Patent Publication Number: US-2015088729-A1

Title: Online property reservation service provider for reserving properties for lease

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a computer program product, system, and method for an online property reservation service provider to reserve properties for lease. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Property owners may require that a prospective renter sign a “deposit-to-hold” agreement to have the property manager hold or reserve the property prior to signing the lease agreement to provide the renter a brief amount of time to gather a deposit and first payment and to further consider the property. A deposit-to-hold agreement typically specifies a hold amount and a cancellation period, usually within 24 to 72 hours, during which the prospective renter may cancel the reservation without being charged the hold amount. The renter usually provides the property manager a cashier&#39;s check, personal funds, credit card charge or money order for the hold amount. If the cancellation period expires without the renter executing the lease and providing any necessary deposit, then the property manager may deposit the cashier&#39;s check, personal funds or money order in the hold amount and cancel the reservation. If the prospective renter completes the lease within the cancellation period, then the money order or check is returned to the renter or applied to any deposit or rent. 
     To carry out the deposit-to-hold, after deciding to hold the property, the renter has to locate a bank and obtain a cashier&#39;s check or money order, which takes time and may not be attainable at the moment if the renter decides to proceed on a weekend or after banking hours. Further, with the current system, the property manager has the administrative burden of securing the cashier&#39;s check or money order and depositing in time if the cancellation period expires. 
     There is a need in the art for improved techniques for reserving a property before the lease is signed. 
     SUMMARY 
     Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for an online property reservation service provider to reserve properties for lease. A computer implemented property reservation service database stores information on rental properties each having at least one unit to lease at the property. The property reservation service database a hold amount, a cancellation period and an authorization hold period defined for an authorization hold, wherein the authorization hold period is greater than the cancellation period and runs following the cancellation period. A reservation request is received from the renter computer for a reserved property comprising one of the properties at which the renter seeks to lease a unit at the reserved property and information on a renter financial account, wherein the reservation request occurs before the lease of the property is signed. At least one online electronic transaction is initiated to place an authorization hold of the hold amount on the renter financial account for the reserved property in response to the reservation request, wherein the authorization hold maintains the hold amount as unavailable in the renter financial account. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of an online property reservation community. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an embodiment of property information maintained in a property reservation service database. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an embodiment of reservation parameters for an authorization hold. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an embodiment of property reservation information maintained in the property reservation service database. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an embodiment of renter review information maintained in the property reservation service database. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment of operations to generate and provide a property reservation page for a renter. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a request to initiate the authorization hold. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a request for information from a renter for a reserved property the renter has reserved. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a cancellation request. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a received release code to allow release of the authorization hold. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a request to add a renter to a wait list. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process an event where a renter is removed from the reservation list for a property. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates an embodiment of operations to generate a property manager reservation page for a property. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a reply to the property management reservation page. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process an expiration of an authorization hold period for a property. 
         FIG. 16  illustrates an embodiment of operations to process a request from a property manager for review information for a property. 
         FIG. 17  illustrates an embodiment of a renter property reservation page. 
         FIG. 18  illustrates an embodiment of a renter property review page. 
         FIG. 19  illustrates an embodiment of a renter reservation status page. 
         FIG. 20  illustrates an embodiment of a property manager reservation page. 
         FIG. 21  illustrates an embodiment of a property manager review page. 
         FIG. 22  illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment in which embodiments may be implemented. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Described embodiments provide an online property reservation service to facilitate reservations and authorization holds on properties registered in a property reservation service database. With described embodiments, upon receiving from a renter computer a reservation request for a property, a property reservation service provider places an authorization hold on the renter financial account. The authorization hold may be released in response to the renter computer cancelling the reservation prior to an expiration of a cancellation period. The property manager computer may transfer the hold amount from the renter financial account (referred to as banking the hold) following expiration of the cancellation period and before expiration of an authorization hold period. A property reservation service database may store reservation codes for properties to use to reserve the property. Further, with described embodiments a page may be presented to the renter computer requesting a property review as part of the reservation request processing to collect reviews from prospective renters that were sufficiently committed to the property to reserve the property and have an authorization hold placed on their financial account to reserve the property. 
