JP7492122B2 - RESERVATION SUPPORT SYSTEM, RESERVATION SUPPORT METHOD, AND RESERVATION SUPPORT PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a reservation support system, a reservation support method, and a reservation support program that enable facility reservations.

When reserving a facility such as a restaurant on a reservation site, for example, the user can use instant reservation, which does not require confirmation with the facility when reserving the facility (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, when a user wishes to make a reservation at a facility that has no more available reservations (a facility that is fully booked), the user may be able to use a request reservation, which requires confirmation with the facility when reserving the facility.

JP 2001-243304 A

If a user makes a reservation request for a desired facility and the reservation is not permitted at that facility, the user must reset the search criteria and search again for available facilities. In this way, when a user's reservation request for a specific facility is not permitted, a problem arises in which the convenience of the user when reserving the facility is reduced.

The object of the present invention is to provide a reservation support system, a reservation support method, and a reservation support program that can improve the convenience of users who make reservations at facilities.

The reservation assistance system according to the present invention includes a reservation processing unit that receives a reservation request for a first facility from a user, a determination processing unit that determines whether the first facility can be reserved, and a presentation processing unit that, when the determination processing unit determines that the first facility cannot be reserved, presents to the user a determination result including information indicating that the first facility cannot be reserved and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility.

The reservation support method according to the present invention is a method that executes, by one or more processors, the following steps: a reservation step of receiving a reservation request for a first facility from a user; a determination step of determining whether the first facility is available for reservation; and, if it is determined in the determination step that the first facility is unavailable for reservation, a presentation step of presenting to the user a determination result that includes information indicating that the first facility is unavailable for reservation and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility.

The reservation assistance program of the present invention is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the following steps: a reservation step of receiving a reservation request for a first facility from a user; a determination step of judging whether the first facility is available for reservation; and, if it is determined in the determination step that the first facility is unavailable for reservation, a presentation step of presenting to the user a determination result including information indicating that the first facility is unavailable for reservation and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility.

The present invention provides a reservation support system, a reservation support method, and a reservation support program that can improve the convenience of users who make reservations at facilities.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a reservation assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of facility information used in the reservation assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of reservation status information used in the reservation assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of related facility information used in the reservation assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information used in the reservation assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a request reservation reception page displayed on the facility terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation application result page displayed on the user terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the reservation application result page displayed on the user terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the reservation application result page displayed on the user terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the reservation application result page displayed on the user terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of a reservation assistance process executed in the reservation assistance system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. Note that the following embodiment is an example of the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Reservation Support System 1]
1, a reservation support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a reservation support device 2, a user terminal 3, and a facility terminal 4. The reservation support device 2, the user terminal 3, and the facility terminal 4 are capable of communicating with each other via a communication network N1 such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or a public telephone line.

The reservation support device 2 can receive search conditions for searching for facilities from the user terminal 3, executes a search process based on the search conditions, and presents the search results on the user terminal 3. The reservation support device 2 also executes reservation processing for a facility selected by the user from among the facilities included in the search results. In the following, in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the facility to be reserved in the reservation support system 1 is a restaurant that serves food and beverages. The facility may be, for example, a hotel, karaoke shop, bowling alley, table tennis hall, golf course, hot spring facility, service provision facility, or other type of facility.

The user terminal 3 is an information processing device operated by a user who requests a facility search and reservation. The facility terminal 4 is an information processing device that is placed at a facility and manages reservations for the facility. The reservation support system 1 includes one or more user terminals 3 and multiple facility terminals 4 placed at each facility.

In this embodiment, the reservation support device 2 alone corresponds to the reservation support system of the present invention, but the reservation support system of the present invention may include one or more of the components of the reservation support device 2, the user terminal 3, and the facility terminal 4. For example, if the components of the reservation support device 2, the user terminal 3, and the facility terminal 4 work together to share and execute various reservation support processes (see FIG. 13) described below, a system including multiple components that execute the processes can be considered as the reservation support system of the present invention. For example, the reservation support device 2 and the facility terminal 4 may constitute the reservation support system of the present invention.

[Reservation support device 2]
1, the reservation support device 2 is a server including a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an operation display unit 23, and a communication I/F 24. The reservation support device 2 is not limited to a single computer, and may be a computer system in which multiple computers work together. Various processes executed by the reservation support device 2 may be executed in a distributed manner by one or multiple processors.

The communication I/F 24 is a communication interface that connects the reservation assistance device 2 to the communication network N1 by wire or wirelessly, and performs data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol with external devices such as the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 via the communication network N1.

The operation display unit 23 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays various information, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

The storage unit 22 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores various information. Specifically, the storage unit 22 stores data such as facility information D1, reservation status information D2, related facility information D3, and reservation information D4. The facility information D1 includes information about the restaurants that are search targets and reservations targets. The reservation status information D2 includes information about the current reservation status of each restaurant. The related facility information D3 includes information about restaurants (hereinafter also referred to as related restaurants) related to the restaurant for each restaurant. The reservation information D4 includes reservation information for the restaurant that is the reservation target. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the facility information D1, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the reservation status information D2, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the related facility information D3, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the reservation information D4. The storage unit 22 also stores image data showing the interior and exterior of the restaurant, map data showing the location of the restaurant, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, facility information D1 includes information such as the corresponding "facility ID," "facility name," "area," "genre," "address," and "URL" for each restaurant. The facility ID is identification information for the restaurant, and the facility name is the name of the restaurant. The area is, for example, the name of the region where the restaurant is located. The genre is information that can identify the content of the service provided by the restaurant, such as the food genre. The address is the detailed address of the restaurant and is used as information indicating the location of the restaurant. The URL is access information for accessing a web page such as the restaurant's homepage or reservation page. Facility information D1 may also include information on the amount (budget) that is preset as the average amount required to use the restaurant, identification information for an image of the restaurant, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, reservation status information D2 includes information such as the corresponding "facility ID," "facility name," and "reservation status" for each restaurant. The reservation status is information indicating the current reservation status of the restaurant (full, vacant, etc.), and "full" or "vacant" is registered. For example, "vacant" is registered for a restaurant that has at least one table available for reservation, and "full" is registered for a restaurant that has no tables available for reservation. Note that if a restaurant has multiple types of tables, i.e., multiple types of tables according to the number of occupants (tables for two people, tables for four people, etc.), "vacant" or "full" may be registered for each table in the reservation status of the restaurant.

