Seat reservation device, room reservation device, and application program

Abstract

To improve convenience of a user for reservation.SOLUTION: A seat reservation apparatus includes: seat map display control means which displays a seat map which shows seat arrangement of a facility on a reservation terminal; storage means which stores view images of a viewing object seen from seats, in association with each of the seats arranged in the seat map; candidate seat acquisition means which acquires information on a candidate seat selected by a user of the reservation terminal out of the seats; and view image display control means which causes the reservation terminal to display a view image corresponding to the candidate seat. When the candidate seat acquisition means acquires information on multiple candidate seats, the view image display control means causes the reservation terminal to display view images corresponding to the candidate seats, respectively, next to each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seat reservation device, a cabin reservation device, and an application program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, seat reservation systems using the Internet, etc., have been known. For example, in the case of a seat reservation system for a movie theater or a theater hall, a user can reserve a seat by accessing the seat map (seat chart) in advance from a website and specifying a seat visually displayed on the seat map.

[0003] For example, Patent Documents 1-3 describe inventions in which a seat reservation system displays to a user a view image or field of view image of the screen or stage as seen from the seat, so that the user can understand how the screen or stage looks from the seat position when reserving a seat. Since the user can check the different views for each seat in advance, this can be a useful reference for deciding when selecting a seat. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-109336 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2003-296620 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2008-027301 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the case of the inventions described in the above Patent Documents 1-3, a function / service is provided that allows the user to check each view image from a selected seat on a seat map, so the user is likely to carefully compare and consider the view images of multiple seats, and ultimately select and reserve the seat that he / she likes and is satisfied with. In other words, since such a function is provided, the user will select one of the seats visually displayed on the seat map, check the view image from the selected seat, and regardless of whether he / she likes the view image of the first selected seat or not, repeat the selection and confirmation of the view images of other seats, compare and consider, and ultimately select the seat that he / she likes the most from among them and make a reservation.

[0006] Therefore, while a user can finally select and reserve the seat that he or she likes best, it may take a considerable amount of operational effort and time for the user to complete the reservation.

[0007] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned points, and one object of the present invention is to improve the convenience of reservations for users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the seat reservation device according to the present invention comprises: a seat map display control means for causing a reservation terminal to display a seat map showing the seat arrangement of the facility; each a view image display control means for acquiring the view image corresponding to the candidate seat from a storage means which stores, for each seat arranged on the seat map, seat identifier information, seat attribute information, and a view image of an object viewed from the seat in association with each other, and causing the reservation terminal to display the acquired view image; and a other candidate seat selection means for selecting, when the candidate seat acquisition means acquires the identifier information of the candidate seat, another candidate seat having the same seat attribute as the candidate seat or another candidate seat having a different seat attribute, and the view image display control means displays, when the candidate seat acquisition means acquires the identifier information of the candidate seat, the view image corresponding to the candidate seat, 、each of the plurality of candidate seats including the other candidate seats To Corresponding view images are displayed side by side.

[0009] Further, the application program of the present invention causes a computer to function as a seat map display means for displaying a seat map showing the seat arrangement of a facility, a candidate seat selection means for allowing a user to select a candidate seat from among the seats arranged on the seat map, and a view image display means for displaying a view image corresponding to the candidate seat, and when a candidate seat is selected by the user, the view image display means displays the candidate seat, Among the seats stored in the storage means in association with the seat attribute information, Each of a plurality of candidate seats including other candidate seats having the same seat attribute as the candidate seat or other candidate seats having different seat attributes Viewed the object from The view images are displayed side by side.

[0010] In addition, the guest room reservation device of the present invention has a guest room map display control means for causing the reservation terminal to display a guest room map showing the layout of guest rooms in the facility, a storage means for storing a view image of the outside window seen from each guest room arranged on the guest room map in association with the respective guest room, a candidate guest room acquisition means for acquiring from the reservation terminal information on a candidate guest room selected by a user of the reservation terminal from among the respective guest rooms, and a view image display control means for causing the reservation terminal to display a view image corresponding to the candidate guest room, and when the candidate guest room acquisition means acquires information on a plurality of candidate guest rooms, the view image display control means causes the reservation terminal to display the view images corresponding to each of the plurality of candidate guest rooms side by side.

