Multiple currency travel reservation information management system and method

What is claimed is:

1. A method of consolidating at least two travel reservation information records with at least two different currencies generated from a locally operated computer system, comprising the steps of

selecting a global currency in which to represent prices associated with each travel segment,

entering a first locally operated computer system,

acquiring, in the first locally operated computer system, a first computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a first currency from a computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the global currency,

storing information from the computer travel reservation information record and the price of each segment in the global currency in a global data storage medium,

entering a second locally operated computer system,

acquiring, in the second locally operated computer system, a second computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a second currency from the computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the second computer travel reservation information record in the global currency, and

storing information from the second computer travel reservation information record and the price of each segment from the second record in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer travel reservation information record contains pre-ticketed information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer travel reservation information record contains ticketed information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first locally operated computer system is in a first country with the first currency being the currency of the first country and the second locally operated computer system is in a second country with second currency being the currency of the second country.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the global data storage medium is a database.

6. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising the steps of

accessing the global data storage medium, and

generating at least one report utilizing travel segment and converted price information stored in the global data storage medium.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information is displayed on an operational center computer.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the report is printed from an operational center computer.

9. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising the steps of

storing the price of the segments in the original currency in the global storage medium.

10. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising the step of

downloading the information stored in the global storage medium to a corporate internal computer system.

11. A method of consolidating at least two travel reservation information records with at least two different currencies generated from locally operated computer systems, comprising the steps of

selecting a global currency in which to represent prices associated with each travel segment,

entering a first locally operated computer system,

acquiring, in the first locally operated computer system, a first computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a first currency from a first computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the global currency,

storing information from the computer travel reservation information record and the price of each segment in the global currency in the global data storage medium,

entering a second locally operated computer system,

acquiring, in the second locally operated computer system, a second computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a second currency from a second computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the second computer travel reservation information record in the global currency, and

storing information from the second computer travel reservation information record and the second price of each segment from the second record in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

12. A method of consolidating at least two travel reservation information records with at least two currencies generated from a locally operated computer system, comprising the steps of

selecting a global currency in which to represent price associated with each travel segment, entering a locally operated computer system,

acquiring, in the locally operated computer system, a first computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a first currency from a first computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the global currency,

storing information from the computer travel reservation information record and the price of each segment in the global currency in a global data storage medium,

acquiring, in the locally operated computer system, a second computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a second currency from the computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the global currency, and

storing information from the second computer travel reservation information record and the second price of each segment from the second record in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

13. The method of claim 12, additionally comprising the steps of

acquiring, in the locally operated computer system, a third computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment represented in a currency from a second computer reservation system (CRS),

representing the price of each segment in the global currency, and

storing information from the third computer travel reservation information record and the price of each segment from the third record in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

14. A system for centralizing and standardizing in a predetermined global currency travel reservation information having at least two different currencies generated from locally operated computer systems for subsequent analysis, comprising

a first locally operated computer system,

a second locally operated computer system,

a global data storage medium,

at least one computerized reservation system (CRS) accessible by the first and second locally operated computer systems that has the capability of (a) generating at least one travel segment and price associated with each segment, (b) booking reservations for a selected segments, (c) generating travel reservation information in response to a request from the first or second locally operated computer systems, and (d) detecting the booking of a reservation with the price of each booked segment,

means for representing the price of each booked segment in the predetermined global currency, whereby each price that is not in the global currency is converted to the global currency,

means for transferring segment reservation information, and the global currency representation of the price of each booked segments to the global data storage medium, and

means for storing the transferred segment reservation information, and the price of each booked segment in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

15. The system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the first and second locally operated computer systems are connected to the CRS through communication means.

16. The system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the communication means includes a communication modem and phone lines.

17. The system in accordance with claim 15, wherein the global storage medium includes a database.

18. The system in accordance with claim 14, wherein the first and second locally operated computer systems access different CRSs.

19. A system for centralizing and standardizing in a predetermined global currency travel reservation information generated in at least two different currencies from a locally operated computer system for subsequent analysis, comprising

a locally operated computer system in a country,

a global data storage medium,

at least one computerized reservation system (CRS) accessible by the locally operated computer system that is capable of (a) generating travel segments and prices associated with each segment, (b) booking reservations for a selected segments, (c) generating travel reservation information in response to a request from the locally operated computer system, and (d) detecting the booking of a reservation with the price of each booked segment,

means for representing the price of each segment in the predetermined global currency, whereby each price that is not in the global currency is converted to the global currency,

means for transferring segment reservation information, the global currency representation of the price of each booked segments to the global storage medium for downloading into the database, and

means for storing the transferred segment reservation information, and the converted price of each booked segment in the global data storage medium.

