WO2001010185A2

WO2001010185A2 - System and method for meeting and conference planning

Info

Publication number: WO2001010185A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/021440
Authority: WO
Inventors: Theodore W Frank
Original assignee: Plansoft Corp; Theodore W Frank
Priority date: 1999-08-05
Filing date: 2000-08-04
Publication date: 2001-02-15
Also published as: AU6523700A

Abstract

The present invention provides a computerized planning guide wherein information is organized into several primary categories such as "Destinations", "Facilities", "Suppliers", and "Contracts and Negotiations". The present invention further divides the primary categories into subtopics so that a user can easily access information. Alternatively, the present invention divides the information into categories that reflect the various phases in the meeting planning process. The planning guide of the present invention also provides searchable databases that allow a user to search for suppliers and/or facilities for the meeting and methods for searching the databases. In addition, a user can prepare requests for proposals with the planning guide and submit these to facilities electronically. Finally, the present invention provides a method of planning a meeting using the planning guide.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MEETING AND CONFERENCE PLANNING

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to a system and method for planning and scheduling meetings, conferences and the like. More particularly, the present invention is a computerized online planning guide which organizes information for meeting planners, offers access to resources related to meeting planning and allows a user to search for information relating to specific needs for a particular meeting. Further, the present invention allows a user to request proposals from facilities online using the planning guide. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conferences, conventions, and trade shows are a crucial part of today's business world. These types of meetings require careful planning, as the planners must consider a vast number of details in order to effectively plan a meeting. Most meeting planners are presented with a theme of the meeting, an approximate number of people who will be attending and possibly a date and time for the meeting. From there, the planner must pinpoint all of the specific needs for the meeting and plan such that all of those needs are fulfilled.

In conventional methods of planning meetings, the planner usually must first find a facility where the meeting can be held. Next, the planner is faced with finding adequate accommodations and transportation for attendees near the facility. In addition, the planner needs to ensure that all equipment necessary for effective presentation and exhibits can be provided and set up at the facility. The planner must also arrange for food and beverage service at the meeting. Further, the planner has to consider the availability of activities for attendees when the meeting is not in session. Along with these and a number of other considerations for the meeting, the planner usually must plan the meeting under budget constraints.

Since each facet of the meeting planning process requires different types of information, meeting professionals need to have access to a variety of resources. Certain information is vital to the substantive functioning of the meeting, such as the capabilities of the facilities and whether suppliers can provide the necessary equipment for presentations. Other factors are important primarily for the convenience of the attendees, for example, the availability of affordable accommodations, the proximity of the accommodations to the meeting facility, transportation to the place of the meeting, and the available activities for when the meeting is not in session. Although the meeting can take place if some of these latter conditions are not optimal, the meeting will be much more effective if the attendees are made as comfortable and happy as possible.

Conventional methods of planning meetings involve choosing a facility and then searching for the needed resources and other considerations in the area near the chosen facility. This process requires a variety of resources and is often difficult because all of the necessary information is not available in one central location.

Meeting planners are often very cost conscious during the planning process. Therefore, before settling on a facility, a planner usually submits requests for proposals (RFP) to several facilities. An RFP allows a facility to determine if it can meet the needs of the particular meeting and estimate the cost. After considering the RFP the facility sends a proposal to the meeting planner and negotiations will begin between the planner and the facility. Typically, facilities receive hundreds of RFPs each year. The RFPs come in a variety of formats and can become confusing for facility personnel. The facility often transfers the RFP to its own format before putting together a proposal for a meeting planner. This entire process is time consuming and the planner is left waiting for proposals, wasting valuable planning time.

Once the meeting planner receives proposals from facilities, he usually must choose a facility rather quickly to begin planning other aspects of the meeting. However, other considerations left for after the facility has been selected now become problematic. Airports or train stations may be a significant distance from the facility. In that case the planner must investigate public transportation venues and availability of rental cars in the area. Further, if the meeting facility does not have accommodations for the meeting attendees, the planner must find facilities with enough guestrooms for those attending the meeting. Further, the planner must consider whether there are activities available nearby the facility or if she should arrange for outside activities. The weather in a particular area at the time of year of the meeting might also be a factor.

The main problem with conventional meeting planning methods is that most of the information that planners would find useful is scattered and not easily accessible. The planner must search through a variety of different resources to gather all of the necessary information for each aspect of the meeting. When each part of this planning process is done separately, inevitably something is forgotten. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies and disadvantages of the prior art, and provide a novel system and method for planning meetings and conferences which organizes information and sources of information relevant to meeting planning so the information is easily accessible to users.

The planning guide is comprised of an aggregate of information organized in a novel configuration. In the preferred embodiment the aggregate of information relates to all facets of planning meetings and/or conferences. Information is organized into a planning guide that divides information into categories and subcategories according to the various phases in the meeting planning process on a computer such that a user can easily access information on a particular aspect of the meeting planning process. It is an object of the present invention to simplify the meeting planning process, by arranging information such that when a user chooses a general category he or she is provided with an array of easily accessible information related to that category.

A further object of the present invention is to provide searchable directories for destinations, facilities and suppliers for meetings. The directories provide lists of criteria that a user selects to search for destinations, facilities and suppliers. A user can also enter certain information for searches. The system provides a user with lists of facilities, destinations and suppliers that match the criteria specified in the search.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a request for proposal form, which is in a uniform format acceptable to many facilities. The request for proposal form is submitted electronically from the computer to a third party who formats and finalizes the request for proposal. The company then

submits the request for proposal electronically, by fax or by mail to the facility on

behalf of the user.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of

planning a meeting wherein the user searches for facilities which meet the needs

of the particular meeting, evaluates those facilities based on information about

particular destinations and suppliers and submits requests for proposals to the

best candidate facilities.

Other advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the invention when considered in

conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of the planning guide showing several primary

categories of information. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the "Destinations" category of the planning

guide.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the supplier search in the planning guide.

FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of the supplier search screen showing

the automatic configuration function of the supplier search screen. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of the "Facilities" category of the planning guide.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the "Quick Search" function of the planning guide.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are graphical representations of two embodiments of the meeting space calculator of the planning guide. FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of the "Power Search" function of the planning

guide.

FIG. 9 is flow diagram of the "Suppliers" category of the planning guide.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of the "Contracts and Negotiations" category of

the planning guide.

