Method and system for booking resources and managing access to booked resources

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for reserving a resource and providing access to the reserved resource. The method is implemented on a resource management system configured to communicate with one or more computing devices and one or more resource reservation systems via a communication network. The method includes: receiving, at the resource management system, a request from a computing device among the one or more computing devices to reserve a resource, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier; and creating a reservation based on the resource identifier. The method further includes: determining a virtual key associated with the resource identifier, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; and providing a confirmation message to a mobile computing device among the one or more computing devices associated with the mobile computing device identifier, wherein the confirmation message includes one of: (i) the virtual key and (ii) a confirmation code associated with the virtual key for allowing retrieval of the virtual key.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The described embodiments relate to methods and systems for booking resources and managing access to booked resources. Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for resource management, such as booking resources and providing access to booked resources. Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for booking resources and accessing booked resources. Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for managing access to booked resources. Background Art

[0002] Booking and accessing resources can be a time-consuming and difficult process. For example, despite having pre-booked accommodation, hotel customers often still need to check in at the hotel upon arrival. The check-in procedure is usually performed by hotel staff and may involve identity verification and providing key(s) to the booked room(s). The hotel may also have a system for managing and tracking the allocation of rooms and keys to customers staying in the hotel. Similar processes are performed when booking and accessing other types of resources, such as car rentals.

[0003] It would be desirable to address or ameliorate some of the shortcomings associated with existing methods and systems for hotel room reservations and room access management, or at least provide useful alternatives thereto.

[0004] Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like included in this specification should not be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each appended claim. Summary of the invention

[0005] Some embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources, the method being implemented on a resource management system configured to communicate with one or more computing devices and one or more resource reservation systems over a communication network, the method comprising:

[0006] receiving, at the resource management system, a request from a computing device among the one or more computing devices to reserve a resource, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier;

[0007] creating a reservation based on the resource identifier;

[0008] determining a virtual key associated with the resource identifier, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; and providing a confirmation message to a mobile computing device associated with the mobile computing device identifier among the one or more computing devices, wherein the confirmation message includes the virtual key.

[0009] In some embodiments, creating the reservation includes transmitting a reservation confirmation request to the resource reservation system to confirm the reservation of the resource.

[0010] In some embodiments, determining the virtual key associated with the resource includes retrieving the virtual key from a virtual key database based on the resource identifier.

[0011] In some embodiments, the virtual key includes one or more QR codes readable by an access device associated with the resource identifier.

[0012] In some embodiments, the request further includes one or more of: (i) payment details and (ii) an indication of the length of the reservation.

[0013] Some embodiments relate to a resource management system for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources, the system being configured to communicate with one or more computing devices and one or more resource reservation systems via a communication network, the system comprising:

[0014] One or more servers, each of the one or more servers comprising:

[0015] one or more processors; and

[0016] A memory includes computer code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes one or more servers of the system to perform a method for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources.

[0017] Some embodiments relate to a computer-implemented method for reserving a resource and accessing the reserved resource, the method being implemented on a mobile computing device configured to communicate with a resource management system over a communication network, the method comprising:

[0018] sending a request to reserve a resource from the mobile computing device to the resource management system, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier;

[0019] receiving, at the mobile computing device, a confirmation message from an accommodation management server, the confirmation message including a virtual key associated with the reserved accommodation, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; and

[0020] The virtual key is provided to an access device co-located with the resource to gain access to the resource.

[0021] In some embodiments, providing the virtual key to the access device comprises one of: (i) presenting the virtual key to a reader of the access device to allow the access device to scan the virtual key; and (ii) sending the virtual key to the access device using near field communication capability or Bluetooth-based communication capability.

[0022] Some embodiments relate to a mobile computing device for reserving resources and accessing the reserved resources, the device being configured to communicate with a resource management system via a first communication network and to communicate with one or more locking devices via a second communication network, the device comprising:

[0023] one or more processors; and

[0024] A memory includes computer code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the mobile computing device to perform a method for reserving a resource and providing access to the reserved resource.

[0025] Some embodiments are directed to a method of allowing access to a reserved resource, the method being implemented by an access device configured to operate one or more locking mechanisms associated with the respective resource, the access device being configured to communicate with one or more mobile devices over a communication network, the method comprising:

[0026] receiving, at the access device, an access request from a mobile computing device among the one or more mobile computing devices, the access request comprising a virtual key for a resource co-located with the access device;

[0027] determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource;

[0028] In response to determining that the virtual key is valid for the resource, a locking mechanism associated with the resource is activated to allow access to the resource.

[0029] In some embodiments, determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource includes comparing the virtual key to a stored virtual key for the resource and determining whether the virtual key is substantially identical to or different from the stored virtual key.

