Patent Publication Number: US-2006004613-A1

Title: Planner for reducing travel costs for meetings

Description:
FIELD  
      The present invention relates generally to computerized systems for planning meetings, and more particularly to systems that assist in reducing travel related costs for meetings.  
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE/PERMISSION  
      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 facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings hereto: Copyright© 2003, 2004, Carlson Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.  
     BACKGROUND  
      It is quite common for businesses to have locations that are spread across a wide geographic area, and in fact many businesses operate from multiple locations around the world. Often, there is a need for various employees of a business to attend meetings or conferences, and due to the fact that the employees may be based at various locations, travel costs must be incurred. Travel costs for the employees to attend the meeting can be substantial, particularly when the travel distance is great or when more than a few employees must travel to the meeting.  
      As a result, there is a need in the art for the present invention.  
     SUMMARY  
      The above-mentioned shortcomings, disadvantages and problems are addressed by the present invention, which will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.  
      The systems and methods of the present invention include a meeting planner that provides information allowing a user to select a meeting location that provides the lowest cost relative to the desired qualities for the meeting location. One aspect of the systems and methods is the use of multiple airfare types for determining the travel cost associated with the meeting. These multiple airfare types include historical average airfares, contract airfares, and zone airfares. A further aspect of the systems and methods is the calculation of hotel days required, and the use of multiple hotel rate types. These multiple hotel rate types include historical average hotel rates, contract rates and group rates.  
      The present invention describes systems, clients, servers, methods, and computer-readable media of varying scope. In addition to the aspects and advantages of the present invention described in this summary, further aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the drawings and by reading the detailed description that follows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a meeting planner operating environment in which different embodiments of the invention can be practiced;  
       FIGS. 2A-2D  are flowcharts illustrating methods for determining travel costs for a meeting according to an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIGS. 3A-3I  are screen images of user interfaces according to embodiments of the invention; and  
       FIG. 4  is a diagram of the hardware and operating environment in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may be practiced. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical, mechanical, electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
      Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantities within the computer system&#39;s registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.  
      In the Figures, the same reference number is used throughout to refer to an identical component which appears in multiple Figures. Signals and connections may be referred to by the same reference number or label, and the actual meaning will be clear from its use in the context of the description.  
      The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.  
     OPERATING ENVIRONMENT  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a meeting planner operating environment  100  in which different embodiments of the invention can be practiced. In some embodiments, planner operating environment  100  includes a server  102  coupled to an airfare database  102  and a hotel rate database  104 . Client components  110  may communicate with server  102  over network  120 . Network  120  may be any type of wired or wireless network, including the Internet, corporate intranets, extranets or a local area network. The embodiments of the invention are not limited to any particular type of network.  
      In some embodiments, airfare database  102  includes varying types of airfare information, including rates for travel between various pairs of cities (city pairs). In some embodiments, these rates may include one or more of the following: 
          Customer Average Rates between various city pairs. The rate for each city pair is based on a particular customer&#39;s travel. The database may include rates for more than one customer. The Customer Average Rate may include a combination of both contract rates and non-contract rates. In some embodiments, the Customer Average Rate comprises the average paid ticket history for the previous six months.     Average rates between city pairs for a travel services provider. The rate for each city pair is based on all rates for travel provided by a travel services provider. Thus the rates may be averaged across multiple customers.        

      In some embodiments, hotel rate database  104  includes various types of hotel rates for hotels in various cities. In some embodiments, these rates may include one or more of the following: 
          Customer specific contract rate—The customer specific contract rate is a hotel rate specific to a customer. In some embodiments, the customer specific contract rate excludes taxes.     Customer contract rate—The customer contract rate is a hotel rate based on the contract rates available from a Hotel Automated Rate Programme (HARP). Again, in some embodiments, the customer contract rate excludes taxes.     Estimated group rate—The Estimated group rate is a group hotel rate provided by a hotel when general information is gathered such as address, phone, etc.     Corporate rate—The corporate rate is a hotel rate that the property charges for approved corporate clients. In some embodiments, this rate may be obtained for hotels sourced from HARP.     Preferred rate—The preferred rate is a hotel rate that a travel agency has negotiated for corporate clients. In some embodiments, this rate may be obtained for hotels sourced from HARP.     Preferred Net rate—The preferred net rate is a hotel rate that a travel agency has negotiated for corporate clients less a commission. In some embodiments, this rate may be obtained for hotels sourced from HARP.     Max/Min midpoint rate—The max/min midpoint rate is a hotel rate based on the maximum rate and minimum rate associated to a hotel. The midpoint of these two rates is the max/min midpoint rate.        