20. A system for centralizing and standardizing in a predetermined currency ticketed travel reservation information generated from locally operated computer systems in at least two countries for subsequent analysis, comprising

a first locally operated computer system in a first country,

a second locally operated computer system in a second country,

a global data storage medium,

at least one computerized reservation system (CRS) accessible by the first and second locally operated computer systems that has the capability of (a) generating at least one travel segment and prices associated with each segment, (b) booking reservations for a selected segments, (c) generating travel reservation information in response to a request from the first or second locally operated computer systems, and (d) detecting the ticketing of a reservation with the price of each ticketed segment,

means for representing the price of each segment in the predetermined currency, whereby each price that is not in the global currency is converted to the global currency,

means for transferring segment reservation information, the global currency representation of the price of each ticketed segment to the global data storage medium, and

means for storing the transferred segment reservation information, and the price of each ticketed segment in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

21. A system for centralizing and standardizing in a predetermined global currency travel reservation information generated in at least two different currencies from a locally operated computer system for subsequent analysis, comprising

a locally operated computer system in a country,

a global data storage medium,

at least one computerized reservation system (CRS) accessible by the locally operated computer system that is capable of (a) generating travel segments and prices associated with each segment, (b) booking reservations for a selected segments, (c) generating travel reservation information in response to a request from the locally operated computer system, and (d) detecting ticketing of a reservation with the price of each booked segment,

means for representing the price of the segment in the predetermined global currency, whereby each price that is not in the global currency is converted to the global currency,

means for transferring segment reservation information, the global currency representation of the price of each ticketed segment to the global storage medium, and

means for storing the transferred segment reservation information, and the price of each ticketed segment in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

22. The system in accordance with claim 21, wherein the global storage medium includes a database.

23. A method of consolidating travel reservation information generated from locally operated computer systems in at least two countries, comprising the steps of

selecting a global currency in which to represent price associated with each travel segment,

entering a first locally operated computer system in a first country having a first country currency,

accessing a computer reservation system (CRS) from the first locally operated computer system,

generating, in the CRS, at least one travel segment for a traveler,

selecting at least one travel segment with price of the selected segment, for booking,

booking a reservation at the price in the CRS for each selected travel itinerary,

representing the price of the segment in the global currency,

storing information regarding the booked travel segment and the price in the global currency in the global data base,

entering a second locally operated computer system in a second country have a second country currency,

accessing the CRS from the second locally operated computer system, and generating, in the CRS, at least one travel segment for a traveler,

selecting at least one second travel segment with price of the second travel segment, for booking using the second locally operated computer system,

booking a reservation at the price in the CRS for the second travel segment,

representing the price of the second travel segment in the global currency,

storing information regarding the second booked travel segment and the price in the global currency in the global data base.

24. A method of reporting travel reservation information generated from at least one locally operated computer system and at least one computer reservation system (CRS) and stored in a global data storage medium, comprising the steps of

selecting a company reporting format with a reporting language and global currency,

storing company reporting format in the global data storage medium with the reporting language and the global currency,

entering a locally operated computer system,

accessing a computer reservation system (CRS) from the locally operated computer system,

generating, in the CRS, at least one travel segment,

selecting at least one travel segment with price of the selected segment for booking,

booking a reservation at the price in the CRS for each selected travel segment,

representing the price of the segment in the global currency,

storing information regarding the booked travel segment and the price in the global currency in the global data storage medium,

accessing the company reporting format and the stored booked travel segment and price in the global currency information in the global data storage medium, and

reporting the booked travel segment and price information in the company reporting format.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the company reporting format additionally comprises

a reporting address format and a reporting date format.

Description Submit all comments and votes

STATEMENT OF FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of computerized travel reservation information management systems and, more particularly to such a system for automatically consolidating travel reservation information that is generated in different currencies.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELEVANT PRIOR ART

With the advent of a global economy and associated global competition, corporations all over the world and particularly in the United States are being forced to re-evaluate their corporate philosophy in light of their competitive position. As a result, corporate down-sizing and automation have occurred. However, the one area, travel and entertainment ("T&E") expenditures, that makes up a large if not the largest percentage of corporate expenditure for many corporations is not being monitored as closely as some other areas to achieve reduced overall corporate expenditures. This lack of monitoring is not due to oversight, but is due to the inability to access their corporate travel expenses, particularly expense generated in foreign countries, efficiently and accurately in sufficient time to take advantage of price saving measures to develop strategic travel policy.