     With the described embodiments, the property manager does not have to securely hold a physical renter check for a deposit hold while the reservation is held and the renter does not have to obtain a physical check to present to the property manager and then concern themselves with retrieving the check if they timely cancel the reservation. Instead, the renter may conveniently instantly initiate an authorization hold from a portable computing device, such as a smartphone, to reserve the property, and have all the relevant time periods automatically applied. Further, the renter may conveniently cancel the reservation and release the authorization hold from a computing device prior to the expiration of the cancellation period. The property manager may also use a computing device, such as a smartphone or computer, to conveniently manage property reservations, release authorization holds for reservations and bank reservation holds without having to manage checks and paperwork from the renter, and without having to take the time to physically return the renter checks for the authorization hold. 
       FIG. 1  is an embodiment of an online property reservation community  100  for facilitating a reservation for a rental property including a property reservation service provider (“PRSP”) server  101  that accesses a property reservation service database  102  implemented in a storage system  104  to allow property managers at property manager computers  108  to register properties having rental units with the property reservation service database  102  and to allow renters at renter computers  106  to reserve the property and initiate an authorization hold on their financial account to reserve the property in the property reservation service database  102 . A property manager comprises a person authorized to perform leasing duties for the property, including, but not limited to deposit-to-holds for the property, such as an owner, leasing agent, property manager, etc., and a renter comprises a person seeking to rent a unit at a property. The property may be any property for lease, such as a single family home, apartment, within a building or home. 
     The authorization hold initiated as part of the reservation request through the PRSP server  101  may comprise an authorization hold placed on the renter financial account to authorize the property manager to charge the hold amount if the renter does not sign the lease within a cancellation period. The renter financial account may comprise any account on which an authorization hold may be placed, such as a credit card, debit card, etc. 
     During the cancellation period, the renter or property manager may release the authorization hold to cancel the reservation so that the hold amount is not charged. During an authorization hold period, which follows the cancellation period, the property manager may bank the hold amount, which causes an electronic online transaction to transfer the hold amount from the renter financial account to the property manager financial account if the renter did not execute the lease nor cancel within the cancellation period. In certain embodiments, after the authorization hold period has expired, the authorization hold on the renter financial account may automatically be released to make the hold balance available again in the renter financial account. The authorization hold period may be longer than the cancellation period. For instance, the cancellation period may extend for 24 to 72 hours and the authorization hold period may extend for 30 days. Further, the authorization hold period may correspond to the time at which the authorization hold automatically falls off the account. 
     Each renter computer  106  and property manager computer  108  includes a viewer program  110  and  112 , respectively, to render a graphical user interface (GUI) to enable the renters and property managers to access pages of information on rental properties and accounts from the server  101 . The viewer program GUI  110  and  112  may comprise an Internet web browser, an email program, a text message program cable of rendering Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messages, a proprietary application or program, etc. 
     The server  101  includes a manager  114  having program components to implement property reservation service operations, including a request handler  116  to handle requests from the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers; a reservation manager  118  to manage reservation requests, authorization holds and leasing related operations; a page creator  120  to manage the creation of pages having information on property rentals and deposit hold transactions to return to the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers; and an account manager  122  to create and manage accounts in the online property reservation community  100  for renters and properties. 
     The property reservation service database  102  may include property information  124  having information on registered properties having rental units available to lease and renter information  126  having information on renter accounts such as contact information, credit rating, income, profile information, such as personal and professional, etc., financial account information identifying a financial account the renter has authorized to be used for authorization holds, where the renter financial account is capable of having an authorization hold placed, such as a credit card or debit card. The database  102  may further include reservation information  400  having information on reservations resulting in authorization holds on renter financial accounts. 
     The property reservation service provider would contract with an acquiring bank, also known as an acquirer, that processes credit and debit card payments for the property reservation service provider. An acquirer system  150  comprises an online computer system which the property reservation service provider server  101  communicates with over the network  140  to place authorization holds and charges on renter financial accounts maintained at the credit or debit card issuing bank that maintains the renter&#39;s financial account, e.g., credit or debit card. 
     The page creator  120  generates pages of information for the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers from page forms including a renter property reservation page  1700  ( FIG. 17 ) provided to renter computers  106  to enable renters to reserve a property with an authorization hold on the renter financial account prior to signing the lease; a property wait list page  130  enabling the renter to be added to a wait list if they cannot reserve the property; a renter property review page  1800  ( FIG. 18 ) enabling the renter to review the property subject to the reservation; a renter reservation status page  1900  ( FIG. 19 ) to provide the renter information on their reservation; a property manager reservation page  2000  ( FIG. 20 ) to enable the property manager to review the status of reservations and cancel or bank the authorization hold; and a property manager review page  2100  ( FIG. 21 ) to enable the property manager to manage renter reviews for a property. 
     The pages  130 ,  1700 ,  1800 ,  1900 ,  20000 ,  2100 , and  2200  may be encoded as a computer renderable page, such as web page using a document markup language to provide content and formatting, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extended Markup Language (XML), extensible HTML (XHTML), dynamic HTML (DHTML) or encoded using other document coding languages and techniques known in the art. The pages may be encoded for different operating environments, such as a smartphone, desktop, tablet computer, etc. 
     The PRSP server  101 , storage system  104 , database  102 , renter computer  106 , and property manager computer  108  may be implemented in one computer system or in distributed computing systems distributed across the network  140 . In further embodiments, any of the server  101 , database  102 , and storage system  104  may be implemented in one or more computing devices accessible over a network  140 . 
     In certain embodiments, the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers may comprise laptop computers, desktop computers, smartphones, tablet computers or any other suitable computational device known in the art. 
     The database  102  may be comprised of one or more database servers and databases, such as distributed databases, heterogeneous databases, etc., including information to implement the online property reservation community. 
     The network  140  may comprise a Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet, Storage Area Network (SAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), wireless network, etc. The server  101  may comprise one or more enterprise servers, mainframes, servers, etc., and the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers may each comprise a server, desktop computer, workstation, laptop, smart phone, tablet computer, telephony device, personal digital assistant (PDA), etc., or other suitable computing device. 
     The storage system  104  may comprise one or more suitable storage devices, such as interconnected hard disk drives (e.g., configured as a DASD, RAID, JBOD, etc.), solid state storage devices (e.g., EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), flash memory, Solid State Devices (SSD), flash disk, storage-class memory (SCM)), electronic memory, magnetic tape media, tape cartridges, etc. 
     The manager  114  components and the viewer  112  may comprise software programs loaded in a memory and executed by a processor. In alternative embodiments, some portion or all of the manager  114  and viewer  112  components may be implemented in a hardware device, such as a dedicated integrated circuit, e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), expansion card, etc. 
     The online property reservation community  100  may be implemented in a cloud computing environment. 
       FIG. 2  is an embodiment of property information  200  for one property maintained in the property information  124 , which would be created by the property manager. The property information  200  includes a unique property identifier  202 ; property information  204 , such as address, neighborhood, contact information, descriptive information, etc.; a reservation code  206  associated with the property  202  that is used by renters and the property manager to identify the property; a release code  208  that the property manager or renter may use to release the authorization hold after the cancellation period has expired; reservation parameters  300  providing configurable settings for the reservation; financial account information  212  providing information on a property manager financial account to use for lease related operations; the number of leasable units  214  at the property  202 ; the number of leased units  216  no longer available; a reservation list  218  identifying active reservations by renters; and a wait list  220  identifying renters on a wait list waiting to reserve the property  202  and initiate an authorization hold. 
     The property information  200  may be generated when the property manager creates the information for the property  200 , such that the reservation manager  118  generates a reservation code  206  and release code  208  when the property manager creates the property information in the property reservation service database  102 . 
       FIG. 3  is an embodiment of the reservation parameters  300  for a reservation. These parameters  300  may be configured by the property manager or the property reservation service provider who maintains the server  101  and database  102 . The reservation parameters  300  include a hold amount  302  of the amount of the authorization hold on the renter financial account; a cancellation period  304  during which the renter may cancel the authorization hold without being charged the hold amount  302 ; and an authorization hold period  306  during which the authorization hold is maintained. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an embodiment of an instance  400   i  of the reservation information  400  for one reservation. The reservation information instance  400 , may include a reservation ID  402  providing a unique identifier of the reservation; a unique renter identifier (ID)  404  of the renter requesting the reservation; a property ID  406  of the reserved property subject to the reservation; a reservation start time  408  indicating a time the reservation was placed on the reserved property; and a reservation status  410  indicating a current status of the reservation, such as authorization hold active, authorization hold released, hold amount transferred, cancellation period expired, authorization expired, etc. If the renter cancels within the cancellation period  304 , the authorization hold is released. If the property manager/owner cancels following expiration of the cancellation period and before expiration of the authorization hold period  306 , then the hold amount  302  is transferred from the renter financial account to the property manager financial account through the acquirer system  150  which acquires credit card payment from the card-issuing bank of the renter financial account. 
     In certain embodiments, the property manager may further charge through the online property reservation service provider an application fee (e.g., $20) and the online property reservation service provider may further charge an additional processing fee (e.g., $3). Further, a renter may fill out an application for a rental unit and pay the application fee (e.g., $20) without requesting a reservation and initiating the authorization hold. 
       FIG. 5  is an embodiment of renter review information  500  that one of the renters has provided for one of the properties when reserving the property. The renter review information  500  instance may be maintained in the renter information  126  in the database  102 . Thus, the renter review information  500  is for a property which the renter sufficiently approved to reserve the property. The renter review information  500  includes the renter ID  502 , such as one of the renter IDs  402  ( FIG. 4 ) and a property ID  504  for which the review is provided; an authorization hold period  506  when the reservation occurred; a location rating  508  providing the renter review of the location of the property; a unit rating providing a review of a characteristic of the unit, such as overall impression, size, etc.; a review of the rental rate  512 ; and a suppression field  514  indicating whether the property manager selected to suppress this review so it is not presented to renters requesting reviews for properties. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an embodiment of operations the server  101  and manager components  114 , including the reservation manager  118  and page creator  120 , perform to respond to a request for a property reservation page from a prospective renter presenting a property reservation code  206  for a registered property. Upon receiving (at block  600 ) a request for information for a property identified by reservation code  206  ( FIG. 2 ), the reservation manager  118  determines (at block  602 ) whether the prospective renter has a reservation  400 , for the requested property identified by the reservation code  206 . If yes, control proceeds (at block  604 ) to  FIG. 8  for reservation processing. If (at block  602 ) the requesting renter does not have a reservation  400 , for the property identified by the reservation code  206 , then the reservation manager  118  determines (at block  606 ) whether there are available units at the reserved property. There are available units when the number of leasable units  214  exceeds the number of leased units  216  and the number of active reservations or authorization holds indicated in the reservation list  218 . If (at block  608 ) there are available units, then the leasing manager  118  calls the page creator  120  to generate (at block  610 ) a renter property reservation page  1700  ( FIG. 17 ) coded with a GUI graphical element, e.g., a confirmation reservation button  1702 , to enable the prospective renter to transmit a request to confirm the reservation for the property and place an authorization hold for the identified property. As shown in  FIG. 17 , the reservation page  1700  may further include information on the cancellation period  1704 , the amount of the authorization hold  1706 , a transaction fee charged  1708 , and the total amount of the authorization hold  1710  to be placed on the renter financial account  406 . 
     If (at block  608 ) there are no available units, then the page creator  120  generates a property wait list page  130  coded with a GUI graphical element to enable the prospective renter to transmit a request to be added to the wait list  220  for the property identified by the reservation code  206 . The leasing manager  118  may then transmit the generated page  1700  or  130  to the renter computer  106  to be rendered in the renter viewer  110 . 
     In alternative embodiments, upon receiving a reservation request when the requesting renter has not already reserved the property, the reservation manager  118  may not determine whether there are available units at the property and instead provide the renter property reservation page  1700  to allow the renter to reserve the property and have the authorization hold placed on the renter financial account. This would allow the property manager to stack reservations and take more reservations than available units at the property. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the manager components  114 , such as the request handler  116 , reservation manager  118 , and page creator  120  to process a renter request to reserve a property. Upon receiving (at block  700 ) a reservation request, which may be transmitted when the renter selects the confirmation reservation button  1702  from the renter property reservation page  1700 , the leasing manager  118  invokes the page creator  120  to generate (at block  702 ) a renter property review page  1800  ( FIG. 18 ) in which the renter may review the property. As shown in  FIG. 18 , the renter property review page  1800  includes user selectable fields in which the renter initiating the reservation may rate, by way of example, the property location  1802 , rental rate  1804 , and unit size  1806 , and a next step button  1808  to transmit the review and proceed with the deposit hold processing. The reservation manager  118  may then transmit the generated page  1800  to the renter computer  106 . 
     Upon the server  101  receiving (at block  704 ) a reply to the renter property review page  1800 , if (at block  706 ) there were reviews provided, as opposed to being left blank, then the leasing manager  118  updates (at block  708 ) the renter view information  500  with the provided reviews for location  508 , unit  510 , and rental rate  512  ( FIG. 5 ). If (at block  706 ) reviews were not provided or after they are updated (at block  716 ), then the leasing manager  118  may place (at block  710 ) an authorization hold of the hold amount  302  on the prospective renter financial account for the reserved property identified by the reservation code  206 . In certain embodiments, the acquirer implements the authorization holds, such as done by AUTHORIZE.NET® (AUTHORIZE.NET is a registered trademark of InfoSpace, Inc.). 
     In certain embodiments, the authorization hold period  306  for the reservation may exceed the authorization hold the acquirer (e.g., acquiring bank) permits, i.e., the acquirer authorization hold, for the property reservation service provider. In such case, the reservation manager  118  may implement a reservation authorization hold period  306  at block  710  in  FIG. 7  by initiating a plurality of online transactions with the acquirer computer system  150  to place multiple acquirer authorization holds for an acquirer authorization hold period, wherein the authorization hold period  306  for the reservation is a multiple of the acquirer authorization hold period. For instance, if the acquirer bank can only obtain an acquirer authorization hold of three days and the authorization hold period  306  for the reservation is thirty days, then the reservation manager  118  would initiate online financial transactions with the acquirer computer system  150  to place ten acquirer authorization holds, one every three days but before the current acquirer authorization hold expires to maintain an authorization hold for the entire reservation authorization hold period  306 . In this way, there is an interval between each of the plurality of initiated online transactions for the acquirer authorization hold such that the interval is slightly less than the acquirer authorization hold period. Having the interval slightly less than the acquirer authorization hold period ensures a new acquirer authorization hold is initiated before the current acquirer authorization hold expires to avoid there being a lapse in the authorization hold on the renter financial account for any time period during the reservation authorization hold period  306 . 
     Reservation information  400 , is generated (at block  712 ) including a reservation ID  402 , renter ID  404 , property ID  406 , a reservation start time  408  which may comprise a time the reservation request was received or when the authorization hold was placed, and a reservation status  410  of pending. The renter is added (at block  714 ) to the reservation list  218  for the property. Messages may be sent to the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers with information on the authorization hold, including cancellation and authorization hold periods and requirements. 
     With the described embodiments for generating reviews, property managers can be assured that reviews will be by those who have a likely positive perspective of the property because the reviews are written by those who have reserved the property and initiated an authorization hold on their financial account. Property managers may also be assured that reviews will tend to be more favorable given that the renter was sufficiently satisfied with the property to make the reservation. This addresses a substantial concern in the property management community with negative reviews on properties placed by current tenants or people that did not decide to commit to the property. With the review system of the described embodiments, reviews will tend to be provided by those not having a predisposed animus toward the property or property owners because the review is provided as part of the reservation processed when the renter was sufficiently content to commit to reserving a property with an authorization hold. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the manager components  114 , such as the request handler  116 , reservation manager  118 , and page creator  120 , to process an information request for a property identified by a reservation code  206  from a renter identified as having a pending reservation  400 , on the property. Upon receiving (at block  800 ) such an information request, if (at block  802 ) the cancellation period  304  has not expired, for instance the time from the reservation start time  408  to the current time does not exceed the cancellation period  304 , then the reservation manager  118  calls the page creator  120  to generate (at block  804 ) a cancelation page  132  coded with a user selectable graphical element to enable the renter through the renter computer  106  to cancel the reservation, e.g., a cancel reservation button. 
     If (at block  802 ) the cancellation period has expired, for instance the time since the reservation start time  408  to the current time does exceeds the cancellation period  304 , then the page creator  120  is called to generate (at block  808 ) a status page  2000  ( FIG. 20 ) including information on the reservation status, including information on the time remaining in the authorization hold period, etc. The generated page  2000  or  132  is transmitted (at block  806 ) to the renter computer  106 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the manager components  114 , such as the request handler  116 , reservation manager  118 , and page creator  120 , to process a cancellation request from a renter transmitted through the cancellation page  132  to cancel an identified reservation. Upon receiving (at block  900 ) the cancellation request, if (at block  902 ) the cancellation is received or initiated outside of the cancellation period, i.e., the cancellation period has expired, then a message is returned (at block  906 ) indicating the cancellation period has expired and the renter cannot release the authorization hold. Otherwise, if the cancellation period did not expire, then the reservation manager  118  communicates with the financial institution of the renter financial account online to remove (at block  908 ) the authorization hold and updates (at block  910 ) the reservation information  400 , to indicate the reservation status  410  is canceled by the renter. The renter may then be removed (at block  914 ) from the reservation list  218  for the property  202  and messages are sent (at block  916 ) to the renter  106  and property manager  108  computers confirming the renter cancellation. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the reservation manager  118  upon receiving (at block  1000 ) the release code  208  for a reserved property from the renter  106  or property manager  110  computers. In response to this code  208 , if (at block  1002 ) the authorization hold period has not expired, then the cancellation operations at blocks  906 ,  908 ,  910 ,  914 , and  916  in  FIG. 9  are performed to cancel the reservation. If the authorization hold period has expired (from the yes branch of block  1002 ), then control ends without implementing the cancellation. The property manager may, in their discretion, use or provide the release code  208  to the renter to allow the code  208  to be transmitted to the server  101  to release the authorization hold after the cancellation period has expired and before expiration of the authorization hold period. Further, the property manager may use the release code  108  to cancel the authorization hold within the cancellation period. In this way, the property manager may override the system to cancel or release the authorization and reservation hold for whatever business reason. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the reservation manager  118  in response to receiving (at block  1100 ) a request from the renter computer  106  to be added (at block  1102 ) to the wait list  220  for a property identified by a reservation code  206 . In response to this request, the renter ID of the requesting renter is added to the wait list  220  for the identified property. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the reservation manager  118  in response to a renter being removed from the reservation list  218  for a property as a result of a cancellation or expiration of the authorization hold period or move-in. Upon a renter being removed (at block  1200 ), if (at block  1202 ) there is no renter on the wait list  220 , then control ends. Otherwise, if there is a renter on the wait list  220 , then control proceeds (at block  1204 ) to block  706  et seq. in  FIG. 7  to create a reservation  400  for the renter at the top of the wait list  220 . 
       FIG. 13  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the manager components  114 , such as the request handler  116 , reservation manager  118 , and page creator  120 , to process a request from the property manager computer  108  for information on reservations for a property identified by a reservation code. In response to such request (at block  1300 ), a property manager reservation page  2000  ( FIG. 20 ) is generated with a reservation section  2002  for reservations. A determination is made of the renters having reservations from the reservation list  218  for the requested property. For each renter i in the reservation list  218  a loop (at block  1306 - 3120 ) of operations  1308  through  1318  are performed. At block  1308 , an entry i in the reservation section  2002  is added for a renter, e.g., Joe Smith, Jill Smith, Sam Smith, etc. If (at block  1310 ) the cancellation period has not expired for renter i, then the reservation manager  118  codes (at block  1312 ) in the section  2002  for entry i information of a time remaining for cancellation and authorization hold periods and a graphical element  2006  enabling invocation of an electronic transaction to release the hold as shown in entry  2004  in FIG.  20 . The “bank the hold”  2008  graphical element enables invocation of an electronic transaction to settle the authorization hold and cause the transfer of the hold amount  302  from the renter financial account to the property manager financial account  212 . In entry  2004 , the “bank the hold” checkbox  2008  is shown as disabled because the cancellation period has not expired, so this option is not yet available. 
     If (at block  1310 ) the cancellation period has expired and if (at block  1314 ) the authorization hold period has not expired, then the leasing manager  118  codes (at block  1316 ) in property reservation page  2000  in entry i indicating the cancellation period expired, a time remaining in the authorization hold period, and a graphical element  2014  enabling invocation of an electronic transaction to bank the hold and another graphical element  2012  enabling invocation of an electronic transaction to release the hold as shown in entry  2010 , having the “bank the hold” graphical element  2014  shown as enabled because the cancellation period expired and having the “bank the hold” graphical element  2014  enabled because the authorization hold period has not expired. 
     If at (block  1314 ) the authorization hold period has expired, then entry i is coded (at block  1318 ) to indicate that the release and “bank the hold” options are disabled as shown in entry  2016  in  FIG. 20 . The entries  2018  and  2020  show that the authorization hold was released and that the hold was banked, respectively. 
     After coding the property manager reservation page  2000 , the generated page  2000  is transmitted to the property manager computer  108 . 
       FIG. 14  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the manager components  114 , such as the request handler  116 , reservation manager  118 , and page creator  120 , to process a reply to the property management reservation page  2000  from the property manager computer  108 . Upon receiving (at block  1400 ) the reply, a loop (at block  1402  through  1418 ) of operations  1404  to  1416  is performed for each entry/renter i for which selection was made in the reservation section  2100 . If (at block  1404 ) the property manager selected to release the authorization hold for the renter/entry i, prior to the authorization hold period expiring, then an online financial transaction with the acquirer computer system  150  is initiated (at block  1406 ) to release the authorization hold and the reservation status  410  for the reservation is updated (at block  1408 ) to indicate that the property manager released the authorization hold. 
     If (at block  1410 ) the property manager selected to bank the hold, then an online financial transaction is initiated (at block  1412 ) with the acquirer computer system  150  to settle the authorization hold and transfer the hold amount from the renter financial account to the property manager financial account. The reservation status  410  is updated (at block  1414 ) to indicate that the authorization hold amount was banked or transferred to the property manager financial account. The renter i is removed (at block  1416 ) from the reservation list  218 . 
       FIG. 15  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the reservation manager  118  upon detecting (at block  1500 ) an expiration of the authorization hold period for a reservation, as determined from the reservation start time  408 . Upon detecting the expiration, control proceeds (at block  1502 ) to block  908  et seq. in  FIG. 9  to remove the authorization hold for the renter. 
     In certain described embodiments, if no action has been taken prior to the expiration of the authorization hold period, then the system may assume the move-in occurred at the reserved property and the authorization hold is removed because the property manager did not proactively cancel the reservation upon learning the lease would not be timely signed. In other embodiments or implementations, other actions may occur upon expiration of the authorization hold period, such as contacting the property manager to confirm the reservation was canceled. 
       FIG. 16  illustrates an embodiment of operations performed by the manager components  114 , such as the request handler  116 , reservation manager  118 , and page creator  120 , to process a request from the property manager computer  108  for a property manager review page  2100  ( FIG. 21 ) to allow the property manager to manage the reviews for a property. Upon receiving (at block  1600 ) the request, the page creator  120  is invoked to create the property manager review page  2100 . A loop (at block  1604  through  1610 ) of operations  1606  through  1608  is performed for each renter i having review information instance  500  for a property, identified in the property ID  504  field. The review for renter i is coded in the page  2100 . For instance, in  FIG. 21 , there are entries  2102   1 ,  2102   2 ,  2102   3 ,  2102   4  for reviews provided by different renters for the property that initiated a deposit hold. The page creator  120  is invoked to further code (at block  1608 ) a graphical element  2104   1 ,  2104   2 ,  2104   3 ,  2104   4  for entry i to enable the suppression of the review. The property manager review page  1612  is transmitted to the property manager computer  108  to process. 
     Graphical element  2104   2  provides an example of where the property manager has selected to hide the review  2102   3  in the property manager review page  2100 , resulting in the button label “Hidden” instead of “Hide”. Upon receiving the property manager reply to the page  2100  with selection of reviews to hide, the reservation manager  118  may update the suppression field  514  to indicate the review is suppressed and would not be returned to a renter requesting review information for a property. In this way, the property manager has control to remove reviews they find unhelpful or unfair. Upon receiving a request from a renter for property reviews for a property, the reservation manager  118  may generate a cumulative review for the reserved property comprising an aggregation of individual reviews from prospective renters in the property reservation service database that are not indicated as suppressed. In certain embodiments, the reviews may be weighted such that more recent reviews are provided a higher weighting than older reviews to bias the reviews to more recent reviews which more accurately reflect the current state of the property. 
     Further, the property manager may access a graphical user interface dashboard to view ratings and filter reviews based on metrics such as a time stamp, property code being reviewed, and region. 
