JP2002132903A - Customer operation support system and method for lodging facilities - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a customer operation support system for supporting the management of thank-you note transmission and customer information in lodging facilities, such as hotels. SOLUTION: This customer operation support system is provided with a means of conducting two-way communication between an information center 2 and the lodging facilities 1 and between the information center 2 and mailing facilities 3 and telemarketing facilities 4 via Web 6, transmits lodging customer information received from the lodging facilities that have received a request for thank-you note transmission to the mailing facilities and the telemarketing facilities, and transmits a thank-you note to lodging customers through mail, e-mail or telephone by utilizing those facilities. Each of the lodging facilities can transmit the thank-you note to each customer only, by transmitting the information (lodging date, name, address, etc.), of a lodging customer to the information center via the Web. Thus, troublesome thank-you note transmission works can be simplified much and drastically reduce the load of the employees, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for supporting customer work in an accommodation facility such as an inn, for example, sending a thank-you note to a guest.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In accommodation facilities such as inns, a thank-you note is sent to a guest after staying for the purpose of improving the impression of the guest and increasing the number of returning visitors (so-called repeaters). ing. This thank-you note delivery service is generally mailed, so it is necessary to print letters and postcards, write addresses, etc. Also, create a guest address book, correct any address changes, and manage whether or not the letter of thanks has been sent. It was necessary to perform such complicated tasks.

[0003]

Conventionally, each inn or the like has been individually engaged in customer services such as sending a thank-you letter, so that it is necessary to perform complicated operations as described above, further increasing the work of busy inns. As a result, an excessive burden was placed on employees and the like.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a customer service support apparatus and method for supporting the sending of thank-you cards and management of customer information at accommodation facilities.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is structured as described in the appended claims. That is, in the invention of claim 1,
The information center includes means for performing two-way communication between the information center and the accommodation facility, between the information center and at least one of the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility via the Web, and the accommodation facility receiving the request for sending a thank-you note. Means for transmitting information for requesting accommodation customer information, and means for extracting items necessary for sending a thank-you note from the accommodation customer information received from the accommodation facility, and transmitting the information to the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility. In the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, based on the information received from the information center, the mailing facility may send a letter of thanks or mail to the telemarketing facility and send a thank-you letter to the corresponding guest by telephone. Make up. In addition, the above-mentioned accommodation facility is a general term for inns, hotels, pensions, guesthouses, or public accommodation facilities such as national holiday villages and national lodgings. Web is a two-way communication network such as the Internet and e-mail, and a mailing facility. The facility for sending out mail or e-mail and the telemarketing facility refer to facilities that perform telephone contact and questionnaire surveys, respectively. The accommodation customer information is information on customers who have stayed in the past, and includes a name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, accommodation date, accommodation type (grade), and the like.

[0006] The invention described in claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1.
In addition to the above configuration, a configuration for updating customer data based on accommodation customer information received from an accommodation facility and a configuration for storing mailing permission information obtained at an information center in the customer data are added. Note that the mailing permission means permission for a contacting party (a past guest) to transmit accommodation information and the like in the future.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3,
At the mailing facility, the accommodation customers are classified into mailing customers and e-mailing customers based on the guesting customer information sent from the information center, mailed to the mailing customers, and e-mailed to the e-mailing customers. We send each letter of thanks and receive mailing permission information.
The URL indicating page b is enclosed with the thank-you note. Note that a URL (Universal Resource L)
An ocater is equivalent to an address for specifying the location of information on the Internet, and in this case, it means the domain name of the homepage of the information center.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4,
The mailing permission information from the customer is sent directly to the information center from each customer in the case of mail and e-mail customers, and from the customer to the information center via the telemailing facility in the case of telephone customers. It is configured to be sent.

[0009] In the invention according to claim 5,
The information transmission for requesting the accommodation customer information to the accommodation facility transmits a template from the information center to the accommodation facility, and the accommodation facility adds necessary information to the template and replies, and the information center sends the template to the mailing facility. Also, information is provided to the telemarketing facility in the form of a template. The above-mentioned template is a communication format in which necessary items are listed, and the contents are entered (input) for each item.
In this case, it means that the electronic communication is performed via the Web.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the configuration of the template, wherein the template identifies a data table relating to accommodation facilities and accommodation customers stored in advance, and items in the data table. It is created using a data definition body in which the item names and their contents are described.

