Method and system for reserving future purchases of goods and services

• US 9,064,258 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Holdit, LLC
• Original Assignee: Smart Options LLC
• Inventors: Pappas, Christian S., Brown, Charles P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Niquette, Robert R
• Application Number:
  US13/797,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20130191269A1
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/10 Services
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

A method and system for reserving future purchases of goods or services or events. A sub-set of reservations from a set of available reservations used to reserve a spot in a facility or at an event are associated with and selectable with plural electronic options. The plural electronic options are also associated with reservation requests if no actual available reservation are available and automatically converted to electronic options for actual reservation if a reservation later becomes available at the facility or event.

Claims

1. A method for providing electronic options for goods or services or events or places, comprising:

providing from a server application on a sever network device with one or more processors a plurality of electronic options associated with a subset of reservation slots held out of a general reservation pool used to reserve a spot in a facility or at an event and put into a priority reservation system providing priority access or entry to the facility or event and accessible from a general reservation system, wherein the plurality of electronic options are not supplied or governed via a central government agency and are not supplied or governed via security laws and wherein the electronic options includes one or more different electronic option terms for one or more different suppliers, wherein the electronic option terms for a desired supplier are unique to the desired supplier;

selecting from the server application, a sub-set of reservations from a set of available reservations used to reserve the spot in the facility or at the event, wherein individual reservations from the sub-set of reservations are associated with and selectable with the plurality of electronic options;

displaying the plurality of electronic options associated with the sub-set of reservations on a plurality of client applications on a plurality of client network devices each with one or more processors from the server network device via a communications network;

receiving a payment message on the server application on the server network device via the communications network from a first client application on a first client network device including electronic payment of a pre-determined electronic option fee to purchase an electronic option for a selected individual reservation in the sub-set of reservations;

recording the purchase of the electronic option from the server network device in a database associated with the server network device;

receiving an exercise message on the server application on the server network device from the first application on the first client network device via the communications network to exercise the purchased electronic option for the selected individual reservation; and

sending a confirmation message from the server application on the server network device via the communications network to the first client application on the first client network device indicating the purchased electronic option is valid and can be exercised by the first client network device for the purchased electronic option for the selected individual reservation at the facility or event.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic option includes a personalized electronic reservation created with electronic information obtained from one or more selection inputs received on the server application on the server network device from the first client application on the first client network device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic option further includes a personalized electronic coupon created used electronic information obtained from one or more selection inputs received on the server application on the server network device from the first client application on the first client network device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the facility includes a restaurant and the spot in the facility includes a table in the restaurant.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein electronic option includes a reservation request for a table in a restaurant when no actual reservations are currently available for tables in the restaurant.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

accepting electronic options for reservation requests when no actual reservations are available for a sport at a facility or an event; and

converting the electronic option for the reservation request into an electronic option for an actual reservation when an actual reservation becomes available.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the server network device includes an electronic kiosk with a graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein electronic options are associated with a plurality of sub-sets of reservations from a plurality of sets of available reservations and are used to reserve spots in a plurality of different facilities or at a plurality of different events for a same time period.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

receiving a second exercise message on the server application on the server network device from the first application on the first client network device via the communications network to exercise a specific electronic option purchased for reserving the plurality of spots in the plurality of different facilities or at the plurality of different events for the same time period, wherein the second exercise message includes a selection of a single reservation; and

canceling automatically all reservations associated with the specific electronic option not including the selected single reservation.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein electronic options are associated with a plurality of sub-sets of reservations from a plurality of sets of available reservations and are used to reserve spots in a plurality of different facilities or at a plurality of different events for a plurality of different time periods.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

receiving a second exercise message on the server application on the server network device from the first application on the first client network device via the communications network to exercise a specific electronic option purchased for reserving the plurality of spots in the plurality of different facilities or at the plurality of different events for the plurality of different time periods, wherein the second exercise message includes a selection of a single reservation; and

