Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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INTEGRATION OF ONLINE SELF-BOOKING TOOL AND THIRD PARTY SYSTEM
SEARCH RESULTS
BACKGROUND
[0001] The invention generally relates to computers and computer software,
and in particular
to methods, systems, and computer program products for integrating online self-
booking tool and
third party website search results and features for travel-related product
offerings.
[0002] Employees engaging in business related travel for a corporation or
other business
entity are typically required to follow corporate travel policies. The
creation and enforcement of
corporate travel policies is commonly referred to as corporate travel
management. Services that
may be provided by corporate travel management include negotiations with
vendors such as
airlines and hotels, day-to-day operation of corporate travel programs,
setting of traveler safety
policies, and management of travel and expense data for trips taken by
employees. These
services may be handled internally by a corporate travel department, or may be
contracted out to
a travel management company. In any case, corporate travel management may set
policies
regarding the class of service that employees are permitted to book for
business travel, negotiate
corporate rates with airlines, hotels, and car rental companies, and set
policy with regard to what
travel products may be purchased when travelling on company business.
[0003] Business travelers booking trips are normally required to follow
certain corporate
guidelines with regard to selection of travel products. To facilitate
enforcement of travel-related
policies and ensure that travel products are purchased at negotiated corporate
rates, companies
may prefer that employees book business travel through an internal corporate
travel manager or
designated travel management company. These bookings may be performed using an
online self-
booking tool.
[0004] Online self-booking tools may be hosted on a corporate or travel
management
company server, and configured so that employees can remotely log-on.
Employees may thereby
book travel using a personal computing device connected to the host server
over a network, such
as a corporate LAN or the Internet. Because the online self-booking tool can
control what travel
options are displayed to the user, travel polices may be enforced by only
displaying travel
options that conform to internal travel polices and negotiated corporate
rates. The online self-
booking tool may also flag travel options that do not conform with internal
travel polices or that
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are otherwise less desirable with visual clues to discouraged the user from
selecting these travel
options.
[0005] Since the advent of the Internet, the travel industry has become
increasingly
fragmented and complex, with an increasing number of third party providers,
such as online
travel agents and airlines, launching niche services through online channels.
Travelers wishing to
purchase a travel product through an online channel may access a website
operated by the third
party provider. The traveler will then typically provide search terms to the
website in the form of
a search query to identify travel products that meet their needs. In response
to receiving the
search query, the website will search one or more databases to identify travel
products that match
the parameters of the search query. Matching travel products may then be
displayed as part of a
travel offering that may be booked or purchased by the traveler.
[0006] The availability of online channels for purchasing travel products
has greatly
increased options for travelers booking a trip, especially with regard to
leisure travel. Online
channels may also allow users to buy tickets directly from the airline. To
encourage this type of
purchase, airlines may offer perquisites to encourage direct access through
their website. The
resulting increased competitiveness of online channels has shifted travel-
related purchases away
from traditional channels, such as travel management corporations and online
self-booking tools,
toward online channels. Business travelers accustomed to booking personal
travel through online
channels may also prefer the convenience and familiarity of a familiar third
party website to
search for and book business travel or mixed business and leisure travel. In
addition, travel
options offered by online channels may provide travel products at prices below
the corporate
negotiated rates in specific instances.
[0007] One problem associated with booking business travel through an
online channel is
that travel offerings booked via an online channel run the risk of violating
corporate travel
policies or being purchased at a higher rate than the negotiated corporate
rate. Additional
problems with booking through an online channel may include: (1) an inability
to fully determine
travel locations, which may create difficulties for corporate travel managers
in fulfilling their
"duty-of-care" to the company; (2) difficulties tracking booking volumes due
to dilution across
multiple online channels, which may adversely affect the corporation's ability
to justify or
negotiate preferred rates with travel providers; and (3) online channels may
lack support for
payments with the corporate card or other account.
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[0008] To avoid these problems, business travelers may search for a travel
product using a
preferred online channel, and then book the desired product through a
traditional channel.
Because this can be a time-consuming and error prone procedure, travelers may
just risk booking
the travel product through the online channel, or confine their search to what
is available through
the traditional channel. In addition, some desired travel products identified
by the online channel
may not be available through the online self-booking tool, so that determining
whether the travel
product complies with corporate travel policies is not possible using this
method.
[0009] Thus, improved systems, methods, and computer program products are
needed to
search for and book travel products that combine the familiarity and
convenience of online
channels while providing the policy enforcement and negotiated rates of
traditional channels.
[0010] WO 03/034179 A2 describes to pull data for travel products and
services from one or
more data sources, including public web sites and other sources. Data pulled
from multiple data
sources is combined into a single display presented to the user. The pulled
data is displayed in
one format in one display regardless of the data source.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0011] The invention is defined by the independent claims. Further
embodiments are defined
by the dependent claims.
[0012] In an example embodiment of the invention, a method for furnishing
online self-
booking tool functionality to a user booking travel offerings through a
website is provided. The
method includes capturing a search criterion contained in a search query
transmitted to the
website. A first search is launched at the website and a second search is
launched at a database
including travel offerings having a negotiated rate. Each of the first and
second searches includes
the search criterion. A first set of search results from the website and a
second set of search
results from the database are captured and combined into a third set of search
results. A fourth
set of search results is generated from the third set of search results by
removing duplicate search
results. Display data is generated based on at least a portion of the fourth
set of search results and
a user interface generated by injecting the display data into a displayed user
interface that is
natively rendered by the website is displayed to the user.
