JP2002024340A - System and method for assembling travel commodities and computer-readable recording medium with program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travel commodity system for supplying travel commodities satisfying the various requests of consumers and efficiently selling the commodities so that the cancelled travel commodities are not sold and left as they are. SOLUTION: The travel commodity assembly system retrieves material data constituting the travel commodity based on a retrieval condition designated by a customer and automatically assembles the travel commodity from retrieved material data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a travel product assembling system for automatically assembling a travel product from a plurality of material data constituting the travel product.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of Internet technology, a wide variety of products have been sold to consumers via the Internet. One of them is travel products.
For example, a consumer can select a desired product from a list of travel products displayed on the screen of his / her own terminal and make a reservation for this product. Also, by inputting conditions in advance, it is possible to search for a desired travel product. For example, when a consumer enters conditions such as “destination”, “date”, and “budget”, a server of a product seller searches for travel products that match the desired conditions, and outputs the results to a consumer terminal. Send. If there is a desired travel product from the search results, the consumer can make a reservation for the travel product on the spot.

[0003] Such a travel product is generally called a sponsored trip. The sponsored trip is a travel product prepared in advance by a travel agency, and is also called a pack trip or a tour trip. The features of the organized tour are that the contents of the trip, that is, the means of transportation to the destination (airplane, train, boat, etc.) and the means of accommodation (hotels, inns, pensions, etc.)
It has already been prepared. In addition, in the case of an organized tour for a sightseeing spot, a sightseeing course and its method may be prepared in detail.

In order to travel, it is necessary to prepare transportation means to the destination and accommodation means at the destination, and in the case of a sightseeing trip, it is necessary to consider the sightseeing means. It is troublesome and time-consuming for a consumer to perform these preparations by himself, for example, by consulting a guidebook or a timetable and making inquiries, which is very troublesome. Therefore, when the destination, schedule, budget, and the like are roughly determined, it is convenient to search for and purchase a corresponding product from the already-organized tour.

[0005] Further, in some travel product sales systems via the Internet, only transportation means and lodging means that constitute the travel product are sold. Consumers
For example, it is possible to make a reservation for an airplane or a train as a means of transportation, or to make a reservation for a hotel or inn as a means of lodging. Some consumers do not need to make reservations for all means necessary for travel, and in such a case, it is convenient because only necessary items can be individually reserved.

[0006] Here, travel products and various travel means constituting the same are sold via the Internet, but sales of travel products are usually performed in the form of "reservation".
This is because the number of transportation means and accommodation means constituting a travel product is limited, and therefore, in many cases, consumers make “reservation” in advance and hold down the product. Also, the travel product is a product that cannot be kept in stock for a long time and has a consumption expiration date called a travel date. for that reason,
This is because it is desirable for the merchandise seller to eliminate inventory by “reserving” many merchandise by the expiration date.

[0007] However, since the travel product is sold by reservation as described above, there are cases where the consumer cancels the travel product from the date of reservation of the product to the date of the actual travel. In such a case, it is necessary to sell this product to the consumer again.

[0008] When receiving a reservation for a product, the travel product sales system stores the reservation information in a database and treats the product as having been sold. Therefore, after the product is reserved, the product cannot be sold. However, if such a travel product is canceled by the consumer between the date when the product is reserved and the date of the actual travel, the reservation information in the database is canceled. And the canceled products will be sold again

However, the conventional travel merchandise sales system as described above has the following problems.

[0009] The first problem is that the sponsored tour sold by the conventional travel product sales system is a product prepared in advance by a travel agency, and therefore cannot satisfy various demands of consumers. There was a point.

[0010] In recent years, forms of travel have been diversified,
The purpose and manner of travel has also varied according to individual requirements. In particular, taking overseas travel as an example, there are cases where the purpose is sightseeing or work, and cases where the traveler travels abroad without a specific purpose. Some trips may be as short as two days and three days, while others may be as long as one year. Further, in some cases, the trip stays in one place, and in other cases, the trip moves from place to place.

[0011] However, since the sponsored trip was originally designed to satisfy the wishes of as many consumers as possible,
Although it is simple, it is often not possible to respond to the individual demands. For example, "destination""date"
For each condition of "budget", "Hawaii""August 15-
Consider a case where "August 19" and "80,000 yen" are input. The consumer is presented with a list of commodities (A commodities, B commodities, and C commodities) based on these conditions. Even if a consumer considers them and wants to purchase a product combining transportation means of product A and accommodation means of product B, the materials of these products cannot be exchanged. Also,
Even if you like the means of transportation and accommodation for product C,
If the date of the C product is "August 14-August 18,"
This schedule cannot be changed.

Next, as a second problem, in the conventional travel merchandise sales system, there is a problem that the canceled merchandise is likely to be unsold as it is. That is, when a product is canceled, the canceled product becomes a reservation target again like other products. Therefore,
If it meets the consumer's search condition, it is displayed on the product list and can be considered by the consumer.

