JP2002049807A - Service reservation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reservation system which enables a service wisher to present a desired charge for service to the service provider and which uses a communication line. SOLUTION: Service information in a database part 8 for reservation management facilities 1 is retrieved by the terminal device 13 of the service wisher through the communication line S and desired service contents and a desired charge are sent to the terminal device 15 of the service provider through the reservation management facilities 1. The service provider sends reservation acceptance notice when accepting the reservation conditions, otherwise a reservation unacceptable notice to the terminal device 13 of the service wisher.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for reserving services using a communication line such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various service reservation systems using communication lines such as the Internet have been operated. For example, in the case of accommodation services such as hotels and inns, the service contents and the normal rates (or standard rates) set accordingly are posted on the homepage of the accommodation service providers, and those who wish to stay at the accommodation service providers can use personal computers, i-mode mobile phones, etc. A user accesses a homepage from a terminal device via a communication line to view the contents of the service and a normal fee for the service, and if so, apply for accommodation online. The service contents posted on the homepage of the accommodation service provider include facility outlines, room photos, meal contents, etc., and normal rates are preset based on conditions such as season, period, day of the week, holidays, room type, meals etc. Is done.

In addition, banquet services provided by hotels and restaurants, wedding services provided by wedding facilities, funeral services provided by recreational facilities, travel services provided by travel agencies, railways, airplanes, maritime transportation, transportation services such as moving, and culture services. Education services of centers and various schools,
For sports services such as golf courses and athletic clubs, reservation systems using communication lines have recently become widespread.

[0004]

In the conventional service reservation system, the fee for the service is unified to the normal fee set in advance according to the conditions, and the service applicant can set the contents of the desired service and the normal fee. There is no other way than to judge whether to apply for a service (contract) or not. Some service applicants may be dissatisfied with the normal fee compared to the service content, and there are many potential service applicants who want to use a fee that they consider appropriate. In addition, the service provider often determines that the fee may be reduced to some extent when the service can be provided due to off-season or cancellation. However, the conventional reservation system cannot match these two wishes. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve such a problem in the conventional reservation system, and to provide a new reservation system for that purpose.

[0005]

That is, the present invention provides a service reservation system using a communication line, comprising a reservation management facility connected to the communication line, wherein the reservation management facility includes (1) service contents and the A database unit that stores a normal fee for the service, and (2) a communication processing unit that performs communication processing with the terminal device of the service applicant who accessed the reservation management facility and the terminal device of the service provider;
(3) a storage unit for storing communication contents from service applicants and service providers. Then, the terminal device of the service applicant can access the reservation management facility via the communication line, and can read out the service content and the normal fee stored in the database unit. The desired service transmitted via the communication line and the contents of the reservation application including the desired fee are stored in the storage unit, and the transmission request is transmitted to the terminal device of the corresponding service provider via the communication line. The response contents transmitted from the service provider's terminal device via the communication line to the reservation application are stored in the storage unit, and are transmitted to the service applicant's terminal device which has applied for the reservation via the communication line. A service reservation can be made using a communication line by performing transmission processing (claim 1).

In the above-mentioned reservation system, if the minimum fee for the service content is stored in advance in the database unit, when the desired fee from the service applicant is equal to or higher than the minimum fee, the content of the reservation application is transmitted to the terminal device of the service provider. The communication processing unit can be configured to perform transmission processing via a communication line, and perform a reservation-impossible transmission processing via the communication line to the terminal device of the service applicant when the minimum fee is not reached. 2). In the reservation system, a fee calculation unit is provided in the reservation management facility, and a fee to be charged to a service provider at a preset rate can be calculated based on the reservation application result stored in the storage unit. ).

As services in the reservation system, accommodation services, banquet services, marriage or funeral services, travel services, transport services, educational services, sports services, advertising services, detective services, handyman consulting services, computer programs, etc. The service can include at least one of various services, such as lawyers, patent attorneys, judicial scriveners, administrative scriveners, architects, and consulting services at marriage bureaus (claim 4). In the reservation system, an Internet line can be used as a communication line (claim 5).