canceling automatically all reservations associated with the specific electronic option not including the selected single reservation.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending from the server application on the server network device a plurality of invitation messages to a list of electronic identifiers for a group of client network devices for a group of friends associated with the purchase of the set of electronic options making the group of friends aware of the purchased set of electronic options and inviting the group of friends to exercise one or more individual electronic options from the purchased set of electronic options to join a reservation.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the plurality of invitation messages include one or more graphical buttons for selecting, purchasing or exercising one or more of the plurality of electronic options purchased for the sub-set of reservations.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the one or more graphical buttons include an OPTION IT, EXERCISE IT, JOIN ME, SIT WITH ME, MEET ME, or DINE WITH ME, graphical buttons.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the pre-determined electronic option fee is zero and a purchaser of the electronic option providers a supplier of the electronic option with other types of consideration including providing an e-mail address, phone, number, social networking identifier, picture, mandatory audio or video testimonial or completing a mandatory survey.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic options are offered and purchased according to a pre-determined priority order and a pre-determined priority ordering method.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the sub-set of reservations include reservations for airline tickets, theme part tickets, sporting event tickets or entertainment event tickets.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of client applications on the plurality of client network devices includes a plurality of smart software applications for smart phone or electronic tablet client network devices.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of electronic options include a plurality of a same electronic option or a plurality of different electronic options from a same supplier or one or more different suppliers.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein a plurality of instructions for causing one or more processors on one or more network devices to execute the steps of:

providing from a server application on a sever network device with one or more processors a plurality of electronic options associated with a subset of reservation slots held out of a general reservation pool used to reserve a spot in a facility or at an event and put into a priority reservation system providing priority access or entry to the facility or event and accessible from a general reservation system, wherein the plurality of electronic options are not supplied or governed via a central government agency and are not supplied or governed via security laws and wherein the electronic options includes one or more different electronic option terms for one or more different suppliers, wherein the electronic option terms for a desired supplier are unique to the desired supplier;

selecting from the server application, a sub-set of reservations from a set of available reservations used to reserve the spot in the facility or at the event, wherein individual reservations from the sub-set of reservations are associated with and selectable with the plurality of electronic options;

displaying the plurality of electronic options associated with the sub-set of reservations on a plurality of client applications on a plurality of client network devices each with one or more processors from the server network device via a communications network;

receiving a payment message on the server application on the server network device via the communications network from a first client application on a first client network device including electronic payment of a pre-determined electronic option fee to purchase an electronic option for a selected individual reservation in the sub-set of reservations;

recording the purchase of the electronic option from the server network device in a database associated with the server network device;

receiving an exercise message on the server application on the server network device from the first application on the first client network device via the communications network to exercise the purchased electronic option for the selected individual reservation; and

sending a confirmation message from the server application on the server network device via the communications network to the first client application on the first client network device indicating the purchased electronic option is valid and can be exercised by the first client network device for the purchased electronic option for the selected individual reservation at the facility or event.

21. A system for providing electronic options for goods or services or events comprising in combination:

a communications network;

a plurality of target network devices each with one or more processors;

a non-transitory computer readable medium on a server network device with one or more processors;

the non-transitory computer readable medium including a plurality of instructions causing the one or more processors on the server network device to be configured for;

for providing from a server application on a sever network device with one or more processors a plurality of electronic options associated with a subset of reservation slots held out of a general reservation pool used to reserve a spot in a facility or at an event and put into a priority reservation system providing priority access or entry to the facility or event and accessible from a general reservation system, wherein the plurality of electronic options are not supplied or governed via a central government agency and are not supplied or governed via security laws and wherein the electronic options includes one or more different electronic option terms for one or more different suppliers, wherein the electronic option terms for a desired supplier are unique to the desired supplier;

for selecting from the server application, a sub-set of reservations from a set of available reservations used to reserve the spot in the facility or at the event, wherein individual reservations from the sub-set of reservations are associated with and selectable with the plurality of electronic options;

for displaying the plurality of electronic options associated with the sub-set of reservations on a plurality of client applications on a plurality of client network devices each with one or more processors from the server network device via a communications network;

receiving a payment message on the server application on the server network device via the communications network from a first client application on a first client network device including electronic payment of a pre-determined electronic option fee to purchase an electronic option for a selected individual reservation in the sub-set of reservations;

for recording the purchase of the electronic option from the server network device in a database associated with the server network device;

for receiving an exercise message on the server application on the server network device from the first application on the first client network device via the communications network to exercise the purchased electronic option for the selected individual reservation; and

for sending a confirmation message from the server application on the server network device via the communications network to the first client application on the first client network device indicating the purchased electronic option is valid and can be exercised by the first client network device for the purchased electronic option for the selected individual reservation at the facility or event.