Patent Publication Number: US-2006020481-A1

Title: Method and system of managing a business center

Description:
BACKGROUND  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The field of the invention relates generally to systems for maintaining and managing customer relationships. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of managing a business center.  
      2. Related Background  
      Business centers have grown increasingly popular as the demand for temporary office space, meeting rooms and conference facilities has grown. Most business centers provide offices, conference rooms and other space on a rental basis by the hour, day, week, month, or longer. Often, these rentals are sporadic, where clients rent space in different locations or at different times on an as-need basis. This makes managing the use and availability of space a complex and challenging task, with customers requesting space on short notice and often changing or canceling reservations.  
      The need for efficient management of such space is heightened by the economics of the business center business. Business centers have high fixed costs in real estate, furniture, and equipment (such as projectors or video conference equipment). Profitability is highly dependent on the ability to maximize utilization of the business centers facilities.  
      Currently, business centers utilize brokers and online referral sites to generate business. Current referrals sites provide a general description of the facilities, such as the size, quality, and amenities. A potential client can enter their information and the referral site will forward the potential client&#39;s contact information to the business centers or business center brokers who contact the potential client. These referral systems do not provide real time availability information, as conventional referral systems are not integrated with the management systems used by business centers. Other than a referral, these systems provide little in the way of efficiencies or automation, leaving much of the process of booking space and billing clients to traditional manual methods.  
      Finding, comparing and booking business center facilities can be a time consuming and difficult process for the business center consumer. Using referral sites often leads to multiple brokers contacting the consumer, potentially after the consumer has booked with another broker. As conventional systems do not include comprehensive information from multiple business centers, and do not provide real time inventory and availability, consumers are unable to quickly and easily compare the available offices or other facilities resources from a wide range of business centers to find the business center that best meets their needs.  
      An example of current business center sites is given by Regus Business Centers (www.regus.com). Visitors are allowed to enter their contact information and some information specifying what their interests are, and a broker will contact them by phone or email.  
      The process of managing a business center is impacted by the bookings and occupancy of the business center&#39;s facilities. If a broker makes a booking that facility not only needs to be removed from the list of available bookings for potential customers, but business center staff need to know that the facility resource is scheduled to be occupied to ensure it is ready for the customer, including any special needs of the customer. As customers sometimes request additional space at the last minute, for example an office customer may request the use of a conference room in the afternoon for a last minute meeting, business center employees and managers need to have accurate, up to date information on the availability of business center facilities resources.  
      To provide clients with the best possible service, and to increase revenue, business centers need to manage the amenities and services the business center offers to its clients. Amenities and equipment such as computers, projectors, video conference equipment, special chairs or furniture, as well as services such as copying, package handling and shipping (for example, FedEx), concierge services, and the like. Reserving, scheduling and billing these services is a critical part of efficiently running a business center. Current reservation and management systems to not integrate these functions and do not allow a reservation system to provide an independent business center with the critical insight and control of their facilities, amenities and services.  
      Accordingly, a need exists to provide an efficient and automated booking and payment system.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       FIG. 1  is a generalized block diagram of a computer system that may be used to implement the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a generalized block diagram of a computer system that may be used to implement the business center portal.  
       FIG. 3  is a generalized block diagram of a server computer that may be used to implement the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a generalized block diagram of a business center portal page displaying available business center facilities, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 5A  is a generalized block diagram of a location selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 5B  is a generalized block diagram of an business center properties page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a generalized block diagram of an office date selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a generalized block diagram of a conference room date and time-slot selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 8  is a generalized block diagram of an available property listing page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 9  is a generalized block diagram of the selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 10  is a generalized flow diagram of the process of updating the inventory database, according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 11  is a generalized flow diagram of the process of selecting a business center facilities resource, according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 12  is a generalized block diagram of the affiliate maintenance page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 13  is a generalized block diagram of the plan maintenance page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 14  is a generalized block diagram of the recurring fee maintenance page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 15  is a generalized block diagram of the plan maintenance page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 16  is a generalized block diagram of the client move in, move out page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 17A  is a generalized block diagram of the client conference room reservation date selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 17B  is a generalized block diagram of the client conference room reservation page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 18  is a generalized block diagram of the occupancy report page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 19  is a generalized block diagram of the room availability report page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 20  is a generalized block diagram of the equipment selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 21  is a generalized block diagram of the equipment availability report page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 22  is a generalized block diagram of the service selection page, according to one embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 23  is a generalized block diagram of the service schedule report page, according to one embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     SUMMARY  
      The present invention provides for a computer based system and method for presenting, searching and reserving business center facilities. Business center personnel may use the portal to manage their business center including receiving reports on facilities, equipment, and service availability, reports on business center tasks such as client move in or move out, schedule related tasks, and receive reports on the revenue and utilization of the business center according to various factors such as time, customer, location, and the like.  
     RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application entitled “Method and System of Managing an Online Reservation System for a Business Center” filed Jul. 18, 2004.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      The present invention is described in the context of a specific embodiment. This is done to facilitate the understanding of the features and principles of the present invention and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In particular, the present invention is described in the context of a web site for displaying and booking business center facilities.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a computer system  100  that may be used to implement embodiments of the present invention. A business center portal server  101  is connected to a communications network  102 . Business center servers  103  are connected to the business center portal server through communications network  102 . End-user communication devices  104  are connected to the business center portal server through the communications network  102 . The business center servers are the servers used to manage the inventory and/or sales of a given business center. Typically, each business center maintains its own inventory of available facilities resources which is available on the business center server.  