[0013] However, in order to be considered by the consumer, it is necessary to meet all the conditions of the "destination", "date" and "budget" specified by the consumer. If it is just before the scheduled date,
The probability of meeting the "date" condition is likely to be low. This is because the consumer makes a reservation for the product some time before the scheduled travel date. Therefore, many canceled products are
In some cases, it is not displayed on the list as an object to be considered, and remains unsold.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a travel product system that can provide travel products that satisfy various demands of consumers.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a travel product system that can effectively sell canceled products so that the canceled travel products do not remain unsold.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a travel product
Attention has been paid to the fact that it is composed of a plurality of materials such as transportation means and accommodation means and a plurality of conditions such as schedules and budgets. Therefore, according to the present invention, the consumer can arbitrarily specify the materials and conditions constituting the travel product, search for the product based on the specified materials and conditions, and automatically search for a new travel product. We decided to assemble it.

Further, in the present invention, a means for modifying the search condition is provided so that the consumer can easily compare and examine each travel product.

First, when a consumer purchases a travel product, the product is often determined based on the price of the product. Therefore, in the present invention, the consumer can specify the "budget" for the travel product as a condition. However, since a travel product is configured by combining a plurality of conditions and materials, it is difficult to predict the price of the product. As a result, the “budget” specified by the consumer may be far from the market price of travel products.

Therefore, in the present invention, for conditions and materials other than “budget”, the conditions input by the consumer are adopted,
For "budget,"
We decided to modify the search conditions. As a result, the consumer can know the lowest price of the desired travel product separately from the travel product that matches his or her budget, so that it is easier to compare and examine the travel products.

Second, although the consumer can specify conditions and materials, there is a case where it is difficult to determine whether or not a travel product that matches the specified conditions is to be searched unless a search result is displayed. Many. For example, if the specified "budget" is too large, the number of travel products to be assembled may be very large, while if the "budget" is too small, the number of travel products to be assembled may be too large. It can be very low.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the search conditions specified by the consumer are modified so that the number of assembled travel products is the optimal number for the consumer. Specifically, a certain range can be provided for the budget and schedule of the travel product.

[0022] The "optimum number" for consumers is
Although it is set arbitrarily, it is a number that allows the consumer to appropriately compare and review the travel products, such as a number that can be displayed as a list on the terminal screen. Alternatively, the number may be set in advance by the consumer.

Third, when a consumer selects one product from a plurality of assembled products, the selection criterion differs for each consumer. A travel product is formed by combining various materials, but which material is important depends on the consumer.

For example, while some consumers value transportation means, some consumers value accommodation means.
Therefore, if there is no difference in the total price as a product,
Do you want to increase transportation to make accommodation cheaper, or lower transportation to make accommodation more expensive?
It is desirable for consumers to make such choices.

Therefore, in the present invention, each material is weighted in order to correct the search condition, and the material is searched according to the weight. This allows consumers to:
According to one's own criteria, travel products can be efficiently selected and purchased.

Further, according to the present invention, when a product is cancelled, the contents of the canceled product (hereinafter referred to as "canceled product") are changed, and for example, a new value-added cancellation is provided. It was decided to sell it as a product (hereinafter referred to as “resale product”). Then, since the resale information is actively transmitted to the consumer, it is possible to more effectively encourage the customer to purchase.

Changing the content of a canceled product means that a new added value that is of interest to consumers is provided to the canceled product. For example, the price of the canceled product is changed, or a new option is separately added. Or when adding.

Also, in order to change the content of the canceled product,
This includes the case where the canceled product is disassembled into each material and the product is assembled again according to the cancellation conditions.

For example, if a canceled product is called "transportation"
Breaking it down into "accommodation means" and "tourism means" and selling them as separate resale products increases the chances of meeting the demands of even a small number of consumers.
Further, in the case where the "tourism means" of the canceled product causes unsold sales, a travel product including only "transportation means" and "accommodation means" can be used as a resale product.

That is, the travel product assembling system according to the present invention searches for material data constituting the travel product based on the search condition specified by the customer, and automatically assembles the travel product from the searched material data. It is characterized by the following. Further, the search condition includes a basic condition for the travel product and material conditions constituting the travel product. Further, the travel product assembling system includes:
There is provided a correction means for correcting the content of the search condition in accordance with a predetermined criterion, and the material data is searched based on the search condition corrected by the correction means.

[0031] Thus, various travel products that meet the desired conditions of individual consumers can be provided, so that it is possible to improve the convenience of consumers when purchasing travel products.

[0032] The correction means changes the contents of the search condition so that the material data having the lowest price is searched. Further, the correction means changes the content of the search condition so that the material data is searched in a range from the lowest price to a predetermined upper limit. Still further, the correction means changes the content of the search condition so that material data is searched based on the material condition with a predetermined weight.

Further, the travel product assembling system according to the present invention, when the product is cancelled, assembling means for assembling a new travel product by changing the content of the canceled travel product according to a predetermined standard; A distribution means for distributing the information of the new travel product to the customer is further provided. Further, the assembling means decomposes the canceled travel product into each material data,
A plurality of new products are assembled from the decomposed material data.

As a result, the canceled product is newly added value, and is sold and advertised as a resale product, so that the consumer's willingness to purchase can be more effectively promoted. In addition, by dividing travel products into products of each material, it becomes possible to meet the needs of more consumers.

[0035]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment of the Invention] (Outline of Configuration of Travel Product Assembly System According to First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a travel product assembly system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Is functionally represented.
As shown in FIG. 1, the travel product assembling system 1 includes a search condition receiving unit 4, a search condition correcting unit 5, a product material searching unit 6, a search result transmitting unit 7, and a tour database 8.
(Hereinafter, referred to as “tour DB”) and a material database 9 (hereinafter, referred to as “material DB”).