[0030] In some embodiments, determining the validity of the virtual key used for the resource includes: sending verification information from the access device to a resource access monitoring system, wherein the verification information includes the virtual key and a resource identifier associated with the resource; and receiving at the access device a notification from the resource access monitoring system indicating the validity or invalidity of the virtual key used for the resource.

[0031] Some embodiments relate to an access device for allowing access to reserved resources, the access device being configured to operate one or more locking mechanisms associated with the respective reserved resources and communicating with one or more mobile computing devices over a communication network, the access device comprising:

[0032] one or more processors; and

[0033] A memory includes computer code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the mobile computing device to perform a method for reserving a resource and providing access to the reserved resource.

[0034] Some embodiments relate to a resource reservation and management system for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources, the system comprising:

[0035] The resource management system of any one of the described embodiments; and

[0036] One or more computing devices as described in any of the described embodiments; and

[0037] The one or more access devices of any of the described embodiments.

[0038] Some embodiments relate to a computer program product comprising computer readable code which, when executed by one or more processors, is configured to perform any of the described methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Some embodiments will now be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0040] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system for reserving resources and managing access to the reserved resources according to some embodiments;

[0041] Figure 2 is a process flow diagram of a method of resource management according to some embodiments, the method comprising Figure 1 Implementation of a systematic resource management system;

[0042] Figure 3 is a process flow diagram of a method of reserving resources and obtaining access to the reserved resources according to some embodiments, the method comprising Figure 1 A mobile computing device implementation of the system;

[0043] Figure 4 is a process flow diagram of a method of managing access to reserved resources according to some embodiments, the method comprising Figure 1 Access device implementation of the system;

[0044] Figure 5 and Figure 6 is an example screenshot of a reservation management platform showing various stages involved in a reservation process according to some embodiments, the reservation management platform being Figure 1 The reservation management application is implemented by the resource management system of the system; and

[0045] Figure 6 and Figure 7 is Figure 1 An example screenshot of an interface displayed on a screen of a computing device of the system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The described embodiments relate to methods and systems for booking resources and managing access to booked resources. Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for resource management, such as booking resources and providing access to booked resources. Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for booking resources and accessing booked resources. Some embodiments relate to methods and systems for managing access to booked resources.

[0047] For example, resources according to the described embodiments may relate to resources that can be reserved and to which access rights are required to use or benefit from the resources. For example, resources may include rooms (such as hotel or motel rooms), houses, units, apartment buildings, service facilities (such as gyms), vehicles (such as cars, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, etc.), or equipment (such as, for example, construction equipment or gym equipment).

[0048] The systems and methods for booking resources and accessing the booked resources according to the described embodiments have significant advantages over known prior art systems and methods. In particular, the described embodiments allow for simplified resource booking, which allows users to both book resources and obtain the means required to access the booked resources in a relatively straightforward process, for example, using a virtual key. When booking a resource, a virtual key according to the described embodiments can be obtained directly from the booking platform, thereby minimizing or eliminating other additional steps to ensure access to the resource after making a reservation. Further, the virtual key according to the described embodiments may not be lost, and the costs associated with replacing a lost physical key or access card can be avoided. Replacing a lost physical key or access card according to the prior art may have adverse environmental consequences, and the described embodiments help avoid such adverse environmental consequences. In addition, a single virtual key according to the described embodiments can be shared between more than one mobile computing devices by duplication, thereby enabling access to resources to be shared between more than one user, each user holding a mobile computing device and accessing the booked resources independently of other users.

[0049] The simplification of the process of booking resources and managing access to booked resources also reduces the manual intervention required to facilitate bookings and access. By reducing the need for manual intervention, the described systems and methods for booking resources and accessing booked resources can be more scalable in handling large quantities of resources and bookings, while providing more efficient and low-latency services that require less manual intervention. Virtual key-based access to booked resources can also provide improved identity-based security for managing access to booked resources. For example, access through a virtual key on a mobile computing device can enable tracking of the identity of the mobile device as well as the virtual key. In some embodiments, as an additional layer of security, a combination of the virtual key and identity of the device can be verified to allow access to booked resources.

[0050] Figure 1 A block diagram of a system 100 for reserving resources and managing access to the reserved resources is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0051] As illustrated, system 100 may include a resource management system 102 arranged to communicate with one or more computing devices 104 and one or more resource reservation systems 106 via a communication network 108. In some embodiments, system 100 includes a client-server architecture, wherein resource management system 102 is configured as a server and at least one of computing devices 104 is configured as a client computing device.

[0052] The network 108 may include, for example, at least a portion of one or more networks having one or more nodes that transmit, receive, forward, generate, cache, store, route, switch, process, or a combination thereof, one or more messages, packets, signals, some combination thereof, etc. The network 108 may include, for example, one or more of a wireless network, a wired network, the Internet, an intranet, a public network, a packet-switched network, a circuit-switched network, an ad hoc network, an infrastructure network, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cable television network, a cellular network, a satellite network, a fiber optic network, some combination thereof, etc.

