Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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COMMUNITY TRAVEL BOOKING
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention generally relates to computers and computer software, and in
particular, to computers and computer software for use in selecting and
booking
travel reservations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Travelers are increasingly relying on the Internet to book travel
reservations.
For air travel, as an example, travelers may access airline web sites and/or
third
party travel web sites to search for different travel recommendations meeting
a
desired search criterion, such as a particular departure city or airport,
destination city
or airport, departure time and date, return time and date, and price. Other
options,
such as number of connections, travel class, etc. may also be specified to
enable a
traveler to select a particular travel recommendation best meeting the
traveler's
needs.
Online booking is typically a very individualized process, where a single
individual, such as a traveler or a travel agent representing the traveler,
inputs the
desired search criterion into a web site, browses the search results, selects
a desired
travel recommendation, and completes the reservation by inputting personal
information about the traveler as well as appropriate payment information.
Often this
is performed during an online "session" between the individual and the web
site, and
the web site maintains a session identifier that is provided to the
individual's
computer so that whenever the individual's computer sends a message to the web
site, the web site can associate the message with that individual's session.
Where multiple travelers are planning on traveling together, multiple
reservations may be booked together; however, a single traveler typically
handles
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the booking process, including inputting the personal information about each
traveler
and securing a single payment to cover all of the reservations. For larger
groups of
travelers, such as 10 or more travelers, a completely different business
process is
typically used, often using a separate group sales system, to accommodate the
particular needs of larger groups of travelers.
For smaller groups of travelers (e.g., groups smaller than 10 travelers),
however, individual bookings may be difficult to coordinate. For example, if
two
couples are planning a trip to a vacation destination, the couples may
tentatively
agree in person, over the phone, or via text or email as to a particular
destination,
and on rough dates and times. One traveler from that group may then access one
or
more travel-related web sites to locate one or more potential travel
recommendations, and then send those travel recommendations to the other
travelers to get their feedback as to preferred dates, times and costs, often
either via
phone call, email, text, or some other form of electronic communication.
Unless all
travelers agree on the same travel recommendation, additional searching and
distribution of additional travel recommendations to the other travelers may
be
required, leading to further delays.
Then, when all travelers finally assent to the same travel recommendation, a
reservation must be booked for all travelers. In some instances, the traveler
that
coordinated the search may complete the reservation for all of the travelers,
entering
personal information for each traveler and paying for all of the reservations
in a
single credit card transaction. At some later point, the other travelers may
repay that
traveler for their own reservations, albeit with the possible stress on the
relationships
that sometimes occurs when friends owe money to one another. In addition, the
traveler that coordinated the search may not have the necessary personal
information for all of the travelers in the group, or some travelers may be
not willing
to provide that information.
As such, in some instances, the travelers in a group may agree to individually
complete their respective reservations. To do so, however, each traveler is
typically
required to initiate a new online session with the web site, re-enter the
original
search to locate the previously agreed-upon travel recommendation, and
complete
the reservation for that traveler (and possibly other related travelers such
as spouses
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or other family members). When different travelers later initiate new online
sessions,
however, a risk exists that the availability and/or price of an agreed-upon
travel
recommendation may change before all travelers can complete their respective
reservations, possibly leading to some travelers being forced to pay higher
fees or
choose alternative arrangements.
Consequently, a significant need continues to exist in the art for an improved
manner of coordinating the selection and booking of travel reservations for
groups of
travelers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention addresses these and other problems associated with the prior
art by utilizing community travel booking operations to book reservations for
multiple
travelers. A community travel booking operation includes a collaborative or
common
portion or phase during which multiple travelers in a community are permitted
to
collaboratively search for travel recommendations and select a travel
recommendation for the community, as well as an individual portion or phase
during
which travelers in the community individually purchase, book or otherwise
complete
individual reservations for the community's selected travel recommendation. By
separating the booking operation into collaborative and individual portions or
phases,
travelers are permitted to collaborate on the selection of a travel
recommendation,
yet each traveler is then able to complete the booking of their own respective
reservation without necessarily having to share personal or payment
information with
the other travelers in the community.
Therefore, consistent with one aspect of the invention, travel reservations
are
booked for a community of travelers by interacting collaboratively with the
community
of travelers to select a community travel recommendation, and interacting
individually with each of a plurality of travelers in the community of
travelers to
complete a reservation of the selected community travel recommendation for
each of
the plurality of travelers.
In some embodiments, interacting collaboratively with the community of
travelers to select the community travel recommendation includes searching for
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candidate travel recommendations in response to at least one request received
from
a first traveler among the plurality of travelers, and communicating candidate
travel
recommendations identified when searching for candidate travel recommendations
to other travelers in the community, where communicating candidate travel
recommendations includes pushing real time updates to the other travelers in
response to user input generated by the first traveler. In addition, in some
embodiments interacting collaboratively with the community of travelers
includes
causing a plurality of traveler devices respectively associated with travelers
in the
community to collaboratively browse a travel web site, where causing the
plurality of
traveler devices to collaboratively browse the travel web site includes
communicating
web pages to the plurality of traveler devices, and where causing the
plurality of
traveler devices to collaboratively browse the travel web site is performed in
a
common flow and includes receiving a plurality of requests from a first
traveler
device among the plurality of traveler devices and associated with a first
traveler in
the community of travelers, the plurality of requests including a search
request and a
select request; in response to the search request generating at least one web
page
including at least one candidate travel recommendation that matches a travel
search
criterion associated with the search request and communicating the at least
one web
page to the plurality of traveler devices; and in response to the select
request
selecting the selected community travel recommendation from the at least one
candidate travel recommendation and transitioning from the common flow to an
individual flow.
In still other embodiments, interacting individually with each of the
plurality of
travelers in the community of travelers is performed during the individual
flow and
includes, for each of the plurality of traveler devices, communicating at
least one
individual traveler information web page to such traveler device, receiving
traveler
information from such traveler device, and completing a reservation for a
traveler
associated with such traveler device using the received traveler information.