     Described embodiments provide an online property reservation service provider to facilitate and manage the reservation of properties and application of an authorization hold on the renter reserving the property before the lease is signed and to provide a process to manage the charging and releasing of the authorization hold. Described embodiments provide for the placement of an authorization hold upon the renter financial account in response to a reservation request, releasing the authorization hold in response to the renter computer requesting cancellation, and charging/banking the hold amount in response to the property manager computer selecting to bank the hold amount between the expiration of a cancellation period and the authorization hold period. Further, with described embodiments, the property review process is incorporated into the reservation process and the property manager is provided an opportunity to selectively disable property reviews from being presented to users in the online property reservation service community  100 . 
     In described embodiments, a transaction fee substantially less than the hold amount is charged to the renter financial account when the reservation occurs, such as an application fee. Further, at the time the reservation request is received, a fee may also be charged to the renter and transferred to a financial account of the online property reservation service provider. Thus, the property reservation service provider facilitates reservation of properties by providing an automated process for allowing the renter to reserve a property and provide an authorization hold that the property manager may bank if the renter does not sign the lease and move-in to the property by the end of the cancellation period. 
     CONCLUSION 
     The described operations may be implemented as a method, apparatus or computer program product using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. The described operations may be implemented as code maintained in a “computer readable storage medium”, where a processor may read and execute the code from the computer storage readable medium. The computer readable storage medium includes at least one of electronic circuitry, storage materials, inorganic materials, organic materials, biological materials, a casing, a housing, a coating, and hardware. A computer readable storage medium may comprise, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, SRAMs, Flash Memory, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), Solid State Devices (SSD), etc. The code implementing the described operations may further be implemented in hardware logic implemented in a hardware device (e.g., an integrated circuit chip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.). Still further, the code implementing the described operations may be implemented in “transmission signals”, where transmission signals may propagate through space or through a transmission media, such as an optical fiber, copper wire, etc. The transmission signals in which the code or logic is encoded may further comprise a wireless signal, satellite transmission, radio waves, infrared signals, Bluetooth, etc. The program code embedded on a computer readable storage medium may be transmitted as transmission signals from a transmitting station or computer to a receiving station or computer. A computer readable storage medium is not comprised solely of transmission signals. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope of the present invention, and that the article of manufacture may comprise suitable information bearing medium known in the art. 
       FIG. 22  illustrates an implementation of a computer architecture  2200  that may be implemented at the server  101 , storage system  104 , renter  106 , property manager  108 , and the acquirer  150  computers. The architecture  2200  may include a processor  2202  (e.g., one or more microprocessors and cores), a memory  2204  (e.g., a volatile memory device), and storage  2206  (e.g., a non-volatile storage, such as magnetic disk drives, solid state devices (SSDs), optical disk drives, a tape drive, etc.). The storage  2206  may comprise an internal storage device or an attached or network accessible storage. Programs, including an operating system  2208  and applications  2210  stored in the storage  2206  are loaded into the memory  2204  and executed by the processor  2202 . The applications  2210  may include the described manager  114 , its components  116 ,  118 ,  120 ,  120  and other program components described above. The architecture  2200  further includes a network card  2212  to enable communication with the network  16 . An input device  2214  is used to provide user input to the processor  2202 , and may include a keyboard, mouse, pen-stylus, microphone, touch sensitive display screen, or any other activation or input mechanism known in the art. An output device  2216 , such as a display monitor, printer, storage, etc., is capable of rendering information transmitted from a graphics card or other component. The output device  2216  may render the GUIs described with respect to figures and the input device  2214  may be used to interact with the graphical controls and elements in the GUIs described above. The architecture  2200  may be implemented in any number of computing devices, such as a server, mainframe, desktop computer, laptop computer, hand held computer, tablet computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), telephony device, cell phone, etc. 
     The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise. 
     The use of variable references, such as “a”, “n”, etc., to denote a number of instances of an item may refer to any integer number of instances of the item, where different variables may comprise the same number or different numbers. Further, a same variable reference used with different elements may denote a same or different number of instances of those elements. 
     Devices that are in communication with each other need not be in continuous communication with each other, unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with each other may communicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries. 
     A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the present invention. 
     Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in any order practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously. 
     When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present invention need not include the device itself. 
     The illustrated operations of the figures show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order, modified or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above described logic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or by distributed processing units. 
     The description of various embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.