[0013] In another example embodiment of the invention, a method of
enriching search
results with content from the website is provided. The method includes
receiving the search
query at a computer in communication with the online self-booking tool, and
identifying a travel
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offering that satisfies the search query. The computer then determines if the
travel offering
should be purchased through the website. In response to determining the travel
offering should
be purchased through the website, the computer establishes a link with the
website, and captures
content relating to the travel offering transmitted over the link. The
computer searches the
database for a travel policy of a business entity, the travel policy relating
to the content. In
response to identifying the travel policy of the business entity, the computer
displays the content
and the travel policy to the user via the online self-booking tool.
[0014] In another example embodiment of the invention, an apparatus is
provided. The
apparatus includes a processor and memory. The memory includes instructions
that, when
executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to capture the search criterion
contained in the
search query transmitted to the website. The apparatus then launches the first
search including
the search criterion at the website and the second search including the search
criterion at the
database including travel offerings having the negotiated rate. The apparatus
captures the first set
of search results from the website and the second set of search results from
the database, and
combines the first and second sets of search results into the third set of
search results. The
apparatus generates the fourth set of search results from the third set of
search results by
removing duplicate search results, generates display data based on at least a
portion of the fourth
set of search results and displays a user interface generated by injecting the
display data into a
displayed user interface that is natively rendered by the website to the user.
[0015] In another example embodiment of the invention, another apparatus is
provided. The
apparatus includes the processor in communication with the online self-booking
tool and the
memory. The memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor,
cause the
apparatus to receive the search query and identify the travel offering that
satisfies the search
query. The apparatus determines whether the travel offering should be
purchased through the
website. If travel offering should be purchased through the website, the
apparatus establishes the
link with the website and captures content relating to the travel offering
transmitted over the link.
The apparatus searches the database for the travel policy of the business
entity, the travel policy
relating to the content. In response to identifying the travel policy of the
business entity, the
apparatus displays the content and the travel policy to the user via the
online self-booking tool.
[0016] In another example embodiment of the invention, a computer program
product is
provided. The computer program product includes a non-transitory computer
readable storage
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medium that stores instructions. The instructions are configured so that, when
executed by the
processor, they cause the processor to capture the search criterion contained
in the search query
transmitted to the website. The processor launches the first search at the
website and the second
search at the database including travel offerings having the negotiated rate,
the first and second
searches each including the search criterion. The instructions then cause the
processor to capture
the first set of search results from the website and the second set of search
results from the
database, and combine the first and second sets of search results into the
third set of search
results. The processor then generates the fourth set of search results from
the third set of search
results by removing duplicate search results, and displays at least a portion
of the fourth set of
search results.
[0017] In another example embodiment of the invention, another computer
program product
is provided. The computer program product includes the non-transitory computer
readable
storage medium that stores instructions. The instructions are configured so
that, when executed
by the processor, they cause the processor to receive the search query and
identify the travel
offering that satisfies the search query. The processor determines whether the
travel offering
should be purchased through the website, and in response to determining the
travel offering
should be purchased through the website, establishes the link with the
website. The processor
then captures content relating to the travel offering, the content being
transmitted over the link,
and searches the database for the travel policy of the business entity
relating to the content. In
response to identifying the travel policy of the business entity, the
processor displays the content
and the travel policy of the business entity to the user via an online self-
booking tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute
a part of this
specification, illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together
with the general
description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the
embodiments given
below, serve to explain the embodiments of the invention.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary operating environment
including a
plurality of computer systems in communication via a network.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary computer system of
FIG. 1.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a travel booking system that may
operate in the
exemplary operating environment of FIG. 1.
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[0022] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a process for enriching search
results that may be
performed by the travel booking system of FIG. 3.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a process by which a system user
is provided with
search results enriched by the process depicted in FIG. 4.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods for
providing
users with travel-related search results that include products and services
from multiple sources,
such as a Global Distribution System (GDS) and a website of a third party
provider.
Embodiments of the invention may include a travel booking system that enriches
search results
from the website of the third party provider with content available to an
online self-booking tool.
In the case where a search is launched in the online self-booking tool, the
search results returned
by the online self-booking tool may be enriched with third party services and
content obtained
from the website of the third party provider. Searches launched in the website
of the third party
provider may trigger a parallel search on one or more GDS databases. The
searches may be
launched by the user, or transparently in response to user actions.
[0025] The travel booking system may receive and combine the search results
from the
website and the GDS, and filter the combined results to eliminate duplicates.
The travel booking
system may then identify travel offerings that do not conform to one or more
corporate policies
of a business entity, or to a user profile criteria. The results may then be
displayed to the user
with the non-conforming travel offerings either filtered out or marked to
indicate that they do not
conform to one or more corporate travel policies. Embodiments of the invention
may thereby
extend the coverage of online self-booking tool services and content to
website search results
without generating development dependencies in the website.
[0026] A search launched in the online self-booking tool may produce travel
offerings that
contain one or more travel products that are preferably purchased through an
online channel. The
travel booking system may detect these travel offerings, and launch a search
relating to the
detected results in a website associated with the online channel. The travel
booking system may
receive and apply relevant travel policies to the search results, and display
the data to the user
using the data format of the website. The online self-booking tool search
results may thereby be
enriched with content from the website that complies with corporate travel
policies, or that is
labeled as being out of compliance. Embodiments of the invention may thereby
provide online
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self-booking tools with a feature that directly embeds third party provider
content and services
obtained through the website into the GDS search results. Travel management
systems may
thereby avoid having to replicate, generalize, and maintain specific services
and content offered
by online travel agencies, airline websites, meta-search engines, and other
third party providers.
