing patterns of users in similar geographic locations. In an embodiment the software application matches the visitor'"'"'s location to likely travel departure points with offerings likely to interest a visitor from said location and displays likely attractive offers dynamically to that visitor.

Claims

1. A computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content, the computer-based method comprising:

receiving at an internet hosting server an initial request for internet content associated with a website from a browser operating on a remote computer;

reading a remote internet protocol address of the remote computer via the internet hosting server after the internet hosting server receives the initial request for internet content associated with the website from the browser operating on the remote computer;

determining, by utilizing instructions stored in memory and executed by a processor, a primary home airport based upon the remote internet protocol address of the remote computer;

searching a computer database for available flight and hotel packages having flights originating at the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address;

identifying, via the processor, preferred flight and hotel packages from among the available flight and hotel packages having flights originating at the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address by removing travel packages from among the available flight and hotel packages that have destinations unlikely to be popular for a particular region associated with the remote internet protocol address; and

providing preferred flight and hotel package information after the internet hosting server receives the initial request for internet content associated with the website from the browser operating on the remote computer, such that a dedicated portion of the website displays, without any user input once at the website, flight and hotel package content that have destinations that are determined by the processor to be geographically relevant to website visitors from the particular region, wherein no flight and hotel package information is predetermined.

2. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 1, wherein the preferred flight and hotel packages are determined by identifying, via the processor, travel packages from among the available flight and hotel packages that have destinations with an average seasonal temperature above a predetermined value.

3. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 1, wherein the preferred flight and hotel packages are ranked by the processor before being displayed within the dedicated portion of the website.

4. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 1, the computer-based method comprising monitoring what a website visitor views while at the website during an initial visit, and on subsequent visits to the website by the website visitor, products similar to those viewed are ranked higher by the processor.

5. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 1, wherein the representations of the preferred flight and hotel packages displayed within the dedicated portion of the website include a name of an associated destination, a name of an associated resort, and a picture of the associated resort.

6. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 1, wherein the preferred flight and hotel packages are determined by the processor based upon recent viewing trends of other website visitors from the particular region.

7. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 1, wherein the web site is further configured to display a map that graphically depicts the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address, and only destinations associated with the preferred flight and hotel packages.

8. A computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content, the computer-based method comprising:

receiving at an internet hosting server an initial request for internet content associated with a website from a browser operating on a remote computer;

reading a remote internet protocol address of the remote computer via the internet hosting server after the internet hosting server receives the initial request for internet content associated with the website from the browser operating on the remote computer;

determining, by utilizing instructions stored in memory and executed by a processor, a geographic region and a primary home airport based upon the remote internet protocol address of the remote computer;

searching a computer database via the processor for available flight and hotel packages having flights originating at the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address;

identifying, via the processor, preferred flight and hotel packages from among the available flight and hotel packages having flights originating at the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address by removing flight and hotel packages unlikely to be purchased based upon respective destination; and

providing preferred flight and hotel package information after the internet hosting server receives the initial request for internet content associated with the website from the browser operating on the remote computer, such that a dedicated portion of the website displays, without any user input once at the website, flight and hotel package content that have destinations that are determined by the processor to be geographically relevant to website visitors from the geographic region associated with the remote internet protocol address, wherein no flight and hotel package information is predetermined.

9. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 8, wherein the preferred flight and hotel packages are determined by identifying, via the processor, flight and hotel packages from among the available flight and hotel packages that have destinations with an average seasonal temperature above a predetermined value.

10. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 8, wherein the preferred flight and hotel packages are ranked by the processor before being displayed within the dedicated portion of the website.

11. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 10, the computer-based method comprising monitoring what a web site visitor views while at the web site during an initial visit, and on subsequent visits to the website by the website visitor, products similar to those viewed are ranked higher by the processor.

12. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 8, wherein each representation of a preferred flight and hotel package displayed within the dedicated portion of the website includes a picture and a name of a resort associated with the preferred flight and hotel package.

13. The computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content of claim 8, wherein the website allows the website visitor to edit the primary home airport that is initially determined based upon remote internet protocol address.

14. A computer-based method for automatically presenting geographically relevant internet content, the computer-based method comprising:

receiving at an internet hosting server an initial request for internet content associated with a website from a browser operating on a remote computer;

reading a remote internet protocol address of the remote computer via the internet hosting server after the internet hosting server receives the initial request for internet content associated with the website from the browser operating on the remote computer;

determining, by utilizing instructions stored in memory and executed by a processor, a geographic region and a primary home airport based upon the remote internet protocol address of the remote computer;

searching a computer database via the processor for available flight and hotel packages having flights originating at the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address;

identifying, via the processor, preferred flight and hotel packages from among the available flight and hotel packages having flights originating at the primary home airport that is determined using the remote internet protocol address by removing flight and hotel packages from the available flight and hotel packages that are determined to be geographically irrelevant to website visitors from the geographic region determined using the remote internet protocol address; and

providing preferred flight and hotel package information within an initial display of the web site such that after the internet hosting server receives the initial request for internet content associated with the website from the browser operating on the remote computer, such that a dedicated portion of the website displays, without any user input once at the website, flight and hotel package content that have destinations that are determined by the processor to be geographically relevant to web site visitors from the geographic region associated with the remote internet protocol address, wherein no flight and hotel package information is predetermined.