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of the reservation system of the present invention. Reservation system is computer device 2
And a reservation management facility 1 including peripheral devices. The computer device 2 is a CPU that executes a program
(Central processing unit) 3, operating system (O
RO that stores the program of S) and the communication processing program
M, a storage unit 4 such as a flash memory, a storage unit 5 such as a flash memory for storing communication contents from service applicants and service providers, and an input / output unit (I / O) 6. Are connected to each other organically.

The input / output unit 6 includes a database unit 8 such as a large-capacity optical disk for storing various service contents for each service provider and a normal fee for the service, an input unit 9 such as a keyboard, a display unit 10 such as a display, Output unit 11 such as a printer and communication line S such as the Internet
And a modem 12 for connection to the network. The input unit 9 is used for setting conditions of the system and the like.
0 is used at the time of input from the input unit 9 and the like.
Is used to output the reservation information stored in the storage unit 5 and the fee charged to the service provider.

[0010] A terminal device 13 such as a personal computer of a large number of reservation applicants, a mobile phone using i-mode, or a home appliance capable of Internet is connected to a communication line S by a modem 14.
And terminal devices 15 such as personal computers of many service providers are connected via a modem 16. The CPU 3 functions as a communication processing unit 17 that performs communication processing with the terminal devices 13 of a plurality of service applicants and the terminal devices 15 of a plurality of service providers who have accessed the reservation management facility 1 via the communication line S. .

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a reservation process in the case where the reservation system of FIG. 1 is applied to an accommodation reservation system. The center of the drawing is the reservation management facility 1, the left side of which is a large number of accommodation service applicants connected by the communication line S, and the right side is a large number of accommodation service providers connected by the communication line S. The accommodation service providers include inn associations and travel agencies. First, the reservation management facility 1 is connected via the communication line S from the terminal device 13 (refer to FIG.
Access the database of the accommodation information stored in the database unit 8 of. The accommodation information includes accommodation service contents for a large number of accommodation facilities that can be searched and the normal rates for the accommodation services. Accommodation service applicants search and read the desired accommodation facility by area, accommodation type, etc.,
Further, the user inputs a service such as accommodation conditions and a desired fee for the service, and transmits it to the reservation management facility 1.

The reservation management facility 1 compares the received desired fee with the minimum fee registered in advance for the service, and stores the contents of the reservation application when the desired fee from the accommodation service applicant is equal to or higher than the minimum fee. And a communication line S to the terminal device 15 of the accommodation service provider.
When the minimum fee is not reached, a reservation impossible transmission is transmitted to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S. When the minimum fee is not registered in advance, the contents of the reservation application from the accommodation service applicant are stored in the storage unit 5 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. Send via S. Then, the accommodation service provider judges whether to accept the reservation in consideration of the vacant room condition or the like with respect to the received reservation application contents (in this case, if the accommodation service provider is difficult to accept the desired price, the accommodation service provider The provider can also reversely present conditions such as a new price). When the reservation cannot be accepted, such as when the room is full, the reservation management facility 1 is notified via the communication line S that the reservation cannot be made. The reservation management facility 1 stores the information in the storage unit 5 and transmits a reservation impossible via the communication line S to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant.

[0013] If the reservation service cannot be accepted as it is, for example, if the accommodation service applicant wants to bring a pet, the accommodation service provider presents acceptable reservation conditions and connects the communication line S to the reservation management facility 1. To send through. The reservation management facility 1 stores it in the storage unit 5 and transmits reservation conditions to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S. If the accommodation service applicant accepts the condition, the accommodation service is reserved again under the condition. The reservation is made to the reservation management equipment 1 via the communication line S, and the reservation management equipment 1 stores it in the storage unit 5 and transmits it to the terminal device 15 of the accommodation service provider via the communication line S. The accommodation service provider accepts the reservation and transmits a reservation confirmation to the reservation management facility 1 via the communication line S. The reservation management equipment 1 stores it in the storage unit 5
And the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant.
The reservation confirmation is transmitted via the communication line S. As a result, a reservation contract is established.