FIG. 1 1 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of the method of using the

planning guide of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an alternate embodiment of the method of

using the planning guide of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a further embodiment of the method of using

the planning guide of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of the process of preparing and submitting RFPs

to facilities.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are graphical representations of information provided by

the planning guide.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram for a main planner web page showing links to

related web pages.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a facility/supplier search web page showing

the tools and services related to the planning process. FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an RFP and negotiations web page showing

the tools and services related to the planning process.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a meeting management web page showing the tools and services related to the planning process.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram of a sequential search process showing a typical set of search options including selection parameters and keyword criteria. FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the sequential search function of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart for the planner discussion forum function of the present invention. FIG. 24 is a flow diagram showing the operation of a message center of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a graphical representation of a message center display showing a typical list of messages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which, in conjunction with this detailed description, illustrate and describe a system and method for planning meetings. The invention may also be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to only the disclosed embodiments. The provided embodiments are included so the disclosure will be thorough, complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to persons of ordinary skill in the art.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the present invention may be embodied as a method, data processing system, Internet web site, or computer program product. As such, the present invention may take the form of an embodiment comprised entirely of hardware; an embodiment comprised entirely of software or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. In addition, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code means embodied in the medium. Any suitable computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, flash memory cards, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

The present invention is described with reference to flowcharts and/or diagrams that illustrate methods, apparatus or systems and computer program products. It should be understood that each block of the various flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, can be implemented by computer program instructions. Such computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowcharts. The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that directs a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowcharts or diagrams. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowcharts or diagrams.

It will be understood that blocks of the flowcharts support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It is also to be understood that each block of the flowcharts or diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts or diagrams, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The present invention could be written in a number of computer languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, Basic, Visual Basic, Fortran, Cobol, Smalltalk, Java, HTML, DHTML, XML and other conventional programming languages. It is to be understood that various computers and/or processors may be used to carry out the present invention without being limited to those described herein. The present invention can be implemented on an IBM or IBM-compatible personal computer, preferably utilizing a DOS, Windows 3.1 , Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Unix, Linux or OS/2 operating system. The present invention could also be implemented on an Apple or Apple- compatible personal computer, preferably utilizing its own operating system. However, it should be understood that the present invention could be implemented using other computers and/or processors, including, but not limited to, mainframe computers and mini-computers.

It should be understood that the term "link", as used throughout this written description, is a synonym for both hyperlink and hypertext link, whether used on the Internet, the world wide web, or other hypertext systems. A link is a selectable connection from one word, picture, or information object to another. It should also be understood that the term "click" refers to a user pressing a button of a computer mouse to make a selection. The term "click" can also mean an act of a user that initiates an action, function, or method of some type. The present invention provides a system of organizing information related to planning meetings and a method of planning a meeting which enables a meeting planner to consider a variety of factors before selecting a destination, facility or suppliers for the meeting. This system and method for planning meetings can help a user effectively plan a meeting by providing access to important information and planning tools in a centralized location. The system and method for planning meetings allows the user to search for information about various aspects of planning meetings such as destinations, facilities, suppliers and contract and negotiations information which will meet the specific needs for the user's meeting. Further, the user can submit requests for proposals (RFPs) to facilities using a uniform format for most facilities.

The planning guide and method of planning a meeting of the present invention includes an Internet website which provides links to information about various aspects of planning a meeting and also provides searchable directories which allow a user to look for facilities, destinations or suppliers with particular characteristics. While searching for facilities, the user can compile a list of facilities that have favorable characteristics. The planning guide also includes an online RFP form, so users can submit RFPs to facilities while using the system. The planning guide may also include various other tools to aid the planner in planning various activities including but not limited to; budgeting, cost tracking and reporting, contact management, task management, site inspection, meeting logistics, programming, speaker management, registration, ticketing, housing, travel arrangements, onsite management, attendee management, and history tracking. Community services can further facilitate the planning process by assisting planners in gathering needed information from colleagues unknown to - li the planner. Community services include; electronic mail, bulletin board, news feeds, discussion forum, online discussion, surveys, job board, and other services.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like-referenced characters indicate corresponding elements, attention is first directed to FIG. 1 that shows a planning guide 101 which divides information into several primary categories. In the preferred embodiment, the primary categories include "Destinations", "Facilities",

"Suppliers" and "Contracts and Negotiations". Each of these categories is divided into subcategories as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, 8 and 9 which allow a user of the planning guide 101 to search for more specific information under the category- headings. To use the planning guide 101 , the user selects any category to view the sub categories and directories. Each subcategory is further divided into topics with links to information or searchable directories under each topic. FIG. 1 is a diagram of one embodiment of the planning guide 101 of the present invention. Each category shown in the planning guide 101 is described in more detail in FIGS. 2-16 according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the breakdown of the "Destinations" category 102. The Destinations information is divided into subcategories comprised of "Climate"106, "Cost Factors" 107, "Getting There" 108, "Local Suppliers" 109, "Timing Is Everything" 110, "Fun Things To Do" 111 , and "Getting Around Town" 112. The "Climate" subcategory 106 provides links to information such as forecasts, current weather conditions, monthly average temperatures, historical weather patterns, and even satellite images, so that a user can gather information about the weather at the time and place of the meeting. The user could include information about weather conditions at the meeting location in announcements about the meeting, or could update attendees about weather conditions as the meeting date approaches.

The "Cost Factors" subcategory 107 gives a user information about topics including budget considerations, the nature of the meeting, costs in certain destinations, per diems, and taxes. The user can also estimate the cost of portions of the meeting or the entire event. Further, the user could estimate expenses for meeting attendees.

In the "Getting There" subcategory 108, the planning guide 101 provides information about travel to the meeting destination. This includes information about flights and airports, distances between cities, rail travel, road construction, traveler preferences, and travel tips. For instance, using the "Getting There" subcategory 108, a meeting planner could locate information about flights into the airport nearest the meeting location. The planner could also look for the best rates for travel to the meeting destination. With the "Local Suppliers" subcategory 109, a user searches for suppliers such as convention and visitor's bureaus. The user also can find advice about evaluating suppliers in a particular destination.

The "Timing is Everything" subcategory 110 includes information about local or industry events. Thus, a user could search for a meeting he would like to attend or events going on near the meeting location that meeting attendees might like to attend during their free time.

The "Fun Things to Do" subcategory 111 includes information about attractions, local events, gaming, children's activities, recreation, restaurants, and local tours. It also includes guides to cities so that the planner or attendees can find out more about the location before the meeting. Finally, the "Getting Around Town" subcategory 112 provides information about transportation in the region around the meeting facility. This includes information about car rentals, local transportation and maps. This category is especially important when the guestrooms for meeting attendees are not in the same building as the meeting room facility, and attendees must commute to the meeting location. These issues are also important for the convenience and satisfaction of meeting attendees. For example, when the meeting facility is in a scenic area, attendees will need transportation in order to explore the region when the meeting is not in session. By selecting any one of these subcategories the user is directed to a list of topics within the subcategory. This list provides links to searchable directories in the planning guide or access to websites containing information about planning meetings to assist the user in planning a meeting. Each of the above categories allows the meeting planner to review information about destinations before choosing a location for the meeting.

