WO2003027930A1

WO2003027930A1 - Real time reservation system and method thereof using communication network

Info

Publication number: WO2003027930A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/001818
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hong-Jung Bae; Sung-Jong Park; Kwan-Hee Yoon
Original assignee: Imc Direct Inc.
Priority date: 2001-09-28
Filing date: 2002-09-27
Publication date: 2003-04-03
Also published as: KR20030027341A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network, the system and method being capable of connecting a user terminal (200), a franchisee's client computer (300) and a reservation server computer (400) to a communication network (10), installing a dedicated reservation program in the franchisee's client computer (300), enabling the franchisee's client computer (300) to efficiently process a real-time reservation request, reservation change and reservation cancellation from the user terminal (200) through the reservation server computer (400), promoting a reservation during a user's search for the reservation, significantly reducing the number of no-showreservations, and appropriately carrying out marketing consulting (an e-CRM (Customer Relationship Management), consulting and shopping mall promotion).

Description

REAL TIME RESERVATION SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF USING COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network such as a radio communication network, the Internet, etc., and more particularly to a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network, the system and method being capable of connecting a user terminal, a franchisee's client computer and a reservation server computer to the communication network, installing a dedicated reservation program in the franchisee's client computer, enabling the franchisee's client computer to efficiently process a realtime reservation request, reservation change and reservation cancellation from the user terminal through the reservation server computer, promoting a reservation during a user' s search for the reservation, significantly reducing the number of no-show reservations, and appropriately carrying out marketing consulting (an e-CRM (Customer Relationship Management) , consulting and shopping mall promotion) .

Background Art

Recently, the number of users using the Internet and the number of businesses coupled to an on-line or off- line service have increased. Moreover, hospital, hotel, airline, train, bus and rent-a-car-related business enterprises process reservations using the Internet. However,

Λ a user can make the reservation only after paying a fee in advance to these business enterprises.

In particular, for example, a restaurant individually administrates a home page and processes a reservation (Type 1) , or receives and processes a reservation using the restaurant's advertisement or the restaurant's facsimile number shown on an agency' s home page advertising restaurants (Type 2) . Further, a business enterprise introducing a realtime reservation identifies, using the Internet or an electronic mail, whether a reservation request is made or not, and a franchisee identifies a user's reservation offline (Type 3) .

However, in a case of Type 1, it is inconvenient in that the user should visit an independent website of an individual franchisee and transmit a reservation request. Further, there is a disadvantage in that it is difficult for the user to select a desired restaurant by comparing restaurants and a significant fee for individually creating the home page is required.

Further, in a case of Type 2, there is an advantage in that the user can search and compare various restaurants, but there is a disadvantage in that the user cannot carry out a real-time reservation for a franchisee because the user should transmit a reservation request using a facsimile. Moreover, in the case of Type 2, much labor is required to manage various ^• franchisees and correct franchisee information.

Furthermore, in a case of Type 3, the user can transmit the reservation request through the Internet, but a franchisee cannot actually identify the user's reservation in real time because a network infrastructure of various franchisees is not constructed. In the case of Type 3, the reservation can be identified in a place other than the restaurant, but this is not appropriate for management and analysis of visiting customers.

The present invention is intended to address the conventional restaurant reservation system disadvantages by constructing the network infrastructure to provide a real- time online reservation system.

Disclosure of the Invention

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network, the system and method being capable of connecting a user terminal, a franchisee's client computer and a reservation server computer to the communication network, installing a dedicated reservation program in the franchisee' s client computer, and enabling the franchisee's client computer to efficiently process a real-time reservation request, reservation change and reservation cancellation from the user terminal through the reservation server computer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network, the system and method being capable of significantly reducing the number of no-show reservations .

It is another object to provide a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network, the system and method being capable of promoting a reservation during a user' s search for the reservation and appropriately carrying out marketing consulting (an e-CRM (Customer Relationship Management) , consulting and shopping mall promotion (e-marketplace promotion) on the basis of customer analysis information.

It is yet another object to provide a real-time reservation system and method using a communication network, the system and method being capable of enabling a customer to select a table for a reservation and enabling a franchisee to assign tables to all customers, thereby efficiently managing the tables.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a real-time reservation system for enabling a user terminal to transmit a reservation request to a user desiring franchisee through a communication network (Internet) and then processing the reservation request, comprising: a communication network connection system for being connected to a communication network; a member/franchisee registration system for registering a user or the user' s business as a member or a franchisee in response to the user's registration request; a search system for searching for desired information in response to the user's search request; a reservation processing system for receiving the user' s request for a reservation at the franchisee searched by the search system, transmitting reservation request information to the franchisee, transmitting reservation result information from the franchisee to the user terminal, and storing the reservation information; a no-show prevention system for notifying the user terminal of the reservation information before a reservation time on the basis of the reservation time contained in the reservation information stored by the reservation processing system, thereby reminding the user of the reservation; a reservation promotion system interfaced with the search system for providing information of a user requesting a search to the franchisee corresponding to searched business field information and transmitting reservation promotion information from the franchisee to the user terminal; a customer analysis system for analyzing the user' s reservation information on the basis of reservation information including transmitted reservation request, reservation cancellation and no-show information relating to the user's reservation and franchisee use; an automatic accounting system for depositing a predetermined amount of money according to an advance payment method, when the franchisee is registered, and then paying a fee for using a system and a fee based on a reservation confirmation; a table management system for updating table information indicating the number of tables and table features in real time using a computer installed in each franchisee, enabling a user requesting a reservation to check the updated real- time table information and select a table, and identifying and analyzing real-time table information; a self-mailing system for transmitting an appreciation mail to customers of the franchisee and automatically transmitting an anniversary celebration card to a corresponding customer through an electronic mail; a database interfaced with each system for storing member information, franchisee information, reservation request and use information, member analysis information, franchisee evaluation information and accounting contents; and a franchisee's client computer for transmitting the reservation result information including reservation available information and reservation unavailable information to the reservation processing system in response to the reservation request information received from the reservation processing system, transmitting franchisee use information of each customer to the reservation processing system and the customer analysis system, and transmitting the reservation promotion information to the reservation promotion system in response to the information of the user requesting the search received from the reservation promotion system.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for connecting a user terminal, a franchisee's client computer and a reservation server computer, having a database for storing various information, to a communication network, constructing a networking infra-structure of the franchisee' s client computer and the reservation server computer, enabling the user terminal to transmit a reservation request to the franchisee' s client computer through the reservation server computer, and processing the reservation request, the method comprising the steps of: a) allowing a user to access the reservation server computer providing reservation service and search for a desired franchisee through the user terminal; b) when a reservation request is transmitted to the franchisee searched at the step a) , receiving and processing the reservation request, and storing a result of the process in the database; c) transmitting the reservation request received and processed at the step b) to the franchisee's client computer selected by the user; d) enabling the franchisee's client computer to notify a franchisee manager of reservation request information transmitted at the step c) , enabling the franchisee's client computer to transmit reservation result information including reservation available information or reservation unavailable information to the reservation server computer, and enabling the reservation server computer to transmit the received reservation result information to the user terminal and store the reservation result information; e) preventing a no-show reservation by notifying a user requesting a reservation of reservation information and reminding the user of the reservation information before a reservation time contained in the stored reservation information; f) receiving the user's franchisee use information from the franchisee' s client computer, collecting the franchisee use information on a user-by-user basis, analyzing reservation information of each user on the basis of the collected reservation information, and storing the information in the database; g) automatically paying a fee for using a system and a fee based on a reservation confirmation with the user's money electronically transferable and storing payment information in the database; and h) searching for user information from the franchisee's client computer, selecting an event object, a new customer, a customer having a birthday or an anniversary, etc., and transmitting a celebration card to the selected customer through an electronic mail.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rough view illustrating a reservation system in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a detailed view illustrating the reservation system in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a real-time reservation method using a communication network in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of confirming a reservation for a franchisee and carrying out a process corresponding to a user visit to the franchisee in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of promoting a reservation for a franchisee in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of preventing a no-show reservation for a franchisee in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of constructing a customer analysis information database provided in a franchisee in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of managing an accounting process using an electronic wallet; Fig. 9 is a view illustrating a configuration of a franchisee's reservation management program based on a C/S