Further, in the invention according to claim 7,
A configuration is added to the configuration of claim 2 in which a customer who does not respond to a contact from a mailing facility and a telemarketing facility to a lodging customer is extracted and stored in the customer data as a customer whose existence is not confirmed.

Further, the present invention is a method, wherein means for performing bidirectional communication via the Web between the information center and the accommodation facility, and between the information center and at least one of the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, The information center transmits information requesting accommodation customer information to an accommodation facility that has received a request for a thank-you letter, and the accommodation facility receives the accommodation customer information to the information center,
The information center updates the customer data based on the received guest customer information, and extracts items necessary for sending a thank-you note from the received guest customer information, and transmits them to the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, The mailing facility sent mail or e-mail, the telemarketing facility sent a thank-you note to the corresponding guest by telephone, and requested the customer's mailing permission for subsequent information transmission. A customer operation support method for an accommodation facility, wherein permission information is stored in the customer data.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1-1 and 1-2 denote accommodation facilities (hereinafter, collectively referred to as accommodation facilities 1), which are public accommodation such as a ryokan, a hotel, a pension, a guest house, a national holiday village, and a national lodging. It includes facilities and the like, and each has a Web communication terminal (computer). 2 is an information center,
The facility, which is the center of the entire system of the present invention, includes a storage device that stores various data such as customer data and a database, a computer for the Web, a computer for other control, and the like. The storage device in the information center 2 stores a data definition body and various data tables. The data definition body is a structure (stored text) defining an item name and its contents for identifying each item in the data table, and the data table is defined by the data definition body. This is a database storing the actual data of the table, and includes facility basic information, type information, customer information, and the like. Details of the data definition body and the data table will be described later. Numeral 3 is a telemarketing facility, which is a facility that is in charge of telephone communication, questionnaire surveys, and the like (there is an operating company). Reference numeral 4 denotes a mailing facility, which is a facility for sending out mail or e-mail (there is an operating company). Note that the telemarketing facility and the mailing facility also have Web communication terminals. 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3 are guests (hereinafter collectively referred to as guests 5), and guests who have stayed at the accommodation facility 1 in the past are referred to as guests. Reference numeral 6 shown by an ellipse denotes a Web (a two-way communication network such as the Internet and e-mail), and a solid arrow passing through the ellipse indicates communication via the Web. A broken line indicates communication by telephone, and a dashed line indicates communication by mail. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a case in which the delivery of a thank-you note is requested to both the telemarketing facility 3 and the mailing facility 4, it may be configured to request only one of them. For example, if only the mail and the e-mail are sufficient, the request may be made only to the mailing facility 4.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of processing in the system shown in FIG. 1 for each block. FIG.
, The reference numerals 1 to 5 correspond to the blocks denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. Hereinafter, the processing in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. (1) The computer in the information center 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as the information center 2) stores data tables (facility basic information), data tables (type information),
A template (customer information) is created from the data table (customer information) and the data definition body. This processing may be configured to occur at a regular time, such as daily, weekly, or monthly, or may be configured to be started at any time. (2) The information center 2 transmits the template to the accommodation facility 1 that has been requested in advance for customer work support (for example, a request for sending a thank-you note to an accommodation customer) by contract or the like. In addition, when a new business request contract is applied from the accommodation facility or when a special business request is made (for example, when a special request is made on a day other than the usual shipping date), the accommodation facility can also use the template. Send (3) In the accommodation facility 1, the information of the accommodation customer is input according to the template (customer information). The entered guest customer information is added to the template (customer information). (4) The accommodation facility 1 transmits the template (customer information) to which the accommodation customer information has been added to the information center 2. (5) The information center 2 extracts the staying customer information from the received template (customer information), adds it to the data table (customer information), and updates the data table. (6) The information center 2 extracts customer information necessary for sending a thank-you note from the data table (customer information) and creates a template (customer information). The customer information required for sending a thank-you note includes the name of the accommodation facility, the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and accommodation date of the accommodation customer. (7) The information center 2 transmits the information template (customer information) extracted in (6) to the telemarketing facility 3 and the mailing facility 4. Whether to use the telemarketing facility 3 or the mailing facility 4 basically depends on the accommodation facility's request, but in general, the cost of mail (letter or postcard) or e-mail is lower than telephone contact, so address It is anticipated that mailing facilities 4 are often used basically for hotel guests whose e-mail address is known. (8) The telemarketing facility 3 extracts the customer information from the template (customer information), makes a telephone call to the customer, and gives a thank-you for accommodation and a mailing permission. Note that the mailing permission means permission that the contacted party (past guest) may transmit the stay information and the like in the future. In addition, the content of the thank-you message from the telemarketing facility 3 to the lodging customer basically depends on the format determined by the telemarketing facility 3, but if you want to insert a special message or seasonal greeting that differs for each accommodation facility, Then, the content is included in the customer information from the information center 2 and transmitted to the telemarketing facility 3.