The reservation methods by which a user makes a reservation at a restaurant include instant reservation (also called real-time reservation), which does not require confirmation with the restaurant when making a reservation or the reservation is established as soon as the reservation application is completed, and request reservation, which requires confirmation with the restaurant when making a reservation or the restaurant notifies the user of the answer on whether the reservation is accepted or not after the reservation application is completed. In the request reservation, the reservation is established if the restaurant accepts the reservation, and is not established if the restaurant rejects the reservation. When a user makes a reservation at a restaurant whose reservation status is "vacant," the instant reservation is made and the reservation is established as soon as the application is made. In contrast, when a user makes a reservation at a restaurant whose reservation status is "full," the request reservation is made and the restaurant is notified of an inquiry on whether the reservation is accepted or not (reservation request). For example, if there are vacant seats at the restaurant where the user wishes to make a reservation, the user makes an instant reservation, and if there are no vacant seats at the restaurant where the user wishes to make a reservation (if it is full), the user makes a request reservation.

In addition, each restaurant can set the reservation method in advance. For example, the restaurant can set the reservation method to allow the acceptance of both the immediate reservation and the request reservation, or set the reservation method to allow the acceptance of the immediate reservation request but not the request reservation request. For example, in a restaurant that has set the reservation method to allow the acceptance of the request reservation request, if the reservation status becomes "full" or if the current number of available seats falls below a specified number, the restaurant can accept the request reservation request from a user. In this case, in the restaurant that accepts the request reservation request, for example, an administrator decides whether or not to accept the reservation.

For example, the reservation support device 2 extracts, from among the restaurants that satisfy the search criteria set by the user, restaurants that can be reserved immediately, i.e., restaurants whose reservation status is "vacant," and restaurants that can accept the reservation request for the request reservation, i.e., restaurants whose reservation status is "full" and that are set to allow the acceptance of the reservation request for the request reservation, and presents (outputs) these to the user terminal 3 of the user.

As shown in FIG. 4, the related facility information D3 includes information such as the corresponding "facility ID", "facility name", "related facility ID", and "related facility name" for each restaurant. The related facility ID is identification information of a restaurant (related store) related to the restaurant. The related facility name is the name of the related store. Here, the related store is a restaurant that is related to the restaurant for which the reservation is made in terms of at least one of the following information (related information): the location of the restaurant (address, nearest station, etc.), the type of product (cuisine) offered by the restaurant (genre, etc.), the price range of the product, business hours, the restaurant's customer base or user attributes (family composition, gender, age, etc.), and the purpose of use (for entertaining, for dates, for parties, etc.). For example, if restaurant A1 is located in the "Ginza" area and serves "Italian," restaurant A2, located in the "Ginza" area and serving "Italian," is associated with restaurant A1 and registered as an associated store of restaurant A1. Furthermore, if the customer demographic of restaurant B1 is "family," restaurants B2 and B3, which also have a "family" customer demographic, are registered in association with restaurant B1 as related restaurants of restaurant B1.

The restaurant and the related restaurant may also be managed by the same parent company or affiliated with the same chain. For example, restaurant A1 and restaurant A2 are managed by the same business operator and are so-called sister restaurants, affiliated restaurants, or group restaurants. In this case, restaurant A2 is registered as an affiliated restaurant of restaurant A1 in association with restaurant A1. For example, if business operator B manages restaurant B1 (first restaurant), restaurant B2 (second restaurant), and restaurant B3 (third restaurant), restaurants B1, B2, and B3 are registered in association with each other.

Here, the restaurants registered in facility information D1 (see FIG. 2) are affiliated restaurants of the reservation service provided by reservation assistance system 1. Each restaurant has the right to use the reservation service. The right is, for example, a unique account for logging in to the website of the reservation service, and is assigned, for example, by the business that provides the reservation service. Each restaurant can, for example, set the reservation method described above in the reservation service and manage reservations.

The restaurant and the related restaurant may have the same information on the rights to use the reservation service. For example, restaurant A2, which has the same account as restaurant A1, is registered in association with restaurant A1 as an associated restaurant of restaurant A1. For example, the same account may be set for multiple restaurants under the same management entity or affiliation.

The restaurant and the related store may have the same domain name registered in facility information D1. For example, restaurant A2, which has the same domain name as restaurant A1, is registered in association with restaurant A1 as an associated store of restaurant A1. The restaurant and the related store may have the same restaurant name registered in facility information D1 in part or in whole.

In this way, for each restaurant, related restaurants of the restaurant are associated and registered in the related facility information D3 based on the related information. The related information includes at least one of the following: the location of the restaurant, the type (genre) of the product (cuisine) offered by the restaurant, the price range of the product, business hours, the customer base of the restaurant, the attributes of the users, the management body, the chain, the account, the domain, and the name of the restaurant. The related facility information D3 may be registered in advance by an administrator of the reservation assistance device 2, or the control unit 21 may execute an association process for the restaurants registered in the facility information D1 based on the related information.

Reservation information D4 is stored in the storage unit 22 in association with each restaurant registered in the facility information D1. FIG. 5 shows reservation information D4 for a certain restaurant. As shown in FIG. 5, reservation information D4 includes information such as "reservation person name," "number of users," "visit date," "visit time," "table," and "course." The reservation person name is the name of the user who made the reservation. The number of users is the number of users who plan to visit the restaurant. The visit date is the date the user plans to visit the restaurant, and the visit time is the time the user plans to visit the restaurant. The table is information that identifies the object to be used, such as a table, to be used by the user. The table may be selected by the user when making a reservation request, or may be assigned by the restaurant. The course is information that indicates the content of the service provided to the user, such as a course of food and drink, or only a seat with no restrictions on food and drink. The reservation information D4 is registered or changed by the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 every time a new reservation or a change in reservation is accepted from the facility terminal 4 or the user terminal 3.

In another embodiment, some or all of the facility information D1, reservation status information D2, related facility information D3, and reservation information D4 may be stored in another server accessible from the reservation support device 2 via the communication network N1. In this case, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 may obtain the information from the other server and execute various processes such as the reservation support process (see FIG. 13) described below.