By choosing a link, which leads to searchable databases, the user is brought to a screen that allows the user to input or select certain information to use in the search. With the database search system shown in FIG. 3, a user searches for suppliers using different keyword options 114. In one option, the user enters a word or words that may be found in the name of a facility 115. With another keywords option, the user selects from a list of special criteria 116 provided by the planning guide 101 by which to search. In another option, the user selects or enters a specific type of supplier 117 (e.g. air transportation, audio visual equipment/supply/production, car rental, computer / technology supply, convention/exhibit service companies, convention and visitors bureaus, cruise lines, destination management, ground transportation, hotel chains, local tour services, meetings industry associations, miscellaneous, shipping and customs brokerage, speakers bureaus, tourism bureaus, and trade show organizers and promoters); to focus the search on a specific supply need. Finally, the user selects a geographic location 118 of the supplier. The user chooses a geographic location from a list including region 119, state/providence 120, or metro area 121. For each of these geographic location options, the user either selects from a list provided or enters specific geographic information. Searching using all criteria is not required; the user may elect to search by one or more of the above criteria. Once the user inputs all the search criteria and begins the search, the planning guide searches the database for suppliers matching the specified criteria and returns a list of matching suppliers.

An important feature of the suppliers directory search 113 is that the database automatically configures the suppliers search screen to search for a specific type of supplier based on the specific topic chosen by the user. Once a user selects a topic for a search, the planning guide 101 will automatically select the type of supplier as indicated by the topic heading. This makes searching faster and more convenient for the user by partially completing the search screen for him. In addition, if a user decides to search for another type of supplier, he does not have to leave the search screen to do so. The user can simply reconfigure the search screen by selecting another type of supplier.

For example, FIG. 4 shows a sample of a supplier search 1 13 under the "Destinations" category 102. If a user chooses the "Getting Around Town" subcategory 112 (see FIG. 2) he or she will find subtopics about local transportation in the area where the meeting is to take place. If a user is looking for rental car companies, he selects the topic of rental cars and will be linked to a search screen for suppliers. On this search screen the supplier type will already be specified to search for rental car companies 117. The user then specifies any other keywords 115-117 or geographic information 119-121 and runs a search for rental car companies.

FIG. 5 shows the breakdown of the "Facilities" category 103. The "Facilities" category 103 is divided into subcategories of "Facility Types" 122, "Rooms and Exhibit Space" 123, "Locations" 124, "Staff and Services" 125, "RFP" 126, "Site Inspection" 127 and "Negotiations" 128. The "Facility Types" subcategory 122 includes information about facilities such as hotels, airport hotels, conference centers, resorts, convention centers, alternative venues, hotel chains and cruise lines. Under this subcategory, a user can search for facilities meeting specific criteria as discussed below or can look for general information about facilities. The "Rooms and Exhibit Space" subcategory 123 provides information about meeting rooms, exhibit space and food and beverage service. Thus, a user can determine his facility criteria to use in a search for facilities as described below.

The "Locations" subcategory 124 provides information about getting to the facility from places such as airports, train stations, or other cities by car. With this subcategory, the user can compile information about the best ways for attendees to get to the facility.

The "Staff and Services" subcategory 125 includes information about services and room amenities, convention service managers, recreation amenities and proper tipping practices. A planner could use this subcategory to evaluate facilities or to provide information to attendees about what to expect at the meeting facility.

Further, the RFP subcategory 126 provides information about submitting Requests for Proposals to facilities and the forms to submit such requests as shown in FIG. 14.

The "Site Inspection" subcategory 127 includes information such as site inspection advice and checklists. Finally, the "Negotiations" subcategory 128 gives a user access to information about negotiating with facilities.

As in the "Destinations" category 102, some of these subcategories under "Facilities" category 103 link to information and third party websites useful to planning meetings. Other subcategories offer links to a searchable hotel and facilities directory. FIG. 6 shows one of the two search options, the "Quick Search" option 133, in the "Facilities" category 103. The search screen prompts the user to select certain information to use in the search. In the Keywords section 134, the user enters the name or part of a name of a hotel or a facility he wishes to find. In the Geographic Locations section 135, the user chooses from a list of metro areas, regions, states or provinces, or countries and can also type in the name of a city where he wants to find a facility. The user may also define the search according to the number of guestrooms and/or the amount of meeting space required 136. The user chooses from lists provided or enters an approximate number of guest rooms needed, the estimated size needed for the largest and second largest meeting rooms, the estimated amount of space needed for exhibits, and/or an approximate ceiling height needed for the meeting. The user searches for facilities meeting at least one or more of these criteria. Finally, a user can search according to additional facility criteria 137 such as facility chain, facility type, facility locale or other special criteria. With the "Quick Search" option 133 a user can search for a facility with only the basic room and location information. These searches will a return a list of facilities meeting the user's most basic requirements. Knowing the maximum capacity of a particular meeting room is important not only to comply with regulations such as fire codes, but also for the comfort of meeting attendees. In addition, a facility that also caters for instance, may only have enough supplies (e.g., table settings, food, etc.) or staff to accommodate a meeting whose attendance does not exceed the maximum capacity of the meeting room. However, it is often the case that a meeting planner will know only an approximate number of people who will be attending a meeting but is not aware of the room size needed to accommodate that number of people. Or, a planner may have selected a particular facility and needs to know the maximum number of people the facilities' largest meeting room can hold. To assist the user with these and other essential considerations, the planning guide also provides a Meeting Space Calculator 138 in the "Facilities" category 103 to assist the user in determining meeting space requirements. When the user wants to determine such meeting space criteria 136 in the above search, the user can select the meeting space calculator 138. FIGS. 7A and 7B show two alternative embodiments of the Meeting Space Calculator 138. The user chooses a room layout type 139 such as banquet, school, reception, trade show, H-Square, conference or rooms with tables and chairs. The user also enters other information such as the size of a room already selected 140, the number of attendees141 , the maximum number of attendees expected 142 and/or other search criteria 143. The user can choose to calculate the room size needed for the meeting 145 or the number of people who can attend a conference in a preselected room 144.

FIG. 8 shows the "Power Search" option 146 which offers a more advanced search for facilities. This search includes all of the options from the "Quick Search" option 133 above, but also includes additional searchable criteria. The user may search for guestroom rates 147 available at the specific date of the meeting. To do this, the user selects the beginning and ending dates of the meeting and rates in a specific price range. Further, the "Power Search" option 146 offers a way to search for facilities in a region with particular weather conditions. The user selects monthly climate information 148 by specifying the month, the average high and/or low temperature range the user desires, an average number of days of precipitation per month or the average monthly precipitation in an area. As in the "Quick Search" option 133, the user runs the search and the planning guide 101 returns a list of facilities that match the specified characteristics.

Both the "Power Search" option 146 and the "Quick Search" option 133 can be automatically configured by the planning guide 101. Once a user selects a specific type of facility under a topic heading, the "Facilities" search screens will automatically select the facility type specified in the topic heading. For example, if a user chooses the topic heading "airport hotels" and accesses either the

"Quick Search" option 133 or the "Power Search" option 146, the facility type will already be specified or filled in as airport hotels.