      Either or both of airfare database  104  and hotel rate database  106  may be distributed across one or more databases and/or database management systems. In one embodiment of the invention, a portion of the hotel rate information is maintained in HARP from Carlson Wagonlit Travel.  
      Client program  110  provides a user interface allowing a user to provide information regarding potential meeting sites and meeting attendees. In some embodiments of the invention, client program  110  is a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.  
      In response to requests received from a client program  110 , server program  102  executes the methods described below, utilizing data from databases  104  and  106 . In some embodiments of the invention, server program  102  is a web server. In particular embodiments, the IIS (Internet Information Services) server is used. In alternative embodiments, other server software such as Netscape Server, Apache or other publicly available web server software may be used and is within the scope of the inventive subject matter.  
     METHOD  
       FIGS. 2A-2D  are flowcharts illustrating methods for planning travel costs for a meeting according to an embodiment of the invention. The methods to be performed by the operating environment constitute computer programs made up of computer-executable instructions. Describing the methods by reference to a flowchart enables one skilled in the art to develop such programs including such instructions to carry out the methods on suitable computers (the processor or processors of the computer executing the instructions from computer-readable media). The methods illustrated in  FIGS. 2A-2D  are inclusive of acts that may be taken by an operating environment executing an exemplary embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 2A  illustrates a method for planning travel costs according to an embodiment of the invention. The method begins by receiving input data regarding a meeting (block  202 ). In some embodiments, the input data include the start and end date for the meeting, one or more potential destination metropolitan areas for the meeting, and a set of one or more origination metropolitan areas and the number of attendees from each area. As those of skill in the art will appreciate, a metropolitan area may include more than one airport.  
       FIGS. 3A-3C  are a set of screen images used in various embodiments of the invention and illustrate an exemplary user interface for providing the input data described above. An exemplary initial meeting input screen  300  is illustrated in  FIG. 3A . Input screen  300  provides input means for supplying a meeting start date, a meeting end date, and a set of one or more candidate meeting locations.  
       FIG. 3B  illustrates an exemplary second meeting input screen  310 . Input screen  310  provides an interface for supplying one or more origination airports and the number of travelers using each origination airport.  
       FIG. 3C  illustrates an exemplary third meeting input screen  320 . Input screen  320  provides an interface for supplying a currency type to be used in cost calculations and a carrier to use to provide zone fare cost estimates that are to be used in estimating a meeting cost.  
      Returning to  FIG. 2A , the system then sets up to analyze travel costs for a potential destination metropolitan area (block  204 ). For each origination metropolitan area, the system checks to see if the origination metropolitan area and the destination metropolitan area match (block  206 ). If so, the system proceeds to determine driving costs for the attendees from that origination metropolitan area (block  208 ). Further details on the calculation of driving costs are provided below with respect to  FIG. 2B . If the origination metropolitan area and the destination metropolitan area do not match, then the system proceeds to determine flying costs for the attendees from that origination metropolitan area (block  210 ). Further details on the calculation of flying costs are provided below with respect to  FIG. 2C .  
      Next, the system determines hotel costs with respect to the destination metropolitan area (block  212 ). In some embodiments, a set of one or more hotels in the destination metropolitan area is used to determine hotel costs. The set may be selected based on hotel quality, hotel features, customer preference, distance from airport, or other selection criteria. Further details on the calculation of hotel costs are provided below with respect to  FIG. 2D .  
      The system then determines if another origination metropolitan remains to be analyzed (block  214 ). If so, the system returns to block  206  to determine the travel costs for the next origination metropolitan area with respect to the current destination metropolitan area.  
