Patent Publication Number: US-2016232583-A1

Title: Revenue optimization using customer valuation of displayed characteristics of a specific resource

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/112,281 entitled “REVENUE OPTIMIZATION USING CUSTOMER VALUATION OF DISPLAYED CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPECIFIC RESOURCE” filed on Feb. 5, 2015. 
    
    
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to revenue management for a resource (e.g., a hotel room). More particularly, this invention pertains to adjusting the price of a resource to maximize revenue. 
     In many industries, providers of products and/or services do not factor into their prices the value their customers place on specific characteristics of the resource. Examples of specific characteristics include how quiet a specific hotel room is, its convenience to elevators or stairs, or the view the customer sees from the windows of that specific hotel room. Though some hotels do broadly segment their rooms, such as by view (e.g., water view or land view), these segments fail to take in to account their customers&#39; valuation of specific characteristics of individual rooms within each segment. 
     Surveys conducted after the customer has used the resource may tell their post-hoc satisfaction with the resource, but these post-hoc surveys cannot be used to adjust the price of the resource while the customer is still considering the purchase. As a result, providers are unable to accurately determine an optimum price point when offering a specific resource to a particular customer or customer segment, and therefore cannot maximize revenue. 
     One example where the value of specific characteristics of a resource may be a substantial source of extra revenue is in the hotel industry. Hotels often sort their rooms into broad categories or segments that either convey some general attribute about the room (e.g., “water view” and “garden view”), or implied difference in quality (e.g., “standard room” and “preferred room”). However, within these broad categories, many differences exist between individual hotel rooms, and many customers are frequently willing to pay a substantially higher price for different rooms within the same broad category. 
     For example,  FIG. 1  shows the view from hotel room 9106 at Disney&#39;s All-Star Sports Resort in Orlando, Fla.  FIG. 2  shows the view from hotel room 9306 at the same resort (i.e., the room 2 floors directly above room 9106). Both hotel rooms cost the same amount, are virtually identical inside, are similarly furnished, reside in the same building at the hotel, face the same direction, and are classified by Disney into the same category or segment (“Standard”). When available at the same time, the rooms are always offered at the same rate. However, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the view from room 9106 is almost entirely blocked by a large piece of artwork attached to the building. Further, since room 9106 is located on the ground floor, it is exposed to substantial pedestrian traffic during the morning and evening, as customers staying in rooms on the upper floors come to the ground level and walk past room 9106 to get to the lobby, restaurants, and transportation. Finally, room 9106 is exposed to more noise from the pool area directly in front of the building, than is room 9306 two floors higher. Thus, Disney may be able to charge slightly more for room 9306 to those customers who express a preference for its view and relative quietness, rather than charging the same amount for both rooms. Conversely, Disney may be able to charge more for room 9306 to customers who prefer ground level access and do not place value on the view from the room. However, Disney cannot determine which customers place value on which aspects of the two rooms, and Disney cannot offer either room at increased rates to a customer who is willing to pay more for a particular room. 
     While the foregoing description applies to two specific hotel rooms at one location, the general problem is applicable to virtually any hotel in any location , and to any semi-fungible resource with secondary considerations. For example, airlines with assigned seating protocols could gain revenue by offering seats at prices customized based on a given customer&#39;s valuation of characteristics of a seat (e.g., window or aisle seat). As a further example, restaurants who accept reservations could gain revenue by offering preferred seats for a fee wherein the fee is dependent on the value that a given customer places on characteristics of a given table (e.g., table or booth, proximity to the kitchen, view, etc.). 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Aspects of the present invention provide a system and method operable to adjust the price of a particular resource as a function of customer specific data. 
     In one aspect, a system and method determine whether to increase the price of a resource, prior to displaying the price to the customer, based on the direct or indirect value the customer or customer segment assigns to the resource. In one embodiment, aspects of the invention adjust the a price of a resource based on how many previous customers have viewed, “liked,” or “favorited” the resource. 
     In another aspect, a system and method for optimizing revenue of a given resource estimate the amount to change the resource&#39;s price, based on the direct or indirect value the customer or customer segment assigns to the resource. 
     In another aspect, a system manages and optimizes the price of a resource by taking in to account the value of the resource&#39;s displayed characteristics for a customer or customer segment. The system further optimizes the amount to change the resource&#39;s price for a customer or customer segment based on criteria including but not limited to information such as customer satisfaction surveys already obtained from customers who have previously purchased the resource, or information already received by the potential customer or customer segment. This optimization is performed, for example, at the time a price is requested for the potential customer so that an optimal price can be determined based on the particular characteristics of the resource that the customer or customer segment values. 
     Aspects of the present invention can be applied to pricing for any resource having quantifiable characteristics of value to a customer, such as direct and indirect value that are capable of being expressed, estimated, or predicted. The determined indirect value may be based on demographic characteristics, observed and/or predicted behavior, or other factors. 
