Calendar-based suggestion of a travel option

• US 8,972,429 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2013
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hipmunk Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Hipmunk Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Goldstein, Adam Julian, Huffman, Steven Ladd
• Primary Examiner(s): PYO, MONICA M
• Application Number:
  US14/061,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20140046706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 495 Days
• Field of Search: 707/713, 707/758, 707/780, 705/5
• US Class Current: 707/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies

Abstract

Calendar-based suggestion of travel options involves suggesting a travel option based on events stored in a calendar of a user. For example, a user in San Francisco may be scheduled for a business trip to New York, and the user'"'"'s calendar may show a dinner reservation in San Francisco on Saturday, September 3 and business meeting in New York on Monday, September 5. A suggestion machine accesses calendar data of the user and travel data for several available travel options (e.g., flights from San Francisco to New York). Based on the accessed calendar data and travel data, the suggestion machine determines that one or more travel options (e.g., a flight on Sunday, September 4) are compatible with the dinner reservation and the business meeting on the user'"'"'s calendar. The suggestion machine presents these compatible travel options to the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing a calendar of a user, the calendar indicating a first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in a scheduled event, the calendar indicating a location of the scheduled event in which the user is scheduled to participate;

accessing multiple unreserved travel options available for reservation by the user, the multiple unreserved travel options including an unreserved travel option that is schedulable to occur within a second period of time;

determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event based on the location of the scheduled event being a nonphysical location indicated by a flag and based on the second period of time in which the unreserved travel option is schedulable to occur encompassing the first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in the scheduled event, the determining being performed by a processor of a machine; and

determining a rank of the unreserved travel option based on the nonphysical location of the scheduled event; and

presenting a suggestion that the user reserve the unreserved travel option determined to be compatible with the scheduled event, the presenting of the suggestion being based on the determined rank of the unreserved travel option.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the accessing of the multiple unreserved travel options includes accessing multiple transportation options available for reservation by the user;

the unreserved travel option is a transportation option among the multiple transportation options; and

the determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with scheduled event includes determining that the second period of time in which the transportation option is schedulable to occur falls within the first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in the scheduled event.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the accessing of the multiple transportation options includes accessing schedule information of a transportation service that corresponds to a vehicle selected from a group consisting of a train, a bus, a trolley, and a ferry; and

the unreserved travel option includes travel by the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the accessing of the multiple transportation options includes accessing flight information referencing an airline flight; and

the unreserved travel option includes the airline flight.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

the accessing of the multiple unreserved travel options includes accessing multiple accommodation options available for reservation by the user;

the unreserved travel option is an accommodation option among the multiple accommodation options; and

the determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event includes determining that the second period of time in which the accommodation option is schedulable falls within the first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in the scheduled event.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the accessing of the multiple accommodation options includes accessing hotel information referencing a hotel stay; and

the unreserved travel option includes the hotel stay.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the calendar indicates multiple locations that correspond to multiple scheduled events inclusive of the scheduled event in which the user is scheduled to participate;

the accommodation option indicates a location of the accommodation option; and

the determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with scheduled event includes determining that a centroid of the multiple locations is within a threshold distance of the location of the accommodation option.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the calendar indicates a first location of the scheduled event in which the user is scheduled to participate, the scheduled event being an initial scheduled event in a sequence of multiple scheduled events at multiple locations that include the first location;

the accommodation option indicates a second location of the accommodation option; and

the determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event includes determining that the first location of the initial scheduled event is within a threshold distance of the second location of the accommodation option.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the calendar indicates a first location of the scheduled event in which the user is scheduled to participate, the scheduled event being a final scheduled event in a sequence of multiple scheduled events at multiple locations that include the first location;

the accommodation option indicates a second location of the accommodation option; and

the determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event includes determining that the first location of the final scheduled event is within a threshold distance of the second location of the accommodation option.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the presenting of the suggestion presents the suggestion with a reminder that the scheduled event is scheduled for the first period of time.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the presenting of the suggestion presents the suggestion and the reminder together in a communication sent to a device of the user.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the calendar indicates an attendee of the scheduled event other than the user; and

the presenting of the suggestion presents the suggestion and the reminder together in a communication sent to a device of the attendee.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the presenting of the suggestion presents the suggestion with a representation of the first period of time and a representation of the second period of time within the calendar.

14. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

accessing a calendar of a user, the calendar indicating a first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in a scheduled event, the calendar indicating a location of the scheduled event in which the user is scheduled to participate;

accessing multiple unreserved travel options available for reservation by the user, the multiple unreserved travel options including an unreserved travel option that is schedulable to occur within a second period of time;

determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event based on the location of the scheduled event being a nonphysical location indicated by a flag and based on the second period of time in which the unreserved travel option is schedulable to occur encompassing the first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in the scheduled event;

determining a rank of the unreserved travel option based on the nonphysical location of the scheduled event; and

presenting a suggestion that the user reserve the unreserved travel option determined to be compatible with the scheduled event, the presenting of the suggestion being based on the determined rank of the unreserved travel option.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein:

the accessing of the multiple unreserved travel options includes accessing multiple accommodation options available for reservation by the user;

the unreserved travel option is an accommodation option among the multiple accommodation options; and

the determining that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event includes determining that the second period of time in which the accommodation option is schedulable falls within the first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in the scheduled event.

16. A system comprising:

an access module configured to;

access a calendar of a user, the calendar indicating a first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in a scheduled event, the calendar indicating a location of the scheduled event in which the user is scheduled to participate; and

access multiple unreserved travel options available for reservation by the user, the multiple unreserved travel options including an unreserved travel option that is schedulable to occur within a second period of time;

a processor configured by an analysis module to determine that the unreserved travel option is compatible with the scheduled event based on the location of the scheduled event being a nonphysical location indicated by a flag and based on the second period of time in which the unreserved travel option is schedulable to occur encompassing the first period of time during which the user is scheduled to participate in the scheduled event;

a cost module configured to determine a rank of the unreserved travel option based on the nonphysical location of the scheduled event; and

a suggestion module configured to present a suggestion that the user reserve the unreserved travel option determined to be compatible with the scheduled event, the presenting of the suggestion being based on the determined rank of the unreserved travel option.