The search condition receiving means 4 is configured to be connectable to an external communication network, and receives a desired condition when the desired condition is transmitted from the consumer. Next, the search condition correction means 5 sets a correction condition for searching data from the tour DB 8 and the material DB 9.

The merchandise material search means 6 is configured to be able to access the tour DB and the material DB, and searches each DB according to the conditions set by the search condition receiving means 4. The tour DB 8 stores data of trips (organized trips) in which respective materials are combined in advance. Material DB9
In the table, data of each material constituting a product is stored for each table divided according to the type of the material. Note that a conventional database technology such as a relational database can be used for data management and search.

The search result transmitting means 7 is configured to be connectable to an external communication network, and transmits the search result of the commodity material searching means 6 to a consumer terminal.

Here, the travel product assembling system 1 according to the present embodiment is a processing apparatus having a general configuration including a control unit, an input unit, a storage unit, and an output unit. It is assumed that it is realized by. The travel product assembling system according to the present invention can also be realized by a physically dedicated system. Further, the travel product assembling system according to the present invention may be configured by a single computer or may be configured by a plurality of computers distributed on a network.

The search condition receiving means 4, the search condition correcting means 5, the product material searching means 6, and the search result transmitting means 7
In the above description, the above-mentioned control means reads a program defining these operations and performs various processes. In the following description, it is assumed that each program itself performs various processes.

In FIG. 1, in order to explain the outline of the travel merchandise assembling system 1 via a communication network such as the Internet, not only the merchandise sales system 1 for assembling travel merchandise but also search conditions A consumer terminal (client) 2 that transmits the data and a communication network 3 (both wired and wireless) are shown for reference. The client 2 typically corresponds to a general-purpose personal computer, and implements application software such as a Web browser for handling the WWW (World Wide Web).

(Overview of Data Structure in Travel Product Assembling System According to First Embodiment) FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of FIG. The material DB 9 stores material data for assembling travel products, and has a table of, for example, transportation materials, accommodation materials, and optional materials. FIG. 2 shows the structure of a material table for storing data on traffic materials. In the traffic material table, for example, “facility code”, “departure place”, “destination (arrival place)”, “contract period (from)”, “contract period (to)”, “basic fee”, “discount rate (adult)”, “ Items such as "discount rate (child)" are provided.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of the material DB 9 and shows a structure of a material table for storing data on accommodation facilities. In the accommodation material table, for example, “facility code”, “facility name”, “room category”, “contract period (from)”, “contract period (to)”, “basic fee”, “discount rate (adult)”, “discount rate (child) )).

(Outline of Operation of Travel Product Assembly System According to First Embodiment) Next, an outline of operation of the travel product assembly system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the product assembling system 1 according to the first embodiment. First, the search condition receiving means 4 receives the search condition of the product transmitted from the client 2 (step S101). It is assumed that the product assembling system 1 has transmitted the product search screen shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a product search screen on which search conditions are input by the consumer. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that search conditions have been input for “departure date”, “nights”, “number of people (adults)”, “number of people (children)”, “area”, and “budget”. When the consumer wants to further narrow down the search conditions, he can designate an aircraft or a train, and can input various conditions as meal conditions of accommodation facilities and other options.

Returning to FIG. 4, the description will be continued. When the search condition receiving means 4 receives the search condition input on the product search screen, the search condition correcting means 5
Sets the condition for modifying the product so that the lowest priced product that meets the consumer's desired condition received by the is assembled. And
The product material search means 6 performs a first product search by accessing the material DB 9 based on the set correction conditions (step S102).

Next, the search condition correcting means 5 sets an upper limit amount for performing the second product search (step S103). The product material search means 6 accesses the material DB 9 and searches for a material that meets the consumer's desired conditions within the range of the difference between the maximum price set from the cheapest product (step S104).

Further, the search condition correcting means 5 sets weights for each material in order to perform a third product search (step S105). And the product material search means 6
Accesses the material DB 9 and searches for each material according to the weighting described above (step S106).

The search result transmitting means 7 transmits to the client 2 the result of the search performed by the product material searching means 6 based on the above settings.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a product search result screen for displaying a product search result. On the product search result screen, first, data on “departure date”, “nights”, “number of people (adults)”, “number of people (children)”, “area” and “budget” entered on the search condition screen are displayed. Is configured. Next, a list of travel products meeting these conditions is displayed. For traffic materials, “outbound”, “return”, and “flight ticket total” are displayed. For accommodation materials, “facility name”, “room type”, “room category”, and “room total” are displayed. Total "is displayed.
In addition, "Tour reservation" and "Material reservation" buttons are displayed.

Thus, the consumer can search for a travel product most suitable for his / her desired condition from the list of travel products displayed on the product search result screen. And
For example, when an optimal tour product is found, the consumer can make a reservation for the tour product by checking the reservation box of the tour product and selecting a “tour reservation” button.

In FIG. 6, it can be seen that the consumer has selected the third tour product from the top of the list (product with a total of "\ 349,000"). In addition, the consumer can purchase 1 tour product.
Only one item may be selected, or two or more tour items may be selected at the same time. The “reservation by material” will be described later.

