Computer implementation method for responding to user travel search queries

Abstract

A computer implementation method is disclosed for responding to a user travel search query, which may be a general travel search query, the computer implementation method comprising: (i) a backend for a frontend (BFF) sends the BFF travel search query to an integrated search service (USS), which initiates a search at the initial geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy; (ii) the USS selects a backend according to the geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy and according to the date scope; (iii) the USS invokes the selected backend in relation to the BFF travel search query and receives any set of search results and any updates to the BFF travel search query from the selected backend; (iv) The process includes: (v) including the steps of (ii) to (v) including including the received set of search results in the USS response set; (v) updating the BFF travel search query with any received updates to the BFF travel search query; (vi) repeating steps (ii) to (v) including reducing the depth of the searched geotype levels in the geographic hierarchy until there are no more backends being queried or until the geotype levels reach the target resolution of a specified geotype; (vii) applying a reduction algorithm to the USS response set using filtering criteria to produce a reduced USS response set; and (viii) the USS returning the reduced USS response set to the BFF.

Claims

1. A computer implementation method for responding to a user travel search query, which may be a general travel search query, wherein the method is: (i) The backend for the frontend (BFF) receives the user travel search query, (ii) The BFF processes the user travel search query to define a BFF travel search query, the BFF travel search query comprising: (a) a starting point, (b) an inventory list type, (c) a target resolution of a specified geographic type for one or more destinations, (d) a query boundary including the geographic type defining the one or more destinations, (e) a date scope, and (f) a filtering criterion. (iii) The BFF sends the BFF travel search query to the Unified Search Service (USS), wherein the USS initiates a search at the initial geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy. (iv) The USS selects a backend according to the geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy and according to the date scope, (v) The steps of the USS calling the selected backend in relation to the BFF travel search query, and receiving any set of search results from the selected backend and any updates to the BFF travel search query, (vi) The step of including the received set of search results in the USS response set, (vii) The step of updating the BFF travel search query using any received updates to the BFF travel search query, (viiii) Repeating steps (iv) to (vii), which includes reducing the depth of the searched geographic type levels in the geographic hierarchy until there are no more backends to query or until the geographic type level reaches the specified geographic type target resolution, (ix) The USS applies a reduction algorithm to the USS response set using the filtering criteria to produce a reduced USS response set, (x) The USS returns the reduced USS response set to the BFF, (xi) A method comprising the steps of the BFF processing the reduced USS response set to produce a processed reduced USS response set, and using the processed reduced USS response set to respond to the user travel search query.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the query grammar for a BFF travel search query is "to show results of type (INVENTORY_LIST) with (TARGET_RESOLUTION) resolution for destinations (QUERY_BOUNDARY) filtered by date (DATE_SCOPE) by origin (ORIGIN)".

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the data type geographic type identifies the depth within the geographic hierarchy (e.g., Skyscanner), e.g., ANYWHERE, COUNTRY, CITY, PLACE.

4. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the filtering criteria includes a data type FILTER_LIST which is a list of travel modifier constraints applied by the USS backend, and which includes filter type enumeration values ​​and optionally adds parameters.

5. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the filtering criteria include a filter list of data type TRIP_MODIFIER that defines an enumeration constraint used to restrict the results returned from query filter:USS.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the constraints are evaluated by one or more USS backends orchestrated by the USS service itself. For example, travel restrictions may be set to LOW or MODERATE.

7. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the date scope identifies a date scope of ANYTIME, MONTH, or DATE.

8. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the date scope includes a flexible departure date.

9. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the date scope includes a flexible period of travel.

10. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the starting point identifies the starting location of a traveler using a travel entity ID and a geographic type, for example, CITY (<<EntityId>>).

11. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the inventory list type is a list of search inventory type enumeration values, for example, a search backend identifier.

12. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the geographic type target resolution defines the target scope of the query: the geographic resolution required for the result, e.g., COUNTRY, CITY, or AIRPORT.

13. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the query boundary defines a query start scope and a boundary to the recommended and suggested query space, for example, I am looking at ANYWHERE destination or I am looking at this list of 6 CITYs.

14. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the date scope is defined by a DATE_RESOLUTION identifier (e.g., ANYTIME, SEASON, MONTH, etc.) and optionally by parameters.

15. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the date scope identifies the resolution and parameters.

16. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS proposes, ranks, and retrieves a search inventory of travelers.

17. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the integrated search service (USS) is configured to perform a "normal" search, and the USS is configured to perform an "advanced" search.

18. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the BFF request specifies a "geographic scope" which is a "root node" in the geographic hierarchy.

19. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS coordinates the process of traversing the geographic hierarchy from the root node using suggestions and filtering logic selected by the client.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the USS coordinates the process using data provided by other services within the search domain and traverses the geographic hierarchy from the root node using suggestions and filtering logic selected by the client.

21. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the search is initiated at the root node in the hierarchy and terminates when a node at a specified depth in the hierarchy is identified and returned to the client.

22. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the BFF communicates with the USS via an interface, for example, an interface using gRPC / HTTP (e.g., protobuf).

23. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS communicates with search backends (e.g., for flights, hotels, rental cars) via an interface, for example, an interface using gRPC / HTTP (e.g., protobuf).

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein a corresponding inventory schema is provided for each interface.

25. The method according to claim 22 or 23, wherein a common inventory schema is used for the interface.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein the common inventory schema uses protobuf.

27. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the user is not required to integrate multiple backends individually.

28. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the user is required to specify those queries only once.

29. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS search backend implements server-side filtering.

30. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the filter constraints are expressed within the USS backend interface and implemented by all participating "advanced" search backends.

31. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein a component outside of the USS (e.g., BFF) identifies an entity ID visible in the map (based on the zoom level), for example, in order to be embedded in the USS request.

32. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein if a dependency is not available, the search fails quickly and approximates an "advanced" search result using a fallback data source.

33. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS uses a static in-memory alternative list of proposed locations if it is not possible to retrieve a personalized recommended location within a given time frame.

34. The method according to any one of the prior claims, comprising an elaboration process including generating proposed locations, filtering and / or ranking the proposals, dispatching queries to an “advanced” search backend for data related to these locations, and aggregating and returning the results.

35. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS uses a destination suggestion backend to generate possible destinations based on the requested geographic scope and filters.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the proposal is returned from the backend as a list of entity IDs that satisfy the query criteria.

37. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS dispatches this list of entity IDs along with backend filtering criteria to other backends, and the results returned from these backends include a new list of entity IDs that match only the specified backend filtering criteria.

38. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS queries any remaining backends to retrieve the unprocessed results of the filtered entity IDs.

39. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein during the refinement process, the USS forms a dynamic pipeline that defines the order in which the backends are called.

40. The method according to claim 39, wherein the first backend called is used to refine, suggest, and / or filter the provided query into a more specific query, for example, by converting an initial geographical scope of any place into a list of countries that are safe to travel to.

41. The method according to claim 39 or 40, wherein the performance of the pipeline is defined by the priority of the components in the pipeline.

42. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS determines the order in which to query the backend using the provided filters in the search query.

43. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein if the query includes a recommendation request, the USS asks the “destination proposer” backend to retrieve a recommendation.

44. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS imposes a limit on the number of entities included in the BFF request.

45. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS imposes a limit on the number of entities included in a request to a backend service.

46. The method according to claim 45, wherein the USS makes multiple requests to the USS backend so as to stay within the limits in order to satisfy the client's requirements.

47. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS applies prioritization and ranking and then discards the list of proposed destinations.

48. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the BFF maps (backend-specific) USS SearchResult schema elements to frontend needs.

49. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the BFF is converted between map coordinates and a travel entity ID.

50. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the BFF includes enrichment logic for returning text copy, or images, or videos, or other content about a destination.

51. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS includes ranking the result set of the returned inventory.

52. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS comprises combining the results of multiple backends into a single response.

53. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the search backend provides a schema for the inventory type.

54. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the search backend applies a query model such as server-side filtering.

55. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS server implementation itself is stateless and does not include a result cache.

56. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS backend implements its own caching strategy.

57. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the BFF provides the user with a map interface, and the BFF receives the user's selection of a place to go as the destination.

58. The method according to claim 57, wherein the map interface displays travel restrictions and destination safety information.

59. The queried backend includes travel restrictions and destination safety, according to the method of claim 58.

60. The method according to claim 58, wherein the queried backend includes travel restrictions, altitude flights, destination safety, and special offers information.

61. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein a map is presented to the user along with a personalized recommended destination.

62. The method according to claim 61, wherein the queried backend includes travel restrictions, altitude flights, destination safety, special offers, and destination recommenders.

63. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein a map with hotel reference prices or travel prices is displayed to the user.

64. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS processes abbreviated names of geographical groups such as "Alps" and "Riviera" as input.

65. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the search backend returns the requested geographic entities provided within the original intent destination set, or the refined intent including the next level in the geoscope hierarchy.

66. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the search backend returns a origin which is either the requested origin or an updated origin used by the backend to answer the request.

67. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein if the request does not define a travel date (date resolution is ANYTIME), the backend may use this field to suggest a travel date or simply provide the default value used when retrieving the results.

68. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the available geography notifies the USS of the geographic entities that the backend could have returned.

69. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS backend includes an advanced flight, and for example, the query includes one or more of the following: an ANYWHERE request that returns data for all countries from a starting city by date range, a COUNTRY list request that returns data for selected countries from a starting city by date range, or a CITY list request that returns data for selected cities from a starting city by date range.

70. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS backend includes a destination recommender, for example, the query generates personalized recommendations for cities similar to the entered destination entity ID (city) - parameters: UTID, origin entity ID, origin country code (market), destination entity ID; country level generates personalized recommendations for countries similar to the entered destination entity ID (country) - parameters: UTID, origin country code (market), destination entity ID (country).

71. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein during a backend query, BFF constructs a search intent and sends it to USS (501), Travel Restrictions extracts a list of country entity IDs, travel restriction data per country ID as a USS backend result (502), USS extracts a list of matching destinations from the travel restriction response (503), optionally ranks / truncates the list of matching destinations to maintain within the query constraints, dispatches a new search intent including the list of destinations to the rest of the search backend (destination safety), USS constructs a client response message including result payloads from travel restrictions and destination safety (504), and sends an unfiltered response including a list of matching destinations as entity IDs, USS returns the results to BFF (505).

72. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS includes a location entity with geographic coordinates in the result.

73. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS comprises adding geographic information to the requested and returned entity IDs.

74. The method according to any one of the prior claims, wherein the USS is written in Java and deployed to Cell.

75. The method according to any one of the prior claims, comprising the step of storing the processed reduced USS response set, or the step of storing the reduced USS response set.

76. A system comprising a BFF server, a USS server, and a backend server, wherein the system is configured to carry out the method described in any one of the prior claims.

77. A computer implementation method for responding to a user travel search query, which may be a general travel search query, wherein the method is: (i) The BFF sends the BFF travel search query to the Unified Search Service (USS), and the USS initiates a search at the initial geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy. (ii) The USS selects a backend according to the geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy and according to the date scope, (iii) The steps of the USS calling the selected backend in relation to the BFF travel search query and receiving any set of search results and any updates to the BFF travel search query from the selected backend, (iv) The step of including the received set of search results in the USS response set, (v) Updating the BFF travel search query using any received updates to the BFF travel search query, (vi) Repeating steps (ii) to (v), which includes reducing the depth of the searched geographic type levels in the geographic hierarchy until there are no more backends to query or until the geographic type level reaches the specified geographic type target resolution, (vii) The USS applies a reduction algorithm to the USS response set using the filtering criteria to produce a reduced USS response set, (viiii) A method comprising the step of returning the reduced USS response with the USS set to the BFF.

78. The method according to claim 77, wherein the method includes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 75.

79. A system comprising a BFF server, a USS server, and a backend server, configured to implement the method described in claim 77 or 78.

