Self-service system for selling travel-related services or products

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MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Attached herewith as part of this application is a microfiche appendix entitled "Self-Serve Tours 1.0" dated Monday, Nov. 6, 1995, including 2 sheets and 169 frames. This microfiche appendix sets forth in detail how the flow charts of this application are implemented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to systems for selling travel-related services or products and in particular to a self-service system of selling such services or products by means of an interactive travel service system.

The selling of travel-related services and products is a labor-intensive process. Competitive pressures have caused the automation of many service industries, including travel. For this reason, a number of automated travel-related self-service sales systems have been proposed. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,417 to Wilder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,964 to Hamilton et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,239,480 to Huego; U.S. Pat. No. RE. 32,115 to Lockwood et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,809 to Griffin et al.

While the systems proposed in the patents referenced above mark advances over labor-intensive sales by human sales persons, they are not entirely satisfactory. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,809 to Griffin et al., for example, the system proposed appears to be primarily one that provides "information" but does not attempt to assist the traveler in making a selection, and deliver any travel documents. While this may be useful for some types of business marketing, it is not a practical system for selling leisure travel as explained below.

Leisure travel has exploded in recent years. With air travel being increasingly affordable, more and more people have taken on leisure travel. The needs of the leisure traveler are frequently quite different from those of the business traveler. While the business traveler may be quite familiar with the various destinations he or she plans to visit, the leisure traveler usually does not return to the same vacation destination time and time again but usually seeks out new travel destinations. Furthermore, the wide variety of touring activities and attractions at different destinations can be bewildering to a leisure traveler planning a trip. Planning a vacation is much more than perusing a Sears Department Store catalogue. There are a lot more variables involved.

In order for the travel industry to deliver travel-related services and products to the leisure traveler, one of the key links is the role of the travel agent. Because of the large number of variables and large selection of touring related services and products, the sheer amount of information facing a leisure traveler planning a trip can be overwhelming. The role of the travel agent is to match the particular financial situation, preferences and desires of a leisure traveler with the available services and products.

A major problem within the travel industry is the high cost of the present distribution system. A large portion of this cost is attributable to the sales process. It is very labor-intensive and time-consuming to qualify the customer, to present the information, to assist the customer in making a decision, closing the sale, accepting payment, delivering tickets, and documenting the sale. This function is presently being performed by travel agents, reservations agents employed by travel suppliers and agents at travel desks at tourist destination areas.

With increasing competition within the travel industry, it is therefore desirable to automate and use computerized systems to perform the sales functions. Travel agents should be employed to service travelers with complicated itineraries and special requests.

If all that an automated system does is to provide information, such information can easily overwhelm the user of the system. In the above-referenced patent to Griffin et al., for example, the approach is equivalent to having a customer going into a travel store with a large array of brochure racks. Even if the customer has taken the time to read the pertinent brochures, the typical customer will still have difficulty making a selection. In the end, the customer will probably call a travel agent to obtain an explanation of the different alternatives and seek recommendations.

Therefore, while Griffin et al.'s system may provide for a storage and retrieval system for travel-related information, querying the user to select a travel destination area, providing a telephone link to a reservations order taker, and accepting payment, it cannot take the place of a travel agent or a travel supplier's reservations agent. It is truly not a point of sale device for travel-related services or products because the process is not complete. The system proposed by Griffin et al. assumes that travelers will be able to plan their own trips without the aid of a travel professional. It supposes that by providing travel-related information, travelers will be able to do their own research and make their own decisions without outside help. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved self-service system for selling travel-related services and products that can largely duplicate the services of a travel agent or travel supplier's reservations agent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is based on the observation that the above-described difficulties of systems described above can be alleviated by providing a self-service system for selling travel-related services and products where the system can function like a travel agent. More specifically, the process of matching the financial situation and needs of the traveler with the available choices would be much simplified if the user of the self-service system is first qualified in a qualifying step. In this qualifying step, the self-service system would query the user to elicit information useful for the matching process. Such information may include travel knowledge and/or personal attributes in regard to the services or products. In this context, travel knowledge may include prior experience at the destinations of interest for repeat visitors as well as general familiarity with the destination based on secondhand knowledge. When serving such a knowledgeable visitor, the self-service system preferably functions differently compared to serving a user who is a first-time visitor and who is not familiar with the destinations. The personal attribute of the user would include any information which can affect the user's choice of one type of travel-related service or product over another, and may include age, lifestyle (for example, fun/action seeking, family, average or quiet lifestyle), income level, and other preferences as described in detail below. If the user is traveling with one or more companions, there may be group attributes as well. Thus single individuals in their twenties traveling together in a group would probably have interests that are vastly different from those of a middle-aged couple. During the qualifying step, the user may also be asked concerning any particular preference they have in terms of lodging, car rental companies, airline companies or other preferences. The data input by the user in response to such queries would then be used to narrow down the search process of the choices that match the user's needs.