[0053] In some embodiments, computing device 104 may include a mobile computing device or a handheld computing device, such as a smartphone or tablet, a laptop or a PC, and in some embodiments may include multiple computing devices.

[0054] The resource management system 102 may include one or more servers (not shown) configured to provide resource management services by executing a resource management application 110 stored in a memory (not shown) associated with one or more servers of the resource management system 102. For example, the resource management system 102 may include multiple processing components or multiple virtual servers or physical servers running together. In some embodiments, the resource management application 110 may include a reservation management module 112 and a virtual key management module 114.

[0055] When executed by one or more processors (not shown) of one or more servers (not shown) of the resource management system 102, the reservation management module 112 can be configured to communicate with the resource reservation system 106 via the communication network 108 to determine the availability of resources associated with the resource reservation system 106 and to reserve specific resources, for example, for a specific user and / or for a specific duration.

[0056] When executed by one or more processors (not shown) of one or more servers (not shown) of the resource management system 102, the virtual key management module 114 may be configured to query the virtual key database 116 to determine the virtual key for a particular resource. In some embodiments, the virtual key associated with a particular resource is configured to be used in conjunction with an access device 118 that may be co-located with the resource to provide access to the resource, for example, by causing the access device 118 to deactivate a locking mechanism 120 that prevents access to the resource. The virtual key database 116 may form part of the resource management system 102 or be directly connected to the resource management system, or may be accessed by the resource management system 102 via the communication network 108 or any other suitable network.

[0057] In some embodiments, the resource management system 102 may be configured as a web server system that is capable of serving content such as web pages or other content in accordance with protocols such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). For example, when supported and combined with an application architecture and typical server-side functions such as web server functions, data processing functions, and data storage and retrieval functions, the resource management application 110 provides a resource booking platform (an example of which is provided in Figure 5 and Figure 6), the resource reservation platform may include activities that may be viewed as being performed at one or more computing devices 104. However, it will be understood that the activities performed at the computing devices 104 rely on program code (including applets where appropriate) provided to the computing devices 104 by the resource management system 102 and executed by a browser application (not shown). Thus, the functionality of the reservation platform is driven by code executed and provided by the resource management system 102.

[0058] The resource management application 110 may allow programmatic interaction of remote applications to exchange information with the resource reservation system 106 via a defined API ("application program interface"). A variety of underlying protocols and technologies may be used to define and implement resource management services. For example, some embodiments may rely on XML ("Extensible Markup Language") formatted data communications using HTTP ("Hypertext Transfer Protocol") to respond to requests from the reservation management module 112 that are specified as URIs ("Uniform Resource Identifiers"), such as URLs ("Uniform Resource Locators") that include a specified operation and one or more query parameters. Such URI-based requests may be based, for example, on the use of XML over HTTP (e.g., as part of Representational State Transfer (or "REST"), a distributed interaction model). In some embodiments, additional underlying protocols such as SOAP ("Simple Object Access Protocol") for standard message exchange, WSDL ("Web Services Description Language") for describing service calls, and UDDI ("Uniform Description, Discovery and Integration Protocol") for discovering available services may be used for various purposes.

[0059] The resource reservation system 106 may include one or more servers (not shown) configured to provide resource reservation services by executing a resource reservation application 122 stored in a memory (not shown) associated with one or more servers of the resource reservation system 106. The resource reservation system 106 is configured to maintain a register of resources that can be used for reservation through the resource reservation system 106. The resource reservation system 106 is further configured to provide information about resource availability to a reservation management module 112 of the resource management system 102 in response to receiving a reservation confirmation from the resource management system 102, or otherwise make the information available, and reserve the resource, i.e., make the resource unavailable for reservation. However, it should be understood that the resource reservation system 106 can be used to reserve resources in other ways, for example, by communicating directly with the resource reservation system 106 through the computing device 104 or manually reserving resources by an operator in response to a personal request. In some embodiments, the resource reservation system 106 can be configured to provide information about virtual keys associated with specific resources to a virtual key management module 112 of the resource management system 102 or otherwise make the information available. In some embodiments, the resource reservation system 106 may be configured to provide or otherwise make available to the resource access application 126 of the computing device 104 information about the reserved resources, which may include, for example, credentials for accessing the reserved resources.