If it is possible to accept the reservation when it is first determined whether or not to accept the reservation, the accommodation service provider accepts the reservation as it is, and transmits a reservation confirmation to the reservation management facility 1 via the communication line S. Do. The reservation management facility 1 stores it in the storage unit 5 and transmits the reservation confirmation to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S. As a result, a reservation contract is established.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are a series of flowcharts for executing the reservation processing step of FIG. First, in the first half of FIG. 3, when the reservation management facility 1 is accessed from the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant, the CPU
3 judges whether or not the access of the accommodation service applicant is the first time, and if it is the first time, prompts the registration of the accommodation service applicant in step S2. This registration is necessary, for example, when the accommodation service applicant receives a response as to whether or not the reservation is possible via a communication line, as described later. The registration is performed by inputting the ID given by the reservation management facility 1 and the password selected by the lodging service applicant from the terminal device 13. (Step S3)

When the ID and the password are input from the terminal device 13 in step S4 after the registration, the accommodation information stored in the database unit 8 can be searched. If the access has been made for the second time or later, since the registration has already been made, the process jumps directly from step S1 to step S4. The accommodation service applicant proceeds with the search according to the procedure displayed on the screen of the terminal device 13, and this search procedure is generally the same as the search procedure on the Internet. That is, step S5
First, select an area (from the upper areas such as the Kanto and Tohoku areas, select the lower areas such as Tokyo and Kanagawa, and then select the specific areas in the lower areas in that order), then the hotel, the Japanese inn, Select a facility type such as a pension. By this selection, the terminal device 1 of the accommodation service applicant
3 displays a list of accommodation facilities.

Next, in step S6, the accommodation service applicant selects an accommodation facility to be reserved from the accommodation facility list, and the contents of services such as the room and meal provided by the selected accommodation facility and the normal fee are displayed on the terminal device. 13 is displayed. A reservation request button is displayed on the display screen (not shown), and when it is clicked, a reservation screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, for example. Next, in step S7, the accommodation service applicant inputs the contents of the requested accommodation service and the desired fee for the accommodation service from the terminal device 13 according to the screen of FIG.

In step S8, the CPU 3 of the reservation management facility 1
Compares the desired fee with the minimum fee previously stored in the database unit 8 for the service content. When the desired fee is equal to or higher than the minimum fee, the contents of the reservation application are stored in the storage unit 5 and transmitted to the terminal device 15 of the accommodation service provider via the communication line S in step S9.
When the minimum charge is not reached, a reservation impossible transmission is transmitted to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S. On the other hand, the accommodation service applicant must determine whether to search for another accommodation facility or end the reservation application operation, but the subsequent steps will be described later. In addition, in the case where the above-mentioned minimum fee is not defined in the service, the contents of the reservation application are stored in the storage unit 5 as indicated by the dotted line in FIG.
Thus, the information can be transmitted to the terminal device 15 of the accommodation service provider via the communication line S.

Next, in step S10 in FIG.
Then, the accommodation service provider reads the screen of FIG. 5 transmitted to the terminal device 15 and determines whether or not to accept the reservation request. If it is determined that the reservation is acceptable, the process proceeds to step S11, where a check mark is placed in the “Reservation confirmation” item on the screen of FIG.
To send over. The reservation management equipment 1 stores it in the storage unit 5
In step S13, the screen shown in FIG. 5 (the screen for confirming reservation) shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S in step S13. This completes the reservation contract.

Next, the process jumps to step S21, and the accommodation service applicant decides whether or not he / she wants to add another accommodation service. . If another accommodation service is desired to be added, it is determined in step S22 whether or not the area is another area. If another area is selected, the process jumps to step 5 in FIG. 3, and if the area is the same, the process jumps to step S6.
If the reservation cannot be made in step S8, the process jumps to step S21 to start the above selection operation.

If the request cannot be accepted in step S10, the process proceeds to step S14, where it is determined whether or not a condition that can be reserved is presented. If the condition is presented, the "conditional reservation OK" item is checked on the screen shown in FIG. After the mark is entered and the conditions are entered, the information is transmitted to the reservation management facility 1 via the communication line S in step S15. The reservation management facility 1 stores it in the storage unit 5 and transmits the screen of FIG. 5 with the check mark to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S in step S16. The accommodation service applicant determines in step S17 whether or not to make a reservation under the conditions, and if not, the process jumps to step S21. When making a reservation, a check mark is put on the "conditional reservation approval" item on the screen of FIG. 5, and the information is transmitted to the reservation management equipment 1 via the communication line S in step S18.