(Details of Second Product Search Process) Next, details of the second product search process in the product assembling process according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the second product search process. In the first embodiment, the second
The case where the upper limit of the product price is set as the product search condition will be described.

That is, in the present embodiment, the upper limit amount for searching for a product is set based on the budget or the like specified by the consumer, and each material is searched for within the upper limit amount. . Specifically, the upper limit amount for the search is determined by adding (or subtracting) a predetermined ratio to the budget.

This is because the goods assembled based on the materials and conditions specified by the consumer and the budget specified by the consumer do not always match in an optimal state. If consumers set a higher budget for their products, the search results (number of products) would be enormous,
If the consumer sets a small budget, the search result (the number of products) may become zero.

As described above, a difference may occur between the budget, which is the amount that the consumer is willing to pay, and the price of the actually assembled product. Therefore, in order to correct such a deviation, in the present embodiment, the ratio of addition (or subtraction) to the budget is set in advance, and each material is searched within the range of the upper limit amount obtained as a result.

The ratio can be set arbitrarily and is stored in a data storage unit (not shown).

The flow of the second product search will be described with reference to FIG. 7 on the assumption that the ratio for determining the upper limit is set in advance. First, when the product material search means 6 completes the first product search (lowest price search), the search condition correction means 5 sets conditions for performing the second product search. That is, the search condition modification unit 5 determines whether the budget is specified in the consumer's desired conditions received by the search condition reception unit 4 (step S20).
1).

If it is determined that the budget is specified (step S201; YES), the search condition correcting means 5
Reads a predetermined ratio A from a data storage unit (not shown) (step S202), and adds (or subtracts) the ratio A to the designated budget to calculate an upper limit amount (step 203).

For example, if the designated budget is “50,000 yen” and the predetermined ratio A is “+ 10%”, the formula for obtaining the upper limit is “50,000+ (50,000 × 0.1)
= 55,000 ”, so the upper limit is 55,000 yen.
On the other hand, if the predetermined ratio A is “−10%”, the formula for calculating the upper limit is “50,000− (50,000
× 0.1) = 45,000 ”, so the upper limit is 45,000 yen. In the case of “plus 0%” and “minus 0%”, the budget becomes the upper limit as it is.

Therefore, the product material search means 6 searches for a product that meets the condition desired by the consumer, up to the upper limit amount calculated by the above formula (step S206).

On the other hand, when the search condition correcting means 5 determines that the budget is not specified (step S201;
NO), a predetermined ratio B is read from a data storage unit (not shown) (step S204), and the ratio B is added to the price of the lowest-priced product searched in the first product search to calculate an upper limit amount. (Step 205). Thereafter, the product material search means 6 searches for a product that meets the condition desired by the consumer, up to the upper limit amount calculated by the above formula (step S206).

In the present embodiment, when the budget is not specified, there is no reference amount, so the price of the lowest price product searched by the first product search is used as a reference. Therefore, since it is not possible to subtract any more from the lowest-priced product, the ratio B is set to a predetermined ratio for addition. Ratio B to lowest priced product
Is calculated by adding the ratio A to the specified budget.
Is the same as the calculation formula for adding.

In the present embodiment, “ratio” is set as an element for determining the upper limit amount.
The present invention is not limited to this. For example, a specific “money” can be set. For example, "plus 50,000 yen"
A setting such as "minus 30,000 yen" may be made.

Referring to FIG. 5, which is an example of the product search screen, the budget specified by the consumer is “350,000 yen”. Here, assuming that the predetermined ratio A is “plus 10%”, products with an upper limit of “385,000 yen” are searched. Then, referring to FIG. 6 which is an example of the product search result screen, it can be seen that products from the lowest price product "310,000 yen" to "373,000 yen" within the upper limit amount are displayed.

As described above, in the second product search, since the search condition is corrected based on the budget or the lowest price product, a search result appropriate for the consumer can be obtained. In addition, since the consumer can know how much the budget designated by himself / herself is positioned relative to the price of the product, the consumer can select the product more efficiently.

(Details of Third Product Search Processing) FIG.
It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process of 3rd goods search. In the first embodiment, a case will be described in which a weight is set for each material constituting a product as a third product search condition, and a product is searched according to the weight.

That is, in the present embodiment, each material constituting the product is given a constant weight as a reference when searching for the product. Specifically, for example, a difference between the price of the lowest-priced product searched for in the first product search and the upper limit amount calculated in the second product search is calculated, and each material is weighted within the range of the difference. Shall be performed.

In the present embodiment, for example,
And "accommodation means" are each given a predetermined weight, and the result is displayed so that consumers can understand it. The weighting ratio for each material can be arbitrarily set in advance. Further, it is assumed that any material can be arbitrarily set to be weighted.

The flow of the third product search will be described with reference to FIG. 8 on the assumption that the weighting of each material is set in advance. First, the search condition correcting means 5 calculates a difference between the price of the lowest priced product searched in the first product search and the upper limit price calculated in the second product search (step S).
301).

Thereafter, a material to be weighted is selected from the materials of each product (step S302), and a predetermined weight is given to each material (step S30).
3). If the weights of "transportation means" and "accommodation means" are respectively "85:15", the transportation means is expanded to 85% of the difference, and the accommodation means is expanded to 15% of the difference.