The storage unit 22 also stores layout data and image data for generating various web pages, such as a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 6), a search result page P2 (see FIG. 7), a reservation application result page P4 (see FIG. 9 to FIG. 12), a route guide page (not shown), and a request reservation reception page P3 (see FIG. 8) included in a reservation site (e.g., a restaurant reservation site) displayed on the user terminal 3. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 generates the various web pages and transmits the information of the web pages to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4, thereby enabling the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 to display the various web pages. In another embodiment, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 may transmit data required for displaying the various web pages to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4, thereby enabling the control unit 31 of the user terminal 3 and the control unit 41 of the facility terminal 4 to display the various web pages.

The reservation site may be a collection of web pages belonging to one preset domain, but for example, a collection of web pages belonging to multiple domains stored in the storage unit 22 of the same reservation support device 2 may be regarded as the reservation site. In addition, the various pages included in the reservation site may be stored in a distributed manner on multiple servers.

Furthermore, the storage unit 22 stores control programs such as a reservation assistance program for causing the control unit 21 to execute the reservation assistance process (see FIG. 13) described below. For example, the reservation assistance program is non-temporarily recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD or DVD, and is read by a reading device (not shown) such as a CD drive or DVD drive provided in the reservation assistance device 2 and stored in the storage unit 22.

The control unit 21 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various arithmetic processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 21 controls the reservation support device 2 by executing the various control programs stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 22 with the CPU.

Here, if a user makes a reservation request for a desired restaurant and the reservation is not accepted at that restaurant, the user must reset the search conditions and search again for restaurants that can be reserved. In this way, when a user's reservation request for a specific restaurant is not accepted, a problem occurs in which the convenience of the user making a restaurant reservation decreases. In response to this, the reservation support device 2 according to this embodiment makes it possible to improve the convenience of the user making a restaurant reservation.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 21 includes various processing units such as a reception processing unit 211, a search processing unit 212, a reservation processing unit 213, a determination processing unit 214, a specific processing unit 215, and a presentation processing unit 216. The control unit 21 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes according to the reservation assistance program with the CPU. Some or all of the processing units may be configured with electronic circuits. The reservation assistance program may be a program for causing multiple processors to function as the processing units.

The reception processing unit 211 receives a search request from the user terminal 3, which includes search conditions such as area, date and time of use (visit date and time), and number of people. The area, date and time of use, and number of people information received by the reception processing unit 211 are used in the search process executed by the search processing unit 212 to search for restaurants that can be reserved.

For example, the reception processing unit 211 displays a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 6) on the user terminal 3. The search condition setting page P1 includes an area input field K11 for inputting a desired area, a visit date input field K12 for inputting a desired visit date, a visit time input field K13 for inputting a desired visit time, a number of occupants input field K14 for inputting the number of occupants, and a reservation method setting field K15 for setting a reservation method. If the user sets the reservation method to "restaurants that accept immediate reservations," the search processing unit 212 searches only for restaurants that accept immediate reservations (restaurants that have "vacant seats"). On the other hand, if the user sets the reservation method to "no specification," the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants that accept immediate reservations and restaurants that accept request reservations.

When the user inputs the above information on the search condition setting page P1 and presses the "Confirm" button K16, the reception processing unit 211 receives a search request from the user terminal 3.

The search processing unit 212 executes a search process to search for restaurants when the search request is accepted by the acceptance processing unit 211. Specifically, in the search process, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants that can accept reservation requests. For example, when the reservation method is set to "restaurants that accept immediate reservations," the search processing unit 212 uses the reservation processing unit 213 to search for restaurants that can accept immediate reservations using the search criteria. On the other hand, when the reservation method is set to "no specification," the search processing unit 212 uses the reservation processing unit 213 to search for restaurants that can accept immediate reservations using the search criteria, and for restaurants that have been set to allow the acceptance of reservation requests for request reservations. In the following, it is assumed that the reservation method is set to "no specification" on the search criteria setting page P1.

The search processing unit 212 also outputs the search results of the search process. Specifically, the search processing unit 212 transmits the search results to the user terminal 3, thereby causing a search result page P2 (see FIG. 7) to be displayed on the user terminal 3. This allows the user to select a restaurant for which they wish to make a reservation from the restaurants displayed as the search results on the user terminal 3.

The search result page P2 displays a list of information about each restaurant (restaurant information R1) that satisfies the search criteria. Each restaurant information R1 displays an overview of the restaurant, an image, a details button K22 for displaying the restaurant's details page, a request reservation button K23 for making a reservation request, and an immediate reservation button K24 for making an immediate reservation. If the user finds a restaurant that the user wishes to reserve on the search result page P2, the user makes a reservation request by pressing the request reservation button K23 or immediate reservation button K24 of the corresponding restaurant information R1. On the other hand, if the user does not find a restaurant that the user wishes to reserve on the search result page P2, the user presses the change conditions button K21. When the change conditions button K21 is pressed, the reception processing unit 211 redisplays the search criteria setting page P1 (see FIG. 6) and accepts the user's operation to change the search criteria.

The reservation processing unit 213 accepts a reservation request from a user for the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation, and executes the reservation process if the restaurant can be reserved. In the reservation process, the reservation processing unit 213 registers the reservation details in reservation information D4 (see FIG. 5) that corresponds to the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation. The reservation processing unit 213 can also cancel the reservation registered in the reservation information D4 in response to an operation of the user terminal 3, or automatically cancel it. When the reservation processing is completed, the reservation processing unit 213 sends, for example, a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4. The reservation processing unit 213 is an example of a reservation processing unit of the present invention.

Here, when the user presses the immediate reservation button K24 for restaurant C1 on search result page P2 (see FIG. 7), the reservation processing unit 213 accepts the reservation request and completes the reservation for restaurant C1. In other words, the reservation processing unit 213 registers the reservation details in the reservation information D4 corresponding to restaurant C1.

