Patent ID: 7590592

Claim:
A computerized bidding, matching and information exchange method accessible on a telecommunications network for matching hospitality facility data, representing vendors furnishing hotel facilities, meeting room facilities or other hospitality facilities, with meeting requirement data, representing respective necessities of a plurality of meeting planners for a corresponding plurality of meetings or events, the bidding, matching and information exchange method comprising: gathering and storing, via said telecommunications network, said hospitality facility data for said plurality of vendors and said meeting requirement data for said plurality of meeting planners in a database accessible via said telecommunications network, said hospitality facility data including at least vendor contact data, location data, room quantity data, date available range data, and meeting room data; gathering meeting requirement offer data, via said telecommunications network, including at least meeting planner contact data, facilities requirement data, date range data and price data, and matching meeting requirement offer data with hospitality facility data on said database and communicating said meeting requirement offer data, via said telecommunications network, to matching vendors with the matching hospitality facility data and withholding, from matching vendors, said meeting planner contact data associated with said meeting requirement offer data; and gathering responsive hospitality bid data, via said telecommunications network, from a plurality of interested matching vendors relative to said meeting requirement offer data and communicating said responsive hospitality bid data, via said telecommunications network, to said meeting planner posting said meeting requirement offer data.