(Client/Server) structure in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen based on a result of a user' s search in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 11 is a view illustrating an input screen relating to a user' s reservation in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 12 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen relating to a program with a real-time notification function based on a C/S structure in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 13 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen for reservation setup in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 14 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen for card mail transmission in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of carrying out table management and sale amount analysis in accordance with the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Now, a real-time reservation system using a communication network, its configuration and its functions in accordance with the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As a precondition of the present invention, an infrastructure of a plurality of franchisees coupled to a communication network through which a user can use the Internet or a mobile communication network should be constructed. For this construction, the present invention includes : a step of constructing a network through an Internet available dedicated communication network (LAN (Local Area Network) or ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) environment and providing a terminal capable of processing a reservation in real time; a step of constructing a database storing reservation information associated with a franchisee; a step of constructing a dedicated C/S (Client/Server) program for supporting a reservation process and marketing activity using the constructed dedicated terminal; a step of constructing a system for supporting a user' s proper reservation cancellation or preventing a no- show reservation; a step of implementing a reservation promotion system and a mileage policy for increasing the number of reservations of Internet users; a step of providing a global reservation setup method; a step of efficiently arranging tables through table management and improving a degree of customer satisfaction; a step of calculating a sale amount and analyzing a customer' s taste according to a dining menu on a customer-by-customer basis; a step of providing customer satisfaction services by analyzing on-line users and off-line visitors; a step of supporting marketing consulting for a franchisee using an e-CRM (Customer Relationship Management) ; a step of constructing an infrastructure of secondary businesses such as shopping mall promotion, advertisement promotion, etc. using a dedicated C/S program for a franchisee; and a step of automatically calculating and paying a fee for using a system and hence calculating earnings.

Fig. 1 is a rough view illustrating a reservation system in accordance with the present invention. Referring to Fig. 1, the reservation system of the present invention is a system configured to enable a service operator to process a user's reservation in real time through a service provider coupled to a communication network.

Fig. 2 is a detailed view illustrating the reservation system in accordance with the present invention. The reservation system of the present invention connects a user terminal 200, a franchisee's client computer 300 and a reservation server computer 400 • to a communication network 10 and constructs a networking infrastructure of the franchisee's client computer 300 and the reservation server computer 400. The user terminal 200 is a terminal capable of being connected to the communication network including the Internet to which the user can have access, and is not limited to a specific terminal. For example, the user terminal 200 includes a computer based on an Internet environment, a mobile communication terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) , etc. Here, the user can identify desired information by accessing the reservation server computer 400 through the communication network 10 such as the Internet or a mobile communication network, receive a real-time reservation confirmation, and monitor reservation information in real time through a franchisee or a network based on a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) /IP

(Internet Protocol) environment.

The reservation server computer 400 includes a communication network connection system 410, a member/franchisee registration system 420, a search system 430, a reservation processing system 440, a no-show prevention system 450, a reservation promotion system 460, a customer analysis system 470, an automatic accounting system 480, a table management system 482, a sale amount calculation and analysis system 484, a self-mailing system 486, and a DB (Database) 490.

The communication network connection system 410 for being connected to a communication network, for example, can be connected to the Internet based on the TCP/IP by defining a protocol for the Internet connection, and can simultaneously enable a user, or a manager or operator of a franchisee to access the reservation server computer 400 of the present invention and view Web documents through the Internet .

Moreover, to implement the infrastructure construction through terminal provision and a communication environment construction of the present invention, a program capable of being implemented in a terminal equipped with a POS (Point-Of-Sale) system according to a franchisee environment, an Internet available computer and a Windows CE™ environment is required, and a communication environment coupled to the terminal of the present invention is configured by the TCP/IP environment using the wired/wireless technologies. Further, the terminal based on the Windows CE™ environment is implemented by a wireless CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) module.

The member/franchisee registration system 420 registers a user or the user' s business as a member or a franchisee according to a user's registration request. The member registration is not necessarily needed in the present invention, but the member/franchisee registration system 420 preferably registers users as members for later member management and franchisee use information analysis.

Thus, the member/franchisee registration system 420 receives personal information including a name, an ID, a password and a mobile telephone number of a member upon the member' s applying for member registration and stores the received information in the database 490. The member/franchisee registration system 420 receives franchisee information including a trade name, an ID, a password, a business field, a location and photo information of a franchisee upon the franchisee' s applying for the franchisee registration, sorts the franchisee information on the basis of the business field and the location of the franchisee, stores the sorted information in the database 490, and registers the franchisee.