In the present embodiment, when weighting is set, the reference value is the “lowest price” of the material data. In other words, “expand transportation means to 85% of the difference” means “the lowest price of transportation means 85% of the difference”.
Means that the corresponding material data is searched for when "expanded to the amount of money".

Then, the product material search means 6 searches for a product for the material desired by the consumer within the expanded range (step S304).

Specifically, the calculated difference is “385,000
Yen-310,000 yen = 75,000 yen ", and when the weighting of" transportation means "and" accommodation means "is" 85:15 ", the search condition correcting means 5 determines" transportation means " 63,750 yen ”to expand your search to“ Accommodation ”
For, the search target is expanded within the range of "11,250 yen".
On the other hand, when the weighting of “transportation means” and “accommodation means” is “80:20”, the search condition correction means 5
For "transportation means", the search target is expanded within the range of "11,250 yen", and for "accommodation means", the search target is expanded within the range of "63,750 yen".

On the product search result screen shown in FIG. 6, the search results in the case where "transportation means" and "accommodation means" are respectively weighted are displayed separately from ordinary search results. According to FIG. 6, first, the results searched by the first and second product searches are displayed first, and below this, the results searched by the third product search are displayed. .

Further, when the weight of the "accommodation means" is large, the title column of the "accommodation means" is colored. On the other hand, when the weight of “transportation means” is large, the title column of “transportation means” is colored. Thereby, for example, when the consumer wants to give priority to accommodation means over transportation means, the transportation means is "100,000 yen" and the accommodation means is "273,000".
It can be understood that a product of "yen" should be selected.

That is, after examining the list of displayed products for the first time, the consumer compares and examines the products for each material by looking at the column in which the title of the material that he / she emphasizes is colored. can do.

Here, as a result of comparing and examining products for each material, a consumer may want to reserve only a material that he / she likes. On the product search screen, tour products that combine transportation means and accommodation means are displayed. However, some consumers may want to reserve only transportation means or accommodation means for a certain product, or may want to reserve a product newly combining a favorite material.

Therefore, in such a case, the consumer
"Reservation by material" can be performed. Specifically, the consumer can make a reservation for the material by checking the reservation box for the material that he / she likes and selecting the “Reserve by Material” button.

In FIG. 6, it can be seen that the consumer has selected transportation means (air ticket total "\ 139,000") and accommodation means (night total "\ 273,000"). Travel products that combine these are not displayed on the product search result screen,
Consumers can assemble new travel products themselves by booking each material individually.

The consumer can freely select the material displayed on the product search result screen. For example,
The consumer may select only one of the plurality of materials (for example, if there is “transportation means” and “accommodation means”, only the “transportation method” is selected). The consumer can also select a plurality of products for one material (for example, select two products for “transportation”).

In the third product search according to the present embodiment, it has been described that a predetermined weight is applied to each material. However, for example, a certain product or material is preferentially searched. Weighting may be performed. That is, it is also possible to weight the “airline ticket of the airline A” for transportation means, the “guest room of hotel B” for accommodation means, or a product combining these. This allows
You will be able to aggressively sell the products and materials you want to sell to consumers.

As described above, according to the third commodity search, the consumer can examine the commodity for each material, so that the consumer can easily select the commodity combining each material in a desired balance. Can be. As a result, the range of consumers' choice of products is further expanded.

(Eg, when one product has a plurality of destinations) It should be noted that one travel product has a plurality of destinations, or that one destination has a plurality of transportation means and accommodation means. In such a case, a schedule or a budget may be input for each destination or each means of transportation or accommodation.

The consumer specifies in advance, for example, one travel product on another screen (not shown). next,
If the destination is "Hawaii", "New York", or "Hollywood", it is possible to input conditions such as "departure date", "number of nights", and "budget" for each product search screen (see FIG. 5). it can. Then, according to the means described above, the travel product assembling system first assembles the products for each destination, and then sums up the prices of the products for each destination,
It can be provided as one travel product.

The destination is "Hawaii", the departure date is "August 1, 2000", the number of nights is "7 nights", and the accommodation is "8".
It may be called "Hotel A" from 1st to 3rd of August and "Hotel B" from 4th to 7th of August. In such a case, for example, by selecting the “details button” shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to specify an accommodation place for each schedule. Then, for the schedule, a search is made for the designated accommodation means, and the total of these is calculated as an accommodation total.

As described above, since the consumer can set his / her desired conditions in more detail, the degree of freedom for the consumer to select a travel product is further enhanced.

(Various Settings by Consumer) In the first embodiment, correction conditions for performing the first product search, the second product search, and the third product search are set in advance. I decided to keep it. However, in the present invention, for example, the consumer may be able to set the standard for calculating the upper limit amount and the weighting ratio for each material. For example, for some consumers, the weighting of "transportation means" and "accommodation means" is "0: 100".
In such a case, it is possible for the consumer to set a weight for each material by himself, thereby obtaining a search result reflecting the consumer's desire from the beginning.