After reviewing the list of facilities returned by a search, a user may choose to add one or more of those facilities to a list of facilities he is considering for the meeting. The planning guide 101 saves this list of considered facilities. Later, when filling out the RFP form (see FIG. 14), the user can choose to submit this form automatically to one or all of the considered facilities on the list of considered facilities.

In the present invention the "Power Search" option 146 and the "Quick Search" option 133 can also be used to search for suppliers, destination or other information essential to the meeting planning process.

While the "Quick Search" option 133 and the "Power Search" option 146 are very effective, they nonetheless have certain limitations. First, if a user provides too little criteria for the search, the search tool will return a long list of results, most of which are irrelevant to the user. However, when the user attempts to narrow the search by specifying additional criteria, the search tool may encounter a second problem, none of the objects in the collection fit all the criteria. A simple example is specifying the city of Detroit and the state of Indiana. No results are returned. An approach to resolving this problem is to prioritize the results based on the number of the criteria that are met. In the above example, any records that contained Detroit or Indiana would be returned with a priority of 50 (percent) since 50% of the search criteria are satisfied. But this is an artificial method that often returns a long list of irrelevant results. An additional problem is that entering a large number of search criteria is often confusing and tedious for users to handle, especially to novice users.

Unfortunately, simplifying the search tool by reducing the number of criteria available to the user drastically reduces the power of the search tool.

The present invention solves these problems with a Sequential Search 250 that enables a planner to locate a result quickly and easily. Referring to FIGS. 21 through 23, a facility search is used as an example to explain the Sequential Search 250 of the present invention. FIG. 21 shows a block diagram

for the Sequential Search 250. This search provides two types of criteria. The

first type of criteria are Selection Parameters 252. Selection Parameters 252 are values for search criteria that may be presented to a user in the form of a list of

manageable length containing discrete values. The lists are often presented to a user by means of drop down boxes from which a user selects one or more values

for the search. Clicking on the arrowhead or other button next to a drop down

box displays a list of all possible values for the criterion. In FIG. 21 , three of the possible categories of criteria for a meeting facility search are shown; geographic

location 256, meeting capacity 260, and additional special criteria of interest to

meeting planners 264. Each category contains a set of criteria that may take on

any of many possible values. The location category 256, for example, contains

search criteria for metro area, state or province, country, and region. Other fields such as postal code or nearest airport could also be used. The possible values for the search criteria may correspond to the values occurring in a database, or to

some or all of the values in a specific collection, such as the collection of fifty

states that comprise the United States of America, or to a list specially

constructed for the criterion. When the user selects a value for the criterion, the

search executes automatically rather than requiring the user to initiate the search.

The second type of criteria, Keyword Parameters 254 provides a user the

opportunity to enter text rather than select from a list. Keyword Parameters 254

are preferred when the number of possible values is large, as for a list of cities 262, making selection from a list impractical. Keyword Parameters 254 are also effective when the items in a list for a criterion, such as hotels, may be referred to by a variety of different names or terms 258. The text for the keywords entered by the user may consist of words, part of a word, a string of letters, numbers, other symbols or a combination of these. The criterion may search an index of keywords, some or all of the fields in a database, the full text of a collection of documents, or other sources of information. In contrast to the Search Parameters 254, a user must initiate a keyword search by clicking a button to tell the Sequential Search 250 the keyword text is complete. Other types of criteria may be used in the Sequential Search 250. For example, the Sequential Search 250 may provide a criterion that specifies a range, such as 'more than ten.' For such a criterion the Sequential Search 250 must provide a means to specify the type of range with terms such as; before, after, more than, less than, more than or equal to, less than or equal to, equal to, not equal to, near, adjacent to, or other relational operators. These terms may be provided via a drop down box as previously described.

Referring now to FIG. 22, the process for conducting a sequential search as contemplated by the present invention will now be explained and described in detail. To initiate a Sequential Search 250 a user first enters one or more a search parameters for a criterion 270. Once the user enters a search parameter the search is executed 272. After the Sequential Search 250 is executed the results that satisfy the search criteria are displayed 274. The user then specifies additional criteria, one at a time 276. Each successive search is applied to the previous search results so each successive search reduces the number of results returned until the user considers the list of results short enough to manage. Using the Sequential Search 250 a planner can quickly locate a facility, supplier, or other organization such as Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), person, document, price, product or any other items contained in a list, database, or other searchable source of indexed information.

Enhancements that further improve the capabilities or ease of use of the Sequential Search 250 will now be described. The criteria selected by the process permits the selection of a single value for each criterion. The sequential nature of the search process which applies each new criterion to the results of the previous search has the function of a Boolean 'and' between the various criteria specified by the user. An example is; Detroit 'and' more than 400 guestrooms 'and' more than 8,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. An enhancement to this type of criteria would provide the option to select multiple values for any or all criteria. Multiple values for criteria would function as a Boolean 'or' between the various values, for example, Detroit 'or' Indianapolis 'or' Cleveland. Permitting multiple values for criteria enables a user to accomplish more in a single search rather than executing several separate searches. Two additional functions of the Sequential Search 250 significantly reduce the details a user must handle. The first function eliminates from the screen display those search criteria that are superfluous based on the criteria already specified. For example, if a user selects a zip code, it is unnecessary to display the criteria for state. The second function limits the values displayed (in drop down boxes) for the remaining criteria to only those values that satisfy the criteria already specified. Using the postal code example again, only those communities covered by the specified postal code would be displayed as values in the drop down box for a 'city' criterion. Significantly for meeting planners, specifying certain resource requirements for venues such as number of hotel rooms, hotel chain, and meeting room space, or largest meeting room could limit the list of suitable destinations.

Editing a search after several criteria have been specified can be a difficult process requiring a user to remember the search criteria already specified and their relationships. This difficulty is considerably eased by displaying the criteria selected by the user in previous step 274. Providing a button that enables the user to drop a search criterion further simplifies editing.

Another additional function reduces the list of criteria displayed to those that are most often used for an initial search. For example, the location criteria 256 initially displayed in FIG. 21 , might be limited to metro area and country. Expansion of the displayed criteria can be handled in two ways. First a button can be provided that causes the remaining criteria to be displayed. Second, when a user chooses a criterion in a category, the remaining criteria in that category may be displayed automatically. A further additional function handles the order in which results are displayed. A user may select a sort order that is more meaningful that traditional alphabetic order. The user may choose to sort the results by ratings from a commercial rating service, by guest room cost, by largest meeting room, by another available criterion important to the user or by a combination of several criteria. Alternatively, the user may choose to display preferred suppliers or suppliers that have ^enhanced listings such as on-line catalogs, floor plans, or photographs of their facility or product first in the list of results.

In addition, the present invention simplifies the manner in which the search results are displayed. Since a planner is in the process of selecting a supplier, a comparison of suppliers 280, shown in FIG. 22, may be preferred to displaying information about a single supplier 282. Information a planner may want to compare includes total meeting space, largest meeting room, amenities, climate, proximity to airport, and other information pertinent to meetings. A user selects the suppliers the user wants to compare by using check boxes in the result list 278 then clicking a compare option. Alternatively, the user may add the selected suppliers to an RFP by clicking an RFP button (not shown).

An application of the present invention that is of particularly great commercial benefit to both planners and facilities involves searching for distressed inventory. Distressed inventory refers to guestrooms a facility does not expect to rent on a particular date. To avoid these guestrooms going empty, a facility will attempt to attract customers by renting the rooms at a reduced rate. The date these rooms are available, the number of rooms available, and the reduced rate for the rooms along with additional information about the facility may be stored in a database of all facilities' distressed inventory. A planner may then search the database to find a lower cost alternative for a meeting.

The Sequential Search 250 and its additional functions were described primarily in terms of searching a supplier database for meeting facilities. The Sequential Search 250 may also be applied to databases of collections or compilations of collections outside the hospitality industry, particularly geographically disperse collections, including but not limited to organizations, documents, people, products, services, packages, containers, mineral deposits, oil wells, rare collectibles, roller coasters, monuments, master works of art or architecture, events such as earthquakes or crimes, and other inventories that need to be searched using multiple criteria. Referring again to the primary categories of the planning guide 101 , FIG. 9 shows the breakdown of the "Suppliers" category 104, which is divided into subcategories including "Types of Suppliers" 149, "Finding and Evaluating Suppliers" 150, "Independent Planners as Suppliers" 151 and "Legal and Ethical Issues" 152. The "Types of Suppliers" subcategory 149 includes information about travel suppliers, industry suppliers, and specialized suppliers. The "Finding and Evaluating Suppliers" subcategory 150 provides information to help the user select suppliers. This information includes advice on finding suppliers, techniques for evaluating suppliers, and information on ground operators and pricing. Finally the "Legal and Ethical Issues" subcategory 152 includes information on standards and practices in the meeting planning industry so that a planner can ensure that he or she is not crossing any legal or ethical boundaries while planning the meeting.

As in the other categories, selecting one of these subcategories from the "Suppliers" category 104 accesses another page of links to information about the general topic. Some of these links access the searchable suppliers directory wherein a user can select or input certain information about suppliers and search for suppliers according to those desired characteristics, as shown in FIG. 3 and the example in FIG. 4. In addition, if a user chooses a directory link for a specific type of supplier, that supplier type will already be selected for the user on the suppliers directory search screen. After filling in any other information, the user runs a search for suppliers and the planning guide 101 returns a list of suppliers matching the search criteria.

FIG. 10 shows a breakdown of the "Contracts and Negotiations" category 105. This section is divided into "Negotiations 101 " 153, "What is Negotiable" 154, "Legal Issues" 155, "Emerging Legal Issues" 156, "Handling Disputes" 157, "Attrition/Performance Clauses" 158, "Contract Checklists and Samples" 159. Under the "Negotiations 101 " subcategory 153 a user can find information such as negotiation basics or specifics about negotiating with hotels. The "What is Negotiable" subcategory 154 provides information such as general considerations about negotiating, meeting space considerations, and convention center considerations. The "Emerging Legal Issues" subcategory 156 links to new information about legal issues affecting the meeting planning industry. In the "Handling Disputes" subcategory 157, the user can find information about issues such as handling errors and overcharges, when to sue, and liability. The

"Attrition and Performance Clauses" subcategory 158 includes information about clauses, fees and room block pick up. Finally, the "Contract Checklists and Samples" subcategory 159 provides negotiating checklists, sample contracts, and sample Y2K communications, among other available information. As before, selecting any of these categories leads to a list of topic headings and links to information and third party websites about each topic.

FIGS. 17 through 20 show an alternative embodiment of the planning guide. In this embodiment planner tools and information are selected and bundled together based on the phase in the planning process a planner is working. FIG. 17 shows a block diagram for a Main Planning Page 200. The Main Planning Page 200 contains a set of links 202 that represent phases in the planning process; facility/supplier search, RFP and negotiations, meeting management, and others. These links connect to other web pages that provide the tools and services required for the particular phase selected for planning a meeting. Other phases in the planning process may also be incorporated in this method including but not limited to; budgeting, event marketing, on-site management, registration, and others.

The focal point of the Main Planning Page 200, Planning Tools Links 204, contains links to the most popular planning software tools in order to highlight and make the tools easy to find. The Planning Tools Links 204, shown in FIG. 17, are "find a facility", "send an RFP", a ticketing service, and other desired resources.

Information content is provided on the Main Planning Page 200 as links to the "tip of the week" 206 and links to recent topics from an online discussion forum 208. Alternatively, links to news articles or to other information of interest to meeting planners can be included. Industry research 210 is also presented on the Main Planning Page 200. In FIG. 17, the research presented in one preferred embodiment is derived from an industry survey but other research could be provided such as trends in employment or spending.

FIG. 18 shows a block diagram of a facility/supplier search web page 212. Like the main planning page, the facility/supplier search page 212 contains links 214 to provide quick navigation to planning tools for other phases of the meeting planning process. Like the Main Planning Page 200, the focal point of the facility/supplier search page 212 contains links to the most popular search tools 216. These search tools include but are not limited to; supplier search, facility search, CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) search, and Great Rates

(facilities' distressed inventory) search. Additional planner tools for conference search, contact (people) search and space calculator are also included under the heading Tools 218.

Links to information valuable to a planner when conducting a search are under the heading "Related Information" 220. These links may include but are not limited to; news, information, instructions, tips, checklists, discussion topics, services such as street maps, units or currency converters, weather, political conditions, or other information, services, or tools on the same or another web site that are helpful to planners working in the facility/supplier web page 212 while planning a meeting.

When a planner clicks on a link for related information 220, a list of references are presented. Typically, only the most recent references are displayed with older references stored in an archive. The references are further organized by topic or keyword. Planners may submit additional articles or other forms of information to share with other planners who use the web site by clicking a button (not shown) to suggest an article. The button will display a form for a planner to enter or paste the information in the form of text, a hyperlink, reference, or image.

In an information archive references may be displayed chronologically, alphabetically by title, by author, or by keyword. A search utility assists the user in locating information. The search locates references based on keywords, words in the title, name of the author, date of the reference, publisher, words in the abstract of the document, words in the full text of the document, or a combination of any of these fields. The title of the document is actually a link that displays the article or information it links to when selected or clicked. Likewise an author name may be a link to the author's biography or it may execute a program that displays a list of references provided by the author.