In addition, the travel booking system may include a profile management
feature that applies
specific user and/or corporate travel profiles to the search results. The
travel booking system may
thereby provide value to airlines by customizing results to the specific user
requesting the search.
In addition, by ensuring that users are purchasing travel products that fall
within corporate travel
policies, the travel booking system may increase the likelihood users will be
reimbursed for
expenses related to travel products obtained through online channels. The
travel booking system
may also enable users to charge travel booked online to a corporate credit
card or other account,
thereby avoiding the need for reimbursement of online purchases.
[0027] Referring now to FIG. 1, an operating environment 10 in accordance
with an
embodiment of the invention may include a GDS 12, one or more third party
provider systems
14, a travel management system 16, and a user system 18 in communication via a
network 20
that includes one or more private and/or public networks (e.g., the Internet)
that enable the
exchange of data between the systems. In an embodiment of the invention, the
travel
management system 16 may be integrated with the GDS 12, in which case the
features of the
travel management system 16 may be provided by the GDS 12.
[0028] The GDS 12 may be configured to store and retrieve information, as
well as conduct
transactions related to air travel, hotels, car rental, or other travel-
related products. To this end,
the GDS 12 may maintain links with various airline, travel agency, and other
service provider
systems (not shown) via the network 20. These links may allow the GDS 12 to
route reservation
requests between the various systems so that flights and other travel products
may be booked
with multiple service providers via a single connection to the GDS 12.
[0029] The third party systems 14 may host a website for an online travel
agency, meta-
search engine, airline, hotel, or any other third party provider of travel
products. The website
may be configured to allow travelers to search for and book travel products
sold by the third
party provider. The third party systems 14 may thereby allow users to search
for and book travel
products via a suitable software application, such as a web browser, running
on the user system
18.
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[0030] The travel management system 16 may be maintained by a business
entity, such as a
corporation or travel management company, to manage employee travel. To this
end, the travel
management system 16 may provide an online self-booking tool 52 (FIG. 3)
configured to enable
business travelers to create travel itineraries at a single centralized
location. The travel
management system 16 may thereby provide a centralized location for storing
data relating to
user and corporate profiles, user and corporate preferences, corporate
agreements, and corporate
travel policies. The travel management system 16 may also host programs that
provide expense
management and tracking functions. The user system 18 may be a desktop
computer, laptop
computer, tablet computer, smart phone, or any other computing device that
provides the user
with access to the systems 12, 14, 16 connected to the network 20.
[0031] Referring now to FIG. 2, the GDS 12, third party systems 14, travel
management
system 16, and user system 18 of operating environment 10 may be implemented
on one or more
computer devices or systems, such as exemplary computer system 22. The
computer system 22
may include a processor 24, a memory 26, a mass storage memory device 28, an
input/output
(I/0) interface 30, and a user interface 32.
[0032] The processor 24 may include one or more devices selected from
microprocessors,
micro-controllers, digital signal processors, microcomputers, central
processing units, field
programmable gate arrays, programmable logic devices, state machines, logic
circuits, analog
circuits, digital circuits, or any other devices that manipulate signals
(analog or digital) based on
operational instructions that are stored in the memory 26. The memory 26 may
include a single
memory device or a plurality of memory devices including, but not limited to,
read-only memory
(ROM), random access memory (RAM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory,
static random
access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash memory, cache
memory, or any other device capable of storing information. The mass storage
memory device
28 may include data storage devices such as a hard drive, optical drive, tape
drive, non-volatile
solid state device, or any other device capable of storing information. A
database 34 may reside
on the mass storage memory device 28, and may be used to collect and organize
data used by the
various systems, applications, modules, and tools described herein.
[0033] Processor 24 may operate under the control of an operating system 36
that resides in
memory 26. The operating system 36 may manage computer resources so that
computer program
code embodied as one or more computer software applications, such as
application 38 residing in
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memory 26, may have instructions executed by the processor 24. In an
alternative embodiment,
the processor 24 may execute the applications 38 directly, in which case the
operating system 36
may be omitted. One or more data structures 40 may also reside in memory 26,
and may be used
by the processor 24, operating system 36, and/or application 38 to store or
manipulate data.
[0034] The I/O interface 30 may provide a machine interface that
operatively couples the
processor 24 to other devices and systems, such as the network 20. The
application 38 may
thereby work cooperatively with the network 20 by communicating via the 1/0
interface 30 to
provide the various features, functions, and/or modules comprising embodiments
of the
invention. The application 38 may also have program code that is executed by
one or more
external resources (not shown), or otherwise rely on functions and/or signals
provided by other
system or network components external to the computer system 22. Indeed, given
the nearly
endless hardware and software configurations possible, persons having ordinary
skill in the art
will understand that embodiments of the invention may include applications
that are located
externally to the computer system 22, distributed among multiple computers or
other external
resources, or provided by computing resources (hardware and software) that are
provided as a
service over the network 20, such as a cloud computing service.
[0035] The user interface 32 may be operatively coupled to the processor 24
of computer
system 22 in a known manner to allow a user to interact directly with the
computer system 22.