[0060] The resource booking application 122 may allow programmatic interaction of remote applications to exchange information via a defined API ("application program interface"). The resource booking application 122 may be defined and implemented using a variety of base protocols and technologies. For example, some embodiments may rely on XML ("Extensible Markup Language") formatted data communications using HTTP ("Hypertext Transfer Protocol") to respond to requests from the resource access application 126 or the resource management application 110 that are specified as URIs ("Uniform Resource Identifiers"), such as URLs ("Uniform Resource Locators") that include a specified operation and one or more query parameters. Such URI-based requests may be based, for example, on the use of XML over HTTP (e.g., as part of Representational State Transfer (or "REST"), a distributed interaction model). In some embodiments, additional base protocols such as SOAP ("Simple Object Access Protocol") for standard message exchange, WSDL ("Web Services Description Language") for describing service calls, and UDDI ("Uniform Description, Discovery and Integration Protocol") for discovering available services may be used for various purposes.

[0061] The one or more computing devices 104 each include one or more processors (not shown) and a memory (not shown) including an operating system and a plurality of software applications or applets that can be executed by the one or more processors to perform various device-related functions. For example, at least one such software application includes a browser application 124 that enables a user to navigate to a site accessible via the communication network 108 to receive content from the site. In some examples, the browser application 124 can be used to communicate with the resource management system 102 to request content from the resource management system in the form of one or more web pages that are provided as program code to the browser application and can be executed by the processor(s) of the computing device 102. According to some embodiments, the resource management system 102 is configured to provide code to the computing device 104 to provide an online resource booking platform generated by the browser application 124 and viewable on a display (not shown) of a user interface (not shown) of the computing device 104.

[0062] The resource booking platform can provide a user interface that allows users to search for resources using specific key terms and / or standards. For example, in the case where the resource to be booked is a hotel room, the resource booking platform can provide a user interface that allows users to input (multiple) specific locations and / or specific dates to search for available hotel rooms that meet the search criteria. In response to the user input search criteria, the reservation management module 112 of the resource management application 110 can determine the list of available hotels and provide it to the resource booking platform. The resource booking platform can allow users to browse the results and select a specific hotel. After selecting a specific hotel, the user can be prompted to pay for the hotel reservation, for example, by providing payment details. During the booking process, the user can also be asked whether he or she wishes to utilize keyless entry to the hotel room, which will be discussed in more detail below.

[0063] In some embodiments, the browser application 124 can be supplemented by a dedicated add-on, or can be replaced by a dedicated client software (i.e., an "app" for a smart phone or tablet device) to perform the functions described herein or facilitate such functions. For example, for the computing device 104, a dedicated application can be downloaded from the resource management system 102 or a separate dedicated download server (not shown) and installed on the computing device 104. When such a dedicated application is executed on the computing device 104, it can facilitate appropriate formatting, interaction, display, and input to implement the user interface functions described herein. Such a dedicated application may include a resource access application 126 configured to be used in conjunction with the application software running on the access device 118. In some embodiments, the resource access application 126 is configured to receive and store a virtual key associated with a particular resource from, for example, the resource management system 102, and provide the virtual key to the access device 118 associated with the resource to deactivate a locking mechanism 120 that prevents access to the resource.

[0064] The resource access application 126 may be configured to communicate with the resource management system 102 to request and / or receive information from the resource management system 102. In some embodiments, the resource access application 126 is configured to receive and store a virtual key associated with a particular resource from, for example, the resource management system 102, and to provide the virtual key to an access device 118 associated with the resource to deactivate a locking mechanism 120 that prevents access to the resource. In some embodiments, the resource access application 126 is configured to receive and store reservation confirmation details associated with a reserved resource, such as a resource identifier, associated dates, payment confirmation details, etc.

[0065] The access device 118 is configured to communicate with the resource access application 126 of the mobile computing device 104 to determine a virtual key associated with a particular resource managed under the control of the access device 118. For example, the resource access application 126 of the mobile computing device 104 may be configured to communicate with the access device 118 using near field communication capabilities or Bluetooth-based communication capabilities. In some embodiments, the virtual key may include a QR code that may be read or scanned by the access device 118.

[0066] The access devices 118 are each associated with one or more resources and corresponding one or more locking mechanisms 120. When a locking mechanism 120 is activated or otherwise enabled by the access device 118, the locking mechanism prevents access to the corresponding resource. In some embodiments, the access device 118 includes one or more processors and a memory including computing code, which is configured to control the operation of the access device 118 when executed by the one or more processors. For example, the access device 118 can be configured to determine a virtual key provided on or received from the mobile computing device 104, determine the validity of the virtual key for a specific resource, and deactivate the locking mechanism 120 associated with the resource to allow access to the resource in response to determining that the virtual key is valid for the resource. In some embodiments, the access device 118 is configured to communicate with the resource reservation system 106 or other server (not shown) associated with the management of the resource to determine the validity of the virtual key for the specific resource. For example, the resource reservation system 106 or other server (not shown) can query a register of virtual keys for a resource and compare the virtual key for the resource to the entries in the register to determine its validity, for example by determining whether a reservation has been made and the virtual key is active and / or whether the virtual key matches a record in the register for a particular resource.

[0067] Figure 2 is a process flow diagram of a method 200 of resource management according to some embodiments. The method 200 may be implemented by the resource management system 102. In particular, one or more processors of the resource management system 102 may be configured to execute the resource management application 110 to cause the resource management system 102 to perform the method 200.

[0068] Reference now Figure 2 At 202, a request to reserve a resource is received from a computing device 104 at the resource management system 102. The request includes a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier. In some embodiments, the request further includes one or more of: an indication of the duration of the reservation of the resource, any specific special requests, and payment details.

[0069] In some embodiments, the resource management application 110 is configured to retrieve resource details in response to a query received from the computing device 104 and display these details on the reservation platform to allow the user to select a resource and submit a reservation request. In some embodiments, the reservation management module 112 determines whether the resource is available and any further details about the resource from a resource register 128, which may be located locally or remotely from the resource management system 102 and is periodically and / or regularly updated by one or more resource reservation systems 106 associated with the resource. In some embodiments, the reservation management module 112 determines whether the resource is available and any further details about the resource by querying one or more resource reservation systems 106.

[0070] For example, a resource information query may be initiated by submitting an HTTP POST request in XML format to a specified URL of the resource reservation application 122 by the reservation management module 112. The resource information query may also include credentials for verifying and authorizing the reservation of the resource by the resource reservation application 122. The following is an example of an HTTP POST request in XML format:

[0071]

[0072] The resource reservation application 122 may return a response to the above query in the following format:

[0073]

[0074]

[0075] The reservation management module 112 can further query the resource reservation application 122 for details of available resources of a specific standard, for example, available resources at a specific location. The following is an example of querying the hotel room types of a hotel with a hotel id of 71656:

[0076]

[0077] An example of a response generated by the resource reservation application 122 to the above query may have the following format:

[0078]

[0079]

[0080] A user at computing device 104 may browse the details of resources displayed on the reservation platform and select a resource and cause a request to be sent to resource management system 102 to reserve the associated resource.

[0081] Reference again Figure 2 At 204, the resource management system 102 (particularly the reservation management module 112) creates a reservation based on the resource identifier. In some embodiments, the reservation management module 112 transmits a reservation confirmation request to the resource reservation application 122 of the resource reservation system. The reservation confirmation request includes the resource identifier and may further include additional information about the reservation.

[0082] The following is an example of a reservation confirmation request sent by the reservation management module 112 to the resource reservation application 122:

[0083]

[0084]

[0085]

[0086] In some embodiments, the resource reservation application 122 determines whether to confirm or reject the reservation confirmation request and sends a response to the reservation management module 112. In some embodiments, if the resource reservation application 122 confirms the reservation, the resource reservation application 122 can update the resource register to reflect the reservation and, for example, reduce multiple reservations made for the same resource for the same time period. In some embodiments, the reservation management module 112 updates the details about the resource in the resource register 128.

[0087] At 206, the resource management application 110 (particularly the virtual key management module 114) determines the virtual key for the reserved resource. In some embodiments, the virtual key management module 114 uses the resource identifier to query the virtual key database 116 to determine the virtual key associated with the resource identified by the resource identifier.

[0088] In some embodiments, at 208, the resource management application 110 determines whether the mobile computing device 204 associated with the mobile computing device identifier has a resource access application 126 deployed thereon. For example, the resource management application 110 may query a resource access application register (not shown) using information about the user or mobile computing device (such as the mobile computing device identifier) ​​to determine whether the resource access application 126 has been downloaded to the mobile computing device 204 associated with the user (such as the mobile computing device identified by the mobile computing device identifier). In some embodiments, the resource management application 110 may send a query to the computing device 104 to determine whether the resource access application 126 is deployed thereon. If it is determined that the resource access application 126 is not deployed on the mobile computing device 104, then at 210 the resource management application 110 prompts the computing device 104 to obtain the resource access application 126, such as by sending a link to download the resource access application 126, and the method returns to 208.

[0089] If it is determined that the resource access application 126 has been deployed on the mobile computing device 104, the resource management application 110 provides a confirmation message including a virtual key associated with the reserved resource to the mobile computing device 104 associated with the mobile computing device identifier at 212. In some embodiments, as opposed to directly providing the virtual key to the mobile computing device via the confirmation message, the virtual key may be provided indirectly to the mobile computing device, for example, by providing a confirmation code associated with the virtual key in the confirmation message instead of the virtual key. In embodiments where a confirmation code associated with the virtual key is provided, the confirmation code may be used, for example, to retrieve the associated virtual key from a website and download it to the mobile computing device 104, the address of which may be provided in the confirmation message.

[0090] In some embodiments, the resource management application 110 does not determine whether the mobile computing device 204 associated with the mobile computing device identifier has a resource access application 126 deployed thereon, but instead provides a confirmation message including a virtual key associated with the reserved resource to the mobile computing device 104 associated with the mobile computing device identifier, or provides a confirmation message including a confirmation code associated with the virtual key associated with the reserved resource to the mobile computing device 104 associated with the mobile computing device identifier, as at 212. For example, in some cases, it may not be necessary for the resource management application 110 to receive and use the virtual key to access the resource for the mobile computing device 204. In embodiments where a confirmation code associated with the virtual key is provided, the confirmation code may be used, for example, to retrieve and download the associated virtual key to the mobile computing device 104 from a website, the address of which may be provided in the confirmation message.

[0091] Figure 3 is a process flow diagram of a method 300 of reserving a resource and obtaining access to the reserved resource according to some embodiments. The method 300 may be implemented by the mobile computing device 104. In particular, one or more processors of the computing device 104 may be configured to execute the browser application 124 and the resource access application to cause the computing device 102 to perform the method 300.

[0092] At 302, a request to reserve a resource is sent from computing device 104 to resource management system 102. As described above, computing device 204 is configured to display a reservation platform to a user to allow the user to generate a request to reserve a resource. The request includes a resource identifier associated with the resource to be reserved and a mobile computing device identifier. In some embodiments, the mobile computing device identifier may be an identifier of computing device 104, such as a telephone number.

[0093] At 304, a confirmation message including a virtual key is received at the mobile computing device 104 associated with the mobile computing device identifier. In some embodiments, instead of the virtual key, the confirmation message may include a confirmation code associated with the virtual key. Thereafter, the confirmation code may be used to retrieve and download the associated virtual key.

[0094] The virtual key is used to obtain access to the reserved resource. At 306, the virtual key is used in conjunction with the access device 118 associated with the reserved resource to provide access to the resource. In some embodiments, the resource access application 126 is configured to communicate with the access device 118 to obtain access to the resource. In response to the access device 118 determining that the virtual key is valid for a particular resource, the virtual key provides access to the resource.

[0095] The resource access application 126 using the virtual key can be configured to communicate with the access device using near field communication (NFC) capabilities or Bluetooth-based communication capabilities. In some embodiments, the virtual key can include a QR code that can be read or scanned by the access device 118.

[0096] Figure 4 is a process flow diagram of a method 400 for managing access to reserved resources according to some embodiments. The method may be implemented by the access device 118 of the system 100. In particular, one or more processors of the access device 118 may be configured to execute instructions (computer code) to cause the access device 118 to perform the method 400.

[0097] At 402, an access request is received at the access device 118 from the mobile computing device 104 to access a resource co-located with or otherwise associated with the access device 118. For example, the access request may be received from a resource access application 126 deployed on the mobile computing device 104. The access request includes a virtual key associated with the resource. In some embodiments, the access request further includes a resource identifier associated with the resource and the virtual key.

[0098] At 404, the validity of the virtual key for the particular resource is determined. In some embodiments, the access device 118 communicates with the resource reservation system 106 or other server (not shown) associated with the management of the resource to determine the validity of the virtual key for the particular resource. In some embodiments, the relevant validity information may be stored locally in a memory of the access device 118 and queried to determine the validity of the presented virtual key for the resource. The validity of the virtual key may depend on the date and time when the access request is received.

[0099] In some embodiments, the access device 118 may cause the resource access application 126 to prompt the user to perform certain identity verification or compliance steps before granting access to a resource. For example, in some embodiments, the resource access application 126 may prompt the user to provide documentation, such as proof of identity. For example, for record keeping purposes, the documentation may be transmitted by the resource access application 126 to the resource reservation system 106 or other related server or system (not shown).

[0100] If it is determined at 406 that the virtual key is valid for the resource, access to the resource is permitted at 410. For example, in some embodiments, access device 118 communicates with corresponding locking mechanism 120 directly or via a communication network (not shown) to deactivate locking mechanism 120 and provide access to the resource.

[0101] If it is determined at 406 that the virtual key is invalid for the resource, access to the resource is denied at 410. In some embodiments, the access device 118 may report the denial of access and details of the presented virtual key or credential to the resource reservation system 106 or other associated server or system. This may help monitor unauthorized entry attempts.

[0102] Figure 5An example screenshot 500 of a reservation platform for hotel resources as shown on the interface of computing device 104 is shown. Area 505 allows the user to enter a desired destination to search for hotels. Through the user selectable options shown at area 510, the user can enter the relevant check-in date and check-out date. A list of all hotels available according to the criteria entered by the user is displayed in display window 515. A map view of the identified hotels is shown in map view window 520.