FIG. 19 shows an example of an RFP and negotiations web page 222. The RFP and negotiations page 222 is laid out like the web pages previously described. The links to tools for other phases of the planning process 224 are also provided. Links to the most popular tools for RFP management and negotiations include but are not limited to; New RFP, Sent RFP, RFP drafts, Sales contacts, and Meeting history. Links to Related Information 228 are also provided. In one preferred embodiment, Related Information 228 may include sample contracts, links to web sites for legal service companies, and other information and services.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a Meetings Management 230 web page. The Meetings Management 230 web page is laid out like the web pages previously described. The Planning Tools 234 hyperlinks include but are not limited to; Event detail manager, Online purchasing, Tickets and invitations. Other tools that could be included are tools for registration, attendee management, air and travel management, and housing or these activities could be treated as separate Registration Tools 236 on a separate web page. Likewise, tools for logistics, speaker management, and documentation could be presented in the Meetings Management 230 web page or on a separate Programming Tools 238 web page.

Although it is contemplated that any user could start using the planning guide 101 at any of the categories or subcategories, FIGS. 11-13 show preferred methods of using the planning guide 101 of the present invention to plan a meeting or conference. FIG. 11 shows one embodiment of the method contemplated by this invention. In this embodiment, the user of the planning guide 101 starts the analysis by entering the "Facilities" category 103 of the planning guide. First the user determines his facility needs 160. This is accomplished by using known information about the meeting and/or by reviewing the information provided in the planning guide 101 about specific aspects of facilities in which the user has an interest. Next, the user enters specific information about his facility needs 161 for the meeting, and performs a Quick Search 133 and/or a Power Search 146 (see FIGS. 6-8). The user then searches for facilities with desired characteristics 162. After the planning guide 101 returns a list of matching facilities 163, the user evaluates the facilities 164 using the information provided by the "Destinations" category 102 and the "Suppliers" category 104 of the planning guide 101 using the methods described below and shown in FIGS. 12-13. Thus, the user identifies facilities that meet the needs of the particular meeting and then narrows down the list of potential facilities based on the suppliers' abilities to provide services at the facility and characteristics of the destination. At this point, the user compiles a list of candidate facilities 165 that meet the needs of the user. The user can complete the online RFP 166 and submit it directly to the selected facility without leaving the planning guide 101 (see FIG. 14). In an alternate embodiment of the present invention the user is transferred from within the planning guide 101 to an external RFP system (not shown).

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the method contemplated by the present invention. The user selects the "Destinations" category 103 of the planning guide 101 and reviews the information provided in the planning guide 101 topics headings to determine specific destination needs for the meeting 167. The user either searches for specific information about destinations 168 using the suppliers directory, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and/or browses through the destination information 169 provided by the planning guide 101. Once the user has come up with a list of potential destinations, the user can then evaluate those destinations 170 based on the facilities and suppliers in those destinations (see FIGS.11 and 13). The user next compiles a list of candidate facilities (see FIG. 11 ) and submits RFP 166 as shown in FIG. 14.

Another method of employing the planning guide of the present invention is shown in FIG. 13. The user begins at the "Suppliers" category 104 of the planning guide 101. Using the known information about the meeting as well as information available through the subcategories of this section, the user determines the supplier needs for the meeting 171. Then the user searches the suppliers directory for suppliers who can adequately fill the needs for the meeting 172. The user receives a list of suppliers matching the desired criteria 173. The user can then use the information available in the "Facilities" category 103 and the "Destinations" category 102 to evaluate which suppliers will be best suited for the meeting 174. For example, if the meeting requires a special type of audio/visual equipment which is only available through one supplier who only provides local service, the user will then use the hotel and facilities directory to search for facilities for the meeting in a service area of the supplier. As before, the user then compiles a list of candidate facilities and submits an RFP 166. The RFP 166 is usually the next step in the meeting planning process. FIG. 14 shows the process used to submit an Online RFP 175 in the present invention. In Step 176, the user enters information about the group having the meeting. This includes information such as the name, address and phone number of the contact person and the organization having the meeting. Steps 177-179 of the RFP 166 involve entering the meeting information. In Step 177, the user enters the information about the dates of the meeting and the room space needed. The user can specify the name of the meeting and can input information about the total expected attendance, and/or the number of nights guestrooms are needed for the meeting. Further, the user enters information about the meeting such as the date the facility should respond by, the date the organization expects to decide on the proposal and the days of the week the meeting will be held. In addition, the user enters desired dates for the meeting and saves this information. The user also may choose to reserve blocks of guestrooms for the meeting by selecting the number of guestrooms needed for each day of the meeting. The computer saves this information at the user's direction. In Step 178, the user can schedule certain events for during the meeting by entering time and room requirements for the event. In Step 179, the user selects response requirements for the proposal sent by the facility. The user chooses from a list of potential response options (e.g., sending a tentative hold agreement, sending a full contract, notifying if requested dates/rates are available on a first/second option basis, notifying of other available dates, notifying if no dates are available, contacting regarding a site inspection, sending a sales kits including menu selection) or specifies another response requirement. The user also selects the mode of response (e.g., by phone, fax, e-mail, regular mail, and overnight mail) or specifies another response mode. The user may have created a list of considered facilities during the search process. At this point, the user can specify in the RFP 166 to submit the RFP 166 to these facilities. Finally, the user submits the RFP 166 to facilities 180. The present invention allows the user to submit RFP 166 to selected facilities. In the preferred embodiment, once the user reviews the RFP 166 he has prepared, he can simply use a computer mouse to click on a button on the computer screen to submit the RFP 166. In another embodiment, the user is prompted to push a button on the computer keyboard to submit the RFP 166. The RFP 166 is electronically submitted to a third party who further formats the RFP 166 and submits it to the selected facilities via mail, e-mail, fax or other known means of electronic transmission.

As the hotel and facility industry continues to update its technology, the present

invention can also allow a user to submit an RFP 166 directly from his computer

to a facility without the need for the intervening third parties services.

After a planner receives replies to an RFP 166 from facilities the next step is for the planner to select a facility. The responses to the RFP 166 generally

enable a planner to select two or three candidate facilities for the meeting. As no

planner is willing to commit tens of thousands of dollars and his or her reputation

solely on the basis of an RFP, the planning guide 101 also assists in facility selection. A planner uses the planning guide 101 for facility selection by viewing

reviews, testimonials and rating for facilities. Reviews are comments provided by

other planners based on their experience working with that hotel. Testimonials

are letters or other documents sent to a facility by planners that the facility makes

available to other planners and posts in the planning guide 101 . Ratings are

evaluations of facilities and facility services prepared by a commercial organization such as Mobile or AAA. Reviews, testimonials, and ratings tell a

planner what level of service quality to expect and alert a planner to problems

with a particular facility, which help the planner screen candidate facilities. The next step in the planning process is typically a site inspection of the

candidate facilities. To assist planners with site inspection, the planning guide

101 contains photographs, panoramic images, video clips, floor plans, and maps of a facility's grounds that show guestrooms, suites, meeting rooms, restaurants,

amenities, the lobby, a facility's exterior, and other attractions of the hotel or locale. For small meetings where site inspections are impractical, the planning guide 101 will provide decisive information for selecting a facility.