In response to this, when the user presses the request reservation button K23 for the restaurant B1 on the search result page P2 (see FIG. 7), the reservation processing unit 213 accepts the reservation request and notifies the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1 of an inquiry (reservation request) regarding whether or not the request reservation can be accepted. Specifically, the reservation processing unit 213 displays the request reservation acceptance page P3 (see FIG. 8) on the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1. The request reservation acceptance page P3 includes the contents of the request reservation (visit date, visit time, number of people, etc.) and information on the user who made the request reservation. The manager of the restaurant B1 decides whether or not to accept the request reservation on the request reservation acceptance page P3. For example, the manager considers the reservation status of the restaurant B1, the availability of seats, the visit status of customers who visit the restaurant without making a reservation, and the like to determine whether or not to accept the request reservation. The manager presses the "accept" button K31 if the request reservation is accepted, and presses the "reject" button K32 if the request reservation is not accepted. If the manager presses the permission button K31, the reservation processing unit 213 obtains a response from the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1 indicating that the requested reservation is permitted. On the other hand, if the manager presses the rejection button K32, the reservation processing unit 213 obtains a response from the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1 indicating that the requested reservation is rejected.

The determination processing unit 214 determines whether the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation can be reserved. Specifically, when a reservation request is made for the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation, the determination processing unit 214 determines whether the restaurant can be reserved based on reservation approval information (answer) obtained from the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant. For example, when the determination processing unit 214 obtains a response from the facility terminal 4 of restaurant B1 that the request reservation is approved, it determines that restaurant B1 can be reserved. On the other hand, when the determination processing unit 214 obtains a response from the facility terminal 4 of restaurant B1 that the request reservation is rejected, it determines that restaurant B1 cannot be reserved. The determination processing unit 214 is an example of a determination processing unit of the present invention.

If the determination processing unit 214 determines that the reservation request for restaurant B1 is possible, the reservation processing unit 213 completes the reservation for restaurant B1 and registers the reservation details in the reservation information D4 corresponding to restaurant B1. On the other hand, if the determination processing unit 214 determines that the reservation request for restaurant B1 is not possible, the identification processing unit 215 executes the following process.

The identification processing unit 215 identifies one or more restaurants (an example of the second facility of the present invention) associated with the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation for the request reservation. Specifically, the identification processing unit 215 identifies restaurants (associated stores) associated with the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation from the associated facility information D3 (see FIG. 4). For example, the identification processing unit 215 identifies restaurants B2 and B3 associated with restaurant B1 that is the subject of the reservation from the associated facility information D3. The restaurant that is the subject of the reservation is an example of the first facility of the present invention, and the associated stores are an example of the second facility of the present invention. For example, restaurant B1 is an example of the first facility of the present invention, and restaurants B2 and B3 are examples of the second facility of the present invention.

The identification processing unit 215 may also identify, from among one or more associated restaurants associated with the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation, an associated restaurant that can be reserved and that satisfies certain conditions. For example, the identification processing unit 215 may identify an associated restaurant that can be reserved and that satisfies the conditions of the date and time of use and the number of people included in the reservation request. The identification processing unit 215 may also identify at least one of an associated restaurant that is closest to the location (address) of the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation and an associated restaurant that has the same attributes as the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation. The identification processing unit 215 may also identify an associated restaurant that serves the same genre of food as the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation. The identification processing unit 215 is an example of the identification processing unit of the present invention.

When the determination processing unit 214 determines that the restaurant for which a reservation is made cannot be reserved, the presentation processing unit 216 presents the user with a determination result (reservation application result) that includes information indicating that the restaurant cannot be reserved and information on related stores associated with the restaurant. Specifically, the presentation processing unit 216 obtains information on related stores associated with the restaurant for which a reservation is made from related facility information D3 (see FIG. 4) and presents the information on the user terminal 3. The presentation processing unit 216 also obtains detailed information on the related stores from facility information D1 (see FIG. 2) and presents the information on the user terminal 3. The presentation processing unit 216 is an example of the presentation processing unit of the present invention.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the presentation processing unit 216 causes the user terminal 3 to display a reservation application result page P4 (an example of the determination result of the present invention) that includes a message M1 indicating that a reservation for restaurant B1 is not possible, and facility information D1 for related restaurants B2 and B3.

The presentation processing unit 216 also presents information on one or more of the associated stores identified by the identification processing unit 215 to the user terminal 3. For example, when the identification processing unit 215 identifies, from among one or more associated stores associated with the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation, a related store that can be reserved and that satisfies certain conditions, the presentation processing unit 216 presents information on the related store identified by the identification processing unit 215 to the user terminal 3. As a result, restaurants that currently have vacant seats and can be reserved immediately (restaurants B2 and B3 in the example of FIG. 9) are displayed on the reservation application result page P4.

In another embodiment, the presentation processing unit 216 may display information indicating the relationship (association) with the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation on the reservation application result page P4. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, if the restaurant B1 that is the subject of the reservation and related restaurants B2 and B3 are related to each other on the reservation application result page P4, the presentation processing unit 216 displays a message M2 indicating that the restaurants are related. This allows the user to understand the relationship between restaurant B1 and restaurants B2 and B3.

In another embodiment, the presentation processing unit 216 may display a URL corresponding to the related restaurant on the reservation application result page P4. The URL is access information for accessing a web page such as the restaurant's reservation page or homepage. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the presentation processing unit 216 displays access information M3 indicating the URLs of the related restaurants B2 and B3 on the reservation application result page P4. The user can display the reservation page by clicking the URL of the restaurant for which they wish to make a reservation.

The user can make a reservation request for the related restaurant on the reservation application result page P4. The reservation processing unit 213 accepts the reservation request for the related restaurant from the user on the reservation application result page P4. When the reservation processing unit 213 accepts a reservation request for the related restaurant from the user terminal 3, it executes the reservation process if the related restaurant can be reserved. In the reservation process, the reservation processing unit 213 registers the reservation details in the reservation information D4 (see FIG. 5) corresponding to the related restaurant to be reserved. For example, on the reservation application result page P4 shown in FIG. 9, if the user presses the immediate reservation button K42 for restaurant B2, the reservation processing unit 213 accepts the reservation request for restaurant B2 and makes a reservation for restaurant B2. The reservation processing unit 213 registers the reservation details in the reservation information D4 corresponding to restaurant B2.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, a user can click on the URL of a desired related store and make a reservation request for that related store on the reservation page displayed on the user terminal 3.