     In one aspect, when a request for a resource (e.g., a hotel room) is received from a customer, a price for the resource is determined based on various factors. In one embodiment, the price takes indirect value (e.g., the view from a hotel room or proximity of a hotel room to an elevator) into account as one of the factors when determining the price. This indirect value can be determined in many ways. In one embodiment, the person, company or entity selling the resource (“the company”) may display the resource&#39;s characteristics on a computer network such as the World Wide Web (i.e., Internet), along with an offer to sell the resource at an unspecified price. Further, the company may implement well-known features which allow the user to save, bookmark, “like,” “favorite” or otherwise indicate that the user considers the resource worthy of future consideration. For example, the company may display the view from a specific hotel room to the customer, and allow the customer to indicate whether the view is desirable. When the customer requests the price of the specific resource (e.g., hotel room), the value of the resource&#39;s characteristics is calculated based on information acquired or derived from, or predicted by the customer or customer segment associated with the customer and the price at which the resource is offered to the customer is adjusted. Aspects of the invention thus take into account, in determining the offer price of the resource, how to adjust the price for a specific resource to a specific customer. The determination of the resource&#39;s offer price may be made at the level of the individual customer or by categorization of the customer into an appropriate customer segment, or a combination thereof. Thus, in one embodiment, in the context of a hotel operation, the number of customers and potential customers that have viewed, “bookmarked,” “favorited,” or “liked” a photograph or video of the view from a particular hotel room, may be factored in to the hotel room&#39;s price, as well as what value the particular customer is known to the system to place on the view from a room. In one embodiment, where a set of predefined prices (e.g., hotel room rack rates) exists for a resource, the predefined price may be adjusted higher if the customer expresses higher than average interest for a specific resource. Aspects of the present invention thus optimize the pricing of specific resources for specific customers in order to maximize total profit, revenue, value, and resource utilization. 
     In another aspect, a method of optimizing a price of a resource includes receiving, at a resource price optimizer, a request from a computing device. The request includes a customer identifier corresponding to a customer of a plurality of customers and a resource identifier corresponding to the resource. A base price corresponding to the resource identifier is retrieved from an inventory database. The inventory database includes inventory data for each resource of a plurality of resources. The inventory data includes a base price for each resource of the plurality resources. The resource is a resource of the plurality of resources such that the inventory data includes a base price for the resource. Customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier is retrieved from a customer relationship management system database. The customer relationship management system database includes customer specific data for each customer of the plurality of customers. A second price is determined as a function of the base price and the customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier. The determined second price is returned to the computing device. 
     In another aspect, a method of optimizing a price for resource includes receiving, at a resource price optimizer, a request from the computing device. The request includes a customer identifier corresponding to a customer of a plurality of customers and a resource identifier corresponding to the resource. The resource price optimizer retrieves from an inventory database a base price corresponding to the resource identifier. The inventory database includes inventory data for each resource of a plurality of resources. The inventory data includes a base price for each resource of the plurality of resources. The resource is a resource of the plurality of resources such that the inventory data includes a base price for the resource. Customer segment data is retrieved from a customer segment system as a function of the customer identifier. The customer segment system database includes customer segment data for each customer segment of a plurality of customer segments. The resource price optimizer determines a second price as a function of the base price and the retrieved customer segment data and returns the determined second price to the computing device. 
     In another aspect, a system is configured to optimize price of a resource. The system includes an inventory database, a customer relationship management system database, a customer segment system database, and resource price optimizer. The inventory database includes inventory data for each resource of a plurality resources. Inventory data includes a base price for each resource of the plurality of resources. The resource is a resource of the plurality resources such that the inventory data includes a base price for the resource. The customer relationship management system database includes customer specific data for each customer of a plurality of customers. The customer segment system database includes customer segment data for each customer segment of a plurality of customer segments. The resource price optimizer is configured to receive a request from a computing device. The request includes a customer identifier and a resource identifier. The customer identifier corresponds to a customer of the plurality of customers, and the resource identifier corresponds to the resource. The resource price optimizer retrieves from the inventory database base price corresponding to the resource identifier. The resource price optimizer retrieves, from the customer relationship management system database, customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier. The resource price optimizer retrieves, from the customer segment system, customer segment data as a function of the customer relationship management data. The resource price optimizer determines a second price as a function of the base price, the customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier, and the retrieved customer segment data. The resource price optimizer returns the determined second price to the computing device. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a photograph of the view from the main window in hotel room 9106 at Disney&#39;s All-Star Sports Resort in Orlando, Fla. 
       FIG. 2  is a photograph of the view from the main window in hotel room 9306 at Disney&#39;s All-Star Sports Resort in Orlando, Fla. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the functional components of one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart showing overall operation of a revenue optimization system as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart showing a process of generating a price for a resource as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 6  is a screen capture of a resource recommendations screen for a user interface according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a system for optimizing a price of a resource according to one embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart of a system for optimizing a price of a resource as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  is a flow chart of a system for optimizing a price of a resource as shown in  FIG. 7  which continues from the flow chart of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 10  is a flow chart of a system for optimizing a price of a resource as shown in  FIG. 7  which continues from the flow chart of  FIG. 9 . 
       FIG. 11  is a flow chart of a system for optimizing a price of a resource as shown in  FIG. 7  which continues from the flow chart of  FIG. 10 . 
    