Reservation management facility 1 receiving the above-mentioned conditional reservation
Records the contents in the recording unit 5 and returns to step S9, and rereads the contents again to the terminal device 1 of the accommodation service provider.
5 via the communication line S. Thereafter, the reservation is completed according to steps S10, S11 and S13. If the condition is not presented in step S14, a check mark is placed in the "reservation impossible" item on the screen of FIG. 5, and the reason is described. I do. The reservation management facility 1 stores this in the storage unit 5
In step S20, the screen shown in FIG. 5 in which the check mark and the reason are described is transmitted to the terminal device 13 of the accommodation service applicant via the communication line S in step S20. Next, in step S21, the accommodation service applicant determines whether or not to end the reservation operation in the same manner as described above.

In the above description, the service reservation system of the present invention is applied to the reservation of an accommodation service. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and banquet service, ceremonial or funeral service, travel service, transport service. , Educational services, sports services, advertising services, detective services, various consulting services such as handyman, computer program services, various agency services such as lawyers, patent attorneys, judicial scriveners, administrative scriveners, architects, etc. It can be applied to all service fields such as consultation services. Further, two or more reservation systems for accommodation service and other services can be operated by one reservation management facility 1. In that case, service information of a plurality of fields is stored (stored) in the database unit 8 as a database,
It is configured to select any database on the selection screen after access.

For example, in a banquet service reservation system,
A banquet service provider is a facility having a banquet facility in a hotel or the like existing in each area, and the banquet service information is stored in the database unit 8 of the reservation management facility 1. In the reservation system of the ceremonial or funeral service, wedding facilities and funeral facilities scattered in each area are set as the ceremonial or funeral service provider, and the ceremonial service or funeral service information is stored in the database unit 8 of the reservation management facility 1. I do. In the travel service reservation system, travel agents scattered in each area are set as a travel service provider, and the travel service information is stored in the database unit 8 of the reservation management facility 1.

In the transportation service reservation system, carriers scattered in each area are defined as transportation service providers, and the transportation service information is stored in the database unit 8 of the reservation management facility 1. In the educational service reservation system, culture centers and the like scattered in each area are set as educational service providers, and the educational service information is stored in the database unit 8 of the reservation management facility 1. In the sports service reservation system, golf courses and athletic clubs scattered in each area are set as sports service providers, and the sports service information is stored in the database unit 8 of the reservation management facility 1. In addition, advertising agencies, detective agencies, handymen, computer program businesses, various agency services such as lawyers, patent attorneys, judicial scriveners, administrative scriveners, architects, etc. scattered in each area, and all services such as marriage consultation office The same applies to the field. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 can also be diverted to service reservations in these fields.

The operator of the reservation management facility 1 is an intermediary who smoothly makes a reservation contract between the service provider and the service applicant, and requires an operating fund to continue the operation. It is appropriate to collect the operating funds from the service provider, one of the beneficiaries, but this is set in advance according to the number of reservation accesses to the service provider and the number of completed reservations from the standpoint of the beneficiary. It is desirable to collect fees at a fixed rate.

In the present invention, the fee management unit 18 is provided in the reservation management facility 1, and the fee is calculated by multiplying the reservation application result stored in the storage unit 5 by a preset rate. . That is, in the storage unit 5 of the reservation management facility 1, reservation results such as the number of reservation accesses and the number of completed reservations are automatically accumulated for each service provider as described above. Further, the storage unit 4 stores in advance a rate corresponding to the reservation access or the reservation establishment. Then, the CPU 3 constituting the commission calculation unit 18 reads out the reservation result for each service provider stored in the storage unit 5 and multiplies the reservation result stored in the storage unit 4 to reduce the fee for each service provider. Calculate. The calculation result can be printed out from the output unit 11 or transmitted directly to the service provider via the communication line S.