Here, the reservation application result page P4 may display restaurants (related restaurants) that cannot accept immediate reservations but can accept request reservations. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the reservation application result page P4 may display restaurant A2 that can accept a reservation request as a related restaurant of restaurant A1 for which a request reservation is not possible. In this case, when the user presses the request reservation button K45 for restaurant A2, the reservation processing unit 213 notifies the facility terminal 4 of restaurant A2 of an inquiry about whether the reservation can be accepted (reservation request). Specifically, the reservation processing unit 213 causes the facility terminal 4 of restaurant A2 to display the request reservation acceptance page P3 (see FIG. 8). When the reservation processing unit 213 receives a response from the facility terminal 4 of restaurant A2 that the request reservation is accepted, it completes the reservation for restaurant A2 and registers the reservation details in the reservation information D4 corresponding to restaurant A2.

If the restaurant that the user wishes to reserve is not among the related restaurants displayed on the reservation application result page P4 (see Figures 9 to 12), the user presses the change conditions button K43. When the change conditions button K43 is pressed, the reception processing unit 211 displays the search condition setting page P1 (see Figure 6) and receives an operation to change the search conditions from the user.

[User terminal 3]
1, the user terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an operation display unit 33, and a communication I/F 34. The user terminal 3 is an information processing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer.

The communication I/F 34 is a communication interface that connects the user terminal 3 to the communication network N1 by wire or wirelessly and performs data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol with external devices such as the reservation support device 2 and the facility terminal 4 via the communication network N1.

The operation display unit 33 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays information such as various web pages, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

The storage unit 32 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various information. For example, a control program such as a browser program is stored in the storage unit 32. Specifically, the browser program is a control program that causes the control unit 31 to execute communication processing with an external device such as the reservation support device 2 according to a communication protocol such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The browser program may also be a dedicated application for executing communication processing with the reservation support device 2 according to a predetermined communication protocol. The storage unit 32 may also store other information such as map data.

The control unit 31 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic operations. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for the various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 31 controls the user terminal 3 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 32.

Specifically, the control unit 31 functions as a browser processing unit 311 by executing various processes according to the browser program stored in the memory unit 32. The browser processing unit 311 is capable of executing browser processing to display a web page provided from the reservation support device 2 via the communication network N1 on the operation display unit 33 and input operations on the operation display unit 33 to the reservation support device 2. In other words, the user terminal 3 can function as an operation terminal for the reservation support device 2 by the control unit 31 executing the browser program. Note that some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 31 may be configured with electronic circuits.

Specifically, in the user terminal 3, when a user operation is performed to request access to a specific URL corresponding to the reservation site of the reservation service provided by the reservation support system 1, the control unit 31 acquires the web page data of the reservation site from the reservation support device 2 and displays the web page of the reservation site on the operation display unit 33. For example, the access request to the specific URL is performed by a selection operation from a list of preregistered websites, a selection operation from a search result on an information search site, or a text input operation. In addition, if a dedicated application corresponding to the reservation support device 2 is installed in the user terminal 3, the user of the user terminal 3 performs an operation to start the dedicated application, and the web page of the reservation site is displayed on the operation display unit 33. Then, by operating the user terminal 3, the user can set the desired search conditions on the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 6) of the reservation site and request a search for restaurants, and can view the search result page P2 (see FIG. 7). Furthermore, the user can select a desired restaurant from the restaurants presented as search results and apply for a reservation (immediate reservation, request reservation) (reservation request). In addition, the user can operate the user terminal 3 to make a reservation (reservation request) for a desired restaurant (associated restaurant) (immediate reservation, request reservation) on the reservation application result page P4 (see Figures 9 to 12).

[Facility terminal 4]
1 , the facility terminal 4 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, an operation display unit 43, and a communication I/F 44. The facility terminal 4 is, for example, an information processing device such as a tablet terminal or a personal computer. The facility terminal 4 may further include the same functions as the reservation support device 2, or may be an information processing device integrated with the reservation support device 2.

The communication I/F 44 is a communication interface that connects the facility terminal 4 to the communication network N1 by wire or wirelessly and performs data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol with external devices such as the reservation support device 2 and the user terminal 3 via the communication network N1.

The operation display unit 43 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays information such as various web pages, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

The storage unit 42 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various types of information. For example, a control program such as a browser program is stored in the storage unit 42. Specifically, the browser program is a control program that causes the control unit 41 to execute communication processing with an external device such as the reservation support device 2 according to a communication protocol such as HTTP. The browser program may also be a dedicated application for executing communication processing with the reservation support device 2 according to a predetermined communication protocol.

The memory unit 42 also stores reservation management information (not shown) that manages reservations for restaurants. The reservation management information includes information such as the name of the person making the reservation, the number of people using the restaurant, the date and time of visit, the table, and the course.

The control unit 41 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic operations. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for the various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 41 controls the facility terminal 4 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 42.

Specifically, the control unit 41 functions as a browser processing unit 411 by executing various processes according to the browser program stored in the memory unit 42. The browser processing unit 411 is capable of executing browser processing to display a web page provided from the reservation support device 2 via the communication network N1 on the operation display unit 43 and input operations on the operation display unit 43 to the reservation support device 2. In other words, the facility terminal 4 can function as an operation terminal for the reservation support device 2 by the control unit 41 executing the browser program. Note that some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 41 may be configured with electronic circuits.

For example, in the facility terminal 4, when a user performs an operation to request access to a specific URL corresponding to the reservation site provided by the reservation support system 1, the control unit 41 acquires the web page data of the reservation site from the reservation support device 2 and displays the web page of the reservation site on the operation display unit 43. For example, when a user makes a reservation request for a desired restaurant (related restaurant) on the reservation application result page P4 (see Figures 9 to 12) displayed on the user terminal 3, the reservation processing unit 213 of the reservation support device 2 notifies the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant of an inquiry about whether the reservation can be accepted (reservation request). Specifically, the reservation processing unit 213 outputs data of the request reservation reception page P3 to the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant. As a result, the control unit 41 displays the request reservation reception page P3 (see Figure 8) on the operation display unit 43 (see Figure 8).

When the restaurant manager presses the "Allow" button K31 on the request reservation reception page P3, the control unit 41 outputs a response to the reservation support device 2 that the request reservation is permitted. On the other hand, when the restaurant manager presses the "Do not allow" button K32 on the request reservation reception page P3, the control unit 41 outputs a response to the reservation support device 2 that the request reservation is rejected.