In yet
other embodiments, the first traveler is a master traveler for the community
such that
the first traveler directs the collaborative browsing in the common flow,
generating at
least one web page includes generating a first web page for the first traveler
device
that is different from a second web page for other traveler devices among the
plurality of traveler devices, the first web page includes at least one active
control
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omitted from the second web page such that only the first traveler among the
community of travelers is permitted to interact with the at least one active
control,
and the select request is generated through interaction with the at least one
active
control.
In other embodiments, interacting individually with each of the plurality of
travelers in the community of travelers is performed synchronously or
asynchronously, and in some embodiments, a community session may be
established, where interacting collaboratively with the community of travelers
includes interacting with the community of travelers through the community
session,
and where establishing the community session includes generating a community
session identifier for the community session, communicating the community
session
identifier to each of the plurality of travelers, receiving requests from the
plurality of
travelers, where each request includes the community session identifier, and
associating the requests with the community session based upon the community
session identifier included with the requests matching that of the community
session.
In still other embodiments, the community session includes common data and
individual data associated with each of the plurality of travelers, and the
method
further comprises, when interacting collaboratively with the community of
travelers
to select the community travel recommendation, storing a travel search
criterion and
at least one candidate travel recommendation in the community data of the
community session, and when interacting individually with a first traveler
among the
plurality of travelers to complete the reservation for the first traveler,
storing
passenger information for the first traveler in the individual data associated
with the
first traveler, the passenger information including personal information and
payment
information. In other embodiments, interacting individually with each of the
plurality
of travelers in the community of travelers includes interacting asynchronously
with a
first traveler in the community of travelers to complete the reservation of
the selected
community travel recommendation for the first traveler after the first
traveler has
disconnected from the community session, and in other embodiments, interacting
individually with each of the plurality of travelers includes interacting with
a first
traveler among the plurality of travelers to complete reservations of the
selected
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community travel recommendation for the first traveler and for a second,
accompanying traveler.
In some embodiments, interacting collaboratively with the community of
travelers to select the community travel recommendation includes broadcasting
web
pages to multiple travelers among the community of travelers to update the
multiple
travelers in real time, and interacting individually with each of the
plurality of travelers
in the community of travelers to complete the reservation of the selected
community
travel recommendation for each of the plurality of travelers includes
generating
individualized web pages to the plurality of travelers to collect personal
information
from the plurality of travelers for use in completing the reservations. In
other
embodiments, interacting individually with each of the plurality of travelers
includes
generating a single community passenger name record (PNR) including
reservation
information for the plurality of travelers. In still other embodiments, an
online session
may be established with the plurality of travelers, where interacting
collaboratively
and interacting individually are both performed during the online session.
In some embodiments, an apparatus, including at least one processor and
program code configured upon execution by the at least one processor to
perform
any of the aforementioned steps, or a program product comprising a computer
readable medium and program code stored on the computer readable medium and
configured upon execution by at least one processor to perform the any of the
aforementioned steps, may also be provided.
These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention,
are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof.
However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages
and
objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the Drawings,
and
to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described exemplary
embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the annexed drawings:
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- FIGURE 1 is a block diagram of community travel booking system consistent
with
the invention;
- FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of a computer
system
capable of implementing at least a portion of the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of a community travel booking operation flow
for the
system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example community creation
operation
performed by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 5 is a block diagram of an example search page displayed to a
master
traveler by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 6 is a block diagram of an example invite page displayed to a master
traveler by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 7 is a block diagram of an example email invite displayed to a co-
traveler
by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example community join
operation
performed by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 9 is a block diagram of the search page of Fig. 5, subsequent to
addition
of a co-traveler to a community;
- FIGURE 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example common flow performed by
the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 11 is a block diagram of an example availability page displayed to a
master traveler by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 12 is a block diagram of an example availability page displayed to a
co-
traveler by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 13 is a flow diagram illustrating an example common to individual
flow
performed by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
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- FIGURE 14 is a flow diagram illustrating an example individual flow
performed by
the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 15 is a block diagram of an example confirmation page displayed to
a
traveler by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 16 is a flow diagram illustrating an example synchronous confirmation
process performed by the system referenced in Fig. 1;
- FIGURE 17 is a flow diagram illustrating an example asynchronous
confirmation
process performed by the system referenced in Fig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments consistent with the invention utilize community travel booking to
provide the ability for multiple travelers to search for and complete
reservations for
one or more common travel recommendations. In the illustrated embodiments, a
portion or phase of a community travel booking operation, e.g., searching for
and
selecting travel recommendations, is performed collectively by multiple
travelers,
while another portion or phase of the community travel booking operation,
e.g.,
booking or otherwise purchasing reservations for selected travel
recommendations,
is performed individually by those travelers.
Turning now to the Drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts
throughout the several views, Fig. 1 illustrates an example data processing
system
in which community travel booking consistent with the invention may be
implemented. System 10 is illustrated as including a central community travel
booking service implemented by a community web server 12, which is interfaced
over a public and/or private network 14, e.g., the Internet, with a plurality
of traveler
devices, e.g., a master traveler device 16 and a plurality of co-traveler
devices 18,
which are typically operated by a plurality of travelers that collectively
form a
"community" of travelers for the purposes of the invention.
In particular, a community refers to a collection of individuals desiring to
book,
or purchase a reservation for, a common travel recommendation, i.e., such that
all of
the reservations booked for the community are for the same travel
recommendation
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(referred to herein as a "community travel recommendation"). In this regard, a
travel
solution refers to an itinerary between a particular origin and destination,
e.g., as
may be determined by a travel solution building system, and a travel
recommendation is a travel solution coupled with an associated price. Travel
solutions, as well as travel recommendations, may be mono-segment or multi-
segment, may be one-way, multi-city, or round-trip, and may be associated with
ticketed travel over air, rail, road or water. A reservation of a travel
solution or travel
recommendation therefore may be an airline reservation, train reservation,
cruise
reservation, bus reservation, etc. Moreover, a travel recommendation
comprising a
travel solution and a price may be determined in a single step process (e.g.,
by
retrieving a travel solution and an associated price), a multi-step process
(e.g., by
retrieving a plurality of travel solutions to determine availability, then
determining and
presenting prices for one or more selected travel solutions, or in other
manners that
will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of
the instant
disclosure, e.g., via price-driven searches, pre-shopping map searches, and
the
like).