80. A computer implementation method for responding to a user travel search query, which may be a general travel search query, the method comprising a USS that reduces the depth of the searched geographic type level in the geographic hierarchy until there is no longer a queryed backend or until the geographic type level reaches a specified geographic type target resolution.

81. The method according to claim 80, which includes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 75.

82. A system including a USS server and a backend server, configured to carry out the method described in claim 80 or 81.

83. A system comprising a BFF server and a USS server, wherein the USS server communicates with a backend server, and the system is configured to respond to user travel search queries, which may be general travel search queries. (i) The backend (BFF) for the frontend server is configured to receive the user travel search query, (ii) The BFF server is configured to process the user travel search query in order to define a BFF travel search query, the BFF travel search query comprising (a) a starting point, (b) an inventory list type, (c) a target resolution of a specified geographic type for one or more destinations, (d) a query boundary including the geographic type defining the one or more destinations, (e) a date scope, and (f) a filtering criterion, (iii) The BFF server is configured to send the BFF travel search query to the Unified Search Service (USS) server, and the USS server is configured to initiate the search at the initial geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy. (iv) The USS server is configured to select a backend according to the geographic type level within the geographic hierarchy and according to the date scope, (v) The USS server is configured to call the selected backend in relation to the BFF travel search query, and to receive any set of search results from the selected backend, and any updates to the BFF travel search query, (vi) The USS server is configured to include the received search result set in the USS response set, (vii) The USS server is configured to update the BFF travel search query using any received updates to the BFF travel search query, (viiii) The USS server is configured to repeat steps (iv) to (vii), which include reducing the depth of the searched geotype levels in the geographic hierarchy until there are no more backends to query or until the geotype level reaches the specified geotype target resolution. (ix) The USS server is configured to use the filtering criteria to apply a reduction algorithm to the USS response set to produce a reduced USS response set. (x) The USS server is configured to return the reduced USS response set to the BFF server, (xi) A system in which the BFF server is configured to process the reduced USS response set in order to produce a processed reduced USS response set, and to use the processed reduced USS response set to respond to the user travel search query.

84. The system according to claim 83, wherein the system is configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 75.

85. The BFF server according to claim 83 or 84.

86. The USS server according to claim 83 or 84.

87. A system comprising a BFF server and a USS server, wherein the USS server communicates with a backend server, and the system is configured to respond to user travel search queries, which may be general travel search queries. (i) The BFF server is configured to send BFF travel search queries to the Unified Search Service (USS) server, and the USS server is configured to initiate searches at the initial geographic type level in the geographic hierarchy. (ii) The USS server is configured to select a backend according to the geotype level within the geographic hierarchy and according to the date scope, (iii) The USS server is configured to call the selected backend in relation to the BFF travel search query, and to receive any set of search results from the selected backend, and any updates to the BFF travel search query, (iv) The USS server is configured to include the received search result set in the USS response set, (v) The USS server is configured to update the BFF travel search query using any received updates to the BFF travel search query, (vi) The USS server is configured to repeat (ii) to (v), which includes reducing the depth of the searched geotype levels in the geo hierarchy until there are no more backends to query or until the geotype level reaches the specified geotype target resolution. (vii) The USS server is configured to use the filtering criteria to apply a reduction algorithm to the USS response set to produce a reduced USS response set, (viiii) A system in which the USS server is configured to return the reduced USS response set to the BFF server.

88. The system according to claim 87, wherein the system is configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 75.

89. The BFF server according to claim 87 or 88.

90. The USS server according to claim 87 or 88.

91. A Unified Search Service (USS) server, wherein the USS server communicates with backend servers, is configured to call selected backend servers in relation to travel search queries received from BFF servers, and, in relation to responding to user travel search queries which may be general travel search queries, the USS server is configured to reduce the depth of the searched geographic type level in the geographic hierarchy until there are no more backends to query or until the geographic type level reaches a specified geographic type target resolution.

92. The USS server according to claim 91, wherein the system is configured to carry out the method described in any one of claims 1 to 75.

Images