In addition, when the reservation process corresponding to the immediate reservation or the request reservation is completed in the reservation support device 2, the control unit 41 obtains a reservation completion email from the reservation support device 2. When the control unit 41 obtains the reservation completion email, it registers the reservation details in the reservation management information.

[Reservation Support Processing]
The reservation support process executed in the reservation support system 1 will be described below with reference to Fig. 13. Specifically, in this embodiment, the reservation support process is executed by the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2. The control unit 21 can also execute the reservation support process in parallel for each user terminal 3 in response to access from each user terminal 3. The control unit 21 may end the reservation support process midway through due to a predetermined operation of the user terminal 3.

The present invention can be understood as an invention of a reservation support method that executes one or more steps included in the reservation support process. One or more steps included in the reservation support process described here may be omitted as appropriate. The steps in the reservation support process may be executed in a different order as long as the same action and effect is achieved. Furthermore, although an example is described here in which each step in the reservation support process is executed by the control unit 21, another embodiment of the reservation support method can be one in which each step in the reservation support process is executed in a distributed manner by one or more processors.

First, in step S11, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a restaurant search request has been received from the user terminal 3. Specifically, the control unit 21 determines whether or not search conditions including area, visit date, visit time, number of people, and reservation method input by the user on a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 6) of a reservation site (e.g., a restaurant reservation site) displayed on the user terminal 3 have been received. The search conditions may also include information such as cuisine genre and budget. When the control unit 21 receives the search request from the user terminal 3 (S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12. The control unit 21 waits until it receives the search request from the user terminal 3 (S11: No).

Next, in step S12, the control unit 21 acquires the search conditions. Specifically, the control unit 21 acquires the area, visit date, visit time, number of users, and reservation method.

Next, in step S13, the control unit 21 searches for restaurants that satisfy the search criteria from among multiple restaurants included in the facility information D1 (see FIG. 2). In the example shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 21 searches for restaurants in the Ginza area that can accept immediate reservations for four people from 19:00 on April 1, 2020, and restaurants in the Ginza area that can accept reservation requests for a request reservation for four people from 19:00 on April 1, 2020. Note that if the reservation method in the search criteria is set to "restaurants that accept immediate reservations," the control unit 21 searches only for restaurants that can accept immediate reservations.

Next, in step S14, the control unit 21 determines whether there is a restaurant that can accept a reservation request that includes the search criteria. If there is a restaurant in facility information D1 that can accept the reservation request (S14: Yes), the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if there is no restaurant in facility information D1 that can accept the reservation request (S14: No), the process proceeds to step S141. For example, a restaurant that currently has vacant seats is determined to be a restaurant that can accept the reservation request. Also, even if a restaurant is currently full, a restaurant that has a setting in its reservation method settings that allows the acceptance of reservation requests for request reservations is determined to be a restaurant that can accept the reservation request.

In step S15, the control unit 21 presents the user with information about restaurants that can accept the reservation request. For example, if the user selects "Do not specify" in the reservation method (see FIG. 6), the control unit 21 extracts restaurants that can accept an immediate reservation request and restaurants that can accept a request reservation request from among the multiple restaurants included in the facility information D1 (see FIG. 2), and displays a search result page P2 (see FIG. 7) containing information about the extracted restaurants on the user terminal 3. Here, the control unit 21 may display restaurants that can accept immediate reservations at the top (as a priority), or may display the restaurants in an order according to the user's past usage history. If the extracted restaurant is registered in the related facility information D3, the control unit 21 may display multiple associated restaurants side by side.

In step S16, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a reservation request for immediate reservation has been accepted from the user on the search result page P2. If the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for immediate reservation has been accepted from the user (S16: Yes), the process proceeds to step S20. For example, if the user presses the Instant Reservation button K24 included in the restaurant information R1 for restaurant C1 on the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for immediate reservation for restaurant C1 has been accepted. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 does not determine that a reservation request for immediate reservation has been accepted from the user (S16: No), the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a reservation request for a request reservation for the restaurant that is the reservation target has been accepted from the user on the search result page P2. If the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for a request reservation has been accepted from the user (S17: Yes), the process proceeds to step S18. For example, if the user presses the request reservation button K23 included in the restaurant information R1 for restaurant B1 on the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for a request reservation for restaurant B1 has been accepted. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 does not determine that a reservation request for a request reservation has been accepted from the user (S17: No), the process proceeds to step S171. Step S17 is an example of a reservation step of the present invention.

In step S18, the control unit 21 notifies the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant selected by the user, i.e., the restaurant that is the reservation target of the request reservation, of an inquiry about whether the request reservation should be accepted (reservation request). Specifically, the control unit 21 causes the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1 to display a request reservation acceptance page P3 (see FIG. 8). The manager of the restaurant B1 decides whether to accept the request reservation on the request reservation acceptance page P3 displayed on the facility terminal 4. The manager presses an accept button K31 if the request reservation should be accepted, or presses a reject button K32 if the request reservation should not be accepted.

Next, in step S19, the control unit 21 obtains a response to the reservation acceptance inquiry (reservation request) from the facility terminal 4, and determines whether or not a reservation acceptance response has been obtained. For example, if the manager of the restaurant B1 presses the Accept button K31 on the request reservation reception page P3 displayed on the facility terminal 4, the control unit 21 obtains a response from the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1 that the request reservation is accepted. On the other hand, if the manager presses the Reject button K32 on the request reservation reception page P3, the control unit 21 obtains a response from the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant B1 that the request reservation is rejected. If the control unit 21 obtains the reservation acceptance response from the facility terminal 4 (S19: Yes), the process proceeds to step S20. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 obtains the reservation rejection response from the facility terminal 4 (S19: No), the process proceeds to step S191. Step S19 is an example of a determination step of the present invention.

In step S191, the control unit 21 presents the user with a judgment result (reservation application result) including information indicating that the restaurant for which the request reservation is made cannot be reserved and information on related restaurants associated with the restaurant. Specifically, the control unit 21 obtains information on related restaurants associated with the restaurant for which the reservation is made from related facility information D3 (see FIG. 4) and facility information D1 (see FIG. 2) and presents the information on the user terminal 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 21 causes the user terminal 3 to display a reservation application result page P4 including a message M1 indicating that the restaurant B1 for which the request reservation is made cannot be reserved and facility information D1 on restaurants B2 and B3 that are related to restaurant B1. The control unit 21 may also cause the user terminal 3 to display the reservation application result page P4 shown in FIGS. 10 to 12. After that, the process returns to step S16. Step S191 is an example of a presentation step of the present invention.