The search system 430 searches for corresponding information in the database 490 in response to the user's search request, and provides the searched information to the user. The search system 430 provides the user information and the business field information to the reservation promotion system 460 during the search procedure.

Further, the user can search for franchisee information through an Internet site and carry out the reservation in real time after checking reservation information on a desired date. In a search method, a search on a region-by-region basis is first carried out, a franchisee can be additionally searched according to price, dining menu, subway access and advantage information, and the user can obtain information of a desired franchisee.

The reservation processing system 440 receives the user' s request and cancellation for a reservation at the franchisee searched by the search system 430, transmits reservation request and cancellation information to the franchisee, transmits reservation result information from the franchisee to the user terminal, and stores the reservation information. Preferably, the reservation processing system 440 provides reservation available information to the user terminal where the reservation result information from the franchisee's client computer 300 is the reservation available information. The reservation processing system 440 provides another franchisee information and reservation unavailable information to the user terminal where the reservation result information is the reservation unavailable information, wherein another franchisee information is information of another franchisee situated in a location closest to a franchisee selected by the user and has the same business field as the franchisee selected by the user.

The present invention provides a method capable of allowing a general franchisee to immediately confirm a reservation for the user through a reservation setup method on a date-by-date basis, a time-by-time basis, the number of persons and table features . The present invention provides a global reservation setup method capable of changing a reservation on a specific date by considering the previously confirmed reservation. This reservation setup method enables the franchisee' s manager to directly input materials using a C/S program and store the inputted materials in a database, thereby providing information to the user in real time. The no-show prevention system 450 notifies the user terminal of the reservation information before a reservation time on the basis of the reservation time contained in the reservation information stored by the reservation processing system 440, thereby reminding the user of the reservation. Preferably, the no-show prevention system 450 can notify the user' s mobile telephone of the reservation information to remind the user of the reservation. Moreover, the no-show prevention system 450 allows the user to cancel the reservation before the reservation time, and can inform the franchisee' s client computer 300 of the reservation cancellation immediately after the reservation is canceled. Also, the present invention provides a method for enabling the user to immediately cancel the reservation by providing an Internet-based cancellation function for preventing a no-show reservation and a message of SMS (Short

Message Service) transmitted one hour before the reservation time to the user. The present invention can give a bonus mileage to a visiting customer using a mileage policy after appropriately completing the reservation and give a mileage penalty to a user who causes the no-show reservation, thereby reducing the number of no-show reservations . The present invention can prohibit a reservation of a member who is a habitual no-show for a predetermined period of time, thereby establishing a fair and honest reservation culture.

The reservation promotion system 460 interfaced with the search system 430 provides information of a user requesting the search to the franchisee corresponding to searched business field information and transmits reservation promotion information from the franchisee to the user terminal . Preferably, the reservation promotion system 460 provides a list of users requesting the searches to each franchisee's client computer 300 corresponding to the searched business field information while searching.

The present invention can provide a method for enabling the franchisee to transmit a reservation promotion message to the user requesting the search through the Internet and enabling the franchisee to promote the reservation of the user in real time rather than provide general information, and provides a system for providing much information to the user and enabling the franchisee to carry out active marketing activities for the user.

The customer analysis system 470 analyzes the user's reservation information on the basis of reservation information including transmitted reservation request, reservation cancellation and no-show information relating to the user's reservation and franchisee use. Preferably, the customer analysis system 470 analyzes statistical information on a term-by-term basis, VIP customer information and other customer information on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database 490, and stores a result of the analysis in the database 490. The customer analysis system 470 provides customer analysis information contained in the database 490 for marketing consulting with the franchisee to the franchisee's client computer 300.

The present invention provides customer satisfaction service to the user by analyzing information of the user online and stores, as e-CRM materials, information of a customer who visits the franchisee offline. Further, the present invention provides materials necessary for effectively managing the franchisee's business operations through restaurant consulting with the franchisee using the e-CRM materials.

The automatic accounting system 480 deposits a predetermined amount of money according to an advance payment method, when the franchisee is registered, and then calculates and pays a fee for using a system and a fee based on a reservation confirmation. Preferably, the automatic accounting system 480 allocates a predetermined number of bonus points on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database 490.

The table management system 482 updates table information indicating the number of tables and table features in real time using a computer installed in each franchisee, enables a user requesting a reservation to check the updated real-time table information and select a table, and identifies and analyzes real-time table information. For example, the table management system 482 can designate information associated with a type of a table (a table for 2 or 4) and table features (a table near the window, a private room or a nonsmoking table) associated with tables arranged in the franchisee using a franchisee' s client program so that a customer can obtain search information from the search system 430. Through the table management system 482, a table reserved by a customer is automatically assigned and simultaneously a table reserved through a telephone by the customer or a table not reserved by the customer is automatically assigned, thereby efficiently managing the tables and providing improved service to the customer on the basis of frequency of table use.

The sale amount calculation and analysis system 484 stores dining menus or costs for on-line and off-line customers in a database, thereby calculating a total sale amount or a sale amount on a customer-by-customer basis and analyzing a customer' s taste, thereby utilizing customer taste analysis information and hence providing improved service to a later re-visiting customer. The self-mailing system 486 transmits an appreciation mail to customers of the franchisee and automatically transmits an anniversary celebration card to a corresponding customer through an electronic mail. That is, the self- mailing system 486 analyzes information associated with on- line and off-line customers and then automatically transmits an electronic mail designed in the form of a card to a new customer and a customer visiting the franchisee. Also, the self-mailing system 486 automatically identifies a birthday, a wedding anniversary, etc. of the customer and informs the franchisee of them so that the franchisee transmits a celebration card through the electronic mail. The self- mailing system 486 arbitrarily selects the form of a card among cards of various designs previously created and transmits reservation information together with the selected card, thereby promoting a new reservation.