(9) The telemarketing facility 3 obtains mailing permission from the customer during the call and adds it to the template (customer information). (10) The telemarketing facility 3 transmits the template (customer information) to which the mailing permission information has been added to the information center 2. (11) The information center 2 extracts the mailing permission information from the received template (customer information) and updates the data table (customer information). (12) The mailing facility 4 extracts customer information from the template (customer information) and classifies it into a mail target customer and an e-mail target customer. At this time, the e-mail is basically sent to a guest who knows the e-mail address. (13) The mailing facility 4 mails a letter of thanks (postcard or postcard) to the mailing customer. The thank-you note includes a URL indicating a web page in order to obtain mailing permission.
The URL in this case is different for each customer (guest),
For example, this is a format in which a different code is added to each customer after the domain name of the homepage of the information center. The contents of the mail and e-mail from the mailing facility 4 to the accommodation customer basically depend on the format specified by the mailing facility 4, but if you want to insert a special message or seasonal greeting that differs for each accommodation facility , The content is included in the customer information from the information center 2 and transmitted to the mailing facility 4. (14) The mailing facility 4 sends a thank-you note to the e-mail target customer by e-mail. In order to obtain mailing permission, a URL indicating a Web page (which differs for each customer as described above) is posted in the e-mail. (15) In the case where the information can be communicated thereafter, the guest customer 5 accesses the URL described in the thank-you letter (same for both mailing and e-mail). UR in this case
Since L differs for each customer as described in (13) above, the information center 2 can identify which customer the communication is from simply by accessing the URL. Therefore, when the customer inputs the mailing permission information and the like, the information center 2 that has received the information can update the data table (customer information) with the information.

(16) The information center 2 extracts customers who do not respond to mail, e-mail, or telephone contact from the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility to the lodging customer, and extracts the customers who have not been confirmed as existing customers. Store in customer data. (17) The information center 2 extracts and displays customer information of the accommodation facility. Therefore, the accommodation facility 1 can refer to the customer information by calling the information center 2. The information center 2 may transmit the customer information of the accommodation facility to the accommodation facility 1 regularly or irregularly (for example, every time a thank-you letter is sent out).

Next, details of the data definition body, the data table, and the template will be described. First, the data definition body defines an item name, a type, a size, an identification name, a description, and the presence or absence of a data definition range for identifying each item in the data table. Shown in FIG. 3 is an example in which a portion related to facility basic information in a data definition body is described. In addition, there are data definition bodies for type (grade) information, customer information, and the like.
3A shows an item name, and FIG. 3B shows an example of the content of each item. Hereinafter, it will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The item name means each item such as the name and address of the accommodation facility,
The type means whether the contents are letters, numbers, figures, etc., the size means the amount (for example, the number of characters), and the identification name is a name for the operator to easily understand (in this case, accommodation) Facility name), and the description means a brief description of the content. The presence or absence of the data definition range means whether or not the total amount is predetermined. For example, in the case of a prefecture name, since the total amount is determined by 47, it is “range of data definition (presence)”. In FIG. 3, only the facility basic information portion is described, but thereafter, type (grade) information and customer information are defined.

Next, the data table will be described. A data table is a database that stores actual data of a table defined by a data definition body, and an example is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of each item and contents of the data table, and FIG. 4 shows facility basic information, type information, and customer information. In FIG. 4, (A) shows an item name, and (B) shows an example of the content of each item. The facility basic information includes the unique contents of each accommodation facility, namely, accommodation facility identifier (number for identifying each accommodation facility), facility name (inn name, etc.), address, and contact information (telephone number and e-mail address). , URL (domain name of homepage, etc.), number of guest rooms, capacity, comments (characteristics of the accommodation facility, etc.). The type information means information such as the grade (degree of accommodation) and the distinction between a group and an individual for a guest, an accommodation type identifier (different according to a price range, an organization, and an individual), an accommodation facility identifier, and a room. There are items such as information (number of rooms and size, etc.), number of guests, amount of money (accommodation fee, hot spring use fee, etc.), applicable period (seasonal fee, etc.), available number, etc. The customer information is information of a staying customer who has stayed in the past, and includes items such as an accommodation date, an accommodation facility identifier, an accommodation type identifier, a customer name, an address, and a contact address.
Although not shown in FIG. 4, a mailing permission item may be provided.

Next, the template will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a basic format of a template. FIG. 5A shows items described in each block.
(B) shows an example of the actual description contents. As shown in FIG. 5, the template includes a header block, a definition block, and a data block. In FIG. 5, only the facility basic information and the type information are illustrated, but customer information follows therebelow. When there are a plurality of the same items, they are described side by side as shown in the figure. For example, when there are a plurality of guests at the A hotel, information (item names, data, etc.) about each guest is sequentially arranged and described at a corresponding location in the customer information. In the information center, for the basic format shown in FIG. 5, only the date is changed for the header block on that date, the content is copied, the content is copied for the definition block, and the registered data is registered for the data block. Create a template by typing in pairs with names. The template created as described above is sent from the information center to the accommodation facility, the mailing facility, and the telemarketing facility. At each of those facilities, the content of the corresponding item in the data block is updated to the new content and returned to the information center.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a means for performing two-way communication between the information center and the accommodation facility, and between the information center and the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility via the Web. The customer information received from the received accommodation facility is transmitted to a mailing facility and a telemarketing facility, and a thank-you note is transmitted to the accommodation customer by mail, e-mail, or telephone using those facilities. Therefore, at each accommodation facility, it is possible to send a thank-you note to each customer simply by transmitting the information (lodging date, name, address, etc.) of the staying customer to the information center via the Web. The effect is extremely simplified, and the burden on employees and the like can be greatly reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the customer data is updated based on the accommodation customer information received from the accommodation facility,
The mailing permission information is stored in the customer data. Therefore, in addition to the effect of claim 1,
Since the accommodation customer information can be constantly updated and the management of the customer list can be performed on behalf of the customer, the burden on the accommodation facility can be further reduced. In addition, it is also possible to use the stored customer data to perform operations such as solicitation for lodging.

In the third aspect, the URL indicating the Web page for receiving the mailing permission information at the same time as sending the thank-you letter is enclosed, so that the mailing permission can be easily obtained. In addition, as described in the examples,
If a different URL is used for each customer, the information center can easily identify which customer the communication is from simply by accessing the URL. Also,
According to the fourth aspect, the mailing permission information is received directly from each customer to the information center in the case of mail and e-mail, or from the customer in the case of telephone by way of the telemailing facility at the information center. So
Mailing permission information can be reliably obtained. According to the fifth aspect, by transmitting and receiving information via a template, data can be input in a fixed place at a fixed place at an accommodation facility or the like, so that data input becomes easy and labor is reduced. At the same time, errors in data input can be prevented. In claim 6, since the template is created by using the data definition body and the data table, accurate data can be easily transmitted and received. According to the seventh aspect, by extracting a customer who has not responded and storing it in the customer data, it is possible to prevent unnecessary sending of a thank-you note or solicitation of an invitation. In claim 8, claims 1 to 7
Is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing processing contents in the system shown in FIG. 1 divided for each block.