The planner is able to use the planning guide 101 for site inspections in order to screen the candidate facilities. For example, a planner who is planning a meeting with many breakout sessions will view the facilities' floor plans to determine if traffic flow will be a problem. For another example, a planner will view the images to determine if the appearance of a facility will be acceptable to the meeting participants. Based on these images a planner can determine which facilities best fit the requirements for a meeting. A planner can also use the planning guide 101 to prepare for a site inspection. The images noted above help the planner develop a checklist for the inspection. For example, after viewing the images a planner may want to ask how to get from one meeting room to another, inquire about holding an event in a specific location, or ask how an audio visual company can gain access to a meeting room. It is also contemplated that a planner will use the reviews, testimonials, ratings, and images earlier in the planning process to select facilities to send an RFP 166.

After the facility for the meeting has been selected, several other steps may follow including submitting a ground transportation RFP, arranging event marketing, evaluating planning logistics, and onsite execution. Because finalizing a facility choice is just one of the many important portions of the meeting planning process, a user can rely on the planning guide 101 of the present invention to assist in planning and evaluating other aspects of the meeting.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show one of the methods in the present invention to provide a user of the planning guide 101 with information. When a user selects a certain topic that he would like more information about, the planning guide 101 will either link the user to a third party website or to information compiled specifically for the planning guide 101 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. When a user selects a topic for which the planning guide 101 has compiled information, the specific information will appear for the user to read on the computer screen. The user may also print this information to keep for his files or to refer to while looking at other parts of the planning guide 101.

FIG. 23 shows another method contemplated in the present invention to provide a user of the planning guide 101 with information. FIG. 23 shows a process for using information in an online discussion forum for planners. This tool enables planners unknown to one another to share ideas, questions and answers on issues important to them. When a planner sets out to use the discussion forum the planner is presented with a list of discussion topics 290. Once the discussion topics are displayed the discussion forum provides three options to a planner. The first option available is to create a new discussion topic 292. To create a new discussion topic 292 a planner first enters a title which becomes a link in the discussion forum topic list that links to the topic, then the planner enters his or her user ID which becomes a link on the discussion forum main page to the user's electronic mail address, and then the planner enters the text of the topic, which is generally in the form of a question. The discussion forum application records the date the topic was posted and keeps track of the number of replies to the topic.

The second option available is to select a topic 294 to display and read. To display a topic 298 a planner selects or clicks the title of the topic, which functions as a link to the text of the topic. The third option available is to search for a topic 296. To search for a topic the planner enters one or more key words or names that describe the topic of interest to the planner. The discussion forum will search for the key words in the title of each topic, the text of the topic, the replies to each topic, and the user ID for each topic, and display the title of each discussion topic that contains the keywords. Then from the list of topics that contain the key words the planner selects or clicks the title of the topic, which links to the text of the topic, to display the text. The topic list may be organized in a variety of ways. Chronological order is useful since the new postings a planner has not yet read appear at the top of the list. Alternatively, the list of discussion topics may be sorted by the name of the user who posted the topic or by keyword. Buttons may be provided on a web page to convert the list from one sort order to another. To provide greater benefit to a planner, the content of a discussion forum may be included in broader searches of all the content of an Internet site. Once a planner has displayed a discussion topic the planner may reply to the topic 300 or display a reply 302. A planner may also reply to a reply to preserve discussion threads that may diverge in subject matter. To reply to a topic or to a reply a planner enters a title for the reply, the text of the reply and the planner's user ID. To display a reply a planner clicks the title of the reply, which links to the text of the reply.

Another method by which planners unknown to one another exchange ideas and information is through an online discussion service. Such a service permits several planners who are connected to the service at the same time to view the comments of the others as they are entered and respond in real time. A derivative of an online discussion service involves one or more of the participants being industry experts for a pre-scheduled event.

As the number of information sources and information services available to a user increases the user begins to face a new challenge of managing all these information streams. The information streams include electronic mail, discussion forum, news feed, online discussions, event notifications, and other sources of information. A user will quickly find that reviewing every item from every information source on a regular basis is inefficient and therefore unproductive. It is contemplated that the present invention includes a Message Center 308 that provides notification when new items of interest to the user become available. FIG. 24 shows the operation of such a message center that consists of a Screening Service 312, a Notification Service 316, and a User Profile 314.

Initially, new items of information are received and stored in one or more databases available to all users of the web site 310. Information is received and stored in this way on an ongoing basis as information becomes available. Once it is stored, each item of information is evaluated by the Message Center 308 to determine if a link to each item of information should be displayed for each individual user. The evaluation process may be performed as a scheduled batch process or when the user connects to the web site, or some services may be performed as a batch process and others performed when a user logs in depending on which option is more efficient for a particular web site.

Once an item of information is stored in a database it is reviewed by a Screening Service 312. The Screening Service 312 reviews each new item of information for content to determine if it is of interest to each user and stores the result on the web site server or on a user's PC. The review is conducted based on criteria recorded in the User Profile 314. Review criteria include keywords for topics of interest, names of people such as colleagues, authors, or columnists, names of organizations or other criteria.

Once the Screening Service 312 has identified the items of interest to each user, the Notification Service 316 determines which of the items of interest will effect the Message Center 308 display for the user. To determine which items should effect the Message Center 308 display for a user, the Notification Service 316 refers to display preferences specified in the User Profile 314 for that user. A user selects preferences to display notices when, as examples; an electronic mail message is received, a reply to an electronic mail message is received, a reply to a user's discussion forum topic is posted, a new discussion forum topic is posted, a new discussion forum topic that matches a user's topics of interest is posted, an online discussion that matches a user's topics of interest is in progress, a specific colleague is participating in an online discussion, a news item that matches a user's topics of interest was received, a news item by a particular columnist was received, or other display options. A message is "new" if it has not been read by a particular user, which typically means that the user has not clicked the link for that item. In order to determine if an item of information is new, the Message Center 308 must identify each item that was read by a user, or alternatively, identify each item that was not read by the user.

Once the Screening Service 312 identifies items of information that are of interest to a user and the Notification Service 316 determines which of the remaining items satisfy the display criteria, then the Message Center 308 displays a notification to alert the user that there is new information for the user to review 318. FIG. 25 shows a Message Center 308 display that appears on the main screen and other screens of the web site. The messages in the Message Center 308 display contain links to the services the messages apply to such as discussion forum, electronic mail, online discussion, and others. A link may link to the web page for a service, to a particular item on the web page of a service, or it may execute a computer program that displays only those items of interest to the user or only those new items of interest to the user.