(Restriction on Search Time) In the first embodiment, when performing the first product search, the second product search, and the third product search, the search conditions are narrowed according to a predetermined standard. Thus, an attempt was made to efficiently search the material DB.
However, depending on the search conditions and the amount of material data, it may take a long time to search for a product, and in such a case, the consumer is forced to wait for a long time, which is a problem. In particular, when providing services via communication such as the Internet, by making the response faster,
It is important not to bore the consumer.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, a certain time limit can be set in order to limit the search for a product. For example, when the search condition receiving means 4 receives the desired condition of the consumer, a timer (not shown) provided in the travel product assembling system 1 starts measuring a search time. Then, the control means of the travel product assembling system 1 monitors the search time of the timer, and when the time of the timer reaches a predetermined time, the product search is temporarily stopped there. Then, the search result transmitting means 7
Transmits the result to the client 2 within the searched range.

Also, certain restrictions on the search include:
The present invention is not limited to the time limit, and may be, for example, the number of hits of a product. That is, when the number of hits of a product that matches the search condition reaches a predetermined number, the search is temporarily stopped there and the result is transmitted to the client 2.

As described above, by setting a certain limit on the search time, it is possible to avoid forcing the consumer to wait for a long time. In addition, the time of time-up and the number of hits of goods can be set arbitrarily.

(Automatically assembled product and sponsored travel product)
In the first embodiment, each material is searched based on the search condition of the consumer and the like, a new product is assembled (automatically assembled product), and this is provided to the consumer. However, existing sponsored trips may also be searched, and the results may be displayed together with the automatically assembled products.

That is, the travel product assembling system 1 includes a tour DB 8 and a material DB 9 as shown in FIG. The tour DB 8 stores tours organized by each travel company. The merchandise material search means 6 searches the tour DB 8 under the same conditions as those for searching the material DB 9 (or only according to the conditions desired by the consumer), and the search result transmitting means 7 sends both search results to the client 2 respectively. Send.

[0098] Therefore, the consumer can compare the list of the auto-assembled products with the list of the sponsored travel products at the same time, so that the range of selection of the products is further expanded.

(Modification of First Embodiment) In the first embodiment, a configuration in which the service provided by the travel product assembling system 1 is provided to the client 2 via the communication network 3 such as the Internet will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a service may be provided to the client 2 by a service center 100 that integrates a plurality of travel product assembling systems 1.

FIG. 9 functionally shows a configuration of a modified travel product assembling system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the travel product assembling system 1 is provided for each travel company 200, and a service center 100 is interposed between the client 2 and each system 1. The service center 100 and the travel product assembling system of each travel agency 200 are connected by a dedicated line or a communication network such as the Internet.

The service center 100 includes a search condition transmitting / receiving means 21, a search result transmitting / receiving means 22, and a search result editing means 23. The function of each means will be described together with the description of FIG. 10 (which describes the flow of processing of the entire system), which will be described later.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow when the travel product assembling system according to the first embodiment is modified. First, the service center 100
The search condition transmitting / receiving means 21 receives the consumer's desired condition transmitted from the client 2 (step S40).
1), this is distributed to the travel product assembling system 1 of each travel company (step S402).

Each travel product assembling system 1 has a function for automatically assembling the travel products described in the first embodiment. However, tour DB8 and material DB
9 stores data independently owned by each travel agency. Various settings used in the assembly search condition 5 (for example, “percentage” when determining the upper limit amount) are:
It is assumed that each travel product assembling system 1 is set arbitrarily.

Therefore, each travel product assembling system 1 that has received the desired conditions of the consumer can automatically assemble the travel product based on the unique settings and the DB. Then, the result is transmitted to the service center 100.

The search result transmitting / receiving means 22 of the service center 100 receives the search result transmitted from each travel product assembling system 1 (step S403), and the search result editing means 23 edits the search result (step S40).
4). This is to make it easier for consumers to compare and examine the search results of each company. Then, the search result transmitting / receiving means 22 of the service center 100 transmits the edited search result to the client 2 (Step S405).

In this case, the name of each travel company is displayed on the product search result screen so that it is possible to find out which travel company the searched product is (see FIG. 6).

As a result, the consumer can obtain the products assembled by a plurality of travel companies, and can compare and examine these products. Therefore, it is possible to select a travel product that matches one's wish from among more products.

(Second Embodiment) In a second embodiment of the present invention, even when a travel product is canceled by a consumer, a travel that can effectively sell the canceled product is provided. The product assembling system will be described.

In the present embodiment, the “period” and the “price” of a product are set as means for changing the canceled product (hereinafter, referred to as “resale means”). Specifically, the price of the canceled product is changed according to the number of days between the canceled date and the scheduled date of the canceled product. Further, when the canceled product is divided into individual materials, the prices of the products of each material (for example, “aircraft” and “hotel”) are changed, and each of the products is sold.

However, the resale means in the present invention is:
Not limited to this. For example, if a consumer is willing to purchase, such as setting a new service as an option, it can be used as resale means.

FIG. 11 functionally shows the structure of a travel product assembling system 1 according to the second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 11, the travel product assembling system 1 includes a travel product assembling means 10 and a reservation cancellation accepting means 11.
, Resale means 12, tour DB8, material DB9
, A reservation database 13 (hereinafter, referred to as “reservation DB”), and a customer database 14 (hereinafter, “customer DB”).
Call. ).