    
     Reference will now be made in detail to optional embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawing and in the description referring to the same or like parts. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention. 
     To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments described herein, a number of terms are defined below. The terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a,” “an,” and “the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but rather include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as set forth in the claims 
     The phrase “in one embodiment,” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. 
     The terms “coupled” and “connected” mean at least either a direct electrical connection between the connected items or an indirect connection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices. 
     Terms such as “providing,” “processing,” “supplying,” “determining,” “calculating” or the like may refer at least to an action of a computer system, computer program, signal processor, logic or alternative analog or digital electronic device that may be transformative of signals represented as physical quantities, whether automatically or manually initiated. 
     EXAMPLE 1 
     For the purposes of the following description of EXAMPLE 1, the following terms are defined. These definitions are not intended to limit or restrict the scope of the present invention, whose scope is defined solely the claims 
     Resource: A quantifiable, saleable commodity or service that is typically provided to a customer in exchange for payment. In the context of this invention, resources are assumed to be finite and discrete in quantity and/or availability. Examples: hotel rooms, air travel, cruise line travel, train travel. 
     Value: Quantifiable benefit to the provider of the resource, deriving directly or indirectly from a customer&#39;s consumption of the resource. Examples: revenue, profits, advertising exposure, public relations. 
     Customer segment: A subset of customers or potential customers, based on some common characteristic. May include zero or more customers or potential customers. Any number of customer segments may be defined for the set of all customers or potential customers. 
     Bookmark: A computer menu entry or icon which allows the user to go directly to something (such as an Internet site) they have seen before. 
     Like: A feature in communication software such as social networking services, Internet forums, news websites and blogs where the user can express that they like, enjoy, prefer, or find useful certain content. 
     Favorite: See “Like.” 
     Social media network: Various forms of electronic communication (such as Web sites, computer applications and programs) through which users share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content. 
     The following description illustrates the invention in the context of a system for allocating and pricing hotel rooms by taking into the customer&#39;s estimated value the room&#39;s specific characteristics, such as the specific view seen from a specific hotel room. However, the present invention can be applied to allocation and pricing for any resource with displayable characteristics of value, and is not intended to be limited to hotel room management and pricing. Accordingly, the context of the following description is not intended to limit in any way the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims. 
     In one embodiment, the system and method takes into account multiple attributes of a resource&#39;s value, including direct and indirect value, in order to determine how to allocate and price hotel rooms for a hotel operation. The indirect value may be determined based on actual historical data, tracking or predictive modeling, estimates, demographics, or any other relevant factors. Customer segmentation may be employed in order to determine and provide such indirect value measurements. 
     Functional Components 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a conceptual block diagram of the functional components of one embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment, various functional elements of  FIG. 3  are implemented as software components running on a website. 
     In Step A, Customer  100  requests information via Customer Request  110  about a resource from a Company Website  101 . This information may include a description or list of attributes the resource should have, and may include the dates or times on which the Customer  100  may need to use the resource. 
     The Company Website  101  accepts this request and in Step B queries Customer/Customer Segment Database  105  for any information already known or estimated about the Customer  100 , such as demographic, previous request history, expressed or implied preferences for the resource, or other information collected directly or indirectly from or about the Customer  100 . That information about the Customer  100  is returned to Company Website  101  in Step C as Customer/Customer Segment Data  106 . 
     The Customer/Customer Segment Data  106  and Customer Request  110  are combined into Customer Resource Request  104 , by Company Website  101 , and the result is sent in Step D to the Optimizer  102  module to obtain an optimal price. 
     In Step E, Optimizer  102  queries Resource Database  103  for the resource&#39;s primary and secondary characteristics. These are returned to Optimizer  102  in Step F. 
     In step G, Optimizer  102  requests the resource&#39;s standard price (i.e., base price) from Standard Resource Pricing Model  107 , and this standard price is returned in Step H to the Optimizer  102  as Resource Standard Price  111 . In one embodiment, the standard or base price is already adjusted for expected or historical demand for rooms in the block corresponding to a room identified by the customer request  110 . In another embodiment, the Optimizer  102  determines such demand pricing and adjusts the standard, base, or rack price accordingly as discussed below. 
     In Step J, Optimizer  102  passes the Resource Standard Price  111  and Customer Resource Request  104  to the Secondary Resource Pricing Model  109 . Secondary Resource Pricing Model evaluates the information in the Customer Resource Request, including any request history, and expressed or implied preferences for the resource, and returns a Resource Secondary Price  112  to the Optimizer in Step K. 
     In Step L, Optimizer  102  checks Resource Assignment Module  113  to see whether the resource can be assigned to the Customer  100 . Resource Assignment Module  113  checks Resource Assignment Database  114  in Step M to see whether the resource has already been assigned. That resource status is returned to the Resource Assignment Module  113  in Step N. It is contemplated that the resource assignment module  113  and resource assignment database  114  may be integral with the resource database  103  and/or standard resource pricing model  107 . 
     If the resource has already been assigned, the price at which it has been assigned is returned to the Optimizer in Step P as Resource Assigned Price  114 . 
     If the resource has already been assigned, the Optimizer  102  compares Resource Secondary Price  112  (i.e., second price) to Resource Assigned Price  114 . If Resource Secondary Price  112  is greater than Resource Assigned Price  114 , the Optimizer  102  requests Resource Assignment Module  113  to see whether the customer already assigned to the resource can be given or moved to a similar resource, so that Customer  100  can be given the current resource. If the customer already assigned to the resource specifically requested the specific resource, then the resource assignment module  113  determines that the customer already assigned to the resource cannot be moved or reassigned. 
     If the customer already assigned to the resource can be given, moved, assigned, or allocated to a similar resource, the Optimizer  102  creates Recommendation  108 , which describes the resource&#39;s specific primary and secondary characteristics, and includes the Resource Secondary Price  112  (i.e., a second price), to Company Website  101  in Step Q. Company Website  101  presents the information in Recommendation  108  to Customer  100  in Step R. 
     If the customer already assigned to the resource cannot be given, moved, assigned, or allocated to a similar resource, or the Resource Secondary Price  112  (i.e., a second price) is less than or equal to Resource Assigned Price  114 , the Optimizer  102  may perform a search for resources similar to the one originally requested, using Resource Database  103 . For example, the hotel room next door to the one being requested may be sufficiently similar to the hotel room being requested, that the Customer  100  would find them equivalent. If the Optimizer  102  finds a similar resource, Steps G through P are repeated by the Optimizer to optimize the price of the similar resource, and the similar resource&#39;s attributes are used in Recommendation  108 . 
     Resource Assignment 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a flow chart depicting the process of assigning a resource according to one embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the various functional elements of  FIG. 4  are implemented as software components. 
     The process begins by extracting the Customer / Customer Segment data  410 , then requesting the Standard Resource Price  420  from the Standard Resource Pricing Model. Once the Standard Resource Price  420  has been received, the Resource Secondary Price  430  is requested. 
     In Step  440 , a determination is made as to whether the requested resource has already been assigned to another customer. If the answer is no, a Recommendation is created in Step  470 , including the optimal recommended price for the resource. This recommendation is returned to the Customer and the process ends. 
     If the requested resource has already been assigned to another customer, then in Step  450  a determination is made as to whether the current Secondary Resource Price is greater than the Resource Assigned Price already quoted to the previous customer. 
     If the answer in  450  is yes, control flows to step  460 , where it is determined whether the existing customer can be reassigned to a similar resource. In one embodiment, where the resource may be a hotel room, this step checks whether the customer currently assigned to a specific hotel room at a specific price, can be moved to a similar resource without violating the terms that the currently assigned customer has already agreed to. 
     For example, if the currently assigned customer had expressed no preference for any type of hotel room, and can be moved to a similar hotel room without adverse consequences, then the hotel management can increase their revenue by making that move and assigning the hotel room to the customer willing to pay more for it. 
     However, if it is determined in Step  450  that the currently assigned customer cannot be re-assigned to another resource, Step  465  checks whether any similar resources can be found that match or nearly match the characteristics of the original resource. In one embodiment, where the resource is a hotel room, this step may search for alternate hotel rooms that are identical or very similar to the hotel room originally requested. For example, another hotel room immediately adjacent to the original hotel room may offer a view that is acceptably similar to the original hotel room. 
     If Step  465  determines that a similar resource is available, control is passed back to Step  420  to determine the standard and secondary prices for the similar resource, and the process continues as before with this similar resource. 
     If Step  465  determines that no similar resource is available, Step  480  notifies the customer that no resource is available. The customer or the website may restart the process by offering a resource similar to the one originally displayed at the beginning of the process. 
     Resource Pricing 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a flow chart depicting the process of creating a price for a resource according to one embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the various functional elements of  FIG. 5  are implemented as software components running on a conventional company website, as is known in the art. 
     The process begins with Step  510  by extracting the Customer/Customer Segment and Resource Data sent from the Optimizer, including the standard price of the resource. 
     In Step  520 , the system collects the Customer&#39;s previous history of interactions with the resource. In one embodiment, where the resource is a hotel room, examples of the Customer&#39;s interactions with the resource may include metrics such as (but not limited to):
         the number of times the Customer has viewed the resource on the Company Website;   the length of time the Customer spent viewing the resource on the Company Website; or   the type and number of times the Customer has “liked”, “favorited”, “bookmarked” or otherwise indicated a preference for the resource, where “liked”, “favorited”, and “bookmarked” are as known in the art; or   any previous feedback, either direct or indirect, the Customer may have provided about a previous use of or interaction with this specific resource, or similar resources, including public or private comments and/or notes.       