The database 490 interfaced with each system stores member information, franchisee information, reservation request and use information, member analysis information, franchisee evaluation information and accounting contents. In detail, the database 490 includes a member information database 491 for storing personal information including a name, an ID, a password and a mobile telephone number of a member; a franchisee information database 492 for storing franchisee information including a trade name, an ID, a password, a business field, a location and photo information; a reservation request and use information database 493 for storing reservation request information including an ID, a password, franchisee information and a reservation time associated with a user requesting a reservation and franchisee use information; a member analysis information database 494 for storing member analysis information including information of a franchisee used by the member; a franchisee evaluation information database 495 for storing evaluation information of the franchisee; and an accounting contents information database 496 for storing an account history for the franchisee. In the present invention, one or more franchisees can be used. Preferably, a plurality of business fields including, for example, restaurants, transportation means, cinema houses, athletic facilities and liquor shops are registered. The present invention is not limited to these examples of the business fields.

The database for reservation service of the franchisee can include information of a business field, a location, a menu, photo information, menu prices and business hours associated with each franchisee. The reservation information database of the franchisee can store reservation information on a day-by-day basis or a time-by-time basis of a specific date. The reservation information includes the number of customers of a reservation, a reservation time, a transferred message, etc. The reservation information materials are associated with an e-CRM database for customer information analysis. The franchisee's client computer 300 transmits the reservation result information including reservation available information and reservation unavailable information to the reservation processing system 440 in response to the reservation request information received from the reservation processing system 440, transmits franchisee use information of each customer to the reservation processing system 440 and the customer analysis system 470, and transmits the reservation promotion information to the reservation promotion system 460 in response to the information of the user requesting the search received from the reservation promotion system 460.

Preferably, the franchisee' s client computer 300 outputs the information of the user requesting the search received from the reservation promotion system 460 through a pop-up window, and provides the reservation promotion information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation promotion system 460. Further, the franchisee's client computer 300 outputs reservation request information from the reservation processing system 440 through a pop-up window, and provides reservation available information or reservation unavailable information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation processing system 440. Furthermore, the franchisee's client computer 300 receives and stores customer analysis information from the customer analysis system 470, and outputs the customer analysis information on a screen so that it can be used for customized marketing, if necessary.

The present invention constructs a network of franchisees through a dedicated program included in a terminal and provides gains from sales of franchisees by promoting advertisement for business enterprises coupled to the constructed network. The present invention can provide flexible logistics service to franchisees by promoting a large scale of an electronic marketplace. The present invention can efficiently operate a system by notifying a franchisee of a fee for using the system in real time through an automatic accounting system.

Fig. 9 is a view illustrating a configuration of a franchisee's reservation management program based on a C/S (Client/Server) structure in accordance with the present invention. Referring to Fig. 9, a program operating in the franchisee can be controlled on the Internet and managed through the C/S program in accordance with the present invention. A correction and change of the program can be automatically upgraded. Preferably, the franchisee's program of the present invention notifies a franchisee manager of reservation information and reservation cancellation and change through a pop-up window so that information can be flexibly and efficiently transferred.

Also, the franchisee' s program of the present invention indicates a person requesting a reservation on that day and reservation information of certain dates.

Fig. 10 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen based on a result of a user' s search in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 11 is a view illustrating an input screen relating to a user' s reservation in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 12 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen relating to a program with a real-time notification function based on a C/S structure in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 13 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen for reservation setup in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 14 is a view illustrating an exemplary screen for card mail transmission in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of carrying out table management and sale analysis in accordance with the present invention.

The operations of the above-described preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a rough view illustrating a reservation system in accordance with the present invention. Referring to Fig. 1, the reservation system includes a user 20 using a communication network, a service provider 40, a business enterprise 50, a service operator 30 and a constructed franchisee network. A communication network 10 includes a wired/wireless Internet and a mobile communication network.

In Fig. 1, reservation service is provided through the communication network 10 between the user 20, the service provider 40, the business enterprise 50 and the service operator 30. Hereinafter, a procedure of providing the reservation service will be described in detail with reference to drawings .

Referring to Fig. 1, the present invention first constructs a franchisee network to implement a real-time reservation system. As a precondition of the reservation system, it has the constructed franchisee network. In accordance with the present invention, the user 20 searches for information associated with the service operator 30 through the communication network 10 and the real-time reservation method is provided. Hereinafter, a method for promoting the business enterprise 50 based on the network construction of the service operator 30 will be described.

Fig. 2 is a detailed view illustrating the reservation system in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a real-time reservation method using a communication network in accordance with the present invention. Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, at first steps S310 to S340, the user accesses the reservation server computer 400 for providing the reservation service through the user terminal 200 and requests a desired franchisee search. In response to the search request from the user terminal 200, the search system 430 included in the reservation server system 400 searches for corresponding information in the franchisee information database 492 included in the database 490 and then provides a search screen shown in Fig. 10 to the user terminal 200.

The above first steps include a procedure of registering a member and a franchisee. First, in the member registration procedure, the member/franchisee registration system 420 included in the reservation server computer 400 receives personal information including a name, an ID, a password and a mobile telephone number of a member in response to the member' s applying for member registration, stores the received information in the member information database 491 included in the database 490, and registers a user as a member. Further, in the franchisee registration procedure, the member/franchisee registration system 420 receives franchisee information including a trade name, an ID, a password, a business field, a location and photo information of a franchisee upon the franchisee' s applying for franchisee registration, sorts the franchisee information on the basis of the business field and the location of the franchisee, stores the sorted information in the franchisee information database 492 included in the database 490, and registers the user's business as the franchisee. A plurality of business fields include, for example, restaurants, transportation means, cinema houses, athletic facilities and liquor shops. The present invention is not limited to these examples of the business fields. Hereinafter, the restaurant as a business field will be described and applied to the present invention.

Before the search carried out at the above first steps, each user can use the reservation service through a member authentication procedure. At this time, authentication information necessary for the member authentication procedure is made up of a user ID and a password. The authenticated member can use CRM customized service by visiting an Internet site online or visiting a franchisee offline. The provided customized service includes anniversary notification service, recommended- restaurant notification service, mileage service, reservation advertisement service and visiting confirmation service.

Further, when the user searches for restaurant information, an information search method can basically provide region-based information. The present invention is not limited to the above-described information search method.

In this search method, for example, search steps S341 to S347 based on a search word shown in Fig. 3 can use a search method based on a region, a menu and a search keyword. At a region-based search step S343, street information can be also searched by a zip code classification method. Korean food, western food, Chinese food, Japanese food, Asian food, Italian food, French food and fusion/other food associated with eight classification codes can be searched at a menu-based search step S344, and this search can be additionally carried out after a search carried out at the above region-based search step S343 or a search word-based search step S342. Further, a franchisee can be searched by names of subway stations around the franchisee at a subway-based search step S345, and this search can be additionally carried out after a search carried out at the above region-based search step S343 or the above search word-based search step S342. Further, the franchisee can be searched on the basis of cost of a dining provided from the franchisee and an advantage given to the user 20 from the franchisee at a price/advantage-based search step S346, and this search can be additionally carried out after a search carried out at the above region- based search step S343 or the above search word-based search step S342. Furthermore, a search method according to a priority-based search step S347 considers the number of queries, the number of reservations and advantages on an online coupled to the user 20 and organizes real-time information having priorities in relation to the above region-based search step S343.

Referring to Fig. 5, user information is automatically transmitted to the franchisee' s client computer 300 during the search procedure. At this time, the franchisee's client computer 300 identifies the received user or customer information and carries out a customer promotion method to win customers. This will be described with reference to Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of promoting a reservation for a franchisee in accordance with the present invention. Hereinafter, the reservation promotion procedure for the franchisee will be described with reference to Fig. 5. As described above, the search system 430 searches for corresponding information in the franchisee information database 492 of the database 490 and then provides the searched information to a corresponding user. In this search procedure, the search system 430 transmits information of a user requesting a search and business field information to the reservation promotion system 460 during the search. The reservation promotion system 460 interfaced with the search system 430 provides the information of the user requesting the search and the business field information to the franchisee' s client computer 300. The franchisee's client computer 300 then outputs the information of the user requesting the search received from the reservation promotion system 460 through a pop-up window, and provides the reservation promotion information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation promotion system 460 of the reservation server computer 400. The reservation promotion system 460 provides the reservation promotion information from a franchisee to the user terminal 200.

Further, when an evaluation of a franchisee is received from the user at the first steps, the received evaluation is stored in the franchisee evaluation information database 495. On the basis of the evaluation stored in the franchisee evaluation information database 495, recommendation information recommending an excellent franchisee is provided to the user so that a predetermined franchisee can be recommended.

As described above, while the user searches for franchisee information of a service operator using the communication network 10 such as the Internet, etc. in the present invention, user information is transmitted through the C/S program. That is, the franchisee's client computer transmits the user information to the manager or operator of the franchisee on the basis of a pop-up window. In response to the user information, the franchisee operator can provide a reservation promotion message to the user and recommend an excellent franchisee while searching, thereby increasing the number of reservations, bringing about an effect of advertising the franchisee to users and carrying out franchisee marketing.

Referring to Fig. 5, a list of users is provided to the franchisee's client computer 300 in real time at step S410 contained in the search step S340. The users contained in the provided list are classified as customers having higher reservation probability than other users. The franchisee carries out reservation promotion activities to the classified users using a pop-up window, a messenger and an SMS (Short Message Service) function at step S420. Information of each user 20 is stored in a CRM database at step S430 and the stored information can be utilized for the user or customer promotion activity.

Next, at second steps S350 and S360, if the reservation request is transmitted to the franchisee searched at the above first steps shown in Fig. 3, the received reservation request is processed and stored in the reservation request information database 493 of the database 490 in relation to the reservation processing system 440 of the reservation server computer 400. After the search carried out at the above first steps, if the reservation request is made through a Web page and a reservation information input screen shown in Fig. 11 is provided, the user 20 carries out a search on the basis of search conditions such as a desired reservation date, the number of persons and a reservation time on the screen, and transmits the reservation request to the desired franchisee. Reservation request information is stored and the reservation request is processed. At this time, the franchisee's client computer 300 can automatically search a reservation environment appropriate to an individual restaurant and indicate a reservation available time. Where an appropriate result of the search based on the search conditions for the reservation is not found, a restaurant based on search conditions similar to the search conditions can be recommended.

Next, at third step S370, the reservation request received and processed at the above second steps is transmitted to the client computer 330 of a franchisee selected by the user. The above third step S370 is carried out after a reservation confirmation to the reservation request is generated in real time at step S360. At the above third step S370, the reservation processing system 440 of the reservation server computer 400 transmits user information for the reservation request to the franchisee' s client computer 300.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of confirming a reservation for a franchisee and carrying out a process corresponding to a user visit to the franchisee in accordance with the present invention. The procedure will be described with reference to Fig. 4.

At fourth steps S500 to S510, the franchisee's client computer 300 informs the franchisee manager of the reservation request information received at the above third step. The franchisee's client computer 300 transmits reservation result information including reservation available information or reservation unavailable information to the reservation server computer 400. The reservation server computer 400 transmits the reservation result information to the user terminal 200 and stores the reservation result information.

That is, if the reservation result information from the franchisee' s client information 300 is the reservation available information, the reservation available information is provided to the user terminal 200. Further, the reservation result information is the reservation unavailable information, another franchisee information and the reservation unavailable information are provided to the user terminal 200, wherein another franchisee information is information of another franchisee situated in a location closest to a franchisee selected by the user and has the same business field as the franchisee selected by the user.

At the fourth steps, the franchisee's client computer 300 outputs the reservation request information from the reservation processing system 440 of the reservation server system 400 through a pop-up window such as a real-time notification function program screen shown in Fig. 12. In the pop-up window, the franchisee manager provides the reservation available information or the reservation unavailable information previously pre-set by one click to the reservation processing system 440 of the reservation server system 400.

As described above, after the reservation has been confirmed at the steps S360 and S370, the reservation information is transmitted through the franchisee's client computer 300 in real time at step S511. Where the franchisee's client computer 300 does not check the reservation, it is configured so that the franchisee' s client computer 300 can continuously check the reservation in real time. If the reservation is confirmed, an operation of the no-show prevention system 450 is initiated in connection with the reservation processing system 440, thereby reducing the number of no-show reservations .

As shown in Fig. 4, if the user 20 carries out an offline visit, the off-line visit is checked at step S530. Information of the visiting customer is stored as CRM information. The stored information is provided to the franchisee's client computer 300 for customized service. Further, a reservation commission is automatically paid by the electronic wallet according to an advance payment method, and a mileage is added to an electronic wallet at step S560.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of preventing a no-show reservation for a franchisee in accordance with the present invention. The procedure of preventing a no-show reservation for a franchisee will be described with reference to Fig. 6.