As the travel industry has become highly competitive, characterized by airline deregulation and over capacity, travelers have been able to take advantage of fare wars and the ability to obtain significant discounts for services negotiated in advance and discount rates for the advanced booking of travel packages including airfare, hotel, and ground transportation. The incentives encourage travelers to book travel plans well in advance of their departure dates through their travel agents. However, due to the unpredictable travel demands of the corporate international traveler, many times advanced purchases are impractical, if not impossible.

Therefore, in order to attract the corporate business traveler, airlines, hotels, car rental agencies, and other travel related suppliers offer volume discounted rates. Most of the time the volume discounts are negotiated based on the volume of travel taken in the preceding months or years. Corporations, thus, require detailed tracking from an entity (either an internal travel department or a travel agency) booking and ticketing the travel arrangements. The following explanation of the travel arranging process will show some of the difficulties experienced with obtaining this information.

Most available travel reservation systems include software that allows a travel agent to acquire any travel information requested by their customer by utilizing a locally operated computer system to access a remote computerized reservation system ("CRS"), the functions and capabilities of which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. CRSs provide information on the availability and price of commercial airline flights, ground transportation, and lodging and allows the agent to book and ticket reservations from the CRS. Once booked, the reservations are maintained in most CRSs until after the travel is complete.

Each locally operated computer system that is configured for connection to the CRS is assigned a user or agency identification number ("ID"). An agency profile corresponding to the agency ID, is stored at the CRS host computer system. The profile contains relevant information regarding the agency, including data paths and security access codes. One specific type of information available that is critical to the ticket issuing process is the type of currency used for the price of the ticket. A single CRS supports both agencies and service providers (such as airlines, hotels, and car rental agencies) in many countries or geopolitical entities, each of which typically transacts business in the currency of their respective countries. Therefore, the agency profile contains the reporting currency for the CRS that is used when reporting prices and issuing tickets.

Typically, when the CRS is accessed to book a reservation, the travel agent enters all relevant information regarding the travel plan including the traveler's name, destination, departure date, arrival date, type of ticket being purchased (i.e., non-refundable, non-transferable, etc.), method of payment, and ticketing date. To expedite this process, most CRSs have much of this information stored in a customer profile so that the travel agent will not have to re-enter any common information each time a reservation is made.

When booking a reservation, this information is stored in a passenger name record ("PNR"). Then once a reservation is booked, a ticket can be generated from the CRS or other systems.

In response to the need for reconciling travel agency accounting records with information initially booked in the CRS regarding the travel reservations entered by that agency, it has become the standard practice in the travel industry to make this travel reservation information in the CRS available for analysis once the airline ticket issues. For example, travel information accounting systems, commonly referred to in the travel industry as back office systems, have been developed to interface information from the CRS (typically sent from the CRS in the form of an accounting interface record ("AIR")) into a local database after a ticket issues, so that the information can be analyzed for accounting, regulatory reporting, and management information purposes. The MAX back-office system, developed by the assignee of this invention, is an example of such a system. Most of the existing travel information accounting systems only deal with post-ticketed data, however, some systems provide access to pre-ticketed data.

The term "pre-ticketed" refers to the time before an airline ticket is issued and the term "pre-invoice" refers to the time before an invoice is issued on, for example a rental car or hotel reservation. However, the travel industry generally refers to both pre-ticketed and pre-invoice information as pre-ticketed information. All references to pre-ticketed information hereafter will include both pre-ticketed and pre-invoice information.

With the increasing emphasis on reducing travel costs, the need for access to pre-ticketed and pre-invoice data for analysis has arisen. For example, a corporation may monitor reservations made by their employees to prevent excess travel. Also, pre-ticketed data can be monitored to determine the number of people going to the same destination, so that a possible group rate may be negotiated by the travel agent. A system, developed by the assignee of the present invention and made in accordance with the invention disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/317,860, which is herein incorporated by reference, is such a mid-office system that provides reporting capabilities utilizing both pre-ticketed and post-ticketed data.

Until the discovery of the present invention, corporations only periodically received the travel reservation information stored in their travel agencies' back-office or mid-office systems. Typically, the information is distributed to the corporations via diskettes, magnetic tape, or paper and delivered to the corporation by mail, courier, or the like.

There are problems with these methods of transmitting travel information. First, if the information is being transmitted in different currencies, each individual transaction amount field must be converted to a common reporting currency before being evaluated. As exchange rates change every day, the day of the transaction and the exchange rate on that day must be considered when performing the conversion or else the conversion information may not be representative of the money spent on the transaction date.