     In Step  530 , the system collects the Customer Segment&#39;s previous history of interactions with the resource. In one embodiment, where the Customer is either known to be or is assumed to be female, the parent of small children, living in the southeastern United States, an example of a Customer Segment may be “Southeast Mothers of Small Children.” The system collects either individual or aggregate data on the Customer Segment&#39;s interactions with the resource. In one embodiment, where the resource is a hotel room, examples of the Customer&#39;s interactions with the resource may include metrics such as (but not limited to):
         the number of times the Customer Segment has viewed the resource on the Company Website;   the length of time the Customer Segment spent viewing the resource on the Company Website;   the number of times the Customer Segment has “liked”, “favorited”, “bookmarked” or otherwise indicated a preference for the resource, where “liked”, “favorited”, and “bookmarked” are as known in the art; or   any previous feedback, either direct or indirect, the Customer Segment may have provided about a previous use of or interaction with this specific resource, or similar resources.   In Step  535 , the system collects the history of all previous interactions with the resource. This history may be either individual, aggregate, or summary data of all customers&#39; previous interactions with the resource. In one embodiment, where the resource is a hotel room, examples of all customer interactions may be:   the average number of times each previous customer has viewed the resource on the Company Website;   the average length of time each previous customer has spent viewing the resource on the Company Website;   the average number of times each previous customer has “liked”, “favorited”, “bookmarked” or otherwise indicated a preference for the resource, where “liked”, “favorited”, and “bookmarked” are as known in the art; and   the average previous feedback, either direct or indirect, that previous customers may have provided about a past use of or interaction with this specific resource, or similar resources.       

     In Step  540 , the results from Step  520  and Step  530  are compared to the results from Step  535 . If the Customer or Customer Segment history from Steps  520  and  530  indicates a higher than average preference for the resource as compared to Step  535 , the price of the resource may be adjusted to reflect higher (or lower) demand or preference for this specific resource by the Customer or Customer Segment. For example, if the resource is a hotel room, and the Customer or Customer Segment history indicates a higher than average preference for this specific hotel room, the nightly price of the hotel room may be incremented by $5 (or some other markup coefficient or increase) for this specific Customer or Customer Segment. 
     In Step  550 , the price generated in Step  540  is communicated back to the Optimizer  102 , and the process ends with Step  560 . 
     Resource Recommendation Screen 
       FIG. 6  displays a typical Resource Recommendation Screen for one embodiment of the invention, namely a hotel website, where the resource being offered is a specific hotel room. 
     The resource&#39;s primary characteristics (e.g., inventory data), such as the number of beds and their size, are displayed, along with secondary characteristics (e.g., resource specific data) such as the view from that specific hotel room, its walking distance to transportation and the lobby, and other user ratings of this specific room. 
     The upper right corner of the screen accepts input from this user, including allowing the user to indicate this specific room is a “favorite”; to “bookmark” this room for easy, fast, future reference; and to share this specific room&#39;s view through the user&#39;s social media networks. The aggregate number of users who “favorite,” “bookmark,” or “share” this specific resource may be tracked using these inputs. 
     In this embodiment, the resource&#39;s price is displayed in a yellow box in the top, middle part of the screen (“$161$151/night”). The “$161” symbol may be used to indicate the typical, maximum, or otherwise inflated price of the resource, in order to contrast the recommended price (here, “$151/night”) to the Customer  100 . However, the symbol need not be an actual price recommended, charged, or paid by a previous customer; it merely serves as a contrast to the recommended price. 
     The recommended price (“$151/night” in this embodiment) may be this resource&#39;s Standard Price (i.e., base price), or it may be the resource&#39;s Secondary Price (i.e., second price), which may be slightly higher (or lower) than the Standard Price, depending on the analysis described earlier. In either case, the Customer  100  is not informed whether the price is the Standard (i.e., base) or Secondary price (i.e., second price). 
     In this embodiment, the bottom part of the screen (i.e., user interface) displays public comments made about this resource by this user and other users; and any private notes made about this resource by this user. These comments are free-form text fields, which can be analyzed for expressions of customer preference, satisfaction, or desire. 
     From the above description, it will be apparent that the invention disclosed herein provides a novel and advantageous system and method of optimizing prices for a resource, by taking into account primary characteristics (i.e., inventory data) and secondary characteristics (i.e., resource specific data). The above-described embodiments present the invention in the context of a hotel operation in which room rates are optimized based on actual or perceived customer value of the room view. The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, other operational architectures, data formats, architectures, applications, user interfaces, and process flow schemes may be used. Accordingly, the disclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the preceding claims. 
     EXAMPLE 2 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 7-11 , a second embodiment of a revenue optimization or resource price optimization system  700  is shown. Although the system  700  appears to differ in architecture from the system of  FIGS. 3-6 , it will be appreciated that elements of the components of the system of  FIGS. 3-6  can be regrouped while retaining similar overall function. For example, resource price optimizer  702  as depicted in  FIG. 7  includes optimizer  102 , secondary pricing model  109 , resource assignment module  113 , and company website  101 ; customer  100  is split into customer  706  and computing device  704 ; customer/customer segment database  105  has been split into customer relationship management system database  708  and customer segment system database  710 ; and inventory database  712  includes resource assignment database  114  and standard pricing model  107 . It is also contemplated that resource price optimizer  702  may be integrated into the computing device  704  while the computing device  704  is associated with the customer  706  or that the resource price optimizer  702  may be integrated into the computing device  704  while the computing device  704  is associated with a travel agent or other third party who is not the customer  706  but a representative thereof. In the example of  FIGS. 7-11 , the resource price that is optimized is the price of a hotel room. As used with respect to  FIGS. 7-11 , the term resource is synonymous with room and resource identifier is synonymous with room number. 
     The system  700  is configured to optimize a price of a resource. The system  700  includes the inventory database  712 , the customer relationship management system database  710 , the customer segment system database  710 , and the resource price optimizer  702 . In one embodiment, the resource system database  103  is integral with the inventory database  712 . The inventory database  712  includes inventory data for each resource of a plurality of resources. The inventory data includes a base price for each resource of the plurality of resources. The resource for which the price is to be optimized is a resource of the plurality of resources such that the inventory data includes a base price for the resource whose price is to be optimized. In one embodiment, the base price stored in the inventory database for each resource of the plurality of resources is adjusted as a function of actual, historical, and/or predicted demand. In one embodiment, the inventory data includes at least one of a resource identifier, a date, a base price, a sold at price, and assigned customer identifier, an estimated resource demand, or a base markup amount as shown in Table A. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE A 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Inventory Database Or Room Inventory Database—A database of 
               
               
                 information about the availability and cost of specific hotel rooms  
               
               
                 (i.e., resources) on specific days (i.e., as specific times). 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Room number or  
                 The unique identifier of this hotel room 
               
               
                 resource identifier 
                 number (e.g., room 1234). In other 
               
               
                   
                 implementations, this is the unique 
               
               
                   
                 identifier of the resource. 
               
               
                 Date 
                 The date on which the data in this 
               
               
                   
                 database record applies to this 
               
               
                   
                 resource. For example, hotel may 
               
               
                   
                 decide to have a higher base price for a 
               
               
                   
                 hotel room on New Year&#39;s Eve than on 
               
               
                   
                 a random Tuesday in September. 
               
               
                 Base price 
                 The default or standard cost of the 
               
               
                   
                 resource. 
               
               
                 Sold at price 
                 The price at which the hotel room (i.e., 
               
               
                   
                 resource) was sold to the customer 
               
               
                   
                 represented by the customer identifier 
               
               
                   
                 on the state. 
               
               
                 Customer identifier 
                 The identifier of the customer assigned 
               
               
                   
                 to this hotel room on this date 
               
               
                 Estimated room demand or  
                 An estimate of the anticipated demand 
               
               
                 estimated resource demand 
                 for this room (see i.e., resource) on this 
               
               
                   
                 date. In this implementation, it is a 
               
               
                   
                 number between 0 corresponding to 
               
               
                   
                 very low demand and 1 corresponding 
               
               
                   
                 to very high demand. 
               
               
                 Base markup amount or  
                 The initial additional revenue amount 
               
               
                 markup coefficient 
                 to request for this specific resource on 
               
               
                   
                 this date. In this implementation, the 
               
               
                   
                 base markup amount is US $5. 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The customer relationship management system database  708  includes customer specific data for each customer of a plurality of customers. In one embodiment, the customer relationship management data includes at least one of prior resource requests, bookmarked resources, browsed resources, customer value, loyalty program status, price sensitivity, or typical number of travel companions as shown in TABLE B. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE B 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 customer relationship management database—a database of 
               
               
                 information about specific customers 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Customer ID or customer  
                 A unique identifier for each customer 
               
               
                 identifier 
                 in the database 
               
               
                 Bookmarked rooms or  
                 A list of resources rooms this customer 
               
               
                 bookmarked resources 
                 has bookmarked, white, or favored it on 
               
               
                   
                 this hotel&#39;s website 
               
               
                 Browsed rooms or browsed  
                 A list of rooms or resources at this hotel 
               
               
                 resources 
                 this customer has viewed on this hotel&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 website 
               
               
                 Customer value 
                 A number that represents the 
               
               
                   
                 customers value to the hotel. In this 
               
               
                   
                 implementation, customer value is 
               
               
                   
                 based on a scale from 0 corresponding 
               
               
                   
                 to low value to 1 corresponding to high- 
               
               
                   
                 value. 
               
               
                 Loyalty program status 
                 A yes no field indicating whether this 
               
               
                   
                 customer is a member of this hotel&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 loyalty program if such a loyalty 
               
               
                   
                 program exists. 
               
               
                 Price sensitivity 
                 A number that represents this hotel&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 estimate of this customer sensitivity to 
               
               
                   
                 prices for this hotel room. In this 
               
               
                   
                 implementation, it is a scale from 0 
               
               
                   
                 corresponding to not sensitive to 1 
               
               
                   
                 corresponding to highly sensitive. 
               
               
                 Typical travel companions 
                 Demographic information about the 
               
               
                   
                 typical traveling companions for this 
               
               
                   
                 customer. In this implementation, it is 
               
               
                   
                 stored as adult or child. 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The customer segment system database  710  includes customer segment data for each customer segment of a plurality of customer segments. In one embodiment, the customer segment data includes at least one of segment profitability score, segment average prior resource requests, segment average bookmarked resources, segment average browsed resources, segment price sensitivity, segment average resource viewing length, or segment average time on site as shown in TABLE C. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE C 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 customer segment database—a database of information about 
               
               
                 customer segments. In this implementation, a segment is defined as a 
               
               
                 combination of the customer state of residence, ZIP Code, and  
               
               
                 number of companions in the traveling party. 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 Segment profitability score 
                 A number that represents this hotel&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 estimate of this segments overall 
               
               
                   
                 profitability. In this implementation, 
               
               
                   
                 it is a scale from 0 corresponding to 
               
               
                   
                 not at all profitable 21 corresponding 
               
               
                   
                 to highly profitable. 
               
               
                 Segment average prior rumor that 
                 A number that represents the average 
               
               
                 requests or segment average prior 
                 number of times a customer in this 
               
               
                 resource requests 
                 segment makes a specific resource or 
               
               
                   
                 room request over the customer&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 entire relationship with the hotel 
               
               
                 Segment average bookmarked  
                 A number that represents the average 
               
               
                 rooms were segment average  
                 number of times a customer in this 
               
               
                 bookmarked resources 
                 segment bookmarks, likes, or favorites 
               
               
                   
                 a specific resource or room over the 
               
               
                   
                 customer&#39;s entire relationship with 
               
               
                   
                 the hotel. 
               
               
                 Segment average browsed  
                 A number that represents the average 
               
               
                 rooms or segment average  
                 number of times a customer in this 
               
               
                 browsed resources 
                 segment views a specific room over the 
               
               
                   
                 customer&#39;s entire relationship with 
               
               
                   
                 the hotel (i.e., resource provider). 
               
               
                 Segment price sensitivity 
                 A number that represents the hotel&#39;s 
               
               
                   
                 estimate of price sensitivity for all 
               
               
                   
                 customers in the segment. In this 
               
               
                   
                 implementation it is a scale from 0 
               
               
                   
                 corresponding to not at all sensitive to 
               
               
                   
                 1 corresponding to highly sensitive. 
               
               
                 Segment average resource 
                 The amount of time the average 
               
               
                 viewing length 
                 customer in the segment spent looking 
               
               
                   
                 at this specific hotel room (i.e., 
               
               
                   
                 resource). In this implementation, it 
               
               
                   
                 is the amount of time the average 
               
               
                   
                 customer in the segment spent 
               
               
                   
                 viewing the website page holding this 
               
               
                   
                 room&#39;s specific information in their 
               
               
                   
                 past 24 hours of interaction with the 
               
               
                   
                 website of the hotel. 
               
               
                 Segment average time on site 
                 The amount of time the average 
               
               
                   
                 customer in the segment spent on the 
               
               
                   
                 hotel&#39;s website. 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The resource system database  103  includes resource specific data for each resource of the plurality of resources. In one embodiment, the resource specific data includes at least one of a number of beds, a bed type, square footage, or a floor number as shown in TABLE D. In one embodiment, the resource system database  103  is integral with the inventory database  712  such that the resource specific data is classified as inventory data. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE D 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 room resource or resource system database—a database of 
               
               
                 information about specific resources. In this implementation, each  
               
               
                 entry in the database is information about one specific hotel room. 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Room number or resource  
                 Uniquely identifies this resource in 
               
               
                   
                 identifier 
                 the database. In this implementation 
               
               
                   
                   
                 it is the hotel room number. 
               
               
                   
                 Number of beds 
                 The number of beds in this hotel room 
               
               
                   
                 Bed type 
                 The kind of beds found in this hotel 
               
               
                   
                   
                 room. In this implementation it is a 
               
               
                   
                   
                 list such as king bed or queen bed. 
               
               
                   
                 Square feet 
                 The size of the room and square feet 
               
               
                   
                 Floor 
                 The floor number on which this hotel 
               
               
                   
                   
                 room is located 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Referring now to  FIGS. 8-11 , a method of optimizing a price of a resource includes receiving at  802  a request  110  from the computing device  704  at the resource price optimizer  702 . In one embodiment, the request  110  is received at the resource price optimizer  702  via a communications network (e.g., the Internet). In one embodiment, the request  110  includes at least one of a check-in date, a checkout date, a length of time customer you&#39;d resource, a length of time customer viewed website, or a number of people. In one embodiment, the request  110  includes at least a customer identifier corresponding to a customer  706  of a plurality of customers and a resource identifier corresponding to the resource. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE E 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 request 110—a list of data in a request from a customer for a  
               
               
                 specific resource. In this implementation, the resource is a  
               
               
                 specific hotel room on a specific set of days. 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Room number or resource  
                 The hotel room number (e.g., room 
               
               
                   
                 identifier 
                 1234) 
               
               
                   
                 Check-in date or resource  
                 The date or time on which the 
               
               
                   
                 start time 
                 customer will begin using the resource 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (e.g., check into the hotel). 
               
               
                   
                 Checkout date or resource  
                 The date or time in which the 
               
               
                   
                 stop time 
                 customer will cease using the resource 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (e.g., check out of the hotel). 
               
               
                   
                 Length of time customer  
                 The amount of time this customer 
               
               
                   
                 viewed room or resource 
                 spent looking at this specific hotel 
               
               
                   
                   
                 room. In this implementation, it is 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the amount of time the customer spent 
               
               
                   
                   
                 viewing the website page holding this 
               
               
                   
                   
                 rooms specific information within the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 past 24 hours. 
               
               
                   
                 Length of time customer  
                 The amount of time this customer has 
               
               
                   
                 viewed website 
                 spent on the hotel&#39;s entire website. In 
               
               
                   
                   
                 this implementation, it is the amount 
               
               
                   
                   
                 of time the customer spent viewing 
               
               
                   
                   
                 the hotel&#39;s website in the past 24 
               
               
                   
                   
                 hours. 
               
               
                   
                 Number of people in room 
                 The number of people that the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 customer says will be staying in the 
               
               
                   
                   
                 room on the dates or at the times 
               
               
                   
                   
                 requested. 
               
               
                   
                 Customer ID or customer  
                 A unique identifier associated with 
               
               
                   
                 identifier 
                 the customer generating the request 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     At  808 , the resource price optimizer  702  retrieves from the inventory database  712  a base price corresponding to the resource identifier received in the request  110 . The inventory database  712  includes inventory data for each resource of a plurality resources, and the inventory data includes a base price for each resource of the plurality resources. The resource is a resource of the plurality resources such that the inventory data includes a base price for the resource. 
     At  804 , the resource price optimizer  702  determines whether the resource (i.e., room) identified by the request  110  has already been assigned to a customer other than the customer  706 . In one embodiment, the resource price optimizer  702  makes this determination by retrieving inventory data from the inventory database  712 . If the resource corresponding to the resource identifier in the received request  110  is assigned to another customer who has specifically requested the resource, then the resource price optimization method ends at  806 . 
     At  810 , the resource price optimizer  702  retrieves from the customer relationship management system database  708  customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier of the request  110 . The customer relationship management system database  708  includes customer specific data for each customer of the plurality of customers. 
     At  812 , the resource price optimizer  702  retrieves from the customer segment system database  710  customer segment data as a function of the customer relationship management data retrieved from the customer relationship management system database  708 . The customer segment system database  710  includes customer segment data for each customer segment of a plurality of customer segments. 
     At  814 , the resource price optimizer  702  retrieves from the resource system database  103  resource specific data including a number of beds, bed type, square footage, or a floor number. As discussed above, the resource specific data may be retrieved from the inventory database  712  when the resource system database  103  is merged with the inventory database  712 . 
     Generally, the resource price optimizer  702  then determines a second price for the resource as a function of the base price, the customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier, and the retrieved customer segment data. In one embodiment, the resource price optimizer  702  determines the second price (i.e., secondary price) by determining a weight as a function of the customer relationship management data associated with the customer identifier and the retrieved customer segment data, multiplying the determined weight by a markup coefficient to determine the price increase, and adding the price increase to the base price to determine the second price which is ultimately returned to the computing device  704  for use by the customer  706 . It will be appreciated that many different weighting schemes may be used and that amounts (i.e., increases or decreases) may be simply added to or taken away from the base price as a function of the customer relationship management data and retrieved customer segment data without the need to calculate a weight to be multiplied by the markup coefficient. However, use of a markup coefficient makes the system  700  more readily adaptable to resources in different price ranges for which different sized price increases may or may not be tolerable. 
     In one embodiment, at  816 , the base price is adjusted as a function of expected demand for the resource. At  818 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the retrieved customer relationship management data includes a length of time customer viewed resource website that exceeds a segment average viewing length of the retrieved customer segment data. At  820 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the retrieved customer relationship management data includes a length of time customer viewed website that is more than double a segment average time on site of the retrieved customer segment data. At  822 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the request includes a number of people in room equal to a typical travel companion number of the retrieved customer relationship management data. At  824 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the request includes a resource identifier matching a resource identifier in prior resource requests of the retrieved customer relationship management data. At  826 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the request includes a resource identifier matching a resource identifier in bookmarked resources of the retrieved customer relationship management data. At  828 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the request includes a customer identifier matching a customer identifier of a loyalty program in the customer relationship management system database  708  or the retrieved customer relationship management data includes a loyalty program status indicating that the customer identifier is enrolled in a loyalty program associated with the resource. At  830 , a price increase is added to the base price to determine the second price by increasing the weight when the customer relationship management data includes a price sensitivity less than a segment price sensitivity of the retrieved customer segment data. At  832 , the second price  730  (i.e., secondary price  112 ) is returned to the computing device  704  by the resource price optimizer  702  for use by the customer  706 . As discussed above with reference to  FIG. 6 , the customer  706  may be offered the resource at the determined second price  730 . 
     It will be understood by those of skill in the art that navigating between user interface views is accomplished by selecting a tab or object in a current user interface view corresponding to another user interface view, and in response to selecting the tab or object, the user interface updates with said another user interface view corresponding to the selected tab or object. 
     It will be understood by those of skill in the art that providing data to the system or the user interface may be accomplished by clicking (via a mouse or touchpad) on a particular object or area of an object displayed by the user interface, or by touching the displayed object in the case of a touchscreen implementation. 
     It will be understood by those of skill in the art that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques (e.g., data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof). Likewise, the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both, depending on the application and functionality. Moreover, the various logical blocks, modules, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor (e.g., microprocessor, conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, state machine or combination of computing devices), a digital signal processor (“DSP”), an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Similarly, steps of a method or process described herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
     A controller, processor, computing device, client computing device or computer, such as described herein, includes at least one or more processors or processing units and a system memory. The controller may also include at least some form of computer readable media. By way of example and not limitation, computer readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer readable storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology that enables storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Communication media may embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and include any information delivery media. Those skilled in the art should be familiar with the modulated data signal, which has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media. As used herein, server is not intended to refer to a single computer or computing device. In implementation, a server will generally include an edge server, a plurality of data servers, a storage database (e.g., a large scale RAID array), and various networking components. It is contemplated that these devices or functions may also be implemented in virtual machines and spread across multiple physical computing devices. 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. 
     It will be understood that the particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention. The principal features of this invention may be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims. 
     All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein may be made and/or executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of the embodiments included herein, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of the present invention of a new and useful REVENUE OPTIMIZATION USING CUSTOMER VALUATION OF DISPLAYED CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPECIFIC RESOURCE it is not intended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth in the following claims.