Thus one aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling travel-related services or products by means of an interactive electronic travel-related service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, qualifying the user with respect to travel knowledge and/or attributes in regard to said services or products, providing to the user information and/or choice of said services or products in response to said travel knowledge and/or attributes, and closing a sale for the services or products selected by the user.

Another aspect of the invention is based on the recognition that inviting the user to enter dates for the travel-related services or products by means of a calendar is a particularly effective tool to assist the user in selecting the desired travel-related service or product. Thus another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling travel-related services or products by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and a system, displaying a calendar on the display screen for the user to input dates for said services or products, querying the user for input data concerning name or names for which the reservation of said services or products is to be made and closing a sale for the services or products selected by the user.

To the business traveler, the price of the travel-related service or product may not be the most important consideration compared to other factors such as schedules and convenience. To a leisure traveler, however, pricing information is usually critical for the choice of the service or product. Another aspect of the invention is based on a self-service method of selling travel-related services or products by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises the steps of initiating two-way communication between the user and the system, providing to the user information and/or choice of said services or products together with pricing information for said services or products prior to user's selection of services or products, accepting payment for the services or products selected by the user, and delivering a value voucher for the paid service or product to the user. In many self-service type systems for selling travel-related services or products, even though the system is used for supplying information and accepting payment, all the user is provided with is a confirmation number but no legal document of value that can be exchanged for a service or product. The above-described method not only accepts payment for the service or product but also delivers a value voucher for the paid service or product to the user. The user can then treat the value voucher in the same way that an airline ticket is treated. All the user has to do is to present the value voucher in order to obtain the service or product already paid for without having to produce personal identification.

In conventional self-service systems such as that of Griffin et al. described above, information on different services or products are presented without first checking to see whether these services or products are available on the desired dates. Consequently, the user may find out that the services or products desired are not available on the dates specified after spending much time sorting through the different services or products. This can be frustrating and time-consuming. Thus another aspect of the invention is based on the recognition that information and/or choice of only services or products available for a specified date or dates is provided to the user to simplify the search and decision process by the user. Hence another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling travel-related services or products by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, querying the user for input data indicating travel-related services or products desired by the user, said data including information concerning date or dates for said services or products. The method further comprises receiving said input data and searching the inventory database for said desired services or products available on said date or dates and providing to the user information and/or choice of only services or products available for said date or dates.

Another aspect of the invention is its multi-lingual capability. Both audio and visual text may be presented to the user in English or in a foreign language.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling air travel services by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, querying the user for input data indicating desired origin and destination of trip and air transportation date(s), searching a database for available flight or flights that suit said input, and displaying information concerning said flight or flights. The method further comprises closing a sale, accepting payment for the flight or flights selected by the user and delivering a non-Airline-Reporting Corporation value voucher for the paid flight or flights to the user.

Another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling services or products related to local visitor attractions of a destination area by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises initiating two-way communication between a user and a system, querying the user as to whether the user has travel knowledge of said destination area, providing to the user who is a first-time visitor and who is not otherwise familiar with the destination area information concerning attractions usually preferred by first-time visitors. The method further comprises supplying choices of different local visitor attractions for selection to the user and closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the selected local visitor attraction or attractions made by the user.

One more aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling lodging bookings for a destination area by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises initiating two-way communication between the user and the system, displaying a calendar on a display screen for the user to input dates for said bookings, supplying choices of different lodgings for selection to the user and closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the selected lodgings made by the user.

Yet one more aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling car rental bookings by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent. The method comprises the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, querying the user to select a car pick-up location; displaying a calendar on a display screen for the user to input select dates for said bookings; querying the user to input pick-up and drop-off times and supplying a choice of a rental car institution for the user. The method further comprises querying the user as to different car types with pricing information available to the user from a selected or recommended rental car institution and closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the selected car rental booking made by the user.

Still another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling local and intrastate tours by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between the user and the system, querying the user as to whether a one-day or multi-day tour is desired and providing to user air and ground transportation and/or lodging information concerning a tour selected by the user. The method further comprises supplying choices of different arrangements for the selected tour and closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the selected tour and arrangements made by the user.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling airline travel services by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between the user and the system, querying the user as to whether user has preference for an airline, displaying on the display screen all available airline carriers for selection by the user when the user indicates a preference and querying the user on flight segment data and whether a return flight is desired. The method further comprises querying the user on return flight segment data when user indicates that a return flight is desired, displaying the flight schedule on available flights with price information and closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the flight or flights selected by the user.