      In the presently preferred embodiment, the end-user communications device is a personal computer. Additionally, in the presently preferred embodiment the communications network is the Internet. Connection to the Internet could be by any form of Internet connection, including broadband and wireless connection. Alternatively, a private network or direct link could be established between the business center portal server and the business center servers. Alternatively, the end user communications device could be a mobile phone (including web enabled mobile phones or mobile phones with text messaging capabilities), standard telephone, or any other device capable of receiving text or voice messages.  
      The business center portal server could be implemented on one single server or on multiple servers. As used in the present application, the term server may refer to a physical computer or to software performing the functions of a server.  
       FIG. 2  is a generalized block diagram of the business center portal server shown in  FIG. 1 . A web server  201  provides web pages describing the business center facilities and services available through a communication network  102 . The web server is connected to a business center inventory database  202 , a customer database  203 , a transaction server  204  and a database update server  205 . The business center inventory database  202  stores information on the facilities, facilities resources, equipment, amenities and services offered by the various business centers through the business center portal. The transaction server  203  allows potential customers to reserve facilities and order services. The customer database server  204  stores information relating to customers and the services and facilities they have requested or purchased. The database update server  205  updates the business center inventory database from the business center servers and provides update information to the business center servers.  
      While the presently preferred embodiment utilizes an inventory database as a separate database from the customer database, alternate embodiments could have utilize one database for both inventory and customer information. Additionally, the information stored within any single database of the presently preferred embodiment could be distributed among several databases in alternative embodiments.  
       FIG. 3  is a generalized block diagram of a business center portal server computer  300  including a central processing unit (CPU)  301 , main memory (typically RAM)  302 , read-only memory (ROM)  303 , a storage device (typically a hard drive)  304 , and a network device (typically a network interface card, a.k.a. NIC)  305 . The network device connects to a communications network  307 . The server includes a bus  306  or other communication mechanism for communicating information between the CPU  301  coupled with bus  306 . The CPU  301  is used for processing instructions and data. The main memory  302 , ROM  303  and storage device  304  are coupled to bus  306  and store information and instructions to be executed by processor  301 . Main memory  302  also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor  301 .  
      Server  300  may be coupled via bus  308  to a display  309 , such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or flat panel monitor, for displaying information to a computer user. An input device  310 , such as a keyboard, is coupled to bus  308  for entering information and instructions to the server  300 . Additionally, a user input device  311  such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to the processor  301  and for controlling cursor movement on the display  309  may be used with the server  300 .  
      The server  300  is designed to run programs implementing methods, such as the methods of the present invention. Typically such programs are stored on the hard drive of the server, and instructions and data of the program are loaded into the RAM during operation of the program. Alternate embodiments of the present invention could have the program loaded into ROM memory, loaded exclusively into RAM memory, or could be hard wired as part of the design of the server. Accordingly, programs implementing the methods of the present invention could be stored on any computer readable medium coupled to the server. The present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software, and embodiments of the present invention may be implemented on many different combinations of hardware and software.  
      As used within the present application, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to CPU  301  for execution. Such a medium may take many forms including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Examples of non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device  304 . Examples of volatile media include dynamic memory, such as main memory  302 . Additional examples of computer-readable media include, for example, floppy disks, hard drive disks, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punchcards or any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip, stick or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus  306  and  308 . Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic, electromagnetic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications.  
      The business center server and end user communication device are similar in general architecture to the business center portal server.  
     Presenting and Selecting Business Center Inventory  
      The present invention provides a web accessible portal for visitors to search for, view, reserve and book business center facilities resources, such as offices and conference rooms.  FIGS. 4-9  illustrate the business center facilities resource selection and booking aspect of the present invention. In the presently preferred embodiment, the pages shown in these figures are accessible to a potential customer over the Internet using a web browser.  
       FIG. 4  is a generalized block diagram of a business center portal page  400 . A location selector  401  allows visitors to move to a specific region or location. The location selector is described in connection with  FIG. 5A . A reservations link  402  allows a visitor to connect to a reservations page which display&#39;s the visitor&#39;s current reservations. An office link  403  allows a visitor to view an office properties page  520  shown in  FIG. 5B . While location indicators  502  are text indicators, alternate embodiments of the present invention may use graphical indicators depicting a symbol or map. A conference link  404  allows a visitor to view a conference facilities page  520  shown in  FIG. 5B . A log in link  405  takes a visitor to a sign in page where the visitor can enter their username and password to allow them to view specific information particular to that visitor. A register link  406  takes a visitor to a registration page where the visitor can create a personal account with a username and password. A business center log in link  407  connects a visitor with business center management page.  