      Otherwise, if all origination metropolitan areas have been analyzed with respect to the current destination metropolitan area, the system proceeds to determine total travel costs for the metropolitan destination area (block  216 ). In some embodiments, the total travel costs are determined on a per hotel basis and include both the transportation costs (driving and/or airfare) and hotel costs.  
      Next, the system determines of another destination metropolitan area remains to be analyzed (block  218 ). If so, the system proceeds to block  204  to determine travel costs for the origination metropolitan area(s) with respect to the new destination metropolitan area.  
      Otherwise, the system displays the resulting meeting costs (block  220 ). In some embodiments, the results may be displayed on a per destination area and per hotel basis. In other words, a list of hotels in the destination metropolitan area and the total travel cost associated with the hotels is displayed. The list may be sorted based on total travel cost, by destination area, or by a user specified criteria such as hotel quality (based on ratings) or hotel features (pools, meeting rooms, room service etc.).  
      An exemplary user interface for displaying total travel cost results is illustrated in  FIGS. 3D-3I .  FIG. 3D  is an illustration of an exemplary hotel search results screen  330  according to an embodiment of the invention and provides hotel search results. As illustrated, screen  330  includes a list of hotels, a quality rating for each hotel, and a total cost for meeting at the hotel (which in some embodiments includes transportation costs such as driving costs, city pair airfare costs, and zone fare costs).  
       FIG. 3E  is an illustration of an exemplary hotel cost screen  340  according to an embodiment of the invention. Hotel cost screen  340  displays a cost breakdown for a particular hotel, including airfare (both city pair and zone fares) and driving costs associated with the selected hotel.  
       FIG. 3F  is an illustration of an exemplary flying costs information screen  344  according to an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, screen  344  may partially overlay screen  340 , and displays details regarding which airfare rate type was used in the cost calculations for each originating airport.  
       FIG. 3G  is an illustration of an exemplary lodging and meal costs screen  346  according to an embodiment of the invention. Screen  346  includes a day by day cost breakdown for lodging and meals for the duration of the meeting. Screen  346  illustrates the variation in daily costs due to the fact that some attendees are within driving distance of the meeting and do not need lodging, but do require meals. Screen  346  further illustrates that some attendees must arrive a day early (e.g. the pre-day attendees) in order to arrive on time for the meeting.  
       FIG. 3H  is an illustration of an exemplary room rate detail screen  348  according to an embodiment of the invention. Room rate detail screen may partially overlay screen  346 , and provides details regarding which type of room rate was used in the costs calculations.  
       FIG. 3I  is an illustration of an exemplary cost summary screen  350  according to an embodiment of the invention. Screen  350  provides summary costs and cost breakdowns for holding a meeting. The costs shown in some embodiments includes one or more of the following: flying costs, driving costs, ground transportation costs, lodging costs, food and beverage costs, meeting space costs, and miscellaneous costs.  
      A method for determining travel costs related to driving from an origination metropolitan area is illustrated in  FIG. 2B . The method begins by determining driving parameters (block  220 ). In some embodiments, the driving parameters may include a maximum local driving distance and/or a maximum non-local driving distance. In some embodiments, the determination of whether a driver is within a maximum local driving distance will have an impact on the cost estimate for the meeting. The attendees that are considered non-local drivers will be included in the estimate for required room nights as well as effect the total cost of mileage for all drivers. Likewise, the determination of whether a driver is within the maximum non-local driving distance may be used to determine if the traveler will fly rather than drive, and thus affect the airfare and required room nights. These parameters may be customer specific, or they may be assigned default values.  
      Next, the system determines whether an attendee will need to drive more than the maximum local driving distance (block  222 ). If the attendee&#39;s driving distance will be greater than the maximum local driving distance, then the system determines that the attendee is a non-local attendee (block  224 ). A non-local attendee drives once to the meeting location, stays in hotel rooms for the duration of the meeting, and then drives home.  
      If the attendee&#39;s driving distance is less than the maximum local driving distance, the attendee is considered a local attendee (block  226 ). A local attendee drives to the meeting location each day of the meeting and then drives home at the end of the day. A local attendee does not need to stay at the hotel overnight.  
