The present invention relates to an internet-based platform for real-time inventory reservation, offering last minute attractive deals for various products and services. The platform provides real time system and method to offer last minute deals to the customers at their chosen price.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The scope of online platforms encompassing various business sectors has changed over the years driven by the need of the consumers. The business sectors are using online system for the convenience of customers and for their own benefits. Internet-based on-line platforms provide the service providers the facilities to offer their product and services such as booking airline tickets, railway tickets, bus tickets, meals, lodging, car rentals, cruises, adventure sports and vacation packages. These systems assist the customers in carrying out searches and comparisons of chosen services with multiple websites to select one of the best offer, thereby facilitating customers to choose optimally priced packages that fit their need, schedule and budget.

Internet-based commercial sites may not themselves directly provide services to the customers, instead, they act as mediators between the service providers and customers. Most of the electronic commerce websites are highly interactive and typically include databases. These websites permit the customers to customize their search by allowing them to enter service-related queries e.g. check-in date, check-out date and room price at the time of searching and booking a hotel room online. The user can then access information obtained after customized search to make purchases/deals over the internet.

US 20140222473 A1 discloses a method and system of direct bidding for a travel-related service wherein a customer's search criteria with respect to a travel-related service is received and relevant results to the customer's search criteria is obtained. The travel-related query result includes a pricing data for the travel-related service. Then customer's bid for the travel-related service is received and customer is provided with an alternative travel-related service. A success probability value is calculated. The success probability value includes a probability that the customer's bid is accepted by the travel service provider. The alternative travel-related service is provided to the customer when the probability that the customer's bid is accepted by the travel service provider is below a specified threshold and the travel service provider does not accept the customer's bid.

However in US20140222473 A1, the probability that the customer's bid is accepted by the travel-service provider is further based on an occurrence of a substantially current local event, a substantially current travel-season metric and an occupancy data of hotels within a specified distance of the travel-related service.

US20140222473 A1 further specifies that if the probability that the customer's bid is accepted by the travel service provider is below a specified threshold and the travel service provider does not accept the customer's bid, an alternative travel-related service is provided to the customer’s computing device. The alternative travel-related service may be relevant to the customer's original search conditions. For example, the Internet-based travel system calculates a success probability based on the probability that the customer's bid to the originally matched and selected travel service provider will be accepted. If the success probability exceeds a specified threshold (e.g. an eighty percent chance of being accepted), the customer may be offered the alternative travel-related service offer if the first travel service provider does not accept the customer's bid.

According to a study, most of the time significant quantity of the said services are left unsold/unoccupied thereby resulting in revenue losses. For example, an unsold airline seat or hotel room is perishable inventory, since the ability to sell them expires when the plane departs or at the dawn of next morning. Further, a hotelier may wish to control the type and number of rooms made available to a particular market segment. At times, a hotel may want to make accessible a certain number of rooms to a particular market, for example: a group of business people who wish to use the hotel's conferencing facilities for a short duration. After making this group booking, the hotel can enter into their Inventory book the number of rooms filled. Based on this information they can then adjust their prices for the remaining available rooms in the hotel. Therefore, the business environment of a travel service is such that the same product or service may be available to the customer at a variety of prices. In the case of hotel reservations, the pricing structures are complex and dependent on a number of factors such as season of the year, popularity (no. of hits in a hotel within particular period of time), inventory (availability of rooms), time left for check-in and discount (listed price – user price).

It is estimated that annually an average of 40% of the hotel inventory of rooms go vacant, 50% of the cinema halls remain empty, sport and concert venues are mostly unfilled, 18% of airlines seats go unoccupied.

The present invention solves the aforesaid problem and provides an inventory management system and method effectively utilizing the perishable inventory. The system and method of the present invention provides a platform for users to visit and buy the services at their chosen price at the nick of time when the inventory is likely to go unsold and get perished. The platform provides a simple mechanism for user to interact and negotiate with service providers to arrive at a win-win scenario. The present invention, therefore, brings the service providers and the customers, to come to the platform to work out mutually beneficial deals that help in some revenue recovery for service providers and negotiable and affordable deals to customers. The present invention provides real-time negotiations of the customer with the service provider wherein the customer can select his own price for the services and get the response from the system (as mandated by the service provider) in terms of probability of success. Thus there is a real time interaction of the customer with the service provider thereby increasing the chances of success by way of negotiating to get the deal at chosen price. The invention is applicable in various sectors, such as but not limited to hotels, restaurants, health services, spa, salons, flights, cinema, grocery, shopping, sports and concerts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an effective internet based real time inventory management system and method which helps service providers to sell their unsold perishable inventory as well as for customers to avail the services at their chosen price. The present invention uses a measuring mechanism called success potential meter that allows the platform to calculate the chances of success for the customer for his chosen price. The chances of success is calculated by the platform based on the customer’s chosen price for a particular service and the service provider’s acceptance or rejection of the customer’s chosen price.

The principal objective of the present invention is to provide a system and method for offering last minute deals of services for the benefit of customers as well as that of service providers.

Another objective of the present invention is to effectively sell the unsold inventory of the service providers at the time when it is near certain that the inventory is going to get perished if not sold in time

Still another objective of the present invention is to calculate the chances of success of customer’s chosen price and guide him through the process thereby enabling the customer to effectively negotiate with the service provider and reach to a mutually agreeable price.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide additional offers (deals) to the customer such as free or paid discount deal coupons for various in-house and extended services of service providers such as but not limited to in-room dinning, spa, airport transfers, laundry, and other such offers.

Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrations and examples to disclose the aspects of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood and its numerous objects, features, components and advantages are made apparent to those skilled in the art, by referring to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate initial process of the present invention;

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate bid acceptance process of the invention; and
Figure 5 illustrates bid rejection process of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. The detailed description is construed as a description of the currently preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not represent the only form in which the present invention may be practiced. This is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished, in any order unless expressly and necessarily limited to a particular order, by different embodiments that are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention.

The embodiment is chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It is further understood that the relational terms such as first, second etc., if any, are used solely to distinguish one from another entity, item or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities, items or actions.

The present invention describes a system and method for inventory reservation on real time basis wherein the customer can negotiate with the service provider and take services of his own choice and requirements. The present invention provides negotiable deals to the customer based on available inventory of a service provider.

The working of present invention is also described by the accompanying drawings (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figure 5).

The main aspect of the present invention is a method for real-time inventory reservation. In the method, search parameters are received from a customer via user device on the platform and then search is done on the database and third party channel based on said parameters. At least one available result with its relevant details is provided to the customer as the output of search. The customer then provides first bid price as input on user device which is sent to the database where success rate of the bid price is computed. The success rate is then displayed to the customer on user device to select a service provider based on the displayed success rate.

If bid price is accepted by the service provider, then a notification is sent to the customer regarding the acceptance of bid. However, if the first bid price is rejected, then customer is allowed to bid for two more times for selected service provider. In case the second and third bid prices are also rejected by the service provider, the customer is asked to confirm whether this is his final price and then a request is sent to the service provider for consideration. In a predefined time, the service provider is required to respond with acceptance or rejection. In case of rejection, the bidding facility for the customer for predefined time for that particular service provider is locked. After the predefined time, the customer is allowed to use three more attempts for said service provider and if further bids are unsuccessful then said service provider is blocked for longer period of time for the customer.

On acceptance of bid price by the service provider, the customer is directed to payment page to make payment through payment gateway and where additional offers are showed. A confirmation message is sent to the customer and the service provider on receiving of the payment.

The method is intended to book last minute deals of perishable inventory and therefore, the time window to book the deals is dependent on the type of service. For example- for booking a flight ticket, the time limit can be 12 hours before flight, for booking a hotel, it can be within three days and so on.

An example of the present invention, the method of booking hotel (inventory) online using last minute deal, is described herein. The customer considering to make hotel reservation (a service), selects the “hotel” option on the homepage. The check-in date has to be mandatorily within 3 days (the present day or following day or day after) at the time of booking and the checkout date has an upper limit of 7 days. The customer may customize the search results by entering details such as but not limited to destination, check-in date, check-out date, number of guests, and number of rooms in the search field(s). The system (platform) conducts the search on its database and third party channel as per the details entered and the identical results according to the customers criteria are displayed on the page. In the search results, the market price for each available hotel is also shown. Then, the customer enters the price and observes the chances of getting the services at chosen price on the success potential meter for all the hotels being displayed as a consequence of search.

The “success potential meter” computes the chances of success of the given price (bid). The success potential meter matches the bid price submitted by the customer with the price offered by the hotel (service provider) and then displays the likelihood of success in percentage, i.e., chances of acceptance of the customer’s price by the hotel. The customer reviews the success percentage presented for each hotel and then selects the hotel (say Hotel A) and room type of his choice. If the customer’s bid price is accepted by the hotel A, then the customer is directed to another page for filling up details like name and contact details. Once the customer completes this, he is directed to the payment page where he has an option of selecting add-ons for other services of the hotel. Once the customer makes the payment, a confirmation message (SMS and email) is sent to the customer about the hotel reservation/service reservation.

The service provider can also use the payment page to inform customers about promotions, special discounts and other offers. The system and method of present invention, therefore, significantly helps the merchant's business by creating a sense of community among customers, and by using promotions to entice customers to increase traffic at the merchant's place of business.

Further, if the first bid price submitted by the customer is rejected by hotel A, the customer is left with two more attempts to submit subsequent bid prices for hotel A. If the second or third bid price is accepted by the hotel A, then the above payment process will take place and the confirmation notification is sent to the customer and hotel A. However, if both second and third bid prices are rejected by hotel A, the customer is asked to confirm whether this is his final price then a request is sent to hotel A for the consideration. In a predefined time say 20 minutes the hotel A is required to respond with acceptance or rejection. If the hotel A accepts the price then the customer is provided a link via email which directs to the payment page. If the hotel A rejects the price, then hotel A is locked for a fixed pre-defined time say 30 minutes for the customer. In such a situation, if the customer still wishes to submit bid prices for hotel A, the customer is required to wait for a fixed time say 30 minutes. Alternatively, the customer may try submitting bid prices for another hotel. However, after the wait period of 30 minutes, on fresh bidding if all the three bid prices submitted to hotel A are rejected, then hotel A is locked for that customer for fixed duration say a day or 12 hours, whichever is longer.

Another aspect of the present invention is a system for real-time inventory reservation. The system comprising: user device, platform, database, internal module and third party channel. The customer using user device opens the platform provided by the present invention and enters search parameters which are then sent to the database and the third party channel by the platform to retrieve relevant results. The retrieved results are then provided to the customer on platform. The customer then enters first bid price as input by user device which is sent to the database to compute success rate of the bid price. The computed result is displayed on user device for selection of service provider by customer based on the displayed success rate.

The user device receives a notification if bid price is accepted by the service provider. However, if the first bid price is rejected, then customer is allowed to bid for two more times for selected service provider. In case the second and third bid prices are also rejected by the service provider, the customer is asked to confirm whether this is his final price and then a request is sent via internal module to the service provider for consideration. In a predefined time, the service provider is required to respond with acceptance or rejection. In case of rejection, the bidding facility for the customer for predefined time for that particular service provider is locked by the system. After the predefined time, the customer is allowed to use three more attempts for said service provider and if further bids are unsuccessful then said service provider is blocked for longer period of time for the customer.

On acceptance of bid price by the service provider, the customer is directed to payment page on the system to make payment through payment gateway and where additional offers are showed. A confirmation message is sent to the user on user device and the service provider on third party channel.

The system is intended to book last minute deals of perishable inventory and therefore, the time window to book the deals is dependent on the type of service. For example- for booking a flight ticket, the time limit can be 12 hours before flight, for booking a hotel, it can be within three days and so on.

For example- the customer is considering to make hotel reservation (service), selects the “hotel” option via user device on the homepage on the platform. The customer may customize the search results by entering details such as but not limited to destination, check-in date, check-out date, number of guests, and number of rooms in the search field(s). The check-in date is mandatorily within 3 days (the present day or following day or day after) at the time of booking and the checkout date has an upper limit of 7 days.

On receiving the details from user device on the platform, it is sent to the database and third party channel to search for relevant results and the same are displayed to the customer via platform. In the search results, the market price for each available hotel is also shown. The customer then enters the price via user device which is sent to the database to retrieve the chances of getting the services at chosen price for all the hotels being displayed as a consequence of search.

The “success potential meter” module of the database computes the chances of success of the given price (bid) based on the available data in the database as well as third party channel. The success potential meter then matches the bid with the price offered by the hotel (service provider) and then displays on the platform the likelihood of success in percentage, i.e., chances of acceptance of the customer’s price by the hotel. The customer then selects the hotel (say Hotel A) and room type of his choice. If the customer’s bid price is accepted by the hotel A, then the customer is directed to another page on the platform for filling up details like name and contact details and directed to the payment page where he has an option of selecting add-ons for other services of the hotel. Once the customer makes the payment, a confirmation message (SMS and e-mail) is sent to the customer on user device about the hotel reservation.

The third party channel can be used by service provider to inform customer about promotions, special discounts and other offers on the platform. The system and method of present invention, therefore, significantly helps the merchant's business by creating a sense of community among customers, and by using promotions to entice customers to increase traffic at the merchant's place of business.