      Additionally, page  400  also includes a partner link  408  which connects to partners of the business center portal, a contact link  409  which takes a visitor to a page displaying contact information for the business center portal, and a menu  410  which has links to several pages within the portal. As described, business center portal page  400  has several links common to several pages of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5A  is a generalized block diagram of the location selection page  500 . A location selector  501  allows visitors to move to a specific region or location. Locations where business center facilities are available are presented at the location indicators  502 . In the presently preferred embodiment the locations are cities where there is a business center. Alternatively, the location indicators may identify countries, states or provinces, regions, neighborhoods or any other geographic location. In the presently preferred embodiment, by selecting a location the visitor is taken to the office properties page  520  shown in  FIG. 5B . Optionally, once the visitor has made their sections of dates and number of persons the visitor may hit enter or click the submit button  503  to be taken to the office properties page  520 .  
       FIG. 5B  is a generalized block diagram of the office properties page  520 . The properties according to a given criteria, for example in a specific region as selected on page  500  described above, are shown in a business center property list  521 . Property identifier fields  522  identify the business centers. The business centers located on the page could include all the business centers available through the portal, or a subset of the business centers available. The subset of available business centers displayed on the properties page could be based on geographic area, type of facility, services available, quality level, price level, length of time available, minimum contract length, ownership or affiliation, or other aspects of the property or service provided by the business center.  
      In the presently preferred embodiment, the business center properties page also includes property image  523 , property location  524 , facilities type  525 , facilities rate (or price)  526 , and facilities amenities  527 . The property location indicator can either be a textual indicator, indicating a city, town, region, neighborhood, district or street address, or it could be graphical, representing location information in a map or symbol form. The facilities type indicator provides information on the type of building, such as an office tower or high rise, executive office park, office park, strip mall, mixed live/work, or other type of facility. A visitor to the business center portal may check on the availability of a particular property by selecting the Check Availability button  529 , which will take the visitor to the date selection page  600  described below.  
       FIG. 6  is a generalized block diagram of an office date selection page  600 . An arriving date selector  601  allows visitors to select the date they would first need an office at a business center. A departure date selector  602  allows visitors to select the date they would last such an office. The arriving date selector and departure date selector are in the form of a month, day, day year selector. Additionally, the date selector may include the arriving time and ending time for the visitor. Alternative designations could be sued such as a calendar selector, where the visitor selects a date from a calendar, or any other form of representing the date or time. In the presently preferred embodiment the date selection page  600  also includes a number of persons selector  603  where the visitor may specify the number of people who would need offices a the business center. Once the visitor has made their sections of dates and number of persons the visitor may hit enter or click the submit button  604 .  
       FIG. 7  is a generalized block diagram of a conference room date and time-slot selection page  700 . A date selector  701  allows visitors to select the date they would need a conference room at a business center. A time slot selector  702  allows visitors to select the time-slot they would need a conference room. The time-slot selector  702  includes a start time selector  703  where a visitor may specify the start time for the conference room reservation. The time-slot selector  702  also includes a start time selector  704  where a visitor may specify the end time for the conference room reservation. In the presently preferred embodiment the conference room date selection page  700  also includes a number of persons selector  705  where the visitor may specify the number of people the conference room would need to accommodate. Once the visitor has made their sections of dates and number of persons the visitor may hit enter or click the submit button  706 .  
      Once the date and time-slot selection query is entered from either the office date selection page  600  or conference room date and time-slot selection page  700  the business center portal system returns a list of available properties as shown in  FIG. 8 .  
       FIG. 8  is a generalized block diagram of an available property listing page  800 . The property listing page  800  includes a list of properties returned from the search for available properties. In the presently preferred embodiment, the properties returned meet all of the criteria specified in the prior selection page. Alternatively, the returned results may meet a subset of the specified criteria, or may represent a closest relevant fit to the specified criteria.  
      The visitor may view the properties returned as well as compare and contrast the available offices or conference rooms. In the presently preferred embodiment, the properties returned are listed and displayed with the property name indicator  802 , property image  803 , property location  804 , facilities type  805 , facilities rate (or price)  806 , facilities range  807 , facilities amenities  808 , and business center rating indicator  811 . The property location indicator can either be a textual indicator, indicating a city, town, region, neighborhood, district or street address, or it could be graphical, representing location information in a map or symbol form. The facilities type indicator provides information on the type of building, such as an office tower or high rise, executive office park, office park, strip mall, mixed live/work, or other type of facility.  
      When a business center has more than one type of facilities resource the property listing page may include indicators  807  for the range of facilities resource types. For example, some business centers offer premium executive offices, standard offices, junior offices, and office suits within the same facility. As another example of the range of facilities resources, some business centers offer small conference rooms, large conference rooms, meeting rooms, or other types of meeting facilities. The facilities range indicator may specify the different types of facilities resources available.  
      The amenities indicator indicates the type of amenities or services available at the business center. Examples of amenities and services include phone answering services, package handling services, secretarial or word processing services, video conference services, or any other type of service or amenity offered by business centers.  
      The business center rating indicator  811  provides a quality rating of the business center. For example, some facilities are rated according to stars, such as three starts or four stars, based upon the quality of the facility.  
      Once the visitor decides which business center they would like to rent an office (or conference room) from the visitor may select that business center and be taken to the office selection page  900 .  
       FIG. 9  is a generalized block diagram of the selection page  900 . The selection page  900  gives the visitor additional details of the business center and office or conference room selected at the property listing page  800  shown above.  
