Automatic internet access activation for user device after detecting its locally unrecognized device identifier on network of hospitality establishment

• US 9,130,934 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
• Inventors: Warrick, Peter S., Wookey, Joshua M., Ong, David T., McBeth, Ian S., Ziebart, Darren T., MacMillan, Andrew T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAPIAN, ALEXANDER R
• Application Number:
  US13/874,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20130305320A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/103 across network layers, e.g. resolution of network layer into physical layer addresses or address resolution protocol [ARP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

A service controller includes a network interface for coupling to a local area network of a hospitality establishment, and one or more processors coupled to the network interface. The one or more processors are configured to detect a device identifier of a user device on a local area network of a hospitality establishment, determine whether a guest of the hospitality establishment is associated with the device identifier, and automatically activate a service for the user device at the hospitality establishment in response to detecting the device identifier on the local area network when a guest of the hospitality establishment is determined to be associated with the device identifier.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a device identifier of a user device in network traffic transmitted on a local area network of a hospitality establishment;

determining that the device identifier is unrecognized locally at the hospitality establishment;

in response to determining the device identifier to be unrecognized locally, querying a user profile database via the Internet to find a particular user identifier that is associated with the detected device identifier, wherein the user profile database is remote from the hospitality establishment and stores associations between one or more device identifiers and one or more user identifiers;

in response to finding the particular user identifier that is associated with the detected device identifier from the user profile database, querying a property management system (PMS) of the hospitality establishment to determine whether the particular user identifier is associated with a current guest of the hospitality establishment, wherein the PMS of the hospitality establishment stores user identifiers of currently registered guests for guest rooms of the hospitality establishment;

when the particular user identifier found from the user profile server is stored in the PMS as associated with at least one current guest of the hospitality establishment, automatically activating Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment thereby preventing the user device from needing to display a login portal before gaining access to the Internet; and

when the particular user identifier found from the user profile server is not stored in the PMS as associated with at least one current guest of the hospitality establishment, preventing the user device from accessing the Internet and causing the user device to display the login portal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

querying the user profile database to find the particular user identifier that is associated with the device identifier according to the hospitality establishment where the device identifier was detected;

wherein the user profile database stores a respective user identifier associated with the device identifier for each of a plurality of different hospitality establishments.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular user identifier is a loyalty program member identifier of the hospitality establishment where the device identifier was detected.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving user information associated with the particular user identifier; and

automatically activating Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment with a bandwidth entitlement set according to the user information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an initial zone of the hospitality establishment at which the user device is located when Internet access is automatically activated; and

automatically activating Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment with an Internet access time entitlement set according to the initial zone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected device identifier is the user device'"'"'s media access control (MAC) address.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting the device identifier in a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) message transmitted on the local area network of the hospitality establishment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

a firewall controlling access between the local area network of the hospitality establishment and the Internet by default prevents unauthorized user devices from accessing the Internet; and

automatically activating Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment comprises adding to the firewall a device-specific exception authorizing the user device to access the Internet.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically activating Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment further comprises sending a guest-specific message to the user device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the hospitality establishment is a lodging establishment.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the method of claim 1.

12. A service controller comprising:

a network interface for coupling to a local area network of a hospitality establishment; and

one or more processors coupled to the network interface and configured to;

detect a device identifier of a user device in network traffic transmitted on a local area network of the hospitality establishment;

determine that the device identifier is unrecognized locally at the hospitality establishment;

in response to determining the device identifier to be unrecognized locally, query a user profile database via the Internet to find a particular user identifier that is associated with the detected device identifier, wherein the user profile database is remote from the hospitality establishment and stores associations between one or more device identifiers and one or more user identifiers;

in response to finding the particular user identifier that is associated with the detected device identifier from the user profile database, query a property management system (PMS) of the hospitality establishment to determine whether the particular user identifier is associated with a current guest of the hospitality establishment, wherein the PMS of the hospitality establishment stores user identifiers of currently registered guests for guest rooms of the hospitality establishment;

when the particular user identifier found from the user profile server is stored in the PMS as associated with at least one current guest of the hospitality establishment, automatically activate Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment thereby preventing the user device from needing to display a login portal before gaining access to the Internet; and

when the particular user identifier found from the user profile server is not stored in the PMS as associated with at least one current guest of the hospitality establishment, prevent the user device from accessing the Internet and cause the user device to display the login portal.

13. The service controller of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

query the user profile database to find the particular user identifier that is associated with the device identifier according to the hospitality establishment where the device identifier was detected;

wherein the user profile database stores a respective user identifier associated with the device identifier for each of a plurality of different hospitality establishments.

14. The service controller of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

retrieve user information associated with the particular user identifier; and

automatically activate Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment with a bandwidth entitlement set according to the user information.

15. The service controller of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine an initial zone of the hospitality establishment at which the user device is located when Internet access is automatically activated; and

automatically activate the service for the user device at the hospitality establishment with an Internet access time entitlement set according to the initial zone.

16. The service controller of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receive user authentication information from the user device;

determine a corresponding user identifier that is associated with the user authentication information; and

associate the device identifier of the user device with the corresponding user identifier in the user profile database.

17. The service controller of claim 12, wherein:

a firewall controlling access between the local area network of the hospitality establishment and the Internet by default prevents unauthorized user devices from accessing the Internet; and

the one or more processors are further configured to automatically activate Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment by adding to the firewall a device-specific exception authorizing the user device to access the Internet.

18. A system comprising:

a user profile database coupled to the Internet and storing associations between one or more device identifiers and one or more user identifiers;

a property management system (PMS) of a hospitality establishment storing user identifiers of currently registered guests for rooms of the hospitality establishment; and

a service controller coupled to the user profile database, the guest database, and a local area network of the hospitality establishment;

wherein the service controller is operable to;

detect a device identifier of a user device in network traffic transmitted on the local area network of the hospitality establishment;

determine that the device identifier is unrecognized locally at the hospitality establishment;

in response to determining the device identifier to be unrecognized locally, query the user profile database via the Internet to find a particular user identifier that is associated with the detected device identifier;

in response to finding the particular user identifier that is associated with the detected device identifier from the user profile database, query the PMS to determine whether the particular user identifier is associated with a current guest of the hospitality establishment;

when the particular user identifier found from the user profile server is stored in the PMS as associated with at least one current guest of the hospitality establishment, automatically activate Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment thereby preventing the user device from needing to display a login portal before gaining access to the Internet; and

when the particular user identifier found from the user profile server is not stored in the PMS as associated with at least one current guest of the hospitality establishment, prevent the user device from accessing the Internet and cause the user device to display the login portal.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the service controller is further operable to:

retrieve user information associated with the particular user identifier; and

automatically activate Internet access for the user device at the hospitality establishment with a bandwidth entitlement set according to the user information.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the service controller is further operable to:

determine an initial zone of the hospitality establishment at which the user device is located when Internet access is automatically activated; and

automatically activate the service for the user device at the hospitality establishment with an Internet access time entitlement set according to the initial zone.