In practice, an average exchange rate for the period of interest is used for currency conversion, which inherently introduces error in to the determination of travel expenses. For example, a corporation may use the average exchange rate for a thirty day period. Any daily deviations from the average that may significantly impact the price of the travel are not accounted for.

Second, the travel information provided to the corporation is never current. This is a problem, because, for example, when generating a report on the money spent with a certain airline for volume discount negotiations, any tickets issued and paid for after the transmission of the travel data to the corporation would not be included in the report. If the missed information represents a significant amount of money, the corporation is not using its full bargaining power in the volume discount negotiations.

Third, if the information is transmitted from different back office systems, then all the information must be converted to a common format in order to evaluate the information. The conversion can be a very time consuming effort.

Although the current back-office and mid-office systems function well for their intended purposes, they were not designed to accept multiple currency data and, thus, were not designed to handle and separately maintain data from several countries. For example, a back-office system such as the MAX back-office system includes a database having a database file structure such as that shown in FIGS. 1a-1f (except the Tax Detail and Tax Detail Audit files shown in FIG. 1a), wherein each file is represented inside of an oval. Each file is related to another by a one-to-many primary relationship, one-to-one primary relationship, one-to-many secondary relationship, or one-to-one secondary relationship.

Each time an AIR is received from a CRS, the data in the AIR is converted by the receiving computer and stored in a relational database having the structure shown in FIGS. 1a-1f. The data is indexed and retrieved by transaction locator number.

Since the system was not designed to receive multiple currency data, because the information in the AIRs sent from the CRS was always in the same reporting currency identified in the agency profile, there is no means to distinguish an AIR record having one currency from an AIR record having another currency. All the data is stored in the same file, the Invoice Master file. As a consequence, multiple currency data would be combined together, preventing the isolation of data of one currency.

Another problem with single currency or single country systems is that they are not equipped to handle data in more than one language. Different countries may require different reporting languages. For example, a record representing the booking of a flight from New York City to Madrid generated in English would show New York as "New York." However, if the same record was generated in Spanish, then New York would be represented as "Nueva York." The single country system would only be able to report in a single language.

Also each country has an individual ticket form and ticket type. For example, Canada has the transitional automated ticket ("TAT"), a four (4) part document; the United States has the automated ticket and boarding pass ("ATB"), a single coupon document; and most other countries have the miscellaneous charge order ("MCO"). Obviously, none of the systems that are designed to receive single currency or country data are equipped to handle data having different ticket forms and types.

Another problem associated with the inability of a system to handle multiple-currency or multiple-country data is in report generation. For example, countries differ in how they present address and date information.

Yet another problem with the existing systems is the inability to download multiple currency travel data to a corporation's main frame or internal computer, to, for example, interface with the corporate general ledger.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A new method and system of consolidating at least two travel reservation information records including one or more travel segments with at least two different currencies generated from one or more a locally operated computer system has been developed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art. This method and system are particularly suitable for companies having a significant number of employees that travel internationally for business, and thus, incur substantial travel and entertainment costs in different currencies.

In one embodiment, an operator, typically a person needing to access information consolidated with multiple travel segments selects a global currency in which to represent prices associated with each travel segment. Then the same or another operator, such as a travel agent, enters a first locally operated computer system and acquires a first computer travel reservation information record with the price of at least one travel segment represented in a first currency from a computer reservation system (CRS). When the record is received, the price of each segment is represented in the global currency and stored along with information from the computer travel reservation information record in the global data storage medium, which is preferably a database. It is not necessary that all the information in the record be stored. If the currency in the computer travel reservation record is not the global currency, then the currency is converted before it is stored in the global data storage medium.

Then, a second locally operated computer system is entered into by the same or another operator, such as a travel agent to acquire a second computer travel reservation information record with the price of at least one travel segment in a second currency from the computer reservation system (CRS). The price of each segment in the second computer travel reservation information record is represented in the global currency and stored along with information from the second computer travel reservation information record (could be the entire record) in the global data storage medium. Again, if the second currency in the computer travel reservation record is not the global currency, then the second currency is converted to the global currency before it is stored in the global data storage medium.

The first locally operated computer system can be in a first country with the first currency being the currency of the first country and the second locally operated computer system can be in a second country with second currency being the currency of the second country. The term "country" as it is used to this application, applies to any geopolitical entity or association that issues or uses a unique currency.

Once the data is stored in the global data storage medium, the data can be accessed for display or report generation from an operational center computer, any of the locally operated computers, or any other system capable of accessing the global storage medium.

Instead of accessing travel reservation information records from a single CRS, records could be generated from two or more separate CRSs.