      In addition to the information shown on page  900 , such as the property name indicator  902 , property image  903 , property location  904 , facilities type  905 , facilities rate (or price)  906 , facilities amenities  907 , and business center rating indicator  911 , the selection page  900  includes the number of available offices  912 , the size of the office (or size range of the different types of offices)  913 , the floor plan  914 , and the types of available contracts  915 . The types of available contracts  915  may include term contracts, such as hourly, daily or monthly, contract minimum commitments, for example 3 hour minimum for an hourly contract, deposit requirements, or other aspects or terms of the contract to book a business center facilities resource.  
      The visitor may book the business center facilities resource by clicking on the booking button  910 .  
     Updating Business Center Portal Inventory  
      The present invention provides the access to available inventory in “real time” by synchronizing the inventory of the portal and the business centers. Business centers have the option of manually entering their inventory to the business center portal, or they may have the business center portal obtain inventory updates from the business center server.  
       FIG. 10  is a generalized flow diagram of the process  1000  of updating the inventory database. According to the presently preferred embodiment, the business center portal queries the business center servers at step  1001  to determine whether the inventory in the business center&#39;s server is synchronized with the inventory of the business center portal, contained in the inventory database. At step  1002  the business center portal determines whether the two inventories are synchronized. If at step  1002  the system determines they are synchronized, then process  1000  proceeds to step  1003  and the synchronization ends. If at step  1002  the system determines the inventories are not synchronized, then the system proceeds with synchronization and advances to step  1004 .  
      At step  1004  the system compares the two inventories to determine if the business center has added or removed inventory since the last synchronization. If at step  1004  the system determines the business center bas not changed its inventory or its availability, and that the business center portal has not changed the availability of the business center&#39;s inventory, the system proceeds to step  1005  and the synchronization process is stopped.  
      If at step  1004  the system determines the business center has added or removed inventory since the last synchronization the system proceeds to step  1006  where the changes in the business centers inventory is reflected in the inventory database of the business center portal. If the business center removed inventory, for example when the business center booked an office or a conference room, at step  1006  the system will remove these booked facilities resources as available from the inventory database of the business center portal. If the business center has added inventory, for example when a booking is cancelled or additional facilities are added during an expansion, then at step  1005  the system will add these facilities resources as available in the inventory database of the business center portal.  
      If at step  1004  the system determines the business center portal has added or removed inventory since the last synchronization the system proceeds to step  1006  where the changes in the business center portal&#39;s inventory is reflected in the business center server. If the business center portal removed inventory, for example when the business center portal booked an office or a conference room, at step  1006  the system will remove these booked facilities resources as available from the business center server. If the business center portal has added inventory, for example when a booking is cancelled or a tenant moves out early, then at step  1006  the system will add these facilities resources as available in the business center server.  
      After step  1006  the system proceeds to step  1007  where a reconciliation check is performed. Depending upon the frequency of synchronizations between the business center portal and the business center server, there exists the possibility that the business center portal and business center may make conflicting changes to the availability of a facilities resource, for example when the business center and portal both book the same office for a given day. At step  1007  the system checks for such conflicts and in the event of a conflict sends a conflicts message at step  1009  to the management of the portal and the effected business center indicating the details of the conflict. If no conflict is detected at step  1007  the system proceeds to step  1008  where the synchronization process ends.  
      While the current embodiment performs the conflicts check at the end of the synchronization process, alternate embodiments could perform the check before the two inventories are synchronized.  
      An alternate embodiment of the present invention allows business center management to use the portal as their own inventory management system. In this embodiment the business center management make direct changes to the business center portal inventory database. For example, when business center management book a facility, as is done with brokers, the management (or the broker) may log in to the business center portal and enter the booking, thereby removing the facilities resource from the list of available resources for the given time period.  
     Selecting and Booking Business Center Inventory  
       FIG. 11  is a generalized flow diagram of the process  1100  of selecting and booking a business center facilities resource using the business center portal described in connection with FIGS.  4  though  9 . At step  1101  the system receives a query from an end user communication device. The query may specify the geographic area, the type of facility, as well as particulars relating to time, price or other aspects of business centers. At step  1102  the system retrieves the available business center facilities resources matching the query parameters from the inventory database of the business center portal. At step  1103  the system presents the results retrieved form the inventory database. In the presently preferred embodiment, the results are presenting by sending a web page to the end user communication device. The potential consumer may do additional searching, submitting additional queries, may ask for more information on a particular business center or business center facilities resource. The present invention will receive and respond to such queries as described in connection with steps  1101  through  1103 . Once they decide to book a resource the customer clicks a book button which sends a book request to the business center portal. At step  1104  the business center portal receives a booking request. At step  1105  the system checks that the resource has not already become unavailable while the consumer was viewing search results. If at step  1105  the system determines the resource is no longer available the system presents an update to the end user communication device at step  1103  indicating the latest state of the inventory, where the consumer may select and book from the available resources. If at step  1105  the system determines the resource is still available the system updates the inventory database to reflect the resource as booked, to prevent other consumers also viewing available properties from simultaneously booking that resource.  
      After the inventory database update step  1105 , the system proceeds to step  1106  where the system enters a reservation and booking process. The reservation and booking process may include paying for, or putting a deposit down on the reservation. In the presently preferred embodiment the booking process may only be accomplished when the consumer is logged into the system. However, alternate embodiments of the present invention could allow booking without the consumer being logged into the system. In such and embodiment the reservation and booking process may include collecting information on the consumer, and the reservation and booking process may occur prior to the inventory database update step.  
     Managing Business Center Inventory  
      The present invention provides for the management of business center sales, inventory, facilities, and employees. As described in  FIGS. 12-19 , managers or employees may log into the portal to manage the various aspects of their business center.  
       FIG. 12  is a generalized block diagram of an affiliate maintenance page  1200 . The affiliate maintenance page is contained within the sales section of the portal and provides business center managers or employees the ability to create, edit and manage the affiliate relationships. For example, a business center may be affiliated with another business center (or other entity) and will provide referral fees for business center facilities resources or amenities that are purchased from a referral from the affiliate.  
      Business center personnel may reach the affiliate maintenance page  1200  by clicking on the sales tab  1201 , and the affiliate maintenance tab  1202  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. Personnel may select the create tab  1203  or the edit tab  1204  to, respectively create or modify an entry for an affiliate. The affiliate create and modify fields include an affiliate code  1206  for identifying the affiliate, an name for the affiliate  1207 , a contact person for the affiliate  1208 , an address for the affiliate  1209 , a country for the affiliate  1210 , a phone number for the affiliate  1211 , a fax number for the affiliate  1212 , an email address for the affiliate  1213 , a commission for the affiliate  1214 , an amount per referral for the affiliate  1215 , a percentage of referral for the affiliate  1216 , and a number of month  1217 . An associated entry field  1206  is available to receive information, either as entered or modified text, selection from a list, or other ways of entering or modifying information. Once the plan information has been entered or modified the information is stored in the system by selecting the submit button  1218 .  
       FIG. 13  is a generalized block diagram of a plan maintenance page  1300 . Business center personnel may create or modify details of offices, conference rooms, or other business center facilities resources as a group by modifying a plan, and all business center facilities resources associated with that plan will be created or modified accordingly.  
      Business center personnel may reach the plan maintenance page  1300  by clicking on the sales tab  1301 , and the plan maintenance tab  1302  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. Personnel may select the create tab  1303  or the edit tab  1304  to, respectively create or modify an entry for a business center facilities resource plan. The business center facilities resource plan create and modify fields include the plan designator  1305 , the plan description  1306 , the room hour allowance  1307 , the room monthly fee  1308 , the room setup fee  1309 , and the room deposit facto  1310 . An associated entry field  1306  is available to receive information, either as entered or modified text, selection from a list, or other ways of entering or modifying information. Once the plan information has been entered or modified the information is stored in the system by selecting the submit button  1312 .  
       FIG. 14  is a generalized block diagram of a recurring fee maintenance page  1400 . Business center personnel may create or modify details of recurring fees. Business center personnel may reach the recurring fee maintenance page  1400  by clicking on the sales tab  1401 , and the recurring fee maintenance tab  1402  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. Personnel may select the create tab  1403  or the edit tab  1404  to, respectively create or modify an entry for recurring fee. The recurring fee create and modify fields include the quantity  1406 , the description of the item or service  1407 , the price  1408 , the start date or time  1410 , and the end date or time  1411 . Examples of descriptions, without limitation, include furniture, fax machines, computers, secretarial service, notary service, messenger service, high speed internet service/usage, and copier usage.  
       FIG. 15  is a generalized block diagram of the plan maintenance page  1500 . Business center personnel may view, create or modify details of business center facilities resource plans. Business centers often use a plan to define a particular type of room having certain characteristics. For example, one type of room is an executive office. Examples of other types of business center facilities resources are standard office, junior office, small conference room, large conference room, training room, etc. Using plan maintenance page  1500  business center personnel may manage their facilities by creating new plans or modifying existing plans. Business center personnel are able to change the details of the plans shown to visitors, and used internally by the portal and the business center, to effectuate changing the details of multiple rooms merely by changing one plan.  
      Business center personnel may reach the plan maintenance page  1500  by clicking on the sales tab  1501 , and the plan maintenance tab  1502  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. Personnel may select the create tab  1503  or the edit tab  1504  to, respectively create or modify an entry for recurring fee. By clicking either the create tab or the edit tab the visitor is provided the plan detail fields. The plan detail fields include the plan name  1505 , the plan description  1506 , the room hour allowance  1507 , the monthly fee  1508 , the setup fee  1509 , and the deposit factor  1510 . Once a business center personnel has created a new plan (or modified an existing plan) they can store the entry by clicking the create button  1511  (in the edit tab, the create button stores the changes to an existing plan).  
      In the presently preferred embodiment, the management and change pages only allow business center personnel to view, change and create facilities resources, services, equipment, inventory, pricing, customer and other information for their business center, or for business centers which have authorized them to make such changes (for example, if one business center allows an affiliate to make certain changes in their pricing as part of a shared management). In the presently preferred embodiment, this access to business center information in the business center portal is controlled through the login process. However, alternate embodiments of the present invention could allow other ways to control access and privileges to business center and customer information.  