[0103] Figure 6 Another example screenshot 600 of a reservation platform 602 for hotel resources as shown on the interface of computing device 104 is shown. Area 605 of reservation platform 602 shows the details of the reservation made by the user. In particular, check-in date and check-out date, number of guests and number of rooms are displayed for user confirmation and viewing. Part 610 of reservation platform 602 shows relevant additional items applicable to the reservation. A relevant additional item is the function of keyless entry to hotel rooms. By selecting user selectable option 615, the user can indicate his or her interest in requesting keyless entry to a reserved hotel room upon arrival.

[0104] Figure 7 An example screenshot 700 of an interface 702 of a resource access application 126 is shown, which interface may be presented to a user, for example, when the resource access application 126 is first activated. The user is prompted to enter his or her phone number in area 710, and the user enters a confirmation code in area 720. For example, the phone number entered by the user may be the same as in the example Figure 3 The confirmation code corresponds to the mobile computing device identifier provided to the resource management system 102 at 302 of the method 300 shown. When the resource access application 126 is downloaded or installed on the computing device 104, the confirmation code can be provided to the user's computing device 104. The confirmation code can be provided to the user's computing device 104 through a messaging service (such as SMS or MMS or email). After entering the phone number and confirmation code in the interface 700, the user can use the confirmation button 730 to confirm the entered details. After the user presses the confirmation button 730, the entered details are transmitted by the resource access application 126 to the resource reservation system 106 to retrieve information related to the reserved resources. The resource management system 102 can also return the details of the user's reservation to the resource access application 126, such as Figure 8 shown.

[0105] Figure 8An example screenshot 800 of an interface 802 of a resource access application 126 is shown. Interface 802 displays details of a confirmed hotel room reservation to allow a user to verify the received reservation information. For example, area 810 displays the relevant dates for which the reservation is valid, and area 820 displays the room number assigned to the reservation. In some embodiments, a room number may not be assigned immediately after a reservation is made, and there may be an intermediate time period between when a user makes a reservation and when a room is assigned to the reservation made by the user. Interface 802 also provides a button 830 associated with a virtual key for a reserved resource. Pressing button 830 while placing mobile computing device 104 near access device 118 (which in this case may be a hotel door lock device) will initiate transmission of the virtual key or credential details to access device 118 for verification. For example, this may be used in conjunction with a user's mobile computing device 104 to access a hotel room. Figure 3 This corresponds to 306 of the illustrated method 300 .

[0106] In some embodiments, the resource access application 126 can allow for sharing of virtual keys or credentials between multiple mobile devices 104, each of which executes the resource access application 126. During the reservation process, the registered mobile device 104 can be referred to as the primary mobile device. The primary mobile device can share the received virtual key or credential through the resource access application to other secondary mobile devices executing the resource access application. This may be advantageous in situations where multiple people want to utilize the reserved resources or multiple reserved resources are associated with the same virtual key.

[0107] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and / or modifications may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered in all aspects as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources, the method being implemented on a resource management system configured to communicate with one or more computing devices and one or more resource reservation systems via a communication network, the method comprising: receiving, at the resource management system, a request from a computing device among the one or more computing devices to reserve a resource, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier; creating a reservation based on the resource identifier; determining a virtual key associated with the resource identifier, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; Prior to providing the confirmation message to the mobile computing device, determining whether a mobile computing device of the one or more computing devices associated with the mobile computing device identifier has a resource access application deployed thereon, the resource access application configured to receive and store a virtual key associated with a particular resource and to communicate with the access device to obtain access to the resource; In response to determining that the resource access application is deployed on the mobile computing device, providing the confirmation message to a mobile computing device associated with the mobile computing device identifier among the one or more computing devices, wherein the confirmation message includes one of: (i) the virtual key and (ii) a confirmation code associated with the virtual key for allowing retrieval of the virtual key; and In response to determining that the resource access application is not deployed on the mobile computing device, prompting the mobile computing device to obtain the resource access application; The access device receives an access request including the virtual key from the mobile computing device via the communication network, and the access device determines the validity of the virtual key for the resource, and the access device is used to activate one or more locking mechanisms associated with the resource to allow access to the resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: Creating the reservation includes transmitting a reservation confirmation request to the resource reservation system to confirm the reservation of the resource.

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein: Determining a virtual key associated with the resource includes retrieving the virtual key from a virtual key database based on the resource identifier.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The virtual key includes one or more QR codes readable by an access device associated with the resource identifier.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein: The virtual key includes one or more QR codes readable by an access device associated with the resource identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: The request further includes one or more of: (i) payment details and (ii) an indication of the length of the reservation.

