System and method for coordinating travel itineraries

• US 20050033614A1
• Filed: 08/05/2003
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TVL LP (Sabre Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sabre Incorporated (Sabre Corp.)
• Inventors: Lettovsky, Ladislav, Morris, Kyle N., Mehta, Saurabh Y., Ratliff, Richard M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,050,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/5
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation

Abstract

The methods and systems for coordinating the travel itineraries of multiple travelers, who are leaving from more than one origin location, but are arriving at the same destination location, provide automated techniques for determining which itineraries for each traveler best meets the specified criteria for the trip. For example, a travel organizer may specify certain travel criteria for a trip, such as the relative importance of the travel schedules versus the price. A set of suggested travel itineraries that most closely meet the specified criteria are then provided, in addition to the amount of time between when any two travelers arrive at and/or leave from the destination location, and the price. Furthermore, the travel coordination techniques provide flexibility by allowing replacement of one or more of the suggested itineraries with other possible itineraries and recalculation of the time amounts and the price(s).

Claims

1. Method for coordinating a plurality of outbound and inbound itineraries, comprising:

receiving a destination location, a plurality of origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler;

receiving an indication regarding a relative weight between price and schedule for at least some of the outbound and inbound itineraries;

accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations;

identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information; and

determining a suggested outbound and inbound itinerary from the identified itineraries between the destination location and each origin location based upon the indication of the relative weight.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

presenting the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries for review;

receiving an indication that alternative itineraries are desired for at least one of the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries associated with a respective traveler;

presenting other identified outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and an origin location for review if an indication is received that alternative itineraries are desired; and

receiving an indication of a selection of at least one of the other identified outbound and inbound itineraries.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising presenting information associated with the destination location when presenting at least one of the suggested itineraries and the identified itineraries.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining at least one of a total price for all of the suggested itineraries for all of the travelers and a price for each suggested itinerary for each traveler.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining an amount of time between when each traveler arrives at the destination location and when the last traveler arrives at the destination location for each suggested outbound itinerary.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining an amount of time between when each traveler departs the destination location and when the first traveler departs the destination location for each suggested inbound itinerary.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing the at least one identified outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting at least the suggested itinerary associated with a traveler to the respective traveler.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising presenting the identified at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and the origin location associated with a traveler to the respective traveler.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

receiving changes to at least one of the suggested outbound and inbound itinerary associated with a respective traveler; and

creating a revised group of itineraries based upon the received changes.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising determining at least one of a total price for all of the itineraries and a price for each itinerary in the revised group of itineraries.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising determining at least one of an amount of time between when each traveler arrives at the destination location and when the last traveler arrives at the destination location and an amount of time between when each traveler departs the destination location and when the first traveler departs the destination location for each itinerary in the revised group of itineraries.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving changes to the indication regarding the relative weight between price and schedule for at least one of the plurality of travel itineraries;

accessing the identified at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location;

determining at least one modified suggested itinerary between the destination location and at least one of the origin locations based upon the changes; and

replacing at least one suggested itinerary with the at least one modified suggested itinerary to create a revised group of suggested itineraries.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising determining at least one of a total price for all of the suggested itineraries and a price for each suggested itinerary in the revised group of suggested itineraries.

15. The method according to claim 13, further comprising determining at least one of:

(i) an amount of time between when each traveler arrives at the destination location and when the last traveler arrives at the destination location, and (ii) an amount of time between when each traveler departs the destination location and when the first traveler departs the destination location for each suggested itinerary in the revised group of suggested itineraries.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving payment information regarding how the travel costs for each traveler are to be paid; and

transmitting billing information based upon the payment information.

17. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving hotel rental information associated with at least one of the travelers;

accessing a travel database comprising hotel rental information for the destination location;

identifying at least one hotel itinerary from the travel database based upon the hotel rental information;

presenting the identified at least one hotel itinerary for review; and

receiving an indication of a selected hotel itinerary from the at least one hotel itinerary.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving car rental information associated with at least one of the travelers;

accessing a travel database comprising car rental information for the destination location;

identifying at least one car rental itinerary from the travel database based upon the car rental information;

presenting the at least one car rental itinerary for review; and

receiving an indication of a selected car rental itinerary from the at least one car rental itinerary.

19. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing electronic 5 communication among at least two of a travel organizer and the travelers.

20. Method for determining suggested travel itineraries based upon an amount of time between traveling times of any two travelers of a plurality of travelers, wherein the two travelers are associated with different origin locations, comprising:

receiving a destination location, at least two origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler;

accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations;

identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information;

determining at least one of;

(i) the amount of time between the arrival times for the at least one outbound itinerary associated with any two travelers, and (ii) the amount of time between the departing times for the at least one inbound itinerary associated with any two travelers; and

identifying at least one of;

(i) at least one suggested outbound itinerary for each traveler having based upon the amount of time between the arrival times of the respective traveler and at least one other traveler, and (ii) at least one suggested inbound itinerary for each traveler based upon the amount of time between the departing times of the respective traveler and at least one other traveler.

21. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

presenting the at least one suggested outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location and at least one of;

(i) the amount of time between the arrival times, and (ii) the amount of time between the departing times for at least one traveler to at least one of a travel organizer and the plurality of travelers;

receiving an indication that alternative itineraries are desired for at least one of the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries associated with a respective traveler;

presenting other identified outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and an origin location and the respective amounts of time between at least one of;

(i) the arrival times, and (ii) the departing times for the respective traveler and at least one other traveler for review if an indication is received that alternative itineraries are desired; and

receiving an indication of a selection of at least one of the other identified outbound and inbound itineraries.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising determining at least one of a total price for all of the suggested itineraries for all of the travelers and a price for each suggested itinerary for each traveler.

23. The method according to claim 20, further comprising storing the at least one identified outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location.

24. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

receiving payment information regarding how the travel costs for each traveler are to be paid; and

transmitting billing information based upon the payment information.

25. The method according to claim 20, further comprising providing electronic communication among at least two of a travel organizer and the travelers.

26. A system for coordinating a plurality of outbound and inbound itineraries, comprising:

at least one client element capable of receiving a destination location, a plurality of origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler, and wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving an indication regarding a relative weight between price and schedule for at least some of the outbound and inbound itineraries; and

at least one processing element capable of accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information, and wherein said at least one processing element is further capable of determining a suggested outbound and inbound itinerary from the identified itineraries between the destination location and each origin location based upon the indication of the relative weight.

27. The system according to claim 26, further comprising:

at least one display element capable of presenting the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries for review, wherein said at least one display element is also capable of presenting other identified outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and an origin location for review if an indication is received that alternative itineraries are desired;

wherein said at least one client element is capable of receiving an indication that alternative itineraries are desired for at least one of the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries associated with a respective traveler, and wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving an indication of a selection of at least one of the other identified outbound and inbound itineraries.

28. The system according to claim 27, wherein said at least one display element is also capable of presenting information associated with the destination location when presenting at least one of the suggested itineraries and the identified itineraries.

29. The system according to claim 26, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one of a total price for all of the suggested itineraries for all of the travelers and a price for each suggested itinerary for each traveler.

30. The system according to claim 26, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining an amount of time between when each traveler arrives at the destination location and when the last traveler arrives at the destination location for each suggested outbound itinerary.

31. The system according to claim 26, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining an amount of time between when each traveler departs the destination location and when the first traveler departs the destination location for each suggested inbound itinerary.

32. The system according to claim 26, further comprising at least one storage element capable of storing the at least one identified outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location.

33. The system according to claim 26, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of transmitting at least the suggested itinerary associated with a traveler to the respective traveler.

34. The system according to claim 27, wherein said at least one display element is also capable of presenting other identified at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and the origin location associated with a traveler to the respective traveler.

35. The system according to claim 34, wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving changes to at least one of the suggested outbound and inbound itinerary associated with a respective traveler, and wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of creating a revised group of itineraries based upon the received changes.

36. The system according to claim 35, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one of a total price for all of the itineraries and a price for each itinerary in the revised group of itineraries.

37. The system according to claim 35, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one of:

(i) an amount of time between when each traveler arrives at the destination location and when the last traveler arrives at the destination location, and (ii) an amount of time between when each traveler departs the destination location and when the first traveler departs the destination location for each itinerary in the revised group of itineraries.

38. The system according to claim 26,

wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving changes to the indication regarding the relative weight between price and schedule for at least one of the plurality of travel itineraries;

and

wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of accessing other identified at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one modified suggested itinerary between the destination location and at least one of the origin locations based upon the changes, and wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of replacing at least one suggested itinerary with the at least one modified suggested itinerary to create a revised group of suggested itineraries.

39. The system according to claim 38, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one of a total price for all of the suggested itineraries and a price for each suggested itinerary in the revised group of suggested itineraries.

40. The system according to claim 38, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one of:

(i) an amount of time between when each traveler arrives at the destination location and when the last traveler arrives at the destination location, and (ii) an amount of time between when each traveler departs the destination location and when the first traveler departs the destination location for each suggested itinerary in the revised group of suggested itineraries.

41. The system according to claim 26, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of receiving payment information regarding how the travel costs for each traveler are to be paid, and wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of transmitting billing information based upon the payment information.

42. The system according to claim 26,

wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of receiving hotel rental information associated with at least one of the travelers, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of accessing a travel database comprising hotel rental information for the destination location, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of identifying at least one hotel itinerary from the travel database based upon the hotel rental information, and

wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of receiving an indication of a selected hotel itinerary from the at least one hotel itinerary;

and

wherein said at least one display element is also capable of presenting the identified at least one hotel itinerary for review.

43. The system according to claim 26,

wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of receiving car rental information associated with at least one of the travelers, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of accessing a travel database comprising car rental information for the destination location, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of identifying at least one car rental itinerary from the travel database based upon the car rental information, and wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of receiving an indication of a selected car rental itinerary from the at least one car rental itinerary;

and

wherein said at least one display element is also capable of presenting the at least one car rental itinerary for review.

44. The system according to claim 26, further comprising wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of providing electronic communication among at least two of a travel organizer and the travelers.

45. System for determining suggested travel itineraries based upon an amount of time between traveling times of any two travelers of a plurality of travelers, wherein the two travelers are associated with different origin locations, comprising:

at least one client element capable of receiving a destination location, at least two origin locations and other travel information, wherein each origin location is associated with at least one traveler;

at least one processing element capable of accessing a travel database comprising at least outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and the origin locations, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of identifying at least one outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location from the travel database based upon the travel information, wherein said at least one processing element is further capable of determining at least one of;

(i) the amount of time between the arrival times for the at least one outbound itinerary associated with any two travelers, and (ii) the amount of time between the departing times for the at least one inbound itinerary associated with any two travelers, and wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of identifying at least one of;

(i) at least one suggested outbound itinerary for each traveler based upon the amount of time between the arrival times of the respective traveler and at least one other traveler, and (ii) at least one suggested inbound itinerary for each traveler based upon the amount of time between the departing times of the respective traveler and at least one other traveler.

46. The system according to claim 45, further comprising:

at least one display element capable of presenting the at least one suggested outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location and at least one of;

(i) the amount of time between the arrival times, and (ii) the amount of time between the departing times for at least one traveler to at least one of a travel organizer and the plurality of travelers, and wherein said at least one display element is also capable of presenting other identified outbound and inbound itineraries between the destination location and an origin location and at least one of;

(i) the respective amounts of time between the arrival times, and (ii) the departing times for the respective traveler and at least one other traveler for review if an indication is received that alternative itineraries are desired; and

wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving an indication that alternative itineraries are desired for at least one of the suggested outbound and inbound itineraries associated with a respective traveler, and wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving an indication of a selection of at least one of the other identified outbound and inbound itineraries.

47. The system according to claim 45, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of determining at least one of a total price for all of the suggested itineraries for all of the travelers and a price for each suggested itinerary for each traveler.

48. The system according to claim 45, further comprising at least one storage element capable of storing the at least one identified outbound and inbound itinerary between the destination location and each origin location.

49. The system according to claim 45, wherein said at least one client element is also capable of receiving payment information regarding how the travel costs for each traveler are to be paid, and wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of transmitting billing information based upon the payment information.

50. The system according to claim 45, wherein said at least one processing element is also capable of providing electronic communication among at least two of a travel organizer and the travelers.