       FIG. 16  is a generalized block diagram of the client move in, move out page  1600 . Business center personnel may view, create or modify details of move in, move out details. The move in/move out details are also used by business center staff to plan work assignments such as preparing rooms for clients or cleaning and maintenance after a client has moved out.  
      Business center personnel may reach the client move in, move out page  1600  by clicking on the client tab  1601 , and the plan the client move in, move out tab  1602  which is displayed when the client tab is selected. At the top of the page beneath the navigation bar is the business center&#39;s location identifier  1604 . In the presently preferred embodiment, the location identifier is a drop down menu allowing business center personnel to select from the locations of that business center (and would not display the locations of belonging to other business centers). Below the location identifier is the outstanding tasks box  1604 . The outstanding tasks box displays details of client moves and allows for the modification of the details of the move. The outstanding tasks box displays the pending moves and identifies the clients with the client identifier  1605 . Additionally, the suite being moved from is shown with the from suite identifier  1606 . The suite being moved to is shown with the to suite identifier  1607  the date of the move is shown in the move date field  1608 . Additional details are displayed, or are available by following a link in the move details field  1609 . Additional details may include instructions on the handling of a clients possessions or changes to the room to accommodate the new client, or return a room to a specific condition after a client has moved out.  
      Business center personnel may create additional move in or move out details and instructions using the move creation fields identifying the client  1610 , the operation (move in or move out)  1611 , from suite  1612 , to suite  1613 , and move date  1614 .  
      Once the move information has been entered or modified the information is stored in the system by selecting the submit button  1615 .  
       FIGS. 17A-7B  illustrate the client conference room reservation pages. Business center personnel may view the conference room reservations by client, allowing business center personnel to assist clients in scheduling conference rooms, day offices, and training rooms.  
       FIG. 17A  is a generalized block diagram of the client conference room reservation date selection page  1700 .  
      Business center personnel may reach the client conference room reservation date selection page  1700  by clicking on the client tab  1701 , and the conference room reservation tab  1702  which is displayed when the client tab is selected. At the top of the page beneath the navigation bar is the business center&#39;s location identifier  1703 . Below the business center&#39;s location identifier is a date selector  1704 . Once the location and date are entered the visitor retrieves the details of the conference room reservations by selecting the submit button  1705 . After clicking on the submit button the visitor is taken to page  1710  shown in  FIG. 17B .  
       FIG. 17B  is a generalized block diagram of the client conference room reservation page  1710 . The conference rooms and other facilities satisfying the entered criteria on page  1700  are displayed on page  1710 . For example, a conference room indicator  1711  defines a column of entry fields where the status of the conference room reservation is indicated on a row. The time slot associated with the row is given by the time slot identifier  1712 . The reservation status of the conference room as well as the other business center resource facilities listed on page  1710  is given by the reservation status identifier  1713 . In the presently preferred embodiment the reservation status identifier indicates either available or not available as the status of the business center facilities resource.  
      A day office indicator  1714  defines a column of entry fields where the status of the day office reservation is indicated on a row. A training room indicator  1715  defines a column of entry fields where the status of the training room reservation is indicated on a row.  
      Business center personnel may change the status of any facilities resource reservation by clicking on the reservation status identifier  1713  where they will be taken to a page where they can either create a new reservation or edit an existing reservation, and then store this information in the system&#39;s database.  
       FIGS. 18-19  illustrate the report pages. Business center personnel may view the reservations, facilities resource availability, and generate reports by client, facility, resource type, resource availability as well as obtain reports on utilization.  
       FIG. 18  is a generalized block diagram of the occupancy report page  1800 . Business center personnel may view details of the occupancy of the business centers, or group of business centers. The occupancy details are also used by business center staff to manage the business center including managing staffing, managing assigned tasks and work load, managing business center facilities pricing and special offers, managing promotional activities and advertising, and the like.  
      Business center personnel may reach the occupancy report page  1800  by clicking on the report tab  1801 , and the sales tab  1802  which is displayed when the report tab is selected, and the occupancy tab  1803  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. At the top of the page beneath the navigation bar is the business center&#39;s location identifier  1804 . Below the location identifier is the occupancy report box  1805 . The occupancy report box is a rows and column table of occupancy information presented to the business center personnel. The occupancy report box includes a column for date information  806 , a column for occupancy workstation percentage  1807 , a column for area percentage rented not including non-rentable area  1808 , and a column for area percentage rented including non-retable area  1809 . The occupancy workstation percentage information specifies the percentage or workstations, for example offices, that are rented. The row of information presented in the occupancy report table corresponds to the date information displayed in the date information cell of the date information column.  
      While the occupancy report shown in  FIG. 18  is for one specific date, the present invention provides for occupancy reports to be generated and displayed according to any range of dates or collection of specific dates, and may include any subset of the business center or group of business centers.  
       FIG. 19  is a generalized block diagram of the room availability report page  1900 . Business center personnel may view details of the availability of business center facilities resources. The room availability details are also used by business center staff to manage the business center including managing staffing, managing assigned tasks and work load, managing business center facilities pricing and special offers, managing promotional activities and advertising, and the like.  