Referring to Fig. 6, at fifth step S520, the no-show prevention system 450 of the reservation processing system 440 notifies the user terminal 200 of the reservation information before a reservation time on the basis of the reservation time contained in the reservation information stored in the reservation request information database 493 of the database 440, thereby reminding the user of the reservation. Here, a method for transmitting the reservation information to remind the user of the reservation can simultaneously use one or more methods among various methods such as mobile communication, e-mail, SMS, website notification, etc. The present invention is not limited to the above described various methods for transmitting the reservation information, but the mobile communication can be preferably used for most rapid information transmission. At the above fifth step, the user can cancel the reservation before the reservation time, and the franchisee' s client computer 300 can be informed of the reservation cancellation immediately after the reservation is canceled, thereby preventing a no-show reservation. Through this procedure, after the user makes a reservation using the communication network in real time, the no-show reservation can be prevented. Thus, load of the franchisee's client computer 300 caused by the no-show reservation can be minimized. Hereinafter, the reservation cancellation method will be briefly described. In an environment in which the Internet or the mobile communication network can be accessed at step S623, the user can visit a home page and cancel a corresponding reservation through a password authentication step S330. On the other hand, in an environment in which the Internet or the mobile communication network cannot be accessed, the user can receive an SMS character message one hour before the reservation time and immediately cancel the reservation on that day by pressing a communication button of a telephone at step S630. Further, the user can cancel the reservation at the franchisee through the telephone .

Further, if the user 20 visits the franchisee, CRM customized service at step S660 is provided to the user 20 by analyzing a visit contents memo transferred previously by the user 20 and order contents in previous visits. If the visit is completed, a mileage bonus proportional to the number of visitors is assigned to the user 20. A fee for using a system is automatically paid by the electronic wallet and the mileage bonus is added to the electronic wallet at step S680. A detailed description of the electronic wallet will be described with reference to Fig. 8. When a no-show reservation is caused without a proper reason, the user' s mileage is reduced by a mileage penalty at step S651 and the user 20 having the mileage penalty cannot make a new reservation for a predetermined period of time at step S652.

As shown in Fig. 6, the user 20 carries out an on-line reservation and visits the reservation server computer 400 offline. The user 20 can actually evaluate the franchisee at step S692 and then sends an evaluation of a franchisee to which the user 20 visits to the reservation server computer 400. The evaluation is used as reference materials when an excellent franchisee is recommended. Next, at sixth steps S530 to S550, the customer analysis system 470 of the reservation server computer 400 receives franchisee use information from the franchisee's client computer 300 and collects the franchisee use information on a user-by-user basis. The reservation information associated with each user is analyzed on the basis of the collected reservation information, and the analyzed information is stored in the customer analysis information database 494 of the database 490. Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of constructing a customer analysis information database provided in a franchisee in accordance with the present invention. The procedure of constructing the customer analysis information database will be described with reference to Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. 7, at the above sixth steps, statistical information on a term-by-term basis, VIP customer information and other customer information are analyzed on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database 490, and a result of the customer analysis is stored in the database 490. The result of the customer analysis can be variously used. For example, the customer analysis information, contained in the database 490 for marketing consulting with the franchisee, is provided to the franchisee's client computer 300. The franchisee' s client computer 300 can receive and store the customer analysis information and output the customer analysis information on a screen so that it can be used for customized marketing, if necessary.

The customer analysis information can include statistical information on a term-by-term basis and VIP customer information analyzed on the basis of the number of queries, interest fields, reservation information, advantages, search methods and visit periods. The customer analysis information is provided as customized information to an on-line or off-line user. Also, the customer analysis information is provided as marketing materials and analysis materials to the franchisee's client computer 300 at step S730.

Referring to Fig. 7, if the user 20 visits a franchisee offline, a customer's visit contents, mileage contents, a customer's dining contents and a customer's taste information are provided on the basis of accumulated customer information and CRM information. The franchisee's client computer 300 provides service based on the customer's taste at step S640. Fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of managing an accounting process using an electronic wallet . The procedure of managing an accounting process using an electronic wallet will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Next, at seventh steps S560 to S590, a fee for using a system and a fee based on a reservation confirmation are automatically paid with the user' s money electronically transferable and payment information is stored in the database 490. A predetermined number of bonus points can be allocated on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database 490. The bonus points are allocated to the user and can be used in all franchisees. For example, the bonus points are awarded in the form of a mileage, a coupon, etc.

As shown in Fig. 4, if the user desires to pay the fee using an accumulated mileage, the user can cash the mileage through the terminal at step S570 and the fee is calculated and paid through the automatic accounting system 480. Where the user does not visit the franchisee offline, the reservation is processed as a no-show reservation 30 minutes after the reservation time at step S541 and the mileage penalty is applied to the user at step S542.

Referring to Fig. 8, a basic payment method of the franchisee' s client computer 300 is an advance payment method at step S810. If the balance of the electronic wallet is maintained below a predetermined amount of money, the automatic accounting system 480 of the reservation server computer 400 cuts off a part of functions of a program operating in the franchisee. Through the cut-off function, where the balance of the electronic wallet does not exist, the franchisee cannot make the reservation. Referring to Fig. 8, payment contents (S820) of the franchisee's client computer 300 includes a user mileage (S821), a reservation commission (S822), an e- market payment (S823) , franchisee education costs (S824) and marketing costs (S825) . If the franchisee's client computer 300 selects business enterprise advertisement (S826) associated with the business enterprise 50, it obtains earnings. The obtained earnings can be automatically calculated and identified at step S840.

Fig. 9 is a view illustrating a configuration of a franchisee's reservation management program based on a C/S (Client/Server) structure in accordance with the present invention. Referring to Fig. 9, the program is carried out when a computer starts and the computer connected to the reservation server computer 400 automatically downloads an upgraded program from the reservation server computer 400 at step S910. Detailed functions of the C/S program include a notification function (S921) , a reservation promotion function (S922) , a reservation environment setup function

(S923) , an automatic accounting function (S924), a notification function (S925) and supplementary functions

(S926) . The notification function (S921) corresponds to the notification function carried out by the franchisee's client computer 300 shown in Fig. 4. The reservation promotion function (S922) corresponds to the reservation promotion function shown in Fig. 5. The reservation environment setup function (S923) corresponds to the screen display function for a reservation shown in Fig. 13. The exemplary reservation environment setup screen is shown in Fig. 13. The automatic accounting function (S924) corresponds to the automatic accounting function shown in Fig. 8. Further, the notification function (S925) is carried out by notifying the user 20 and the reservation server computer 400 of desired information.