Two locally operated computer systems are not necessary to practice this invention. A single locally operated computer system may be capable of requesting travel information records that include prices reflected in different currencies. Therefore, once a global currency is selected in which to represent prices associated with each travel segment, then a first computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment in a first currency, is acquired from a computer reservation system (CRS) in the locally operated computer system. The price of each segment is represented in the global currency and stored along with information from the computer travel reservation information record in the global data storage medium. If the currency in the computer travel reservation record is not the global currency, then the currency is converted before it is stored in the global data storage medium. Then, once a second computer travel reservation information record with price of at least one travel segment in a second currency from the computer reservation system (CRS) is acquired, the price of each segment is represented in the global currency and stored along with the information from the second computer travel reservation information record in the global data storage medium. Again, if the second currency in the computer travel reservation record is not the global currency, then the second currency is converted before it is stored in the global data storage medium.

Also disclosed is a system for centralizing in a predetermined global currency travel reservation information having at least two different currencies generated from locally operated computer systems for subsequent analysis. The system includes first and second locally operated computer systems, a global data storage medium (preferably a database) and at least one computerized reservation system (CRS) accessible by the first and second locally operated computer systems that has the capability of generating at least one travel segment and price associated with each segment, of booking reservations for a selected segments, of generating travel reservation information in response to a request by the first or second locally operated computer systems, and of detecting the booking of a reservation with the price of each booked segment. Also included is means for representing the price of each booked segment in the predetermined global currency, means for transferring segment reservation information and the global currency representation of the price of each booked segments to the global data storage medium, and means for storing the transferred segment reservation information and the price of each booked segment in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

If the currency in the computer travel reservation record is not the global currency, then the means for representing the currency in the global currency performs a conversion of the recorded currency to the global currency.

The term "book" includes, but is not limited to, reserving available travel and being wait-listed for travel that is already booked to capacity.

It is also not necessary that the price information be represented in the global currency before transmitting to the global data storage medium. The representation in the global currency could take place after transmission, but before storing.

The first and second locally operated computer system can be and typically are located in a remote location from the CRS and include communication mechanisms to transfer data between the systems. The communication means could be any mechanism to transmit data such as a communication modem, phone lines or satellites, or any other type of electronic transfer means.

The first locally operated computer system can be in a first country with the first currency being the currency of the first country and the second locally operated computer system can be in a second country with second currency being the currency of the second country.

Again, this embodiment of the invention also applies to a single locally operated computer system capable of accessing travel information records having different currencies.

The computer travel reservation information record may consist of pre-ticketed information or ticketed information.

Once the data is stored in the global data storage medium, the data can be accessed for display or report generation from an operational center computer, any of the locally operated computers, or any other means capable of accessing the global data storage means, including, but not limited to a corporate internal computer system.

Instead of accessing the travel reservation information record from a single CRS, records could be generated from two separate CRSs.

A method for consolidating travel reservation information generated from locally operated computer systems in at least two countries is also disclosed. The method includes selecting a global currency in which to represent price associated with each travel segment, entering a first locally operated computer system in a first country having a first country currency, accessing a computer reservation system (CRS) from the first locally operated computer system, generating, in the CRS, at least one travel segment for a traveler, selecting at least one travel segment with a price of the selected segment for booking, booking a reservation at the price in the CRS for each selected travel itinerary, representing the price of the travel segment in the global currency, storing information regarding the booked travel segment and the price in the global currency in the global data storage medium, entering a second locally operated computer system in a second country have a second country currency, accessing the CRS from the second locally operated computer system, generating, in the CRS, at least one travel segment for a traveler in the second country, selecting at least one second travel segment with price of the second travel segment for booking using the second locally operated computer system, booking a reservation at the price in the CRS for the second travel segment, representing the price of the second travel in the global currency, and storing information regarding the second booked travel segment and the price in the global currency in the global data storage medium.

Another method is disclosed for reporting travel reservation information generated from at least one locally operated computer system and at least one computer reservation system (CRS) and stored in a global data storage medium. The method includes the steps of selecting a company reporting format that includes at least a reporting language and a global currency, storing company reporting format in the global storage medium, including reporting language, and a global currency, entering a locally operated computer system, accessing a computer reservation system (CRS) from the locally operated computer system generating, in the CRS, at least one travel segment, selecting at least one travel segment, including price of the selected segment, for booking, booking a reservation at the price in the CRS for each selected travel segment, representing the price of the segment in the global currency, storing information regarding the booked travel segment and the price in the global currency in the global storage medium, accessing the company reporting format and the stored booked travel segment and price in the global currency information in the global storage medium, and reporting the booked travel segment and price information in the company reporting