      Business center personnel may reach the room availability report page  1900  by clicking on the report tab  1901 , and the sales tab  1902  which is displayed when the report tab is selected, and the room availability tab  1903  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. At the top of the page beneath the navigation bar is the business center&#39;s location identifier  1904 . Below the location identifier is the room availability report box  1905 .  
      The room availability report box  1905  is a table with columns indicating the suite  906 , suite description  1907 , suite size  1908 , number of persons accommodated by the suite  1909 , the name of the corporate client renting the suite  1910 , the name of the individual or employee of the client renting the suite  1911 , the beginning of the rental period, the contract date,  1912 , the end of the rental period, or end of the contract date,  1913 , the term used in the rental contract (such as daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, etc.)  1914 , the asking price for the suite  1915 , the current price the suite is renting for  1916 , the full price of the suite  1917 , and the difference between the full price  1917  and the asking price  1915 .  
      The rows of the table in the room availability report box indicate the particular suite, and the information in the cells of the tale correspond to the suite and the column indicator.  
      Below the room availability report box  1905  is a room availability summary report box  1919 . The room availability summary report box is a table with rows for workstations  1920 , rooms  1921 , rent amount  1922 , rent amount without including non-rentable area  1923 , rental amount including non-rentable area  1924 . The room availability summary report box table includes columns for available facilities resources  1925 , vacant facilities resources  1926 , occupied facilities resources  1927 , and percentage of available facilities resources  1928 .  
      The room availability report page  1900  provides business center personnel with a quick view of the booked status of the business center&#39;s facilities resources. Additionally, the present invention provides business center personnel with a concise and easy to read report on the relevant information including contract start and end dates, rental amount, room characteristics such as size and type, as well as any other information on the business center&#39;s facilities resources personnel may desire.  
     Presenting and Selecting Business Center Equipment  
       FIGS. 20-21  illustrate the equipment selection and report pages. The present invention provides a web accessible portal for visitors to search for, view, reserve and book business center equipment. In addition to renting business center facilities resources such as offices, conference rooms, training rooms, and the like, business center customers also rent equipment for their use during their stay in the business center. For example, a business center client may choose to rent a computer for use in an office, a second computer for use in a training room, and a projector for use in the training room.  
       FIG. 20  is a generalized block diagram of the equipment selection page  2000 . A business center client or visitor to the business center portal would typically view equipment selection page  2000  after booking a business center facilities resource, but the portal may allow visitors to view available equipment prior to a booking.  
      In the event the visitor views the equipment selection page after making a booking, or after logging in to the portal so that the system is aware of their bookings, when the visitor is presented with the equipment selection page  2000  the equipment shown will only be the equipment which is available for rental during the client&#39;s booked stay. Alternatively, all equipment available at a facility could be presented to a visitor and a date selection page could be used to confirm the availability of the equipment the visitor selects for confirmation of availability.  
      Equipment selection page  2000  includes an available equipment display box  2001 . The available equipment display box includes a list of the equipment available at the business center on during the booking of the client. The available equipment is arranged by category under the equipment category heading indicators  2002 . Examples of equipment categories include computers, projectors, audio-visual equipment, projectors, video conferencing equipment, speakerphones, copiers, shredders, fax machines, scanners, furniture (such as chairs, desks, couches, tables, bookcases, etc.), or any other form of equipment a business center client may wish to rent. Below the equipment category heading indicators are the individual pieces of equipment indicated by the equipment identifiers  2003 . Alternatively, the equipment identifiers could identify groups of equipment or equipment packages (several pieces of equipment rented as a package) where appropriate. A visitor wishing to select a piece of equipment or several pieces of equipment for rental selects according to their preferences by checking the appropriate equipment selector  2004 . Once the visitor has made their selections they may proceed to book the selected equipment for rent during their stay by clicking on the submit button  2006 . As users may not need a piece of equipment for their entire stay, the booking process allows the visitor to specify the exact dates and times they will need the equipment using a date and time selector similar to those illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 .  
       FIG. 21  is a generalized block diagram of the equipment availability report page  2100 . Business center personnel may view details of the availability of business center facilities equipment using the equipment availability report page  2100 . The equipment availability details are also used by business center staff to manage the business center including managing staffing, managing assigned tasks and work load, managing equipment inventory and maintenance, managing business center equipment pricing and special offers, managing promotional activities and advertising, and the like.  
      Business center personnel may reach the room availability equipment page  2100  by clicking on the report tab  2101 , and the sales tab  2102  which is displayed when the report tab is selected, and the equipment availability tab  2103  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. At the top of the page beneath the navigation bar is the business center&#39;s location identifier  2104 . Below the location identifier is the equipment availability report box  1905 . The equipment availability report box contains a table with columns for equipment  2106 , equipment description  2107 , special requirements for renting or using the equipment  2108 , contract start date, or the first date the equipment will be used by the client,  2109 , and contract end date, or the last day the equipment will be used by the client,  2110 . Additionally, the equipment availability report box may contain information on the time slot the equipment is being rented, for equipment rented by the hour or portion of a day. Other details, such as rental amount, asked rental price, or other information may also be included in other embodiments of the equipment availability report.  
      The equipment availability report page  2100  provides business center personnel with a quick view of the booked status of the business center&#39;s equipment resources. Additionally, the present invention provides business center personnel with a concise and easy to read report on the relevant information including contract start and end dates, rental amount, equipment characteristics, as well as any other information on the business center&#39;s personnel may desire.  