Each individual in a particular community is referred to herein as a traveler
or
co-traveler, although the participation of a particular individual in a
community may
vary from individual to individual. An individual is a "traveler" or "co-
traveler" to the
extent that a reservation is booked for the individual during the course of a
community travel booking operation, and in some embodiments all co-travelers
will
be booked in the same reservation record. A traveler may participate in all
phases
of a community travel booking operation, or may only participate in a portion
of the
operation. For example, some travelers may participate in the search and/or
selection of a travel recommendation, while other travelers may participate
only in
completing a reservation of a previously-selected travel recommendation. In
addition, in some instances one traveler may complete a reservation on behalf
of
another traveler. Thus, for example, if a wife completes a reservation for
herself and
her husband, the wife and husband are both travelers even though the husband
does not access the community travel booking service. To distinguish these
different
roles, travelers or co-travelers may be considered to be either primary co-
travelers or
accompanying co-travelers, with the former participating in at least a portion
of the
community travel booking operation, and the latter typically not participating
in any
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portion of the operation but otherwise being included in a reservation as a
result of
their personal information being entered by a primary co-traveler. Support for
accompanying co-travelers may be optional or excluded in some embodiments.
In the illustrated embodiment, as noted above, the community travel booking
service is implemented in a community web server 12, and in this regard, a
community travel booking operation is performed within the context of a
community
session 20, which in the context of a web server application may be
implemented as
an online or HTTP session that links together each traveler in the community.
A
community session 20 is typically identified by a unique identifier, e.g., a
community
session ID, generated by community web server 12. In addition, within the
context of
each community session 20, each traveler is assigned a traveler identifier, or
traveler
ID, which is allocated by the web server as soon as a traveler joins the
community.
As such, the couple [Community Session ID l Traveler ID] provides a unique key
to
identify each traveler accessing the community web server and associate that
traveler with a particular community.
In the illustrated embodiment, in order to manage the resources of the web
server (e.g., memory usage and CPU time), a community may be maintained in an
active state while at least one traveler is interacts with the web server. As
soon as
inactivity is detected from all travelers during a specified period of time, a
timeout
event may be raised and the community session may be deactivated.
Within the context of each community session 20, both common data 22 and
individual data 24 are maintained. Common data 22 includes information about
the
community such as the list of travelers, as well as who among those travelers
is
designated as a master traveler. Moreover, the common data includes the travel
recommendations selected during the common web flow, and typically, but not
necessarily, there is only one set of common data for the entire community.
Individual data 24 typically includes specific information of each traveler
entered during the individual web flow. Separate individual data 24 is
typically
maintained for each traveler, and is identified based on the traveler ID.
An input controller 26 is used to process requests sent by each traveler 16,
18. Multithreading may be used to process multiple requests in parallel, and
each
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request typically includes the key [Community Session ID l Traveler ID] to
identify the
associated traveler making the request. For each request input controller 26
manages the common and the individual data from community session 20 and may
call appropriate business components 28 to interact with a database 30 of
Community Passenger Name Records (PNRs).
Community PNRs, in this regard, are reservation or database records storing
booking or reservation information for the travelers in a community. It will
be
appreciated that community PNRs may be implemented in a similar manner to
group
or individual PNRs, or may be implemented as a separate type of PNR. In
addition,
in some embodiments, a community travel booking operation may generate
multiple
individual PNRs for the different travelers in a community. The invention is
therefore
not limited to any particular manner of storing booking or reservation
information for
the travelers in a community. Typically, however, in some embodiments, a
community PNR is a unique dossier or reservation record, potentially
aggregating
multiple individual PNRs. Thus, for example, a community may be associated
with a
unique reservation record that in some embodiments may comprise a single
community PNR including reservation information for all of the travelers in a
community, and in other embodiments may comprise a plurality of linked PNRs,
e.g.,
individual PNRs, each with reservation information for one or more individual
travelers in the community.
Input controller 26 may also interact with an output page builder component
32 to prepare appropriate responses to received requests. In particular, page
builder
32 is configured to dynamically build web pages or to otherwise generate
responses
to traveler requests in a format that is appropriate for the particular client
device 16,
18 for each traveler. Page builder 32 also manages different views for a
community.
In particular, the page builder controls whether a community is in a common
view or
an individual view, and as such whether a common flow or individual flow is
used
when interacting with travelers in a community. For example, a multi-traveler
page
may be used in a common flow, whereas individual pages are used for an
individual
flow.
Page builder 32 interacts with a page broadcast component 34 that forwards
pages to the travelers in a community and identified by the key [Community
Session
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ID l Traveler ID]. It will be appreciated that depending upon the type of
client, pages
may be formatted in different client-appropriate manners. In addition, in some
embodiments responses may be sent in a non-web format, e.g., where a client
device includes a dedicated application that is used in lieu of a desktop or
mobile
browser. Thus, while the terms "page builder" and "page broadcast" are used
herein, it will be appreciated that the manner in which a community travel
booking
service interacts with client devices is not limited to web-based protocols.
Community web server 12 may be implemented in a number of manners
consistent with the invention. Fig. 2, for example, illustrates an exemplary
apparatus
50 within which various steps from a community travel booking operation may be
implemented in a manner consistent with the invention. For the purposes of the
invention, computer 50 may represent practically any type of computer,
computer
system or other programmable electronic device. Moreover, computer 50 may be
implemented using one or more networked computers, e.g., in a cluster or other
distributed computing system, or may be implemented within a single computer
or
other programmable electronic device, e.g., a desktop computer, laptop
computer,
handheld computer, cell phone, set top box, etc.