The user interface 32 may include video and/or alphanumeric displays, a touch
screen, a speaker,
and any other suitable audio, visual, and/or tactile indicators capable of
providing information to
the user. The user interface 32 may also include input devices and controls
such as an
alphanumeric keyboard, a pointing device, keypads, pushbuttons, control knobs,
microphones,
etc., capable of accepting commands or input from the user and transmitting
the entered input to
the processor 24.
[0036] Referring now to FIG. 3, a travel booking system 50 in accordance
with an
embodiment of the invention may include the online self-booking tool 52, and a
data siphon tool
54. The online self-booking tool 52 and data siphon tool 54 may be in
communication with a
third party provider database 56 of third party system 14, a corporate travel
offerings database 58
and a global travel offerings database 60 of GDS 12, and a user application
62. The third party
provider database 56 may be configured to be accessed through a website of the
third party
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provider. The user application 62 may be any suitable application, such as a
web browser, that
allows the user to access the travel booking system 50 via the user system 18.
[0037] The third party provider database 56 may include travel offerings
provided by a third
party provider, such as an airline, online travel agency, or meta-search
website. The third party
provider database 56 may be searchable based on the characteristics of the
travel offerings stored
therein. These characteristics may include data describing the travel
offering, such as the type of
travel product, travel product availability, travel product price, destination
and origination cities,
flight times and dates, hotel star rating, location, or any other
characteristic of the travel offering.
The corporate travel offerings database 58 of GDS 12 may include travel
offerings specific to a
particular business entity (e.g., a corporation), such as flights, hotel
rooms, or other travel
products having negotiated rates for the purchase. The global travel offerings
database 60 of
GDS 12 may be a searchable database including all travel offerings that are
generally available
to the public through the GDS 12, such as travel offerings that do not include
negotiated rates.
Similarly to the third party provider database 56, the corporate travel
offerings database 58 and
global travel offerings database 60 may be searchable based on one or more
characteristics of the
travel offerings.
[0038] The online self-booking tool 52 may include a profile module 64, an
expenses
management database 66, a graphical user interface (GUI) module 68, and an
interface module
70. The profile module 64 may be configured to provide centralized management
of: (1) profile
information, travel preferences, trip and booking information, and travel
requests for system
users; and (2) travel policies, approval processes, provider preferences,
provider agreements,
payment and billing information, and communication campaigns for one or more
corporate
entities. To this end, the profile module 64 may include a user profile engine
72, a corporate
profile engine 74, and a travel policies engine 76. The user profile engine 72
may centralize user
profile and travel preference data, thereby enabling search results to be
tailored to the specific
user requesting the search. By way of example, the user profile engine 72 may
provide user data
indicating whether the user prefers a particular hotel chain, or participates
in a particular frequent
flyer rewards program. Search queries and/or search results may be adjusted
based on this user
preference data. Similarly, the corporate profile engine 74 may be configured
to provide data
relating to corporate profiles, preferences, and agreements with travel
service providers. This
corporate profile information may include, for example, information relating
to a corporate credit
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card or travel account that enables direct payment for booked travel by the
corporation. The
travel policies engine 76 may be configured to provide data that defines
corporate policies that
apply to the user's business travel. The data provided by the corporate
profile engine 74 and the
travel policies engine may be used to modify search queries and/or search
results so that the
search results reflect the corporate profile and policies of the corporation
the user is associated
with.
[0039] The expenses management database 66 of online self-booking tool 52
may be
configured to store and maintain data relating to user travel expenses. To
this end, data relating
to travel charges incurred by the user, such as from booking travel products,
as well as payments
made to travel product providers, may be stored in the expenses management
database 66. This
data may then be used to generate expense reports for the user, to track
corporate travel
expenses, to provide accounting with information regarding corporate travel
budgets, or for any
other suitable purpose.
[0040] The GUI module 68 of online self-booking tool 52 may be configured
to transmit data
to and receive data from the interface module 70 of online self-booking tool
52. The GUI module
68 may receive data from the user application 62 via the interface module 70
and format this data
for use by the online self-booking tool 52. The GUI module 68 may also receive
data generated
by the online self-booking tool 52 and format this data for presentation to
the user. In any case,
data exchanged between the GUI module 68 and the GDS 12 may pass through the
profile
module 64 so that search queries and results may be modified based on user and
corporate
profiles and preferences as discussed above. The interface module 70 of online
self-booking tool
52 may be an Application Program Interface (API) that enables the user
application 62 to
communicate with the GUI module 68 via an online self-booking tool channel.
[0041] The data siphon tool 54 may include a connector module 78, a results
processing
module 80, a rendering module 82, and an interface module 84. The interface
module 84 of data
siphon tool 54 may provide an API through which the user application 62 can
communicate with
the rendering module 82. The interface module 84 may be configured to provide
access to one or
more online channels by enabling the user application 62 to communicate with
third party
websites via the data siphon tool 54.
[0042] The connector module 78 of data siphon tool 54 may be configured to
receive data
relating user actions received from the rendering module 82 of data siphon
tool 54. In response
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to receiving this data, the connector module 78 may transmit data to the
profile module 64 of
online self-booking tool 52, the global travel offerings database 60 of GDS
12, and the third
party provider database 56 of third party system 14. This transmitted data may
define search
queries and other commands or triggers that cause the online self-booking tool
52, the third party
provider database 56, and the global travel offerings database 60 to perform
functions relating to
searching for and booking travel products. The connector module 78 may also be
configured to
transmit keep alive signals at suitable intervals to maintain links with the
third party system 14
and/or online self-booking tool 52.