Further, the supplementary functions (S926) are implemented as dedicated supplementary functions for the franchisee's client computer 300 using the C/S program. Through a supplementary program, the supplementary functions including e-marketplace promotion, business enterprise advertisement, restaurant-related education, marketing consulting, CRM information provision and customer management functions are performed.

Referring to Fig. 14, at eighth step, the self-mailing system 486 searches for user information from the franchisee' s client computer and transmits an appreciation mail to customers of the franchisee and automatically transmitting an anniversary celebration card to a corresponding customer through an electronic mail. Next, referring to Fig. 15, at ninth steps S1501 to S1508, the table management system 482 provides table information including the number of reservation available tables and table features using the franchisee's client computer 300 and updates reservation information in real time according to the reservation of a customer. The table management system 482 provides corresponding information using the provided table information in response to an information search about an empty table requested by an

Internet customer and a telephone reservation customer, and corrects customer reservation information including table selection information based on a desired table selection by the customer.

Further, the sale amount calculation and analysis system 484 stores dining menus or costs for on-line and offline customers in a database, thereby calculating a total sale amount or a sale amount on a customer-by-customer basis and analyzing a customer's taste, thereby utilizing customer taste analysis information and hence providing improved service to a later re-visiting customer.

The present invention is not limited to the above- described embodiments, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

As apparent from the above description, the present invention can implement a networking infrastructure of restaurants, thereby providing real-time materials and enabling real-time reservations.

Further, in an environment of the Internet and a mobile communication network, a reservation can be carried out in real time. The reservation is not limited to a restaurant and can be applied to other businesses. Real-time reservation information can be notified through a C/S program, thereby efficiently managing reservations at franchisees and storing and using the information for customer management and marketing activities.

The present invention can prevent a no-show reservation at a franchisee and reduce the number of the no- show reservations, thereby establishing a fair and honest reservation culture. Further, the present invention enables a franchisee to promote a reservation, thereby increasing the number of reservations and a sale amount .

The present invention can provide information of various types through a constructed network and hence promote community marketing, sales and advertisement. In particular, the present invention enables a franchisee to transmit appreciation or celebration e-mails to customers . Thus, the franchisee can provide improved services to the customers, promote a customer's visit, and increase a sale amount .

Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions, and substitutions to the specific elements are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims .

Claims

Claims :

1. A real-time reservation system for enabling a user terminal (200) to transmit a reservation request to a user desiring franchisee through a communication network (Internet) (10) and then processing the reservation request, comprising: a communication network connection system (410) for being connected to a communication network; a member/franchisee registration system (420) for registering a user or the user' s business as a member or a franchisee in response to the user's registration request; a search system (430) for searching for desired information in response to the user's search request; a reservation processing system (440) for receiving the user' s request and cancellation for a reservation at the franchisee searched by the search system (430) , transmitting reservation request and reservation cancellation information to the franchisee, transmitting reservation result information from the franchisee to the user terminal, and storing the reservation information; a no-show prevention system (450) for notifying the user terminal of the reservation information before a reservation time on the basis of the reservation time contained in the reservation information stored by the reservation processing system (440), thereby reminding the user of the reservation; a reservation promotion system (460) interfaced with the search system (430) for providing information of a user requesting a search to the franchisee corresponding to searched business field information and transmitting reservation promotion information from the franchisee to the user terminal; a customer analysis system (470) for analyzing the user' s reservation information on the basis of reservation information including transmitted reservation request and reservation cancellation information from the reservation processing system (440) and no-show information from the no- show prevention system (450) relating to the user's reservation and franchisee use; an automatic accounting system (480) for depositing a predetermined amount of money according to an advance payment method, when the franchisee is registered, and then paying a fee for using a system and a fee based on a reservation confirmation; a table management system (482) for updating table information indicating the number of tables and table features in real time using a computer installed in each franchisee, enabling a user requesting a reservation to check the updated real-time table information and select a table, and identifying and analyzing real-time table information; a self-mailing system (486) for transmitting an appreciation mail to customers of the franchisee and automatically transmitting an anniversary celebration card to a corresponding customer through an electronic mail; a database (490) interfaced with each system for storing member information, franchisee information, reservation request and use information, member analysis information, franchisee evaluation information and accounting contents; and a franchisee's client computer (300) for transmitting the reservation result information including reservation available information and reservation unavailable information to the reservation processing system (440) in response to the reservation request information received from the reservation processing system (440), transmitting franchisee use information of each customer to the reservation processing system (440) and the customer analysis system (470) , and transmitting the reservation promotion information to the reservation promotion system

(460) in response to the information of the user requesting the search received from the reservation promotion system (460).

2. The real-time reservation system as set orth in claim 1, wherein the member/franchisee registration system (420) receives personal information including a name, an ID, a password and a mobile telephone number of a member upon the member's applying for member registration and stores the received information in the database (490); and the member/franchisee registration system (420) receives franchisee information including a trade name, an

ID, a password, a business field, a location and photo information of a franchisee upon the franchisee's applying for franchisee registration, sorts the franchisee information on the basis of the business field and the location of the franchisee, stores the sorted information in the database (490), and registers the franchisee.

3. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the search system (430) searches for corresponding information in the database (490) in response to the user's search request, provides the searched information to the user, and provides the user information and the business field information to the reservation promotion system (460) during this search procedure.

4. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the reservation processing system (440) provides reservation available information to the user terminal where the reservation result information from the franchisee's client computer (300) is the reservation available information; and the reservation processing system (440) provides another franchisee information and reservation unavailable information to the user terminal where the reservation result information is the reservation unavailable information, another franchisee information being information of another franchisee situated in a location closest to a franchisee selected by the user and having the same business field as the franchisee selected by the user.

5. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the no-show prevention system (450) notifies the user' s mobile telephone of the reservation information for reminding the user of reservation.

6. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the no-show prevention system (450) allows the user to cancel the reservation before the reservation time, and informs the franchisee's client computer (300) of the reservation cancellation immediately after the reservation is canceled.

7. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the reservation promotion system (460) provides a list of users requesting searches to each franchisee's client computer (300) corresponding to the searched business field information while searching.

8. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the customer analysis system (470) analyzes statistical information on a term-by-term basis, VIP customer information and other customer information on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database (490) , and stores a result of the analysis in the database (490) .

9. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the customer analysis system (470) provides customer analysis information contained in the database (490) for marketing consulting with the franchisee to the franchisee's client computer (300).

10. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the automatic accounting system (480) allocates a predetermined number of bonus points on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database (490) .

11. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the database (490) includes: a member information database (491) for storing personal information including a name, an ID, a password and a mobile telephone number of a member; a franchisee information database (492) for storing franchisee information including a trade name, an ID, a password, a business field, a location and photo information; a reservation request and use information database (493) for storing reservation request information including an ID, a password, franchisee information and a reservation time associated with a user requesting a reservation and franchisee use information; a member analysis information database (494) for storing member analysis information including information of a franchisee used by the member; a franchisee evaluation information database (495) for storing evaluation information of the franchisee; and an accounting contents information database (496) for storing an account history for the franchisee.

12. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the franchisee's client computer (300) outputs the information of a user requesting a search received from the reservation promotion system (460) through a pop-up window, and provides the reservation promotion information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation promotion system (460) .

13. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the franchisee's client computer (300) outputs reservation request information from the reservation processing system (440) through a pop-up window, and provides reservation available information or reservation unavailable information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation processing system (440) .

14. The real-time reservation system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the franchisee's client computer (300) receives and stores customer analysis information from the customer analysis system (470), and outputs the customer analysis information on a screen so that it can be used for customized marketing, if necessary.

15. A method for connecting a user terminal, a franchisee's client computer and a reservation server computer, having a database for storing various information, to a communication network, constructing a networking infrastructure of the franchisee' s client computer and the reservation server computer, enabling the user terminal to transmit a reservation request to the franchisee' s client computer through the reservation server computer, and processing the reservation request, the method comprising the steps of: a) allowing a user to access the reservation server computer providing reservation service and search for a desired franchisee through the user terminal; b) when a reservation request is transmitted to the franchisee searched at the step a) , receiving and processing the reservation request, and storing a result of the process in the database; c) transmitting the reservation request received and processed at the step b) to the franchisee's client computer selected by the user; d) enabling the franchisee's client computer to notify a franchisee manager of reservation request information transmitted at the step c) , enabling the franchisee's client computer to transmit reservation result information including reservation available information or reservation unavailable information to the reservation server computer, and enabling the reservation server computer to transmit the received reservation result information to the user terminal and store the reservation result information; e) preventing a no-show reservation by notifying a user requesting a reservation of reservation information and reminding the user of the reservation information before a reservation time contained in the stored reservation information; f) receiving the user's franchisee use information from the franchisee's client computer, collecting the franchisee use information on a user-by-user basis, analyzing reservation information of each user on the basis of the collected reservation information, and storing the information in the database; g) automatically paying a fee for using a system and a fee based on a reservation confirmation with the user' s money electronically transferable and storing payment information in the database; and h) searching for user information from the franchisee's client computer, selecting an event object, a new customer, a customer having a birthday or an anniversary, etc., and transmitting a celebration card to the selected customer through an electronic mail .

16. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step a) further includes the steps of: receiving personal information including a name, an ID, a password and a mobile telephone number of a member upon the member' s applying for member registration, storing the personal information in the database, and registering the member during the member registration procedure; and receiving franchisee information including a trade name, an ID, a password, a business field, a location and photo information of a franchisee, sorting the franchisee information on the basis of the business field and the location of the franchisee upon the franchisee's applying for franchisee registration, storing the sorted information in the database, and registering the franchisee during the franchisee registration procedure.

17. The method as set forth in claim 16, wherein the step a) further includes the steps of: searching for corresponding information in the database in response to the user's search request, providing the searched information to a corresponding user, and providing information of the user requesting the search and business field information to the franchisee's client computer during the search procedure; and enabling the franchisee' s client computer to output the information of the user requesting the search through a pop-up window and to provide reservation promotion information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation server computer.

18. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step d) is carried out by enabling the franchisee' s client computer to output reservation request information from the reservation server computer through a pop-up window and to provide reservation available information or reservation unavailable information pre-set on the pop-up window by one click to the reservation server computer.

19. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step d) includes the steps of: providing reservation available information to the user terminal where the reservation result information from the franchisee' s client computer is the reservation available information; and providing another franchisee information and the reservation unavailable information to the user terminal where the reservation result information is the reservation unavailable information, another franchisee information being information of another franchisee situated in a location closest to a franchisee selected by the user and having the same business field as the franchisee selected by the user.

20. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step d) is carried out by notifying the user' s mobile telephone of reservation information for reminding the user of the reservation.

21. The method as set forth in claim 20, wherein the step d) is carried out by allowing the user to cancel the reservation before the reservation time, and informing the franchisee' s client computer of the reservation cancellation immediately after the reservation is canceled.

22. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step e) is carried out by analyzing statistical information on a term-by-term basis, VIP customer information and other customer information on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database, and storing a result of the analysis in the database.

23. The method as set forth in claim 22, wherein the step e) further includes the steps of: providing customer analysis information, contained in the database for marketing consulting with the franchisee, to the franchisee's client computer; and allowing the franchisee' s client computer to receive and store the customer analysis information and to output the customer analysis information on a screen so that it can be used for customized marketing, if necessary.

24. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step f) is carried out by allocating a predetermined number of bonus points on the basis of the reservation request and use information contained in the database .

25. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step a) is carried out by receiving an evaluation of a franchisee from the user and storing the evaluation in the database .

26. The method as set forth in claim 25, wherein the step a) is carried out by recommending an excellent franchisee to the user on the basis of the evaluations of franchisees stored in the database.

27. The method as set forth in claim 15, further comprising the step of: i) providing table information including the number of reservation available tables and table features using the franchisee' s client computer and updating reservation information in real time according to the reservation of a customer.

28. The method as set forth in claim 27, wherein the step i) is carried out by providing corresponding information using the provided table information in response to an information search about an empty table requested by an Internet customer and a telephone reservation customer, and correcting customer reservation information including table selection information based on a desired table selection by the customer.