Computer 50 typically includes a central processing unit 52 including at least
one microprocessor coupled to a memory 54, which may represent the random
access memory (RAM) devices comprising the main storage of computer 50, as
well
as any supplemental levels of memory, e.g., cache memories, non-volatile or
backup
memories (e.g., programmable or flash memories), read-only memories, etc. In
addition, memory 54 may be considered to include memory storage physically
located elsewhere in computer 50, e.g., any cache memory in a processor in CPU
52, as well as any storage capacity used as a virtual memory, e.g., as stored
on a
mass storage device 56 or on another computer coupled to computer 50. Computer
50 also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating
information externally. For interface with a user or operator, computer 50
typically
includes a user interface 58 incorporating one or more user input devices
(e.g., a
keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a joystick, a touchpad, and/or a microphone,
among
others) and a display (e.g., a CRT monitor, an LCD display panel, and/or a
speaker,
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among others). Otherwise, user input may be received via another computer or
terminal.
For additional storage, computer 50 may also include one or more mass
storage devices 56, e.g., a floppy or other removable disk drive, a hard disk
drive, a
direct access storage device (DASD), an optical drive (e.g., a CD drive, a DVD
drive,
etc.), and/or a tape drive, among others. Furthermore, computer 50 may include
an
interface 60 with one or more networks 62 (e.g., a LAN, a WAN, a wireless
network,
and/or the Internet, among others) to permit the communication of information
with
other computers and electronic devices, e.g., one or more client computers 64
(e.g.,
traveler devices 16, 18 and one or more servers 66 (e.g., implementing other
aspects of a community travel booking service, as well as other systems such
as
inventory systems, revenue management systems, reservation systems, travel
search engines, etc.). It should be appreciated that computer 50 typically
includes
suitable analog and/or digital interfaces between CPU 52 and each of
components
54, 56, 58 and 60 as is well known in the art. Other hardware environments are
contemplated within the context of the invention.
Computer 50 operates under the control of an operating system 68 and
executes or otherwise relies upon various computer software applications,
components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc., e.g., community
web
server 12, community session 20 and community PNR database 30 therein.
Moreover, various applications, components, programs, objects, modules, etc.
may
also execute on one or more processors in another computer coupled to computer
50 via network 62, e.g., in a distributed or client-server computing
environment,
whereby the processing required to implement the functions of a computer
program
may be allocated to multiple computers over a network.
In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the
invention, whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific
application, component, program, object, module or sequence of instructions,
or
even a subset thereof, will be referred to herein as "computer program code,"
or
simply "program code." Program code typically comprises one or more
instructions
that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices in a
computer, and that, when read and executed by one or more processors in a
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computer, cause that computer to perform the steps necessary to execute steps
or
elements embodying the various aspects of the invention. Moreover, while the
invention has and hereinafter will be described in the context of fully
functioning
computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
the
various embodiments of the invention are capable of being distributed as a
program
product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally
regardless of the
particular type of computer readable media used to actually carry out the
distribution.
Such computer readable media may include computer readable storage
media and communication media. Computer readable storage media is non-
transitory in nature, and may include volatile and non-volatile, and removable
and
non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of
information, such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program
modules or other data. Computer readable storage media may further include
RAM,
ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable
programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other solid state
memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other optical
storage,
magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic
storage
devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information
and
which can be accessed by computer 50. Communication media may embody
computer readable instructions, data structures or other program modules. By
way
of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media
such
as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as
acoustic,
RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above may
also
be included within the scope of computer readable media.
Various program code described hereinafter may be identified based upon the
application within which it is implemented in a specific embodiment of the
invention.
However, it should be appreciated that any particular program nomenclature
that
follows is used merely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be
limited
to use solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by such
nomenclature. Furthermore, given the typically endless number of manners in
which
computer programs may be organized into routines, procedures, methods,
modules,
objects, and the like, as well as the various manners in which program
functionality
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may be allocated among various software layers that are resident within a
typical
computer (e.g., operating systems, libraries, API's, applications, applets,
etc.), it
should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the specific
organization
and allocation of program functionality described herein.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the exemplary environment
illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is not intended to limit the present invention.
Indeed,
those skilled in the art will recognize that other alternative hardware and/or
software
environments may be used without departing from the scope of the invention.
Community Travel Booking Operations
Travelers are increasingly using eCommerce web sites to book their travel
online. For
groups of travelers wishing to travel together, traditional booking
operations are inconvenient due to an inability for those travelers to share
the same
information at the same time, as the travelers may not be located at the same
place,
and even not using the same type of device to access an eCommerce web site,
e.g.,
desktop computer, mobile phone or tablet. In
addition, social networking is
becoming an increasingly important tool for enabling friends and family to
interact
and share information. Often, when groups of travelers are trying to arrange a
trip,
the travelers may attempt to access a web site at separate locations and in
separate
online sessions while communicating over the phone or via chat or email to
attempt
to find a particular travel recommendation that meets their respective needs.
Furthermore, if any of the travelers are unavailable at the time the other
travelers are
discussing travel plans, substantial delays may be introduced as the travelers
email
potential itineraries and travel recommendations back and forth until all
travelers
agree on a single travel recommendation.
Furthermore, once a travel recommendation is agreed upon, one traveler is
required to purchase all of the reservations, or alternatively, each traveler
may be
required to separately log in, search for the agreed upon travel
recommendation, and
then book the travel recommendation separately. In the former instance, some
travelers may not wish to share some information (e.g., class information,
profile
information, traveler preferences and services, and payment) with other
travelers,
while in the latter instance, availability and/or pricing may change for
different
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
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16
travelers, risking the possibility that some travelers are unable to complete
their
reservations.
Embodiments consistent with the invention, on the other hand, introduce the
concept of community travel booking to link together individuals while
shopping for
travel recommendations while allowing for individualized booking confirmation
and
completion after a travel recommendation has been selected. A community travel
booking operation, in particular, may include two portions, phases or steps.
The first, referred to herein as a travel recommendation shopping phase, is an
initial phase where the community of travelers collectively browse a travel
web site
for candidate travel recommendations and select a desired community travel
recommendation from among the available alternatives. During this phase, the
individuals in the community typically prefer to share a maximum of
information such
as itinerary, price, booking class, hotel, etc.
In the embodiments discussed
hereinafter, this phase is implemented using a common web flow, such that
collaborative interaction is employed with the community of travelers.
The second, referred to herein as a confirmation or reservation phase, is a
phase in which the community of travelers purchase, book or otherwise complete
their respective reservations with the selected community travel
recommendation.
During this phase, individuals typically prefer to maintain much of the
relevant
information private, e.g., payment information, passport information, and
other
personal information. In the embodiments discussed hereinafter, this phase is
implemented using an individual web flow, such that individual interaction is
employed with the community of travelers. In addition, in some embodiments, it
is
desirable to allow for individuals in a community to confirm their bookings at
the
same time, or within some time period, i.e., either synchronously or
asynchronously.
In some embodiments, a community travel booking operation may provide a
traveler with the capability to enter during an individualized web flow
private
information such as the traveler name, passport, credit card, etc., but still
enable the
same PNR reservation (referred to herein as a community PNR) to be shared by
the
entire community.
In other embodiments, however, multiple individual PNR
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
17
reservations may be created, so the invention is not limited to the generation
of
community PNRs.
In addition, in some embodiments it is desirable to utilize Internet and web
browser technologies to provide wide availability of such operations by any
device
with Internet or network access. In particular, in some embodiments a single
online
"community" session may be established and maintained in an active state
throughout both phases of a community travel booking operation.
Fig. 3 illustrates an overview of a community travel booking operation
consistent with the invention. In this
embodiment, a community shopping
experience, through the use of co-browsing, is used to enable the
participating
travelers in a community to share the same community web flow, typically with
a
single individual, referred to herein as the master traveler 100, controlling
the web
flow. The other individuals in the community are referred to as co-travelers
102, and
these individuals are permitted to view the web flow controlled by the master
traveler
in real time and thereby participate in the travel recommendation searching
and
selection process. While the real time updates permit the co-travelers to view
the
web flow on an ongoing basis as the master traveler interacts with the web
site, It will
be appreciated that "real time" does not necessarily require that all
individuals view
the same information at the same exact time, given that communication delays
and
the like may result in certain traveler devices receiving updates before
others.
The master traveler 100 in particular oversees a creation of a community
(block 104) as well as a community search operation (block 106). A community
travel booking service implements a common web flow 108, during which search
results are obtained (block 110) and availabilities and fares are accessed and
presented (block 112).
In this embodiment, during the common web flow, common web pages are
shared by several individuals in real time, enabling co-travelers to create
their trip
together. The same page is typically displayed to all users at generally the
same
time, and only the master traveler is permitted to navigate in the page flow.
Web-
based push technologies, including, for example, a pages builder component 114
and a pages broadcast component 116, may be used to facilitate this common web
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flow. For example, a server may utilize any or all of web sockets, HTTP server
push,
pushlets, long polling and Adobe Flash, among others, to push information
between
a server and one or more clients. In other embodiments, however, multiple
travelers
may be permitted to navigate in the common web flow.
In addition, during the common web flow, various methodologies for
searching, shopping and/or selecting travel recommendations may be used. For
example, travel recommendations may be selected in single or multiple steps,
e.g.,
based on schedule or availability before price, price before schedule or
availability,
pre-shopping map searches, etc.
It will be appreciated that while the same page is typically broadcast to all
online travelers during the common web flow, the same page may be customized
by
the service for particular travelers, e.g., to customize the page for display
on a
particular browser, on a particular traveler device, in an application or
mobile app
instead of a browser, or based on the traveler's role (master or co-traveler).
The
reference to broadcasting the "same" page therefore is intended to convey that
the
same candidate travel recommendation, search result and/or travel search
criterion
information is broadcast to all travelers, even though the actual manner in
which that
information is packaged or formatted for transmission to and display on a
traveler
device may vary for different traveler devices (e.g., desktop or laptop
computers,
tablets, mobile phones, etc.).
Also in this embodiment, once a travel recommendation is selected, the co-
travelers proceed to an individual web flow 118 to enter personal information
such as
passenger information (blocks 120, 122) and payment information (blocks 124,
126).
In addition, if desired, some travelers may be permitted to select some
specific
services or purchase options (block 128). In this case, the community travel
booking
service sends different pages to each co-traveler, and handles the requests
from
each co-traveler and updates the individual data in the community session.
In some embodiments, for example, separate web pages may be presented to
travelers to obtain passenger information (e.g., last name, first name,
address,
phone number, etc.), passport/visa information (e.g., Advanced Passenger
Information (API)), service information (e.g., specific seats, meals,
upgrades, etc.),
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19
and payment information (e.g., manner of payment, card number, etc.). In
addition,
a confirmation page may be presented to provide a traveler with a confirmation
number and other information about a completed booking. It will be appreciated
the
fewer or greater numbers of pages may be presented to travelers, different
information may be obtained from and/or displayed to different travelers (even
different travelers in the same community), and other flows may be utilized to
guide
travelers through the booking process.
In this embodiment, an HTTP Session may be created on web server side to
handle the community, and all data related to the community may be stored in
this
session. The result of the operation is creation of a community PNR (block
130).
Now turning to Figs. 4-17, one example implementation of a community travel
recommendation booking service is illustrated in greater detail. It will be
appreciated
that the flow of a community travel booking operation may vary from that shown
in
these figures, particularly given the free-form navigation supported by many
web
technologies. In addition, the example pages illustrated herein are greatly
simplified
to facilitate an understanding of the illustrated embodiments, and it will be
appreciated that practically any travel recommendation searching, selection
and
confirmation functionality known in the art for booking individual and/or
group travel
reservations may be utilized in connection with community travel booking
operations
consistent with the invention.
As illustrated in Fig. 4, a community may be created when a first user
(referred to as a master traveler 150) decides to share his or her booking
flow with a
second user (referred to as a co-traveler 152). A booking engine 154, which
includes a community component 156 to support community travel booking
operation
functionality consistent with the invention, interacts with master traveler
150.
Booking engine 154 also includes functionality supporting searching and/or
selecting
travel solution availability (i.e., schedule information without pricing
information),
pricing information for previously-selected travel solutions, and/or travel
recommendations (travel solutions along with respective pricing information),
as well
as other information associated with travel solutions and/or travel
recommendations.
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
,
In this example flow, master traveler 150 initially logs in to booking engine
154, and thereafter decides to share the booking flow with a community by
inviting
co-traveler 152. In response to these operations, booking engine 154 creates a
community through the use of a CreateCommunity call to community component
156, passing a MasterTraveler identifier for the master traveler 150 and a
MasterSessionID session identifier for the master's session.
Community component 156 creates a community session 158 including
common data 160 and individual data 162 for the master traveler. The common
data
160 includes a community key identifying the community session, an identifier
for the
user operating as the master traveler, and a "TRUE" indication that the
community
session is in a "common flow" phase of a community travel booking operation.
The
individual data 162 for the master traveler includes the traveler ID for the
master
traveler, the session ID for that traveler, a "TRUE" indication that the
traveler is
currently logged in, and a currentPage variable that points to a search page
from
which to conduct searching for candidate travel recommendations.
Once the community is created, one or more co-travelers may be added to
the community by sending email invitations using a GenerateEmail call that
provides
as input the community key and the traveler ID of any co-travelers to
community
component 156.
Fig. 5, for example, illustrates an example search page 170 that enables the
first user to enter an origin 172, destination 174, departure date 176 and
return date
178, as well as a search button 180 to initiate a search. A link 182 is also
provided
to enable the first user to effectively create a community by inviting one or
more co-
travelers to participate in the new community. It will be appreciated that in
some
embodiments, a community may be created before a search is conducted, while in
other embodiments, a community may be created after the first user has
performed
some searching.
Upon user selection of link 182, an invite page 190 (Fig. 6) may be presented
to the first user, including name 192 and email address 194 fields that may be
used
to add co-travelers to a community. Upon entry of a name and email address and
activation of add button 196, co-travelers are added to a list 198. Additional
list
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
21
editing operations, e.g., removing co-travelers via remove button 200, or
editing
added co-travelers, may also be supported. Once a list of co-travelers is
created,
selection of confirm button 202 initiates the GenerateEmail call (Fig. 4) and
sends
emails to the co-travelers in the list. Alternative invite formats, e.g., SMS,
chat, etc.,
may be used in addition to or in lieu of email invites.
An example email invite 206 is illustrated in Fig. 7, and includes a hyperlink
to
connect to the community. The hyperlink desirably includes a community session
ID
for the community as well as a private key, generated by the community
component
and used to identify the co-traveler when the co-traveler joins the community
session, and includes an address that permits the co-traveler to connect with
the
booking engine. In some embodiments, once the co-traveler connects with the
booking engine, the co-traveler may be required to log in with a user name and
password, or sign up if the co-traveler does not already possess a user
account.
Fig. 8 illustrates the operations that occur when a co-traveler joins the
community by clicking on the hyperlink. Clicking
on the link initiates a
JoinCommunity call with booking engine 154, including the community key and
traveler ID for the co-traveler, as well as a session ID established for that
co-traveler
once the co-traveler has connected with the booking engine. Booking engine 154
makes a GetCommunity call to get the community key, and makes a
CreateIndividual Data call with the traveler ID of the co-traveler to
community
component 156 to create individual data 210 for the co-traveler in community
session 158. The individual data 210 includes the traveler ID, email and
session ID
for the co-traveler, as well as a logged in indicator once the co-traveler has
logged
into the booking engine. In addition, a current page variable for the co-
traveler is set
to inherit from the master traveler. As such, once individual data for the co-
traveler
is created, the booking engine may make a GetCurrentPage call to the community
component, which in turn makes a GenerateSearchPage call to a page builder
component 212 to generate a page to be displayed to the co-traveler, based on
the
master traveler page as well as other community and individual data.
For example, the co-traveler may receive the search page 170 that is being
displayed to the master traveler. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 9, once one or
more
co-travelers join the community, both the co-travelers and the master traveler
may
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
22
be notified of a status of each traveler in the community via status
indicators such as
indicator 214 for the second user. Indicator 214 may identify each traveler,
and in
some embodiments, an online status. For example, a ball may be displayed next
to
each traveler in the community, with green identifying a traveler as being
online and
red identifying the traveler as being offline.
Next, as illustrated in Fig. 10, once all travelers are logged in and joined
to the
community, searching and selection of travel recommendations may be performed
in
a collaborative manner, and based upon a common flow during which all online
travelers have access to the web pages generated on behalf of the community,
thereby providing collaborative browsing in the traveler devices. In the
illustrated
embodiment, the master traveler controls the navigation from page to page in
the
common flow and co-travelers are merely permitted to view the pages generated
in
response to navigation by the master traveler. In other embodiments, multiple
travelers may be permitted to control navigation, and in still other
embodiments
master travelers may delegate control to co-travelers from time to time such
that the
traveler that is leading the navigation changes during the common flow.
In addition, during this time additional communication functionality may be
supported to enable travelers to communicate with one another using electronic
messages while the master traveler navigates from page to page, e.g., using
voice,
chat, video, etc. Functionality for such communications may be supported
directly
within the community travel booking service, or alternatively, the travelers
in the
community may communicate with one another externally, e.g., via external
voice,
chat, email, video, SMS, mobile phone, social network, conferencing, or other
communication technologies. In the latter instance, travelers still view the
same web
pages, but the communication between those travelers (e.g., to decide which
travel
recommendation to select) is implemented outside of the community travel
booking
service. In addition, travelers may be permitted to register their preferences
during
the common flow, e.g., by enabling co-travelers to "vote" for certain travel
recommendations, post messages viewable by the other travelers, or otherwise
provide feedback that may alter how the common flow proceeds even though the
master traveler has sole control over the common flow.
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23
Thus, for example, a search may be initiate by master traveler 150 through a
search request or call to booking engine 154, providing a travel search
criterion,
along with the community key and the traveler ID and session ID for the master
traveler. Prior to conducting the search, an UpdateCommonData call is made
with
the travel search criterion to update common data 160, and the search is
performed
by the booking engine (ProcessSearchOnCentral). The common data is again
updated with the search results, and a BuildAvailabilityPage call is made to
page
builder component 212 to build an availability page with the search results.
Once the
page is built, a SendAvailabilityPage call is made to a page broadcast
component
216 to generate availability pages that are automatically pushed to master
traveler
150 and co-traveler 152, with the former having read/write access to permit
the
master traveler to control community flow and the latter having read only
access to
limit what the co-traveler can control in the community flow.
In the illustrated embodiment, when the master traveler enters data or selects
an option from a dropdown list, the changes are pushed to each co-traveler
such that
each co-traveler is permitted to see the changes on their side in real time.
In
addition, as soon as the master traveler moves to another page, the new
community
common page is displayed, at roughly the same time, in each co-traveler
browser.
Put another way, real time updates, including both navigating to new pages and
entering or changing data in existing pages, are pushed to other travelers in
the
community. As noted above, some coordination can still be by voice, chat,
etc., in
order to assist the master traveler in the searching and selection but the
overall
booking is enhanced as all travelers in the community share the same
information at
the same time.
To further illustrate this concept, Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate example
availability
pages 220, 222 that may be displayed to a master traveler and a co-traveler,
respectively. Pages 220, 222 display common search results 224; however, in
availability page 220 for the master traveler all controls (e.g., radio
buttons 226 and
select button 228) are enabled, while in availability page 222 for the co-
traveler some
or all of the controls are disabled, and either grayed out (in the case of
radio buttons
226) or hidden entirely (in the case of select button 228). Thus, availability
page 220
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24
includes at least one active control that is omitted (i.e., hidden, disabled,
or otherwise
not present or enabled) from availability page 222.
As such, co-travelers can see details about candidate travel
recommendations but they typically cannot select or confirm those travel
recommendations. Thus, the master traveler is able to direct, guide and
control the
collaborative browsing in the common web flow.
Once the itinerary and prices have been selected by the master traveler for
the community during the common web flow, a transition occurs from the common
phase to the individual phase to enable each traveler (master and co-travelers
to
complete their respective reservations for the selected travel recommendation
(i.e.,
the community travel recommendation). For example, upon selection of a travel
recommendation via select button 228 of master availability page 220, a
transition
from common to individual flow is performed, e.g., in the manner illustrated
in Fig.
13.
As shown in this figure selection of a travel recommendation initiates a
SelectProduct request or call to booking engine 154, which in turn updates
common
data 160 (via an UpdateCommonData call) to store the selected product (travel
recommendation) and transition from common flow to individual flow (via a
SetCommonFlow call). Booking engine 154 then calls page builder component 212
to build an individualized passenger information page (via a
BuildCoTravelerPage
call) for each traveler, and then calls page broadcast component 214 to
forward an
individualized information page (CoTravelerInfoPage) to each traveler. In some
embodiments, BuildCoTravelerPage is interpreted within a community concept,
whereby an individualized information page may be configured as necessary to
enable one co-traveler to input information for him and one or more
accompanying
travelers such as a spouse, kids, etc.
Thus, in each individualized information page, the respective traveler is
permitted to input relevant passenger (traveler) information necessary to
complete
the booking. This information may include a credit card number or frequent
flyer
number for example. In order to maintain passenger confidentiality, all
information
entered in the individual pages may not be shared with the other travelers. In
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
addition, once the transition occurs to individual flow, the master traveler
typically
has the same role as the other co-travelers.
In some embodiments, selection of a travel recommendation causes an
individual shopping basket to be created for each traveler. This basket allows
the
traveler to store the data entered from the individual web flow.
The individual web flow may include one or several individual pages, e.g., one
page to enter the traveler identity, and one page to enter the credit card
data.
Moreover, the number of pages in the individual web flow can be different for
each
co-traveler depending of the options selected during this flow. Fig. 14, for
example,
illustrates individual flow for the first and second users 150, 152. Each user
makes
an AddPaxInfo call to booking engine 154 on the respective information page;
however, for the first user, additional services are requested (e.g., to
select a specific
seat, a specific meal, or other optional services). Thus, prior to making a
payment,
and after updating the individual data for the first user
(UpdatelndividualData)
booking engine 154 may call page builder component 212 to build a services
page
(BuildServicesPage) and call page broadcast component 214 to send the services
page to the first user (SendServicesPage).
In contrast, for the second user, no services page may be generated, and
instead booking engine 154 may, after updating the individual data for the
second
user, call page builder component 212 to build a payment page
(BuildPaymentPage)
and call page broadcast component 214 to send the payment page to the first
user
(SendPaymentPage). It will be appreciated that a similar flow will occur to
send a
payment page to the first user after the appropriate services have been
selected by
the first user.
Payments are desirably processed individually for each traveler. So, the
community component computes the total amount to pay for each co-traveler, and
each is required to provide a form of payment to pay one's share. As soon as
all
mandatory information has been entered by a co-traveler during the individual
web
flow then his or her booking is complete.
It will be appreciated that all co-traveler confirmation booking steps may be
performed in parallel and thus, totally independent from each other.
Nevertheless,
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
26
they share the same booking reservation, and in the illustrated embodiment,
only a
single community PNR is created for all travelers.
In the illustrated embodiment, when the first co-traveler confirms a booking,
the community PNR is created with his or her personal data and his or her
selected
products/services. Once his or her booking is complete, he or she receives a
confirmation page with a record locator, e.g., as illustrated by confirmation
page 230
in Fig. 15.
When the second co-traveler confirms the booking, the community PNR is
retrieved by the service and all personal data and selected products/services
are
added to the community PNR. At the end, the second co-traveler receives a
confirmation page with the same record locator.
In addition, in some embodiments, a community status email may be sent to
all community travelers each time a co-traveler confirms his or her booking
within the
community PNR.
Fig. 16 illustrates an example, synchronous confirmation flow where travelers
are required to confirm in a predetermined sequence. Here, the second user 152
confirms first by making a confirm call to booking engine 154. The booking
engine
then creates a community reservation record, e.g., a community PNR 240, via a
CreateReservationRecord call, adds the individual data to the community PNR
(SendlndividualData) and sells the selected travel recommendation for the
second
user (SellSelectedProduct). Thereafter, the first user 150 confirms by making
a
confirm call to booking engine 154, and the booking engine adds the individual
data
to the community PNR (SendlndividualData) and sells the selected travel
recommendation for the first user (SellSelectedProduct). The PNR is then
closed
(CloseReservationRecord) and a record locator is returned to the booking
engine. A
call is then made to community component 156 to set the community record
locator
(SetCommunityRecordLocator), which results in record locators being returned
to
each of the travelers in the community.
Fig. 17 illustrates an alternate asynchronous confirmation flow where
travelers
are permitted to confirm in any order. Here, the second user 152 is
illustrated as
confirming first by making a confirm call to booking engine 154. The booking
engine
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
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27
then creates a reservation record, e.g. a community PNR 240, via a
CreateReservationRecord call, adds the individual data to the community PNR
(SendlndividualData) and sells the selected travel recommendation for the
second
user (SellSelectedProduct). Then the PNR is closed via a
CloseReservationRecord
call, which returns a record locator. The booking engine then makes a call to
community component 156 to set the community record locator
(SetCommunityRecordLocator), which results in the record locator being
returned to
the second user.
Thereafter, the first user 150 confirms by making a confirm call to booking
engine 154, and the re-opens the community PNR via a RetrieveReservationRecord
call using the same record locator generated when the second user confirmed.
The
booking engine then adds the individual data to the community PNR
(SendlndividualData) and sells the selected travel recommendation for the
first user
(SellSelectedProduct). The PNR is then closed (CloseReservationRecord) and the
record locator is returned to the first user.
In some embodiments, specific attention may be required to properly handle
community session and community PNR synchronization updates. This may be
performed sequentially to avoid asynchronous change issues. Thus, in case one
co-
traveler decides to postpone his or her booking confirmation, an email may be
sent
after a timeout, with all information to let him or her book later. In
addition, in the
case all co-travelers did not confirm the booking after a predetermined
period, a
specific strategy may be implemented to cancel the community PNR if the
service is
set up to require all co-travelers to travel together. In other embodiments,
however,
a community PNR may be maintained even in the event that one or more co-
travelers do not complete their respective reservations. In addition, it may
be
desirable to allow for co-travelers that have left the community session for
some
reason, whether voluntary or involuntary (e.g., due to a network or computer
problem), to later reconnect and complete the individual flow and thus their
respective individual reservations.
In addition, in some embodiments it may be desirable to handle situations
where a seat is not available for a co-traveler when confirming a reservation.
In
some embodiments, another seat to this co-traveler on the same flight, train,
etc.,
CA 02846911 2014-03-20
28
e.g., in a different cabin or booking class. Alternatively, the entire
community PNR
could be canceled, or the other travelers could be notified to edit the
community PNR
to remove any unconfirmed travelers. In all cases, it is typically desirable
for an
information email to be sent to the whole community to inform them of the
situation.
Various modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, where
travelers
are registered with user accounts, prestored account information may be used
to
provide traveler information to avoid the need for all individual data to be
entered by
each traveler. In some embodiments, some co-travelers may not be required to
open accounts, and may simply provide information and confirm booking as
guests.
In still other embodiments, some co-travelers may not participate in the
common flow to select a travel recommendation, but may still participate in
the
community and make a reservation using the individual flow after others in the
community have selected a travel recommendation. In such embodiments, for
example, it may be desirable at the completion of the common flow to send an
email
or other electronic communication to all travelers in a community, or just to
those
travelers that are not currently online or logged in to the service, so that
such
travelers can access the service and complete a reservation for a selected
travel
recommendation.
In addition, in some embodiments, primary co-travelers may purchase or
confirm reservations for other accompanying co-travelers, e.g., so that one
traveler
could enter passenger information and/or purchase reservations for a spouse,
children, grand-children, parents, grandparents, other relatives, friends,
coworkers,
or other acquaintances. For example, in the aforementioned example where two
couples were planning a trip together, the wives could participate in a
community
session to search for and select a particular travel recommendation, and then
each
wife could complete the reservation for herself and her husband.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, at least a portion of the individual flow
may occur prior to the common flow, e.g., so that travelers in a community can
enter
personal information in advance of collaborative browsing to speed up and/or
simplify the confirmation process after a travel recommendation has been
selected.
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29
In addition, while the illustrated embodiments above have focused on air
travel, other embodiments may enable other travel products to be purchased,
and
may, for example, be suitable for purchasing combinations of travel products,
e.g., to
reserve hotel rooms, train tickets, event tickets, rental cars, and/or other
travel-
related products along with air travel for communities of travelers.
It will be appreciated that some of the features of the exemplary embodiments
of this invention may be used without the corresponding use of other features.
In
addition, various additional modifications may be made without departing from
the
spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention lies in the claims
hereinafter appended.