In FIG. 24, the Screening Service 312 is shown to precede the Notification Service 316. Alternatively, the Notification Service 316 could proceed the Screening Service 312 or both could be integrated to occur simultaneously. The choice of which option will be used depends on which option provides more efficient processing of the information.

It is also contemplated by the present invention that the system and method herein for planning meetings could be used to plan other events, which require consideration and organization of many details at one time. Wedding receptions, reunions, holiday parties, banquets, or similar events could be planned using the planning guide 101 of the present invention. For example, a user planning a wedding reception would look for facilities in a particular area, which have the appropriate space, catering capabilities and guestrooms needed for the wedding reception. The user might also be interested in suppliers such as limousine services or photographers. The planning guide 101 allows a user to search for facilities for a specific date or to look for facilities with the right characteristics and looking at their availability before choosing a date. Another good example is a family reunion. This type of event might require multiple nights in a hotel and more extensive planning of outside activities in an area. A user could search for a destination that would have activities available for both adults and children and a facility in the area that could offer blocks of rooms to the family members. It is contemplated that a user of the planning guide 101 could plan such events and similar events using the system and method described herein. Although the present invention is described above in detail, the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A data processing system for planning and organizing meetings or conferences comprising: a computing device and a display; a database maintained on said computing device, wherein said database contains information on destinations, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services related to planning and organizing meetings or conferences; and means for locating destinations, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services for conducting said meetings or conferences.

2. A system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising means for preparing a request for proposal to be submitted to said facilities in which said meetings or conferences may be conducted.

3. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein said means for locating destination, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services for conducting said meetings or conferences comprises: means for receiving desired criteria for said destination, facilities, or suppliers of goods and services; means for searching said database using said desired criteria; and means for providing the results of said searching means.

4. A system as recited in claim 3, wherein said desired criteria are selected from the group consisting of facility names, facility types, geographic location, number of guest rooms, and amount of meeting space.

5. A system as recited in claim 3, wherein said criteria receiving means further comprises means for automatically requesting additional predetermined criteria related to said desired criteria.

6. A system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising means for calculating the space necessary to conduct said meeting or conference.

7. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein said means for locating destination, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services for conducting said meetings or conferences comprises: means for receiving desired criteria for said destination, facilities, or suppliers of goods and services; means for searching said database using said desired criteria; means for providing the results of said searching means; and means for sequentially searching said results, wherein said sequential searching means comprises means for receiving additional criteria used by said searching means to narrow said results.

8. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein said sequential searching means further includes means for limiting said criteria to said criteria most often used by said system.

9. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein said results providing means sorts and displays said results in more than one selectable order.

10. A computerized method of planning and organizing meetings or conferences, comprising the steps of: determining the desired characteristics of facilities for the meeting or conference; searching a database for facilities having the desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; searching the facilities identified for destinations having desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; searching the facilities identified for suppliers having desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; narrowing the number of facilities to those that correspond with the most important desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; and submitting a request for proposal to each of the remaining facilities.

11. A computerized method of planning and organizing meetings or conferences, comprising the steps of: determining the desired characteristics of destinations for the meeting or conference; searching a database for destinations having the desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; searching the destinations identified for suppliers having desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; searching the destinations identified for facilities having desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; narrowing the number of facilities to those that correspond with the most important desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; and submitting a request for proposal to each of the remaining facilities.

12. A computerized method of planning and organizing meetings or conferences, comprising the steps of: determining the desired characteristics of suppliers of goods and services for the meeting or conference; searching a database for suppliers having the desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; searching the suppliers identified for destinations having desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; searching the suppliers identified for facilities having desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; narrowing the number of facilities to those that correspond with the most important desired characteristics for the meeting or conference; and submitting a request for proposal to each of the remaining facilities.

13. A data processing system for preparing and submitting a request for

proposal to a facility when planning and organizing meetings or conferences

comprising:

a computing device and a display; means for entering the requirements facilities must provide if it is going to host said meetings or conferences; means for transferring said requirements to said facilities; and means for receiving a response to said request for proposal from said facilities.

14. A system as recited in claim 13, further comprising means for determining the quality of each of said facilities.

15. A system as recited in claim 14, wherein said means for determining the quality of each of said facilities comprises hypertext links to reviews of said facilities, testimonials related to said facilities, and ratings for said facilities.

16. A system as recited in claim 13, further comprising means for inspecting each of said facilities.

17. A system as recited in claim 16, wherein said means for inspecting each of said facilities comprises hypertext links to images of said facilities.

18. A system as recited in claim 17, wherein said images of said facilities are selected from the group consisting of photographs, panoramic images, video clips, floor plans, maps, and aerial photographs.

19. A system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a means for receiving and sending messages to others involved in the planning of meetings or conferences.

20. A system as recited in claim 13, further comprising a means for receiving and sending messages to others involved in the planning of meetings or conferences.

21. A computer program product for use with a data processing system for planning and organizing meetings or conferences, said computer program product comprising: a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for storing information on destinations, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services related to planning and organizing meetings or conferences; the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for locating destinations, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services for conducting said meetings or conferences.

22. A product as recited in claim 21 , the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for receiving desired criteria for said destination, facilities, or suppliers of goods and services; the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for searching said stored information using said desired criteria; and the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for providing the results of said search of said stored information.

23. A product as recited in claim 21 , the computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for preparing a request for proposal to be submitted to said facilities in which said meetings or conferences may be conducted.

24. A system as recited in claim 1 , further comprising means for organizing information into categories according to the various phases that make up the process of planning and organizing meetings or conferences.

25. A system as recited in claim 24, further comprising means for providing users with said categories of information most pertinent to the particular phase of the meetings or conferences the user is planning or organizing.

26. A data processing system for planning and organizing meetings or

conferences comprising: a computing device and a display;

a database maintained on said computing device, wherein said database

contains diverse sources of information; and means for organizing said diverse sources of information to support

various phases of planning and organizing a meeting or conference.

27. A system as recited in claim 26, wherein said diverse sources of information comprises articles, peer advice, expert advice, reviews, guides, checklists, destinations, facilities, and suppliers of goods and services.

28. A system as recited in claim 26, further comprising a message center, wherein said message center comprises: means for receiving information; means for storing information on said system; means for screening said received information to determine whether said information would be of interest to one or more particular users of said system; means for notifying said one or more particular users of said system of the receipt of information of interest; and means for displaying said received information for said one or more particular users.

29. A system as recited in claim 28, wherein said screening means further comprises a user profile consisting of preferences as to what types of said received information would be of interest to a particular user.

30. A system as recited in claim 28, wherein said received information is selected from the group consisting of electronic mail, discussion forums, news feeds, online discussions, press releases, and event notifications.