      In addition to viewing the availability of business center equipment, the present invention allows business center personnel to edit and create the equipment information stored by the business center portal. Using a page similar to the plan maintenance page  1500  shown in  FIG. 15 , business center personnel may create a new equipment item for rent, may create a new category of equipment to rent, and may make changes to the information on individual items of equipment or to categories of equipment. The present invention stores this information in a manner associated with the particular business center, including the location or locations of the business center. In this manner the request for available equipment will return to a visitor the equipment available for that business center at the location the visitor is interested in and during the time the visitor is interested in.  
     Presenting and Selecting Business Center Services  
       FIGS. 22-23  illustrate the service selection and report pages. The present invention provides a web accessible portal for visitors to search for, view, reserve and book business center services. In addition to renting business center facilities resources such as offices, conference rooms, training rooms, and the like, business center customers also rent services during their stay in the business center. For example, a business center client may choose to have a secretary and provide breakfast service for a morning meal.  
       FIG. 22  is a generalized block diagram of the service selection page  2200 . A business center client or visitor to the business center portal would typically view service selection page  2200  after booking a business center facilities resource, but the portal may allow visitors to view available services prior to a booking.  
      In the event the visitor views the service selection page after making a booking, or after logging in to the portal so that the system is aware of their bookings, when the visitor is presented with the service selection page  2200  the services shown will only be the services which are available during the client&#39;s booked stay. Alternatively, all services available at a facility could be presented to a visitor and a date selection page could be used to confirm the availability of the services the visitor selects for confirmation of availability.  
      Service selection page  2200  includes an available service display box  2201 . The available service display box includes a list of the services available at the business center on during the booking of the client. The available services are arranged by category under the service category heading indicators  2202 . Examples of service categories include secretarial services, food services, shipping services, equipment setup services, faxing, copying, typing, or any other services a business center client may wish to use. Below the service category heading indicators are the particular services indicated by the service identifiers  2003 . Alternatively, the service identifiers could identify groups of services or service packages (several services rented as a package) where appropriate. A visitor wishing to select a service or several services for rental selects according to their preferences by checking the appropriate service selector  2204 . Once the visitor has made their selections they may proceed to book the selected services for rent during their stay by clicking on the submit button  2206 . As users may not need a service for their entire stay, the booking process allows the visitor to specify the exact dates and times they will need the service using a date and time selector similar to those illustrated in  FIGS. 6 and 7 .  
       FIG. 23  is a generalized block diagram of the service schedule report page  2300 . Business center personnel may view details of the availability of business center facilities services using the service schedule report page  2300 . The service schedule details are also used by business center staff to manage the business center including managing staffing, managing assigned tasks and work load, managing inventory and maintenance, managing business center service pricing and special offers, managing promotional activities and advertising, and the like.  
      Business center personnel may reach the service schedule report page  2300  by clicking on the report tab  2301 , and the sales tab  2302  which is displayed when the report tab is selected, and the services tab  2303  which is displayed when the sales tab is selected. At the top of the page beneath the navigation bar is the business center&#39;s location identifier  2304 . Below the location identifier is the service schedule report box  2305 . The equipment availability report box contains a table with columns for services  2306 , service description  2307 , special requirements for using the service  2308 , contract start date, or the first date the service will be used by the client,  2309 , and contract end date, or the last day the service will be used by the client,  2110 . Additionally, the service schedule report box may contain information on the time slot the service is being provided, for services rented by the hour or portion of a day. Other details, such as rental amount, asked rental price, or other information may also be included in other embodiments of the service schedule report.  
      The service schedule report page  2300  provides business center personnel with a quick view of the booked status of the business center&#39;s services. Additionally, the present invention provides business center personnel with a concise and easy to read report on the relevant information including contract start and end dates, rental amount, service characteristics, as well as any other information on the business center&#39;s personnel may find useful.  
      In addition to viewing the availability of business center services, the present invention allows business center personnel to edit and create the service information stored by the business center portal. Using a page similar to the plan maintenance page  1500  shown in  FIG. 15 , business center personnel may create a new service item for rent, may create a new category of services to rent, and may make changes to the information on individual service items or to categories of services. The present invention stores this information in a manner associated with the particular business center, including the location or locations of the business center. In this manner the request for available services will return to a visitor the services available for that business center at the location the visitor is interested in and during the time the visitor is interested in.  
      The present invention provides for the synchronization between the business center portal and the business center servers used by independent or affiliated business centers to book, bill and manage their business centers. Alternatively, business centers may elect to use the business center portal to book, bill and manage their business center, or may use the business center portal for a portion of these functions while using their own business center servers for the remaining tasks.  
      While the above embodiments were described in the context of web accessible pages viewed through and internet browser, alternate embodiments could use other technologies or client side agents, to provide access to the pages and functionality described in the present application.  
      The invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments. However, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that it is possible to embody the invention in specific forms other than those of the preferred embodiments described above. This may be done without departing from the spirit of the invention.  
      Thus, the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way. The scope of the invention is given by the appended claims, rather than the preceding description, and all variations and equivalents which fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.