[0043] In response to receiving search query data from the connector module
78 of data
siphon tool 54, the profile module 64 of online self-booking tool 52 may
generate one or more
search queries. These search queries may be based on the received search query
data, and may
further include data added by the profile module 64 such as: (1) user profile
data provided by the
user profile engine 72, (2) corporate profile, preference and agreement data
provided by the
corporate profile engine 74, and (3) corporate travel policy data provided by
the travel policies
engine 76. When the profile module 64 has finished generating the one or more
search queries,
the profile module 64 may transmit the one or more queries to the corporate
travel offerings
database 58 and the global travel offering database of GDS 12.
[0044] The results processing module 80 of data siphon tool 54 may be
configured to receive
search result data from the third party provider database 56 of third party
system 14, and the
corporate and global travel offerings databases 58, 60 of GDS 12. The results
processing module
80 may merge this search result data and remove duplicate travel offerings.
The results
processing module 80 may then reconcile the policy compliance status,
guidance, and display
settings of each of the travel offerings in the received search results by
flagging or deleting travel
offerings that do not comply with the settings. The results processing module
80 may then
provide the reconciled search results to the rendering module 82 of data
siphon tool 54 for
further processing.
[0045] The rendering module 82 may be configured to format the reconciled
search results
provided via the results processing module 80 so that the enriched third party
data is displayed
by the user application 62 with a similar look and feel as would be provided
by the website of the
third party provider. The displayed user interface may be generated by the
rendering module 82.
The rendering module 82 may simply add or inject specific content into the
displayed user
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interface that is natively rendered by the website. The rendering module 82
may thereby preserve
the user experience provided to users directly accessing the website of the
third party provider.
The rendering module 82 may also track and prompt user actions during the
booking process, as
well as during any pre-trip and post-trip activities.
[0046] The tools, modules, and databases comprising the travel booking
system 50 may be
hosted on one or more of the GDS 12, travel management system 16, and/or user
system 18. In
an embodiment of the invention, connector module 78, results processing module
80, rendering
module 82, and interface module 84 of data siphon tool 54 may comprise one or
more plug-in
extensions for a web browser application running on the user system 18. The
online self-booking
tool 52 may be provided by an application hosted on the travel management
system 16, which
may be a corporate server or a server maintained by a travel management
company. In an
embodiment of the invention, the travel management system 16 may be hosted or
otherwise
provided by the GDS 12.
[0047] Embodiments of the invention may extend management of corporate
travel purchases
to include online channels, such as online travel agency websites, meta-search
websites, airline
websites, hotel websites, car rental websites, or any other suitable service
website. This may be
accomplished by selectively capturing data relating to travel offerings
displayed by the website,
and enriching this data with the corporate policies and agreements provided by
the travel
booking system 50.
[0048] Referring now to FIG. 4, a flow chart illustrates a process 90 for
booking travel
offerings in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In block 92, the
travel booking
system 50 may create an inventory of display objects associated with an online
channel website
on which a search query is being executed. These display objects may include
text, images,
templates, code (e.g., hypertext markup language (HTML) code), or any other
data objects that
define what is displayed by the online channel website. The inventory of
display objects may be
stored as a plurality of data structures 40 in memory 26 of travel management
system 16 or user
system 18. The inventory of display objects may also be stored in the database
34 residing on the
mass storage device of travel management system 16 or user system 18. In any
case, the
inventory of display objects may improve the ability of the travel booking
system 50 to interact
with content and services received from the online channel website.
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[0049] In block 94, the travel booking system 50 identifies and captures
key attributes of a
travel offering displayed by the online channel website. The identified
attributes may be
captured, for example, using web-scraping methods. Key attributes may include
a unique
identifier or a price of a travel product included in the travel offering.
Exemplary key attributes
may include a flight number and ticket price for a flight between an
origination and destination
city pair.
[0050] In block 96, the travel booking system 50 may determine if data
received from the
online channel website is to be enriched. This determination may be made, for
example, based on
whether an enrichment feature has been activated in the travel booking system
50. The
enrichment option may be set by the user, based on search terms such as the
type of travel
products being sought, based on the identity of the online channel, or for any
other suitable
reason. The state of the enrichment option may also be selected based on user
or corporate
profile data provided by the profile module 64 of online self-booking tool 52.
In any case, in
response to the enrichment option being inactive ("NO" branch of decision
block 96), the travel
booking system 50 may proceed to block 98. In response to the enrichment
option being active
("YES" branch of decision block 96), the travel booking system 50 may proceed
to block 100
and begin the process of enriching the search results provided by the online
channel website.
[0051] In block 100, the travel booking system 50 may search one or more of
the corporate
travel offerings database 58 and global travel offerings database 60 of GDS
12. This search may
be for travel offerings that satisfy the search parameters used to search the
online channel
website. To this end, the connector module 78 of data siphon tool 54 may
transmit data to the
profile module 64 of online self-booking tool 52. This data may include
parameters or search
terms received from the user application 62. In response to receiving the
data, the profile module
64 may obtain user profile data using the user profile engine 72, data
relating to corporate
profile, policies, preferences, and agreements using the corporate profile
engine 74, and
corporate travel policies using the travel policies engine 76. The profile
module 64 may then
generate one or more database queries based on the data received from the
connector module 78
as well as the data provided by the user profile engine 72, corporate profile
engine 74, and
corporate travel policies engine 76. The online self-booking tool 52 may
transmit the one or
more search queries to the GDS 12. In response to receiving the search
queries, the GDS 12 may
search the corporate travel offerings database 58 and/or global travel
offerings database 60 for
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travel offerings that satisfy the search query. Travel offerings that satisfy
the search query may
be transmitted to the results processing module 80 of data siphon tool 54.