[0028]

As described above, according to the reservation system of the present invention, the service applicant searches for service information stored in the database of the reservation management facility from the terminal device via the communication line, and obtains the desired service content. And the desired fee can be presented to the service provider through the reservation management facility, the service provider can determine whether or not to accept the presented reservation conditions, and can respond to the service applicant through the reservation management facility. . Therefore, the service applicant can immediately know online whether or not the service can be received under the conditions desired by the user, and the service provider has more opportunities to acquire customers. Further, if an agreement is made online, the reservation contract is completed immediately, which saves labor and time required for the reservation. In addition, since the reservation negotiation process is automatically stored in the storage unit of the reservation management equipment, the responsibility can be clarified even if a trouble occurs later.

In the above-mentioned reservation system, if the reservation management facility has a minimum charge for the service contents, the minimum charge is stored, and if the desired charge from the service applicant is higher than the minimum charge, the contents of the reservation application are stored. To the service provider's terminal device via a communication line,
The communication processing unit can be configured to perform a non-reservable transmission process to the terminal device of the service applicant via the communication line when the minimum fee is not reached. In this way, it is possible to avoid an increase in the burden on the service provider due to unnecessary exchanges. In the reservation system, a commission calculation unit is provided in the reservation management facility, and a fee charged to the service provider at a preset rate can be calculated for the reservation application results stored in the storage unit. This way,
The commission can be automatically calculated while operating the reservation system, and the reservation information stored in the storage unit can also be used for trouble prevention and commission calculation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a reservation system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a reservation process when the reservation system of FIG. 1 is applied to an accommodation reservation system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the first half of executing the reservation processing step of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the latter half of executing the reservation processing step of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a reservation screen of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reservation management equipment 2 Computer device 3 CPU 4 Storage unit 5 Storage unit 6 Input / output unit 7 System bus 8 Database unit 9 Input unit 10 Display unit 11 Output unit 12 Modem 13 Terminal device 14 Modem 15 Terminal device 16 Modem 17 Communication processing unit 18 Fee calculation section S Communication line

Claims (5)

[Claims] In a service reservation system using a communication line, a reservation management device connected to the communication line is provided, and the reservation management device stores (1) service contents and a normal fee for the service. Database part 8
(2) The terminal device 13 of the service applicant who accessed the reservation management facility 1 and the terminal device 15 of the service provider
And (3) a storage unit 5 for storing communication contents from service applicants and service providers, and a communication line S is transmitted from the terminal device 13 of the service applicant. The service management unit 1 can access the reservation management facility 1 via the communication unit S, and can read out the service contents and the normal fee stored in the database unit 8. The communication processing unit 17 is transmitted from the terminal device 13 of the service applicant via the communication line S. The requested service and the contents of the reservation including the desired fee are stored in the storage unit 5 and transmitted to the terminal device 15 of the corresponding service provider via the communication line S. In response to this, the response content transmitted from the service provider's terminal device 15 via the communication line S is stored in the storage unit 5, and the response request is applied for the reservation. Service reservation system for by the transmission process through the communication line S to the terminal apparatus 13, and to allow reservation service using the communication line S. 2. If the minimum charge for the service content is stored in the database unit 8 in advance, the communication processing unit 1
7 transmits the reservation application contents to the terminal device 15 of the service provider via the communication line S when the desired fee from the service applicant is equal to or higher than the minimum fee. Communication line S to terminal device 13
The service reservation system according to claim 1, wherein the reservation non-transmission processing is performed via the service. 3. A fee calculation unit 18 is provided in the reservation management facility 1, and a fee charged to a service provider at a preset rate is calculated based on a reservation application result stored in the storage unit 5. The service reservation system according to claim 1 or 2. 4. Services include accommodation services, banquet services, wedding or funeral services, travel services, transport services, educational services, sports services, advertising services, detective services, handyman consulting services, computer program services, lawyers. 4. The service reservation system according to claim 1, wherein the service reservation system is at least one of various proxy services of a patent attorney, a judicial scrivener, an administrative scrivener, an architect, and a consultation service of a marriage agency. 5. The service reservation system according to claim 1, wherein the communication line S is an Internet line.