Patent ID: 8463649
Filing Date: 2013-06-11
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: generating, via a processor, a schedule for a reservation system that comprises: generating, via a processor based on a ratio of actual table slots to virtual table slots, a quantity of actual table slots and a quantity of virtual table slots, in which an operator of the restaurant or of the reservation system is provided with an opportunity to change the ratio to accommodate an anticipated number of customers at a time of day; receiving, via the processor, a bid for a virtual table slot at a specified time of day, in which the bid comprises a bid amount, and in which the virtual table slot is for a delivery service; computing, via a processor based on the quantity of virtual table slots available at the bid's specified time of day, that the restaurant is able to process the virtual table slot for the delivery service at the bid's specified time of day; computing, via the processor, after expiration of an auction period, that the bid has won the virtual table slot for the delivery service; and transmitting, via a processor to a remote device, an indication that the virtual table slot for the delivery service has been awarded to a bidder of the bid, in which the remote device and the processor are in electronic communication over a network.