[0052] In response to receiving the search results from the corporate
travel offerings database
58 and the global travel offerings database 60 at the results processing
module 80, the travel
booking system 50 may proceed to block 102. In block 102, the results
processing module 80
may combine the search results received from the GDS 12 with the search
results received from
the online channel website. The search results received from the online
channel website may
have been obtained by querying the third party provider database 56. The
travel booking system
50 may thereby enrich the search results received from the online channel
website with travel
offerings obtained from the GDS 12 before proceeding to block 104.
[0053] In block 104, the results processing module 80 may remove duplicate
travel offerings
and irrelevant or incompatible travel offerings from the search results.
Irrelevant travel offerings
may include, for example, travel offerings that do not comply with corporate
travel policies or
with user preferences. The remaining travel offerings may then be transmitted
to the rendering
module 82. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, rather than removing
irrelevant travel
offerings from the search results, the irrelevant travel offerings may be
flagged to identity a
reason that each is not relevant and then transmitted to the rendering module
82 along with the
relevant travel offerings.
[0054] In block 106, the rendering module 82 may update the online channel
website display
data to include any additional travel offerings added to the search results by
the results
processing module 80. The rendering module 82 may thereby generate display
data that
combines the travel offerings from the GDS 12 and the online channel website
to create an
integrated display. The resulting integrated display may include additional
business offerings,
policy status information, and compliance guidance. Examples of compliance
guidance may
include flags or other indicia indicating whether a displayed travel offering
complies with
corporate travel policies. The rendering module 82 may also redirect booking
flow, implement
new display settings, remove irrelevant results, or otherwise alter what is
displayed to the user.
The resulting display data may then be transmitted to the user application 62
via the interface
module 84.
[0055] In block 98, the travel booking system 50 may synchronize user
information. This
synchronization may occur, for example, in response to the user booking a
displayed travel
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offering. In response to the user booking the travel offering, purchase and
expense information
may be transmitted to the expenses management database 66 of online self-
booking tool 52. In
block 108, this data may be associated with the user in the expenses
management database 66.
The travel booking system 50 may thereby track expenses for multiple travel
offerings booked
through different channels by the same user based on data stored in the
expenses management
database 66.
[0056] The process 90 may be terminated at any point in the process flow
based on corporate
preferences. In response to the process 90 being terminated, the user may be
redirected to a
relevant booking process flow in the online self-booking tool 52. That is, the
booking process
may continue without the added features provided by the data siphon tool 54.
In this case, the
redirection may be contextualized using the user interactions captured from
the online channel
website. For example, the user may be redirected to a travel offering
availability page in which
the relevant search has already been performed.
[0057] In operation, the user may begin their search for travel offerings
that satisfy an
itinerary by activating the user application 62, which may be a web browser
running on the user
system 18. In an embodiment of the invention, the browser may include plug-in
extensions that
provide the data siphon tool 54 of travel booking system 50. The user may then
navigate the user
application 62 to the online channel website, which may be hosted by the third
party system 14,
or to the online self-booking tool 52 of travel booking system 50. In an
embodiment of the
invention, the online self-booking tool 52 may be hosted on the travel
management system 16. In
the case where the user application 62 is in communication with the online
channel website, data
exchanged between the user application and the website may pass through or be
monitored by
the data siphon tool 54.
[0058] Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow chart illustrates a process 110 by
which the user may
book travel options via the online channel website, or via the online self-
booking tool 52. In
block 112, the user launches a search. The search may be launched, for
example, by the user
entering data into a field displayed by the user application 62 and activating
a search button. The
data entered by the user may define one or more search parameters, such as an
origin/destination
city pair, a desired date of travel, and any other parameter that could be
used to identify a travel
offering which satisfies the itinerary. The user may also enter data that
uniquely identifies the
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user. For example, if the user has a pre-existing account with the online
channel website, the user
may log into their account using a username and password prior to launching
the search.
[0059] If the search is launched in the online channel website ("YES"
branch of decision
block 114), the process may proceed to block 116. In block 116, the search
parameters may be
captured by the connector module 78 of data siphon tool 54 and transmitted to
the profile module
64 of online self-booking tool 52. The connector module 78 may also transmit
data identifying
the user to the online self-booking tool 52. The online self-booking tool 52
may also require that
the user or user application 62 provide data, such as a username and password
or security code,
before allowing the data siphon tool 54 to access the online self-booking tool
52.
[0060] In response to receiving the captured search parameters, the online
self-booking tool
52 may launch a parallel search in the GDS 12. This parallel search may
identify travel offerings
in the corporate travel offerings database 58 and global travel offerings
database 60 that satisfy
the search parameters. The parallel search may thereby identify corporate
travel offerings having
negotiated rates, or that are otherwise specific to the user or the
corporation for which the user is
booking travel. The parallel search may also identify travel offerings
generally available through
the GDS 12 that satisfy the search parameters. In response to identifying
travel offerings in one
or more of the corporate and global travel offerings databases 58, 60, the GDS
12 may transmit
the identified travel options to the results processing module 80 of data
siphon tool 54.