An additional aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling tours outside of a local area by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, asking the user to select a destination, requesting the user to select a pricing category from a number of pricing categories for tours to the destination selected by the user and displaying information on tour packages to said destination outside of a local area. The method further comprises displaying a calendar on the display screen for the user to select departure and return dates for said tour, querying the user for selection of lodging and/or car rental, and closing a sale and confirming a reservation for the tour with the lodging and/or car rental selected by the user.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling cruises by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between the user and the system, asking the user to select a cruise destination, a travel season, and length of cruise desired, qualifying the user for input data on cruise travel knowledge, price range, lifestyle and age information, and recommending at least one particular cruise in response to the input data.

The above-referenced self-service system can take many forms. In the preferred embodiment, the system comprises a plurality of regional reservation centers spread out geographically, each center having a geographical region and a database including information on travel services and products within its region, a plurality of sets of kiosks, each set of kiosks located within the geographical region of a regional reservation center defining the set of kiosks for such center. The system further comprises two-way communication links linking the kiosks of a set of kiosks to its corresponding regional reservation center and two-way communication links linking the regional reservation centers, so that information on travel services and products within a region is accessible to kiosks located in other regions.

One more aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling airline tickets by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, displaying available flights; executing reservations on flights selected by a user either through a computer reservation system (CRS) vendor or directly through an airline reservation center connected to the system, accepting payment for the flight or flights selected by the user and delivering at least one value voucher therefor to the user.

One more aspect of the invention is directed towards a self-service method of selling airline tickets by means of an interactive electronic travel service system functioning like a travel agent, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, querying the user to input data concerning a confirmation number for a flight reservation made by the user either through a travel agency, the Internet, computer reservation system (CRS) vendor or directly through an airline reservation center connected to the system, obtaining and displaying information on said flight reservation in response to said input data, accepting payment when required and delivering at least one value voucher therefor to the user.

Yet another aspect of the invention is directed towards a method for selling services and/or products by means of an interactive electronic system, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system, displaying information on shopping options for said services and/or products, communicating selection made by the user to a vendor of said services and/or products and querying the user to input data concerning delivery options for said services and/or products. The method further comprises closing a sale of said services and/or products and confirming said sale on the display screen, accepting payment for said services and/or products and delivering a written instrument to the user concerning the paid services and/or products, and informing the vendor of the sale so that the services and/or products are delivered according to said input data.

Another aspect of the invention is the printing of documents in a foreign language. The text will always be printed in English but if the user selects the foreign language option, the printer will also print part of the document in the chosen foreign language so that both user and supplier may be able to understand the text. To enhance security and to facilitate the accounting function, an encrypted bar code will be printed on value vouchers.

Still another aspect of the invention is directed towards a method for selling tourist-related services and/or products on cruise ships by means of an interactive electronic system, comprising the steps of initiating two-way communication between a user and the system; providing to the user information and/or choice of said services or products at ports of call, said data including information concerning visitor attractions and tours during ports of call; receiving said input data and searching a database for said desired services or products available during said ports of call; and closing a sale for optional tours and other travel-related services and products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is the front view of a kiosk to illustrate the invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of a network for a self-service system for selling travel-related services or products to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating in more detail the components of the kiosk of FIG. 1 and the communication connectivity to a regional reservation center to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram illustrating in more detail the components of a regional reservation center and the communication link to the different vendors for supplying travel-related services and products to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure for presenting a number of options of different travel-related services and products to a user of the self-service kiosk of FIG. 1 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are flow charts illustrating a process of presenting information, assisting the user to select, closing a sale querying the user to input date(s), the number of persons in the party and a name to hold the reservation, displaying the confirmation of the sale, accepting payment, and delivering a value voucher to the user for local visitor attractions option of FIG. 3 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5A, 5B together are flow charts illustrating a procedure for presenting information qualifying the user, assisting the user to select, making a sale, accepting payment, and delivering a value voucher to the user for local lodging bookings option of FIG. 3 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 6A, 6B are flow charts illustrating a process for presenting information, querying the user for a preference, assisting the user to select, closing a sale, accepting payment and presenting a value voucher to the user for car bookings option of FIG. 3 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are flow charts illustrating a process for presenting information, qualifying the user, assisting the user to select, making a sale, accepting payment, and presenting a value voucher to the user for local and intrastate tour packages option of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are flow charts illustrating a process for presenting information, querying the user for a preference, assisting the user to select, closing a sale, accepting payment, and delivering the value voucher to the user for airline tickets option of FIG. 3 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flow charts illustrating a process for presenting information, qualifying the user, assisting the user to select, closing a sale, accepting payment, and presenting a value voucher to the user for out-of-state tour packages option of FIG. 3 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a process for presenting information, qualifying the user, assisting the user to select, and connecting the user to a travel agent for the cruise option of FIG. 3 to illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a proc