      Next, the system determines the total mileage based for each attendee based on the whether the attendee is local or non-local (block  228 ). The system then calculates total mileage costs for the origination metropolitan area (block  230 ). In some embodiments, a customer&#39;s mileage reimbursement rate is used to determine total mileage costs.  
      A method for determining travel costs associated with flying is illustrated in  FIG. 2C . The method begins by initializing flying parameters (block  250 ). In some embodiments, the flying parameters includes a maximum pre-day air travel distance and/or a maximum extra night air travel distance. The maximum pre-day air travel distance represents the maximum distance that an attendee may travel and still arrive at the meeting on the meeting start day. If the air travel distance is greater than this parameter, than the air travel will commence one day prior to the start of the meeting, and an additional night will be required at the hotel. Similarly, the maximum extra night air travel distance represents the maximum distance that an attendee may travel and still arrive home on the same day that the meeting ends. If this parameter is exceeded, the attendee will commence air travel on the day following the end of the meeting, and an additional night will be required at the hotel. Either parameter may be set to customer specific values, or they may be defaulted. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that while distance (e.g. mileage) is used for certain parameters, a time value could be used as well and is within the inventive subject matter.  
      Next, the system calculates flying cost based on city pairs (blocks  252 - 256 ) and/or based on zone fares (blocks  258 - 264 ). City pair fares are determined as follows. First, the customer&#39;s preferred fare is determined (block  252 ). The customer&#39;s preferred fare may be maintained in a customer database. In some embodiments, the fare types are as described above, and include an average customer fare, a travel supplier&#39;s average fare, or a default fare. In some embodiments, the default fare comprises an average of all tickets booked by a travel agency within a time period (in some embodiments, six months). The average may be based on either domestic or international. In some embodiments, the default value may be used if a minimum number of tickets can not be found for the requested city pair. In some embodiments, the default airfare is based strictly on booked history, however in alternative embodiments, other fares, such as contracted fares may be used.  
      In some embodiments, in order for an average fare to be used there must be a minimum number of bookings over a minimum period. In particular embodiments, three fares must have been booked within the last six months in order for an average fare to be used. If these minimum requirements are not met, the next available fare type may be used instead.  
      Next, the system determines the total flying cost for the origination location based on the selected fare (block  256 ).  
      The calculation of zone fares, if they exist, begins by determining if a minimum number of attendees requirement is met for the zone fare (block  258 ). Certain zone fares require that a minimum number of seats be purchases. If there are enough attendees to meet the minimum requirements, the appropriate zone fare is located (block  260 ). In some embodiments, if there aren&#39;t enough attendees to meet the minimum requirements for a zone fare (as set for the current customer) the system may not use zone fares and rely on city pair fares alone (block  262 ).  
      Next, the system calculates the total zone fare travel costs based on the zone fares and the number of attendees that can take advantage of the zone fare (block  264 ).  
      A method for determining travel costs related to hotel stays is illustrated in  FIG. 2D . The method begins by determining the travel days for the attendees at an origination metropolitan area with respect to the destination metropolitan area (block  270 ). The travel days calculation is based on the start and end date of the meeting, whether the attendee is a local attendee or non-local attendee as discussed above, and whether the attendee must arrive a day earlier and/or stay an extra day due to travel distances. For example, as discussed above, a local attendee drives to the hotel every day and does not need a room whereas a non-local attendee drives to the hotel, stays for the duration of the meeting, and drives home at the end of the meeting.  
      Next, the system determines the total number of nights required at the hotel based on the travel days (block  272 ). The system then determines the rate to be used for each hotel in the destination metropolitan area (block  274 ). The rate choices may be those stored in hotel rate database  106  described above. The total hotel cost will be determined based on the total number of nights required and the hotel rate fore each night.  
       FIG. 4  is a diagram of the hardware and operating environment in conjunction with which embodiments of the invention may be practiced. The description of  FIG. 4  is intended to provide a brief, general description of suitable computer hardware and a suitable computing environment in conjunction with which the invention may be implemented. Although not required, the present invention is described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer, such as a personal computer or a server computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.  
      Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the computing system  400  includes a processor. The invention can be implemented on computers based upon microprocessors such as the PENTIUM® family of microprocessors manufactured by the Intel Corporation, the MIPS® family of microprocessors from the Silicon Graphics Corporation, the POWERPC® family of microprocessors from both the Motorola Corporation and the IBM Corporation, the PRECISION ARCHITECTURE® family of microprocessors from the Hewlett-Packard Company, the SPARC® family of microprocessors from the Sun Microsystems Corporation, or the ALPHA® family of microprocessors from the Compaq Computer Corporation. Computing system  400  represents any personal computer, laptop, server, or even a battery-powered, pocket-sized, mobile computer known as a hand-held PC.  
      The computing system  400  includes system memory  413  (including read-only memory (ROM)  414  and random access memory (RAM)  415 ), which is connected to the processor  412  by a system data/address bus  416 . ROM  414  represents any device that is primarily read-only including electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc. RAM  415  represents any random access memory such as Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory.  
      Within the computing system  400 , input/output bus  418  is connected to the data/address bus  416  via bus controller  419 . In one embodiment, input/output bus  418  is implemented as a standard Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. The bus controller  419  examines all signals from the processor  412  to route the signals to the appropriate bus. Signals between the processor  412  and the system memory  413  are merely passed through the bus controller  419 . However, signals from the processor  412  intended for devices other than system memory  413  are routed onto the input/output bus  418 .  
      Various devices are connected to the input/output bus  418  including hard disk drive  420 , floppy drive  421  that is used to read floppy disk  451 , and optical drive  422 , such as a CD-ROM drive that is used to read an optical disk  452 . The video display  424  or other kind of display device is connected to the input/output bus  418  via a video adapter  425 .  
      A user enters commands and information into the computing system  400  by using a keyboard  40  and/or pointing device, such as a mouse  42 , which are connected to bus  418  via input/output ports  428 . Other types of pointing devices (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) include track pads, track balls, joy sticks, data gloves, head trackers, and other devices suitable for positioning a cursor on the video display  424 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the computing system  400  also includes a modem  429 . Although illustrated in  FIG. 4  as external to the computing system  400 , those of ordinary skill in the art will quickly recognize that the modem  429  may also be internal to the computing system  400 . The modem  429  is typically used to communicate over wide area networks (not shown), such as the global Internet. The computing system may also contain a network interface card  53 , as is known in the art, for communication over a network.  
      Software applications  436  and data are typically stored via one of the memory storage devices, which may include the hard disk  420 , floppy disk  451 , CD-ROM  452  and are copied to RAM  415  for execution. In one embodiment, however, software applications  436  are stored in ROM  414  and are copied to RAM  415  for execution or are executed directly from ROM  414 .  
      In general, the operating system  435  executes software applications  436  and carries out instructions issued by the user. For example, when the user wants to load a software application  436 , the operating system  435  interprets the instruction and causes the processor  412  to load software application  436  into RAM  415  from either the hard disk  420  or the optical disk  452 . Once software application  436  is loaded into the RAM  415 , it can be used by the processor  412 . In case of large software applications  436 , processor  412  loads various portions of program modules into RAM  415  as needed.  
      The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS)  417  for the computing system  400  is stored in ROM  414  and is loaded into RAM  415  upon booting. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the BIOS  417  is a set of basic executable routines that have conventionally helped to transfer information between the computing resources within the computing system  400 .  
      These low-level service routines are used by operating system  435  or other software applications  436 .  
      In one embodiment computing system  400  includes a registry (not shown) which is a system database that holds configuration information for computing system  400 . For example, Windows 95, Windows 98®, Windows® NT, Windows 2000® and Windows XP® by Microsoft maintain the registry in two hidden files, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT, located on a permanent storage device such as an internal disk.  
     CONCLUSION  
      Systems and methods for planning travel costs associated with a meeting have been disclosed. The systems and methods described provide advantages over previous systems. For example, the system and methods may take advantage of zone fares that may be lower than city pair fares. Further, the system and methods may use fares based on a customer&#39;s historical average travel costs, and thus provide a better estimate of travel costs than previous systems.  
      Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention. The terminology used in this application is meant to include all of these environments.  
      It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof.