JP2002024413A - Check-in system and managing server for accommodation facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a check-in system and a managing server improved in convenience for both client and accommodation facility sides. SOLUTION: Concerning the system for managing check-in in an accommodation facility, the managing server under control on the accommodation facility side and client side terminal equipment operable for a client are connected through the Internet. By providing the managing server with an Internet check-in receiving means for receiving check-in through the Internet by operating the client side terminal equipment by the client before arrival at the accommodation facility, check-in can be performed before real visit. Thus, customized services can be respectively provided to a client, who does not really arrive, similarly to a client after arrival and jobs on the counter on the accommodation facility side can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for managing check-in at an accommodation facility such as a hotel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As for a method of accepting reservations and check-ins of a customer at an accommodation facility, a reservation management system using a computer system, a reservation acceptance system using the Internet, and a check-in operation by a staff member at a hotel front desk. There is an accommodation management system or the like that registers the number of accommodations and manages the usage status of the accommodation room and the accounting process for each customer. Also, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-113046
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication, there is also a hotel check-in device in which check-in is performed using a terminal device installed at a hotel entrance or the like.

[0003] That is, in all of the conventional check-in methods, a check-in operation procedure is performed after the customer arrives at the accommodation facility, and thereafter, the customer is guided to the accommodation room. The administrative procedures performed by the hotel reception staff include: (1) confirmation and recording of the customer's identity; (2) acquisition of a credit line by referencing a credit card; (3) confirmation of reservation contents and allocation of rooms (if necessary). (4) Delivery of keys (5) Bellboy arrangements.

[0004] The services provided by the succeeded Bellboy are: (6) Carrying baggage (7) Guidance to guest rooms (8) Outline of facilities (9) Detailed guidance of facilities in response to customer requests (10 ) Guidance on specific equipment such as key usage (11) Explanation on how to use guest room equipment (12) Check if there is any dissatisfaction with the equipment and whether there are any special requests.

[0005]

However, the conventional check-in method as described above has the following problems. In other words, check-in is concentrated in the evening, so that the customer's waiting time becomes longer. In addition, since the arrangement of caretakers such as bellboys is also adjusted to the peak, a large number of people are required. Even so, some customers may have to wait further for arranging bellboys.

[0006] Unless the customer arrives at the hotel and completes the check-in procedure, it cannot be verified that the guest is a reliable guest (that is, before check-in is completed,
It is an uncertain state that only reservations have been made), so it was difficult to distinguish from other hotel users and provide preliminary services inside and outside the hotel. For example, it was possible to provide hotel services and guidance at the nearest station and nearby facilities to customers who brought coupons and paid regular customers who had paid in advance through a travel agency, but telephone reservations And as mentioned above for internet reservations, we actually have to wait for arrival at the hotel.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem of check-in at a conventional accommodation facility, and provides a check-in system and a management server which are highly convenient for both the customer and the accommodation facility. It is intended to provide.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for managing check-in at an accommodation facility, comprising: a server under the control of the accommodation facility; While connecting the customer-side terminal device operable by the customer via the Internet, the management server performs a check-in via the Internet by the customer operating the customer-side terminal device before arrival at the accommodation facility. Internet check-in reception means is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 2 is a server which is under the management of the accommodation facility and manages check-in at the accommodation facility, wherein the server is operated by the customer. An internet check-in receiving means is connected to the terminal device via the Internet, and receives check-in via the Internet by a customer operating the customer terminal device before arriving at the accommodation facility.

[0010] Here, the following can be considered as aspects of the present system. That is, the management server receives a series of check-in procedures, such as inputting a credit card number, using a browser from a customer terminal connected to the Internet. And the management server,
At this stage, a procedure for acquiring credit may be performed with respect to an online server for acquiring a credit line from a credit company. Further, the management server displays the completion of the check-in on the customer side terminal device after obtaining the credit, as well as information on facilities or services to be provided in accordance with the use and contract conditions of the customer according to the request of the customer and other customer information. While displaying or transmitting information that enhances the convenience of the customer, the services and work preparations on the day of arrival on the day of the visitor are provided as instruction information to the terminal device installed in the department in charge according to the usage conditions of the customer. It is displayed or printed as instruction information on a printing device.

[0011] In addition, when the management server receives check-in via the Internet, the management server according to the use conditions reserved by the customer, detailed drawings of the corresponding room and facilities,
A photograph or the like may be displayed on the customer terminal device. And
Based on such a display, the customer verifies whether or not the expected equipment specifications are satisfied, and if dissatisfied, changes the reservation content, and if satisfied, performs an operation indicating that, thereby using the equipment. You may confirm the intention of determination.

At the initial reservation stage, the user is required to input the reservation contents and personal attribute information, but does not need to input a credit inquiry such as a credit card number. It is preferable to reduce the psychological resistance at the time of reservation. Then, at the stage of the check-in operation via the Internet, it is preferable to request the input of the credit card number and confirm the intention of the customer to confirm the use.

Further, guidance information such as directions may be provided so as to guide the key delivery location to the customer to a location which is highly convenient for the customer and which does not overlap the flow line with other customers. . Examples of places that are highly convenient for customers include, for example, a service counter at a station on the customer's commuting route, a sales office of an accommodation facility near the customer's workplace, or a facility such as a theme park before visiting the accommodation facility. When stopping at an entertainment facility, a service counter in the entertainment facility may be considered. If the customer wishes, it may be sent directly to the customer's home or office by mail or the like.

[0014] To prevent the flow lines from overlapping,
In other words, if the present invention is used, check-in is completed before visiting the facility, so a plurality of key delivery locations are set in the accommodation facility, and the information is stored in the management server.
Then, at the time of Internet check-in, the key is displayed and selected on the customer terminal device based on the information on the key delivery location stored in the management server, so that the customer is not concentrated on some delivery locations. To
This means that the customers are distributed to the respective delivery locations according to the means of transportation when the customers visit the facility. For example,
A customer who arrives by shuttle bus from the nearest station will be delivered at the bell desk on the first floor of the building, and a customer who comes by private car will be delivered through a doorman on the second floor of the building. Then, the management server displays information on the customer and information on the set delivery location as instruction information on a terminal device installed in the department in charge, or on the printing device, in addition to the function of selecting the delivery location. Or print as

As described above, by setting the key delivery location individually for each customer at the time of the check-in procedure, it is possible to encourage the customer to use comfortably. In addition to the location where the key is delivered to the customer, the date and time of delivery
In order to enhance the convenience for the customer, the customer may be allowed to make a selection at the time of Internet check-in. In addition to the function of receiving the date and time, the management server displays information on the customer and information on the set delivery place and date and time as instruction information on a terminal device installed in the department in charge or on a printing device. It is printed as instruction information.

[0016] Further, for a customer who has completed a check-in operation via the Internet, a combination of menus and instructions of information to be provided to the customer is changed according to the usage conditions of the customer to maximize the convenience of the customer. May be provided. Then, at the time of the check-in operation, the management server requests the customer to input whether or not the baggage is to be separately sent, and if the customer has input that the baggage is to be sent separately, the baggage is provided to the customer on the day of use or the day before. When the room number to be assigned is determined, the management server inputs an instruction for transporting the separate luggage to the terminal device of the department in charge, and the separate luggage that has arrived at the hotel in advance is sent to the room before the customer arrives. It may be possible to implement a service to be transported to a company.

Further, the management server is provided with a function of issuing an identification card or an identification number for identifying a customer who has completed check-in via the Internet to the customer who has completed check-in. A special service may be provided prior to the specified room use start time. As special services, there are sports facilities in the hotel, discount services such as eating and drinking, and the like. Alternatively, since the check-in has already been completed, it is possible to use the entertainment facility related to the accommodation facility before visiting the museum, or to apply a discount rate when using the entertainment facility.

In the simplest case, it is conceivable that the coupon is issued and sent as a coupon when the key is sent or the key is delivered. In some cases,
It is also possible to provide a password at the time of check-in via the Internet and use the password at the terminal device in the accommodation facility to separately provide a system for separately confirming that the customer is a check-in customer via the Internet Good.

As described above, the present invention utilizes the Internet technology and the service technology for providing a credit line provided by a credit company, and allows the customer to perform a check-in procedure operation directly from the customer-side terminal device prior to visiting the accommodation facility. In order to reconfirm and confirm the customer's willingness to receive service through this operation, a series of check-in procedures following credit line acquisition are completed in advance, and according to the customer's accommodation conditions It is a system that starts the provision of individual information and services in advance.

According to the present invention, the customer can immediately and comfortably use the accommodation room without incurring the trouble and waiting time when arriving at the accommodation facility, thereby improving the satisfaction with the accommodation facility and consequently the return rate. Improvement is expected.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. An embodiment of the present invention is realized by a server / client system capable of bidirectional communication of information via the so-called Internet. The check-in management server as a server has the following functions. <Credit Card Recognition Function> At the time of check-in via the Internet, customer information entered at the time of reservation is automatically extracted from the database. And
The management server executes the credit acquisition process online in response to the batch transmission instruction. The result is printed with it added to the customer information.

That is, in the past, a credit card number was shown from a customer only at the time of visiting a building to carry out credit acquisition processing, but this is done in advance at the time of check-in via the Internet. For customers, the credit has been completed before arrival, so they can visit the building with confidence. It is possible to prevent a trouble caused by bringing only an expired credit card by mistake. For the accommodation facility, counter work can be reduced, which is advantageous for leveling staffing and the like. Note that the timing of the credit acquisition processing may be immediately after the acquisition of the credit card number, or may be a predetermined day calculated backward from the arrival date, such as the day before arrival or the day before two days before arrival. <Customized Room Image Information Providing Function> At the time of check-in via the Internet, image information of the guest room and the view from the guest room that matches the reservation information is delivered to the customer terminal device, and the customer To be able to check the interior and view of the guest room that will actually be used based on the image information. If the customer doesn't expect the room,
Ask for that change.

Thus, it is possible to prevent the guest room from being unpleasant and uncomfortable at the time of visiting the facility, and the procedure for changing the room being time-consuming. <Card key distribution / distribution function> At the time of check-in via the Internet, the locations where card keys are to be exchanged will be sorted according to the means of transportation used by customers when visiting the facility, so that customers will be concentrated at the front desk. To prevent. Depending on the customer's request, the card key may be transferred outside the accommodation facility. For example, it may be mailed to the customer's home or workplace, or may be delivered at a desired time at a service counter at the nearest station or entertainment facility. If the card is to be delivered outside the accommodation facility, it is desirable that the information stored in the card key should not be unlocked after a predetermined time, considering the loss of the card key. <Navigation function for visitors> Based on customer information obtained at the time of online reservation or check-in via the Internet, information on transportation means and information in the building according to customer trends is provided. Deliver to. Unlike disclosure of means of transportation to accommodations that is assumed to be viewed by an unspecified number of people, it is possible to provide information such as transportation means customized for each customer,
Convenience for customers is dramatically improved. <Entrance support information provision function> Considering the time required for the amount of information transmission on the Internet, guide the facilities and equipment in the building by devising minimal images. These services are usually guidance services provided by the bell staff when visiting the facility, but provide information to customers who have completed check-in via the Internet in the same way as visiting customers,
This eliminates the problem of waiting for the bell staff due to congestion when actually visiting the museum. <Front support information printing function>
The registration card information registered by the customer is output from the database, and the necessary document information is printed / collectively.
Output. More specifically, the customers who arrive the next day are extracted from the reservation / customer database and printed in a lump. In the past, each customer had to fill in the form at the front desk each time they visited the facility, and this was the most time-consuming part of the check-in procedure. This is the most effective way to reduce the time required for procedures when visiting the facility. . <CD-ROM image data supplementary function> Two-way information at the time of check-in is performed via the Internet, and one-way information such as image information that is only transmitted from the management server side to the customer side terminal device is determined in advance. CD-ROM distributed
And use it instantly from the customer terminal device into the check-in program. The CD-ROM supplements the amount of data transferred on the Internet, and can provide a large amount of information with higher image quality to customers. <Online Arrangement Function> Based on the customer information provided at the time of reservation or check-in, additional room equipment and amenities are arranged and prepared online in order to satisfy the requirements of each customer in the rooms used by each customer. . This is also a service customized for each customer, which is possible because the check-in is completed before the visit.

The functions on the management server side are as described above. Next, the processing executed in the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. 1 to 3
Is a flowchart showing an outline of a procedure for each process, FIG. 1 shows a reservation process via the Internet,
FIG. 2 shows a check-in process via the Internet, and FIG. 3 shows a business process on the day of the visit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the reservation process is started by connecting to a homepage of a hotel which is an accommodation facility. Then, the customer inputs customer information and desired reservation contents according to the display contents of the homepage, and the inputted information is stored in a database in the reservation server. Then, in the check-in management server, the processing shown in FIG. 2 is executed, and the processing is started by connecting to the homepage in the same manner as the reservation processing. After that, the credit card number input and credit acquisition processing are executed, the key transfer location and time are set, such information is stored in a database, and other processing such as distributing in-house information and traffic information to customers is performed. Be executed. The processing shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the Internet check-in receiving means.

On the day of the visit, as shown in FIG.
First, customer information arriving on that day is extracted from the database of the reservation server or the database of the check-in management server, and the subsequent processing is sequentially executed.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the customer before the arrival at the accommodation facility receives the check-in via the Internet by operating the customer-side terminal device, the check-in can be performed before actually visiting the building, whereby the actual Customized services can be provided to non-visiting customers as well as visiting customers, and there is an effect that counter work can be reduced for accommodation facilities.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an outline of a reservation process.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a check-in process.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing business processing of the day.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kyoko Fukudome 1-9 Maihama, Urayasu-shi, Chiba Prefecture Inside Keiyo Resort Development Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masashi Sugita 4-10-19 Fujimi, Urayasu-shi, Chiba S Co., Ltd.・ YS Uchi (72) Inventor Yusuke Yoshida 4-10-19 Fujimi, Urayasu-shi, Chiba Prefecture SYS Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Jun Takahashi 4-10-19 Fujimi, Urayasu-shi, Chiba Share Company F / S F-term (reference) 5B049 AA01 AA02 BB52 CC01 DD01 EE00 EE21 FF03 GG02 GG04 GG07

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A system for managing check-in at an accommodation facility, wherein a management server managed by the accommodation facility and a customer-side terminal device operable by a customer are connected via the Internet. Wherein the management server comprises an Internet check-in receiving means for receiving a check-in via the Internet by a customer operating the customer-side terminal device before arrival at the accommodation facility, wherein the check-in of the accommodation facility is provided. system. 2. A server under the management of the accommodation facility, for managing check-in at the accommodation facility,
Internet check-in reception, which is connected to a customer-side terminal device operable by the customer via the Internet and receives check-in via the Internet by the customer operating the customer-side terminal device before arriving at the accommodation facility. An accommodation facility check-in management server comprising means.