Further, if the first bid price submitted using the user device is rejected by the hotel A, then the customer is left with two more attempts to submit subsequent bid prices for hotel A. If the second or third bid price entered by user device on third party channel is accepted by hotel A, then the above payment process will take place and the confirmation notification is sent on user device and third party channel informing customer as well as hotel A about the deal. However, if both second and third bid prices are rejected, the customer is asked to confirm whether this is his final price then a request is sent to hotel A via internal module for the consideration. In a predefined time say 20 minutes the hotel A is required to respond with acceptance or rejection.

If the hotel A accepts the price then the customer is provided a link via email or on platform which directs to the payment page. If the hotel A rejects the price, then hotel A is locked for a fixed pre-defined time say 30 minutes for the customer. In such a situation, if the customer still wishes to submit bid prices for hotel A, the customer is required to wait for a fixed time say 30 minutes. Alternatively, the customer may try submitting bid prices for another hotel. However, after the wait period of 30 minutes, on fresh bidding if all the three bid prices submitted to hotel A are rejected, then hotel A is locked for that customer for fixed duration say a day or 12 hours, whichever is longer.

The present invention, therefore, allows the customer the flexibility of trying out his own price multiple times and negotiate with the service provider to his satisfaction thereby increasing the chance of a win-win situation where the customer gets the deal at his own price and the service provider gets a good opportunity to sell the services which otherwise would have gone unsold. In this way, the present invention provides the merchant with a highly effective, targeted, and negotiable electronic tool to communicate with their customer base and the customer gets a good opportunity to negotiate with the service provider to buy a service provider at his own price.

Claims:WE CLAIM:
1) A method for inventory reservation of a service, comprising:
receiving search parameters from a customer;
searching databases for said parameters;
providing at least one available result with its relevant details to the customer;
receiving first bid price by the customer as input;
computing and displaying success rate of the bid price;
selecting a service provider by the customer based on the displayed success rate;

sending notification to the customer if bid price is accepted by the service provider;
allowing the customer to bid for two more times for selected service provider if first bid price is rejected;

locking the bidding facility for the customer for predefined time for particular service provider if the second and third bid prices are also rejected by the service provider;

allowing the customer to use three more attempts for said service provider after the predefined time and blocking said service provider for longer period of time for the customer if further bids are unsuccessful;
directing to payment page, where additional offers are showed, on acceptance of bid price by the service provider to make payment through payment gateway; and
sending confirmation message to the customer and the service provider.

2) The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said success rate is the probability of matching the bid price submitted by the customer with the price offered by the service provider, in percentage.

3) The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the search parameters may vary as per the service provided by service provider such as date, time, destination, check-in date, check-out date, number of guests, number of rooms, boarding date, date to avail service and other such parameters.

4) The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the search results are provided for the reservation of perishable services and the time bracket to reserve them varies as per the type of service.

5) The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the service providers are of various sectors, such as but not limited to hotels, restaurants, cinema, flight, spa, salons, grocery, shopping, sports and concerts.

6) The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said additional offers are free or paid discount or deal coupons for various in-house and extended services of the service provider.

7) A system for inventory reservation of a service wherein the system comprising:
a user device;
an internal module; and
a third party channel;

wherein customer enters search parameters via a user device on a platform, the said parameters are then sent to the database and the third party channel by the platform to retrieve relevant results; the retrieved results are then provided to the customer on platform;

the customer enters first bid price as input by user device which is sent to the database to compute success rate of the bid price; the computed result is displayed on user device for selection of service provider by customer based on the displayed success rate;

a notification is sent on the user device if bid price is accepted by the service provider;

two more chances of entering bid price is provided to the customer for the selected service provider if first bid price is rejected;

the bidding facility is locked for the customer for predefined time for particular service provider if the second and third bid prices are also rejected by the service provider;

the customer is allowed to use three more attempts for said service provider after the predefined time and blocking said service provider for longer period of time for the customer if further bids are unsuccessful;

the customer is directed to payment page showing additional offers on the platform on acceptance of bid price by the service provider to make payment through payment gateway; and

the confirmation message is sent to the customer on user device and the service provider on third party channel.

8) The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said success rate is the probability of matching the bid price submitted by the customer with the price offered by the service provider, in percentage.

9) The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the search parameters may vary as per the service provided by service provider such as date, time, destination, check-in date, check-out date, boarding date, date to avail service, number of guests, number of rooms and other such parameters.

10) The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the search results are provided for the reservation of perishable services and the time bracket to reserve them varies as per the type of service.

11) The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the service providers are of various sectors, such as but not limited to hotels, restaurants, cinema, grocery, shopping, flight, spa, salons, sports and concerts.

12) The system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said additional offers are free or paid discount or deal coupons for various in-house and extended services of the service provider. ,