Here, in step S191, the control unit 21 presents restaurants related to the restaurant that is the reservation target of the requested reservation to the user as the related restaurants. For example, the control unit 21 presents to the user restaurant B2, which is closest to the location (address) of restaurant B1 among restaurants that share the same cuisine genre as restaurant B1. Note that, if there are multiple restaurants that share the same cuisine genre as restaurant B1, the control unit 21 may present to the user multiple related restaurants in order of proximity to restaurant B1.

For example, the control unit 21 may present to the user restaurant B2 that has the same or similar customer base, price range, etc. as restaurant B1. For example, if restaurant B1 is a family-oriented restaurant, the control unit 21 presents family-oriented restaurant B2 to the user. For example, if the price range of dishes at restaurant B1 is 1,000 to 2,000 yen, the control unit 21 presents to the user restaurant B2 in the price range of 1,000 to 2,000 yen.

For example, the control unit 21 may present to the user restaurant B2, which has the same parent company or affiliation as restaurant B1. For example, the control unit 21 may determine that restaurants that have the same account for logging in to the reservation service website are of the same parent company or affiliation. In this case, the control unit 21 presents to the user restaurant B2, which has the same account as restaurant B1, to the user. The control unit 21 may also present to the user restaurant B2, which has the same domain name as restaurant B1.

In each of the above examples, the control unit 21 may present to the user only restaurants that can be reserved immediately (restaurants with "available seats") among restaurants (associated restaurants) related to the restaurant that is the target of the reservation in the request reservation. In other words, the control unit 21 may exclude associated restaurants that cannot be reserved immediately at this time. The control unit 21 may also identify associated restaurants by referring to the associated facility information D3, or may identify associated restaurants based on information included in the facility information D1. For example, if information such as the parent company, affiliation, and account is included in the facility information D1, the control unit 21 may also identify associated restaurants by referring to the facility information D1. In this case, the associated facility information D3 may be omitted.

After step S191, the process returns to step S16, where the control unit 21 determines whether a reservation request for an immediate reservation has been received from the user on the reservation application result page P4 (see FIG. 9 to FIG. 12). If the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for an immediate reservation has been received from the user (S16: Yes), the process proceeds to step S20. For example, if the user presses the immediate reservation button K42 for restaurant B2 on the reservation application result page P4 shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for an immediate reservation for restaurant B2 has been received. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 does not determine that a reservation request for an immediate reservation has been received from the user (S16: No), the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, for example, if the user presses the request reservation button K45 for restaurant A2 on the reservation application result page P4 shown in FIG. 12, the control unit 21 determines that a reservation request for a request reservation for restaurant A2 has been received (S17: Yes), and the process proceeds to step S18.

In step S20, the control unit 21 executes the reservation process. For example, if the user presses the Instant Reservation button K24 included in the restaurant information R1 of restaurant C1 on the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 7 (S16: Yes), the control unit 21 completes the reservation process for restaurant C1 and sends a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 of restaurant C1. For example, if the user presses the Request Reservation button K23 included in the restaurant information R1 of restaurant A1 on the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 7 and restaurant A1 accepts the request reservation (S19: Yes), the control unit 21 completes the reservation process for restaurant A1 and sends a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 of restaurant A1.

For example, when the user presses the "make an immediate reservation" button K42 for restaurant B2 (related restaurant) on the reservation application result page P4 shown in FIG. 9 (after processing of S191, S19: Yes), the control unit 21 completes the reservation process for restaurant B2 and sends a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 of restaurant B2. When the reservation process of step S20 is completed, the control unit 21 ends the reservation support process.

In step S14, if the search process results in no restaurant available for reservation (S14: No), in step S141, the control unit 21 presents the user with a search result indicating that no restaurant available for reservation exists and requests the user to change the search conditions. Then, the process proceeds to step S171.

In step S171, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a change to the search conditions has been accepted. If the control unit 21 determines that a change to the search conditions has been accepted (S171: Yes), the process returns to step S12. When returning to step S12, the control unit 21 executes the search process again based on the changed search conditions. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 determines that a change to the search conditions has not been accepted (S171: No), the control unit 21 ends the reservation support process. For example, if the user presses the cancel button K25 on the search result page P2 (see FIG. 7), the control unit 21 ends the reservation support process. In this manner, the control unit 21 executes the reservation support process.

As described above, the reservation support device 2 according to the present embodiment is configured to accept a reservation request from a user for a restaurant that is the subject of a reservation, and if the restaurant is not available for reservation, to present to the user a determination result including information indicating that the restaurant is not available for reservation and facility information of related restaurants associated with the restaurant. With this configuration, for example, if a user makes a reservation request for a desired restaurant B1 and the reservation is not accepted at restaurant B1, restaurant B2 related to restaurant B1 is presented in the determination result for the reservation request. In this way, if the user is unable to reserve the desired restaurant, other restaurants that reflect the user's wishes can be presented. This allows the user to make a reservation request for restaurant B2 based on the determination result. Therefore, if the user is unable to reserve the restaurant that is the subject of the request reservation, there is no need to reset the search conditions and search again for restaurants that are available for reservation. This makes it possible to improve the convenience of users who make restaurant reservations.

In addition, since users do not need to repeatedly perform operations such as searches and reservation requests, communication traffic related to search and reservation processes can be reduced and computer resources can be used more effectively.

The reservation support system of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. In another embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 receives a response from the facility terminal 4 of the restaurant that is the reservation target of the request reservation to the effect that the request reservation is rejected, the control unit 21 may execute a reservation process for a restaurant (associated restaurant) related to the restaurant that is the reservation target. Specifically, when the determination processing unit 214 determines that the restaurant that is the reservation target of the request reservation cannot be reserved, the reservation processing unit 213 may complete the reservation of the associated restaurant. For example, when the restaurant B1 that is the reservation target of the request reservation rejects the request reservation, the control unit 21 completes the reservation process for the restaurant B2 that is associated with the restaurant B1. In this case, the control unit 21 presents the user with a determination result (reservation completion notification) that includes information indicating that the restaurant B1 cannot be reserved, information regarding the associated restaurant B2, and information indicating that the reservation for the restaurant B2 has been completed.