The travel merchandise assembling means 10 includes the means described in the first embodiment (search condition receiving means 4, search condition correcting means 5, merchandise material searching means 6, search result transmitting means 7).
Are collectively represented. The reservation cancellation accepting unit 11 receives a request for reservation or cancellation from a consumer when the request is transmitted. The resale means 12 changes the content of the canceled product based on the materials and conditions constituting the canceled product and distributes the resale information to the consumer. The reservation DB 13 is configured to store the reservation status of each travel product. The customer DB 14 is configured to store the name of a product purchaser, a mail address, a product purchase history, and the like.

FIG. 11 illustrates a travel merchandise assembling system using a communication network such as the Internet. The client 2 used by the consumer is equipped with a Web browser and mail software.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the travel product assembling system 1 according to the second embodiment. It is assumed that the travel merchandise assembling means 10 assembles merchandise that meets the conditions of the consumer, and that a certain merchandise has already been reserved by the consumer. It should be noted that the fact that the product is reserved by the consumer means that the reservation cancellation accepting means 11 accepts a reservation application for a product transmitted from the client 2 and changes the attribute of the product stored in the reservation DB 13 to “reserved”. It is registered. As a result, the product is determined to be "reserved", so that even if there is an inquiry from another consumer, it will not be a reservation target.

Returning to FIG. 12, the description will be continued. The reservation cancellation accepting unit 11 accepts the cancellation of the product transmitted from the client 2 (Step S501). Subsequently, the resale means 12 changes the canceled product (step S502). That is, the resale means 12
Retrieves the canceled product from the reservation DB 13 and reads out the “scheduled date” and the “price” of the product. Next, the resale means 7 calculates the number of days from the cancellation date (reception date) to the scheduled date, and changes the price of the product according to a preset change criterion.

For example, if the number of days until the scheduled date is “7 days”, the price of the product is reduced by 40%, and if the number of days until the scheduled date is “2 days”, the price of the product is reduced. Reduce the price by 60%.

Next, the resale means 7 reads customer data from the customer DB 14 (step S503). Customer D
Since the information of each customer is stored in B14, the resale means 7 searches for a customer having information matching the content of the product. For example, the customer DB 14 may store in advance that the consumer desires distribution of resale information. If the destination of the canceled item is “Hawaii”, the resale means 7 will
It may be possible to search for a customer who has experience in purchasing.

Then, the resale means 7 distributes the resale merchandise whose contents have been changed to the searched customers. Here, "distribute to a customer" means, for example, distributing to an e-mail address of the customer. As means for distributing, existing means such as the Internet, mobile phones, and car navigation terminals are used. Means can be used.

In addition to distribution to specific customers, resale information can be notified to unspecified customers. For example, resale information can be displayed on a product sales screen in the travel product assembling means 10, or can be distributed to a terminal device included in a convenience store.

Thus, in the travel product assembling system according to the present invention, when the travel product is cancelled, the product is reviewed to lower the price of the product, and this is used as a resale product and actively provided to consumers. I decided to sell it. Therefore, the consumer can obtain the information of the canceled product at an early stage, and can purchase the canceled product not in the same state as before the reservation but in a state where added value is newly provided. Therefore, by increasing the consumer's willingness to purchase the canceled product, the canceled product can be sold more effectively.

When the canceled product is divided into individual materials, the prices of the products of each material (for example, “aircraft” and “hotel”) are changed, and each of the prices is changed for the corresponding customer. Sent.

When the travel product assembling system 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 9, the travel product assembling system 1 owned by each travel company 200 can perform the resale processing. In this case, the travel merchandise assembling system 1 of each travel company accepts an application for canceling the merchandise and changes the content of the canceled merchandise, but the service center 100 may have a means for transmitting resale information to the customer. . Since the service center 100 can provide more information to the consumer, if the service center 100 distributes the resale information, it is possible to sell the canceled product more effectively. Becomes

(Third Embodiment) In the third embodiment, a travel product assembling system capable of registering data (material data and tour data) constituting a travel product by various means will be described. .

[0124] In order to search for and provide a travel product that matches the consumer's wishes, it is necessary to previously store data on a wide variety of travel products. That is, it is desirable to collect data on travel products held by as many travel companies as possible and store the collected data. The same applies to each material data of facilities having transportation means and accommodation means.

Therefore, with the development of Internet technology in recent years, the travel product assembling system stores the product or material data of each travel company in the tour DB or material DB of the system via a communication network such as the Internet. You can do it. However, there are cases where the side that provides the data of the travel product has a means for registering the data of the travel product via a communication network such as the Internet, even if it has the travel product.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to register the data of the travel product in the database of the system by various means other than the technology such as the Internet. That is, even when the access means of each travel company 200 is a telephone device (wired) or a facsimile, the travel product assembling system 1 can be accessed.

In this case, for example, CTI (Computer Tel)
Existing technology, called ephony integration) technology, can be used. The CTI technology is a general technology in which a telephone and a computer are integrated. By using this technology, it is possible to register products of each travel company in the DB of the system using a telephone or a facsimile.

FIG. 13 functionally shows the structure of a travel product assembling system 1 according to the third embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 13, the travel product assembling system 1 includes a product information registration unit 25, a travel product assembling unit 26, an assembled product reservation unit 27, a billing information management unit 28, a contractor authentication unit 29, It is comprised including. Further, the travel product assembling system 1 includes a product DB 31 and a reservation DB 32
, A billing DB 33, and a contractor DB 34. The travel product assembling system 1 is configured to be able to communicate with a telephone device, a facsimile, a personal computer, and the like of each travel company 200.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the travel product assembling system 1 according to the third embodiment.

First, when the travel merchandise assembling system 1 receives travel merchandise information via the access means of each travel company (step S601), the contractor authentication means 29 refers to the contractor DB 34 and performs the travel. Determine whether the company is a valid contractor. When the contractor authentication unit 29 determines that the travel company is a valid contractor, the product information registration unit 25 registers the received travel product information in the product DB 31 (step S602). Then, the product information registration unit 25 transmits the registered travel product information to each travel company (Step S603). If the travel agency's access means is telephone or FA
If it is X, the travel product information is transmitted by FAX. Thus, each travel company can confirm whether or not the travel product of its own company has been correctly registered.

Next, when the desired condition of the consumer is transmitted from the client 2, the travel product assembling means 26 searches the product DB 31 based on the desired condition, and transmits the search result to the client 2 (step 2). S604). When a reservation request for a certain product is transmitted from the client 2, the assembled product reservation means 27 accepts this (step S605). Then, the reservation information is transmitted to the corresponding travel agency (step S606). When the access means of the corresponding travel company is a telephone device or a facsimile, the reservation information is transmitted by facsimile.

When the travel agency confirms the reservation availability of the product and transmits the reservation guide information, the assembled product reservation means 27 transmits the reservation guide information to the client 2. Then, when there is a reservation application for a product from the client 2, this is stored in the reservation DB 32, a fee is charged in the charging DB 33, and the reservation completion information is transmitted to the travel agency.

As a result, even for a travel company without access means via the Internet, the range of registration means for registering its own travel product in the DB of the travel product assembly system is expanded. Therefore, the system can store information of more travel products, so that the range of consumers' product selection is further expanded. In addition, the travel company can sell its own travel products via the Internet or the like without newly constructing a unique system, which is very convenient.

[0134]

According to the present invention, material data is searched based on the search condition transmitted by the consumer, so that it is possible to automatically assemble a travel product meeting various demands of the consumer. it can. In addition, since the range of choice of the travel product is further expanded, the convenience of the consumer when purchasing the travel product can be improved.

Furthermore, when a product is canceled, the content of the product is changed to provide added value, and resale information of the product is actively distributed to consumers. As a result, it is possible to increase the consumer's willingness to purchase, so that it is possible to sell the canceled product effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram functionally illustrating a configuration of a travel product assembling system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data structure of a material DB 9;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data structure of a material DB 9;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the travel product assembling system according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product search screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product search result screen.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a second product search process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of a third product search process.

FIG. 9 functionally shows a configuration of a modification of the travel product assembling system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow when the travel product assembling system according to the first embodiment is modified.

FIG. 11 functionally illustrates a configuration of a travel product assembling system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the travel product assembling system according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 13 functionally illustrates a configuration of a travel product assembling system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the travel product assembling system according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Travel goods assembling system 2 ... Client 3 ... Communication network 4 ... Search condition receiving means 5 ... Search condition modification means 6 ... Product material search means 7 ... Search result transmission means 8 ... Tour DB 9 ... Material DB

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A travel product assembling system, wherein material data constituting a travel product is searched based on search conditions specified by a customer, and a travel product is automatically assembled from the searched material data. 2. The travel product assembling system according to claim 1, wherein the search condition comprises a basic condition for the travel product and a material condition constituting the travel product. 3. The travel merchandise assembling system has correction means for correcting the contents of the search condition in accordance with a predetermined standard, and based on the search condition corrected by the correction means, converts the material data. 3. The travel product assembling system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a search is performed. 4. The travel product assembling system according to claim 3, wherein said modifying means changes the contents of said search condition so that material data having the lowest price is searched. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the correction unit changes the content of the search condition so that the material data is searched in a range from the lowest price to a predetermined upper limit. Travel goods assembly system. 6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the correction unit changes the content of the search condition so that material data is searched based on the material condition having a predetermined weight. Or a travel product assembling system. 7. The travel product according to claim 1, wherein the travel product assembling system further includes a search unit that searches for pre-assembled travel product data based on the search condition. Product assembly system. 8. The travel product assembling system, when the product is canceled, by changing the content of the canceled travel product according to a predetermined standard,
8. The travel product assembling system according to claim 1, further comprising: assembling means for assembling a new travel product; and distribution means for delivering information of the new travel product to a customer. 9. The travel product assembly according to claim 8, wherein said assembling means decomposes the canceled travel product into respective material data and assembles a plurality of new products from the decomposed material data. system. 10. The travel product assembling system further includes: a reception unit that receives data on the travel product via a plurality of access units; and a storage unit that stores data on the travel product received by the reception unit. 10. The travel product assembling system according to claim 1, wherein: 11. A storage unit for storing material data constituting a travel product, a receiving unit for receiving a search condition specified by a customer, and the storage unit based on the search condition received by the receiving unit. A travel product assembling system comprising: a search means for searching data; and an assembling means for automatically assembling a travel product from the searched material data. 12. A travel product assembling method, wherein material data constituting a travel product is searched based on search conditions specified by a customer, and a travel product is automatically assembled from the searched material data. 13. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the travel product assembling method according to claim 12.