3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an example of a data definition body. FIG. 3A illustrates an example of an item name, and FIG. 3B illustrates an example of the content of each item.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing facility basic information, type information, and customer information as an example of a data table, where (A) is an item name and (B)
Is an example of the content of each item.

5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating an example of a basic format of a template. FIG. 5A illustrates items described in each block,
(B) is an example of the actual description contents.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1-1, 1-2: accommodation facility 2: information center 3: telemarketing facility 4: mailing facility 5, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3: guest 6: Web

Claims (8)

[Claims] The information center includes means for performing bidirectional communication via the Web between the information center and the accommodation facility, and between the information center and at least one of the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, and a request for sending a thank-you note. A means for transmitting information requesting accommodation customer information to the received accommodation facility; extracting necessary items for sending a thank-you note from the accommodation customer information received from the accommodation facility, and transmitting the extracted information to the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility. And at the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, based on information received from the information center,
A customer service support device for an accommodation facility, wherein the mailing facility sends a thank-you note to the corresponding accommodation customer by mail or e-mail and the telemarketing facility by telephone. 2. The information center includes means for performing bidirectional communication via the Web between the information center and the accommodation facility, and between the information center and at least one of the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, and a request for sending a thank-you note. A means for transmitting information for requesting accommodation customer information to the received accommodation facility, and updating the customer data based on the accommodation customer information received from the accommodation facility, and the items necessary for sending a thank-you note from the received accommodation customer information Means for extracting and sending to the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility by mail or e-mail at the mailing facility and by telephone at the telemarketing facility. Information obtained at the information center as a result of transmitting information And a means for storing rolling permission information in the customer data. 3. The mailing facility categorizes lodging customers into mailing customers and e-mailing customers based on the guesting customer information sent from the information center, and mails the mailing customers to the mailing customers. Email the customer,
3. The customer service support device for an accommodation facility according to claim 2, wherein a URL indicating a Web page for sending a thank-you letter and receiving mailing permission information is enclosed with the thank-you note. 4. The mailing permission information from the customer is sent directly from each customer to the information center in the case of mail and e-mail customers, and is transmitted from each customer to the telemailing facility in the case of telephone customers. The customer service support device for an accommodation facility according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the information is transmitted to the information center via an information center. 5. An information transmission for requesting accommodation customer information from the accommodation facility, wherein the information center transmits a template to the accommodation facility, and the accommodation facility adds necessary information to the template and replies, and The customer service support device for an accommodation facility according to claim 1 or 2, wherein information provision from the information center to the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility is also performed in the form of a template. 6. The template is created using a pre-stored data table relating to accommodation facilities and lodging customers, and a data definition body in which item names for identifying items in the data table and their contents are described. 4. The customer service support device for an accommodation facility according to claim 3, wherein: 7. The method according to claim 2, wherein a customer who does not respond to the contact from the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility to the accommodation customer is extracted and stored in the customer data as a customer whose existence is not confirmed. A customer service support device for the accommodation facility described. 8. A means for performing two-way communication via the Web between the information center and the accommodation facility, and between the information center and at least one of the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, wherein the information center sends a request for sending a thank-you note. The information transmission requesting the accommodation customer information to the received accommodation facility is performed, and the received accommodation facility transmits the accommodation customer information to the information center, and the information center updates the customer data based on the received accommodation customer information. And, and extract the necessary items for thank-you sending from the received guest customer information, and send it to the mailing facility and the telemarketing facility, mailing or e-mail at the mailing facility, the telemarketing facility by telephone, respectively Send a thank-you note to the applicable guest and provide the customer with A customer business support method for an accommodation facility, wherein a request for mailing of a customer is requested, and the obtained permission information is stored in the customer data in the information center.