In addition, when a reservation for the restaurant that is the target of the request reservation is impossible, if one restaurant (associated restaurant) related to the restaurant can be identified, the control unit 21 executes the reservation process for the associated restaurant. That is, the control unit 21 narrows down the associated restaurant to one restaurant and executes the reservation process. For example, when there is a restaurant B2 that is strongly related to restaurant B1, the control unit 21 executes the reservation process for restaurant B2. Specifically, for restaurants related to restaurant B1, the control unit 21 calculates the degree of association (similarity) between the restaurants that correspond to each of the above-mentioned related information, and executes the reservation process for the restaurant whose calculated degree of association exceeds a threshold. In this way, when the request reservation is not established, the control unit 21 may complete the reservation for the associated restaurant without obtaining the user's consent. This eliminates the need for the user to check the associated restaurant and perform the reservation operation, thereby reducing the operational burden on the user associated with the search process and reservation process.

In addition, the control unit 21 may make a provisional reservation for the related restaurant with a time limit when the restaurant that is the subject of the request reservation cannot be reserved. Specifically, when the determination processing unit 214 determines that the restaurant that is the subject of the request reservation cannot be reserved, the reservation processing unit 213 may complete the provisional reservation for the related restaurant. The provisional reservation is a reservation method in which the reservation is valid only for a specified period of time, and the reservation becomes invalid when the specified period has elapsed. In this case, the control unit 21 presents the user with a determination result (provisional reservation completion notice) that includes information indicating that the restaurant B1 cannot be reserved, information about the related restaurant B2, information indicating that the provisional reservation for the restaurant B2 has been completed, and information prompting the user to accept the provisional reservation (make a final reservation) within a specified period of time. If the user accepts the reservation within the period of time, the control unit 21 completes the reservation (final reservation) for the restaurant B2, and if the user does not accept the reservation within the period of time, the control unit 21 cancels the provisional reservation.

In addition, since a user may not wish to make a reservation or tentative reservation at a related restaurant (restaurant B2 in the above example), the control unit 21 may be able to accept, in the reservation completion notification, an operation to cancel the reservation or tentative reservation at restaurant B2 and an operation to make a reservation request at another restaurant.

In the above embodiment, when a restaurant rejects a reservation request received from a user, information on restaurants (associated restaurants) related to the restaurant is presented. In another embodiment, the control unit 21 of the reservation support device 2 may be configured to present information on restaurants (associated restaurants) related to the restaurant when the restaurant for which a reservation is made is full. With this configuration, the control unit 21 can present to the user the associated restaurants of a restaurant for which a request reservation has not been set when the restaurant is full. In this way, in the present invention, the condition for presenting the associated restaurants is not limited to "the restaurant for which a reservation is made has rejected the request reservation" but may also be "the restaurant for which a reservation is made is full." In other words, in the present invention, the condition for presenting the associated restaurants is "the restaurant for which a reservation is made cannot be reserved."

The reservation support system according to the present invention may be configured as a system including a reservation processing unit that receives a reservation request for a first facility from a user, a determination processing unit that determines whether the first facility is reservable, and a presentation processing unit that, when the determination processing unit determines that the first facility is not reservable, presents to the user a determination result including information indicating that the first facility is not reservable and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility. The reservation support method according to the present invention may be a method that includes, by one or more processors, a reservation step of receiving a reservation request for the first facility from a user, a determination step of determining whether the first facility is reservable, and, when the determination step determines that the first facility is not reservable, a presentation step of presenting to the user a determination result including information indicating that the first facility is not reservable and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility.

1: Reservation support system 2: Reservation support device 3: User terminal 4: Facility terminal 211: Reception processing unit 212: Search processing unit 213: Reservation processing unit 214: Determination processing unit 215: Identification processing unit 216: Presentation processing unit

Claims (5)

a search processing unit that searches for facilities that make instant reservations in response to a user's search request, whereby a reservation is made without confirmation with the facility at the time of reservation, and facilities that make requested reservations in response to a reservation request, whereby a reservation is made if the facility grants permission at the time of reservation;
a reservation processing unit which, when receiving a reservation request for a facility for making the instant reservation from the user , completes a reservation for the facility, and, when receiving a reservation request for a first facility for making the request reservation from the user, completes a reservation for the first facility if the first facility grants permission to the reservation request;
a presentation processing unit that presents to the user, when the first facility rejects the reservation request for the first facility, a determination result including information indicating that the first facility is unavailable for reservation and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility;
A reservation support system comprising: the reservation processing unit outputs the reservation request to a facility terminal of the first facility;
determining whether or not the first facility is available for reservation based on reservation permission/refusal information for the reservation request acquired from the facility terminal;
2. A reservation support system according to claim 1. The presentation processing unit presents, to the user, facility information of the second facility that can be reserved, among the one or more second facilities associated with the first facility.
3. A reservation support system according to claim 1 or 2 . In response to a search request from a user, searching for facilities that make an instant reservation, which allows a reservation to be made without checking with the facility at the time of reservation, and facilities that make a request reservation, which allows a reservation to be made if the facility grants permission to the reservation request at the time of reservation;
when a reservation request for a facility for making the instant reservation is received from the user , a reservation for the facility is made, and when a reservation request for a first facility for making the request reservation is received from the user, a reservation for the first facility is made if the first facility grants permission to the reservation request;
presenting to the user, when the first facility rejects the reservation request for the first facility, a determination result including information indicating that the first facility is unavailable for reservation and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility;
A reservation support method executed by one or more processors. In response to a search request from a user, searching for facilities that make an instant reservation, which allows a reservation to be made without checking with the facility at the time of reservation, and facilities that make a request reservation, which allows a reservation to be made if the facility grants permission to the reservation request at the time of reservation;
when a reservation request for a facility for making the instant reservation is received from the user , a reservation for the facility is made, and when a reservation request for a first facility for making the request reservation is received from the user, a reservation for the first facility is made if the first facility grants permission to the reservation request;
presenting to the user, when the first facility rejects the reservation request for the first facility, a determination result including information indicating that the first facility is unavailable for reservation and facility information of a second facility associated with the first facility;
A reservation support program for executing the above on one or more processors.

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