7. A resource management system for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources, the system being configured to communicate with one or more computing devices and one or more resource reservation systems via a communication network, the system comprising: One or more servers, each of the one or more servers comprising: one or more processors; and A memory comprising computer code which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes one or more servers of the system to perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A computer-implemented method for reserving a resource and accessing the reserved resource, the method being implemented on a mobile computing device configured to communicate with a resource management system via a communication network, a resource access application being deployed on the mobile computing device, the resource access application being configured to receive and store a virtual key associated with a particular resource and to communicate with an access device to obtain access to the resource, the method comprising: sending a request from the mobile computing device to the resource management system to reserve the resource, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier; receiving, at the mobile computing device, a confirmation message from a resource management server, the confirmation message including one of: (i) a virtual key associated with the reserved resource and (ii) a confirmation code associated with the virtual key for allowing retrieval of the virtual key, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; providing the virtual key to an access device co-located with the resource to gain access to the resource; receiving, at the access device, an access request from the mobile computing device, the access request comprising a virtual key for a resource co-located with the access device; determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource; and In response to determining that the virtual key is valid for the resource, a locking mechanism associated with the resource is activated to allow access to the resource.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein: Providing the virtual key to the access device includes one of: (i) presenting the virtual key to a reader of the access device to allow the access device to scan the virtual key; and (ii) transmitting the virtual key to the access device using near field communication capability or Bluetooth-based communication capability.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein: Determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource includes comparing the virtual key to a stored virtual key for the resource and determining whether the virtual key is substantially equal to or different from the stored virtual key.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein: Determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource includes: sending verification information from the access device to a resource access monitoring system, wherein the verification information includes a virtual key associated with the resource and a resource identifier; and A notification is received at the access device from the resource access monitoring system indicating the validity or invalidity of the virtual key for the resource.

12. A mobile computing device for reserving resources and accessing the reserved resources, the device being configured to communicate with a resource management system via a first communication network and to communicate with one or more locking devices via a second communication network, the device comprising: one or more processors; as well as A memory comprising computer code which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the mobile computing device to perform the method of any one of claims 8 to 11.

13. A system for booking resources and managing access to the booked resources, the system comprising: a resource management system for reserving resources and providing access to reserved resources, the resource management system being configured to communicate with one or more mobile computing devices and one or more resource reservation systems over a communications network; an access device for allowing access to reserved resources, the access device being configured to operate one or more locking mechanisms associated with respective reserved resources and to communicate with the one or more mobile computing devices over the communications network; one or more processors; as well as A memory including computer code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the system to perform operations including: receiving, at the resource management system, a request from a computing device among the one or more computing devices to reserve a resource, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier; creating a reservation based on the resource identifier; determining a virtual key associated with the resource identifier, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; Prior to providing the confirmation message to the mobile computing device, determining whether a mobile computing device of the one or more computing devices associated with the mobile computing device identifier has a resource access application deployed thereon, the resource access application configured to receive and store a virtual key associated with a particular resource and to communicate with the access device to obtain access to the resource; In response to determining that the resource access application is deployed on the mobile computing device, providing the confirmation message to a mobile computing device associated with the mobile computing device identifier among the one or more computing devices, wherein the confirmation message includes one of: (i) the virtual key and (ii) a confirmation code associated with the virtual key for allowing retrieval of the virtual key; and In response to determining that the resource access application is not deployed on the mobile computing device, prompting the mobile computing device to obtain the resource access application; sending a request from the mobile computing device to the resource management system to reserve the resource, the request including a resource identifier and a mobile computing device identifier; receiving, at the mobile computing device, a confirmation message from a resource management server, the confirmation message including one of: (i) a virtual key associated with the reserved resource and (ii) a confirmation code associated with the virtual key for allowing retrieval of the virtual key, wherein the virtual key is configured to be used with an access device co-located with the resource to allow access to the resource; providing the virtual key to an access device co-located with the resource to gain access to the resource; receiving, at the access device, an access request from a mobile computing device among the one or more mobile computing devices, the access request comprising a virtual key for a resource co-located with the access device; determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource; and In response to determining that the virtual key is valid for the resource, a locking mechanism associated with the resource is activated to allow access to the resource.

14. A resource reservation and management system for reserving resources and providing access to the reserved resources, the system comprising: The resource management system as claimed in claim 7; as well as One or more mobile computing devices as claimed in claim 12; as well as One or more access devices, each of the one or more access devices being configured to allow access to the reserved resources and being configured to operate one or more locking mechanisms associated with the respective reserved resources and to communicate with the one or more mobile computing devices via a communication network, each of the one or more access devices comprising: one or more processors; and A memory comprising computer code which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the access device to perform the following steps: receiving, at the access device, an access request from a mobile computing device among the one or more mobile computing devices, the access request comprising a virtual key for a resource co-located with the access device; determining the validity of the virtual key for the resource; and In response to determining that the virtual key is valid for the resource, a locking mechanism associated with the resource is activated to allow access to the resource.

15. A computer program product comprising computer readable code which, when executed by one or more processors, is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 and 8 to 11.

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