[0061] In block 118, the results processing module 80 of data siphon tool
54 may capture the
search results received from the GDS 12 and the online channel website. In
response to the
search results being captured by the results processing module 80, the travel
booking system 50
may proceed to block 120 and reconcile the captured search results. To this
end, the results
processing module 80 may apply the relevant travel policies to the combined
search results as
well as remove any duplicate travel offerings. Travel offerings that are
incompatible with the
relevant travel policies may also be removed from the search results. In an
alternative
embodiment of the invention, the incompatible travel offerings may be flagged
or otherwise
identified. This may enable flagged travel offerings to be displayed with a
warning that the
flagged travel offering may not comply with corporate travel policies. The
user may thereby be
put on notice that the corporation may not reimburse the user for the flagged
travel offering. In
any case, in response to the results processing module 80 reconciling the
combined search
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results, the results processing module 80 may transmit the reconciled search
results to the
rendering module 82 of data siphon tool 54. The process 110 may then proceed
to block 122.
[0062] If the search is launched in the online self-booking tool 52 of
travel booking system
50 ("NO" branch of decision block 114), the process may proceed to block 124.
In block 124, the
travel booking system 50 may determine if any of the travel offerings in the
search results
received from the corporate travel offerings database 58 and global travel
offerings database 60
of GDS 12 should be purchased through the online channel. The determination to
purchase the
travel offering through the online channel may be made, for example, based on
a database entry
indicating that the travel offering is to be purchased through the online
channel. In this way, the
online channel may be selected from a plurality of online channels and
associated with a specific
travel offering. In the event that no search results are received from the
corporate and global
travel offerings databases 58, 60 of GDS 12, the process 110 may rely
exclusively on travel
offerings from the online channel. That is, the determination to search for
online travel offerings
may also be made in response to a lack of travel offerings being returned by
the corporate and
global travel offerings databases 58, 60 of GDS 12. In any case, if any of the
travel offerings are
to be purchased through the online channel ("YES" branch of decision block
126), the travel
booking system 50 may proceed to block 128.
[0063] In block 128, the travel booking system 50 may obtain data from the
online channel
website corresponding to the online channel through which the identified
travel offering is to be
purchased. In an embodiment of the invention, this data may define content
received from the
online channel website in response to a search query transmitted to the online
channel website by
the connector module 78 of data siphon tool 54. In response to receiving the
data from the online
channel website, the travel booking system 50 may add the travel offering
received from the
online channel website to the search results and proceed to block 130.
[0064] In block 130, the travel booking system 50 may reconcile the
combined search
results. In the event only online search results are available (e.g., no
search results were received
from the corporate and global travel offerings databases 58, 60 of GDS 12),
the process of
combining the search results from the GDS 12 and third party system 14 may be
omitted. In any
case, the reconciliation may be performed by the results processing module 80
of data siphon
tool 54, which may apply the relevant travel policies to the combined search
results and remove
any duplicate travel offerings. Similarly as described above with respect to
block 120, search
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results that are incompatible with the relevant travel policies may be removed
or flagged. In
response to the results processing module 80 reconciling the combined search
results, the results
processing module 80 may transmit the reconciled search results to the
rendering module 82. The
process 110 may then proceed to block 122.
[0065] In block 122, the travel booking system 50 may cause the content of
the reconciled
search results to be displayed by the user application 62. To this end, the
rendering module 82 of
data siphon tool 54 may generate display data based on the reconciled travel
offerings to create a
display or web page that includes both travel offerings specific to the
corporation as well as
travel offerings from the online channel. The resulting user interface display
may be generated
by the rendering module 82. The rendering module 82 may add or inject specific
content into the
user interface that is natively rendered by the website. In block 132, the
travel booking system 50
may determine if the user has added one or more of the displayed travel
offerings to the itinerary.
In response to the user adding the travel offering ("YES" branch of decision
block 132), the
travel booking system 50 may proceed to block 134.
[0066] In block 134, the travel booking system 50 may synchronize user
information. This
synchronization may include centralizing the booking, purchase, and expense
data for operations
performed through different channels. That is, data relating to travel
products purchased through
different online channels may be centralized in the travel booking system.
This may be the case
for purchases made based on search results from the online channel website
enriched with
content from the GDS 12, as well as purchases made based on search results
from the GDS 12
enriched with online channel travel offerings. In an embodiment of the
invention, the
synchronized data may be stored in the expenses management database 66 of
online self-booking
tool 52. If the user does not add the travel offering to the itinerary ("NO"
branch of decision
block 124), the process 110 may terminate.
[0067] Embodiments of the invention may facilitate enforcement of corporate
travel policies
for travel options searched for and purchased through online channels. This
feature may reduce
the need to develop duplicate services and content from online travel agencies
and airline
websites in the GDS 12, thereby reducing development and maintenance costs. In
addition, users
accustomed to searching for and booking travel offerings though online channel
websites may
avoid adapting to the "offline" channels typically provided by traditional
online self-booking
tools. The booking process provided by embodiments of the invention may
therefore be less
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disruptive to users than booking processes provided by conventional online
self-booking tools
lacking this feature. The reduced need to develop duplicate services and
content may also reduce
time-to-market for new services and content in the travel industry, while
increasing compliance
with corporate travel policies for travel products booked via online channels.
[0068] By providing access to corporate fares while searching online
channel websites,
embodiments of the invention may also increase the convenience of using online
travel agencies
or airline websites to look for and book business travel. Corporate travel
preferences, programs,
and agreements, as well as user preferences and expenses, may be synchronized
in a central
database so that users can shop for and purchase travel products from multiple
third party
providers without having to externally track expenses, preferences, or
corporate policies.
[0069] Enriching online channel travel offerings with corporate travel
offerings and
displaying them together may increase the user's ability to fully compare
alternative travel
offerings. Filtering out duplicate and/or irrelevant travel offerings, or
identifying displayed travel
offerings as failing to comply with corporate travel policy rules, may also
reduce the effort
needed to evaluate competing offers. The user experience may be further
enhanced by modifying
and injecting graphical content into the online channel website display, and
by communicating
travel policy and corporate preferences to the traveler during the selection
step. Embodiments of
the invention may thereby preserve the user's usual online channel booking
experience as much
as possible. This feature may also avoid the need for third party providers to
develop custom
features. That is, the online channel content may be enriched and displayed
without any specific
actions required by the third party provider. In addition, synchronized online
booking, purchase,
and expense information may improve policy and cost tracking, and
interactivity with users.
[0070] Persons having ordinary skill in the art would understand that the
program code
embodying any of the embodiments of the invention described herein is capable
of being
individually or collectively distributed as a program product in a variety of
different forms. In
particular, the program code may be distributed using a computer readable
media, which may
include computer readable storage media and communication media. Computer
readable storage
media, which are inherently non-transitory, may include volatile and non-
volatile, and removable
and non-removable tangible 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
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read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, portable
compact disc read-
only memory (CD-ROM), 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 read by a computer. 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.
[0071] The methods described herein can be implemented by computer program
instructions
supplied to the processor of any type of computer to produce a machine with a
processor that
executes the instructions to implement the functions/acts specified herein.
These computer
program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can
direct a
computer to function in a particular manner. To that end, the computer program
instructions may
be loaded onto a computer to cause the performance of a series of operational
steps and thereby
produce a computer implemented process such that the executed instructions
provide processes
for implementing the functions/acts specified herein.
[0072] In addition, program code described herein may be identified based
upon the
application or software component within which the program code 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.
It should be further appreciated that the various features, applications, and
devices disclosed
herein may also be used alone or in any combination. Moreover, 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 may be allocated among various software layers that are resident
within a typical
computing system (e.g., operating systems, libraries, APIs, applications,
applets, etc.), and/or
across one or more hardware platforms, it should be appreciated that the
invention is not limited
to the specific organization and allocation of program functionality described
herein.
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[0073] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular embodiments
only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the
singular forms "a",
"an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the
context clearly
indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises"
and/or "comprising",
when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,
integers, steps,
operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or
addition of one or
more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or
groups thereof.
Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes", "having", "has", "with",
"composed of', or
variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims,
such terms are intended
to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising."
[0074] According to one aspect in addition to the subject-matter of the
following patent
claims, the methodologies described herein are characterized by the following
points:
1. A method of enriching search results provided to a user with content
from a website of a
third party provider, the method comprising:
receiving a search query at a computer in communication with an online self-
booking
tool;
identifying, with the computer, a travel offering that satisfies the search
query;
determining, with the computer, whether the travel offering should be
purchased through
the website;
in response to determining the travel offering should be purchased though the
website,
establishing a link with the website with the computer;
capturing, at the computer, content transmitted over the link by the website,
the content
relating to the travel offering;
searching a first database for a travel policy of a business entity, the
travel policy relating
to the content; and
in response to identifying the travel policy of the business entity,
displaying the content
and the travel policy to the user via the online self-booking tool.
2. The method of point 1 wherein the travel policy of the business entity
includes
preferences defined by the business entity.
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3. The method of point 1 or point 2 further comprising:
receiving a query at the computer, the query indicating the user wishes to add
an element
to the travel offering;
in response to receiving the query, forwarding the query to the website; and
in response to receiving a response from the website indicating that the
element was
added to the travel offering, updating a second database,
wherein the second database provides a centralized repository of travel
activities of the
user that is synchronized with the website.
4. An apparatus comprising:
a processor in communication with an online self-booking tool; and
a memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause
the
apparatus to:
receive a search query;
identify a travel offering that satisfies the search query;
determine whether the travel offering should be purchased through a website of
a third
party provider;
in response to determining the travel offering should be purchased though the
website,
establish a link with the website;
capture content transmitted over the link by the website, the content relating
to the travel
offering;
search a first database for a travel policy of a business entity, the travel
policy relating to
the content; and
in response to identifying the travel policy of the business entity, display
the content and
the travel policy to the user via the online self-booking tool.
5. A computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium; and
instructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium
that, when
executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
receive a search query;
identify a travel offering that satisfies the search query;
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determine whether the travel offering should be purchased through a website of
a third
party provider;
in response to determining the travel offering should be purchased though the
website,
establish a link with the website;
capture content transmitted over the link by the website, the content relating
to the travel
offering;
search a first database for a travel policy of a business entity relating to
the content; and
in response to identifying the travel policy of the business entity, display
the content and
the travel policy of the business entity to the user via an online self-
booking tool.
[0075] While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by a
description of various
examples, and while these embodiments have been described in considerable
detail, it is not the
intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the
appended claims to such
detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those
skilled in the art.
The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific
details, representative
methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly,
departures may be made
from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant's
general inventive
concept.