[0011] In addition, the application program of the present invention causes a computer to function as a guest room map display means for displaying a guest room map showing the layout of guest rooms in the facility, a candidate guest room selection means for allowing a user to select a candidate guest room from each of the guest rooms arranged on the guest room map, and a view image display means for displaying a view image corresponding to the candidate guest rooms, and when a plurality of candidate guest rooms are selected by the user, the view image display means displays the view images corresponding to each of the plurality of candidate guest rooms side by side. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to improve the convenience of reservations for users. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a seat reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a seat reservation server according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of a seat reservation server and a reservation terminal according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a seat map according to the embodiment; [Diagram 5] 4 is a diagram showing an example of data in a seat reservation management DB according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 1 of the seat reservation system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 2-1 of the seat reservation system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 2-2 of the seat reservation system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a view image acquisition process of the seat reservation server according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 3-1 of the seat reservation system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 3-2 of the seat reservation system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the software configuration of a room reservation server and a reservation terminal according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a cabin map according to the embodiment; [Figure 14] 4 is a diagram showing an example of data in a room reservation management DB according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen of the room reservation system according to the embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [Embodiment 1] <System configuration> (Network Configuration) 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a seat reservation system according to this embodiment. The seat reservation system 100 in FIG. 1 includes a seat reservation server 10 and a reservation terminal 30, which are connected via a network 50.

[0015] The reservation terminal 30 is a computer terminal used by a user to access the seat reservation server 10 and make a seat reservation, and may be, for example, a PC, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal having an operation unit for the user to perform reservation operations and a display unit for displaying reservation information. The network 50 is a communication network including wired and wireless networks. The network 50 includes, for example, the Internet, a public line network, a LAN (Local Area Network), and WiFi (registered trademark), etc.

[0016] (Hardware configuration) 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a seat reservation server according to this embodiment. The seat reservation server 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 14, and a communication device 15.

[0017] The CPU 11 executes various programs and performs arithmetic processing. The ROM 12 stores programs required at startup. The RAM 13 is a work area for temporarily storing the processing by the CPU 11 and storing data. The HDD 14 stores various data and programs. The communication device 15 communicates with other devices via a network 50.

[0018] In addition, since the reservation terminal 30 may be a general PC, smartphone, or tablet terminal, an example of the hardware configuration of the reservation terminal 30 will not be described.

[0019] (Software configuration) 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the seat reservation server and the reservation terminal according to the present embodiment. The seat reservation server 10 has a seat map display control unit 101, a candidate seat acquisition unit 102, an alternative candidate seat selection unit 103, a view image display control unit 104, and a storage unit 105 as main functional units.

[0020] The seat map display control unit 101 has a function of transmitting a seat map showing the seating arrangement of the facility to the reservation terminal 30 and causing it to be displayed.

[0021] The candidate seat acquisition unit 102 has a function of acquiring, from the reservation terminal 30, information on the candidate seats selected by the user of the reservation terminal 30 from among the individual seats in the seat map.

[0022] The other candidate seat selection unit 103 has a function of selecting another candidate seat according to the seat attributes of the one candidate seat when the candidate seat acquisition unit 102 acquires information on the one candidate seat.

[0023] The view image display control unit 104 has a function of identifying view images corresponding to the candidate seat selected by the user and other candidate seats by referring to the seat reservation management DB, and transmitting and displaying those view images to the reservation terminal 30. In particular, when there are multiple candidate seats, the view image display control unit 104 displays the view images corresponding to each of the multiple candidate seats side by side.

[0024] The storage unit 105 has a function of storing a seat map, a seat reservation management DB (Data Base), and a view image in a storage device such as the HDD 14.

[0025] Each of the above-mentioned functional units of the seat reservation server 10 is realized by a computer program executed on hardware resources such as the CPU, ROM, and RAM of the computer constituting the seat reservation server 10. These functional units may be interpreted as "means," "module," "unit," or "circuit." Furthermore, each of the above-mentioned functional units does not need to be realized by only one seat reservation server 10, and may be realized by distributing them to servers on the network 50, including the memory unit 105, for example.

[0026] The reservation terminal 30 has a seat map display unit 301, a candidate seat selection unit 302, and a view image display unit 303 as main functional units.

[0027] The seat map display unit 301 has a function of displaying a seat map showing the seat arrangement of the facility received from the seat reservation server 10.

[0028] The candidate seat selection unit 302 has a function of allowing the user to select a candidate seat from among the seats in the seat map. The candidate seat selection unit 302 also transmits information on the selected candidate seat to the seat reservation server 10.

[0029] The view image display unit 303 has a function of displaying view images corresponding to candidate seats received from the seat reservation server 10. In particular, when there are multiple candidate seats, the view image display unit 303 displays the view images corresponding to each of the multiple candidate seats side by side.

[0030] The above-mentioned functional units of the reservation terminal 30 are realized by a computer program (for example, an application program) executed on hardware resources such as the CPU, ROM, and RAM of the computer constituting the reservation terminal 30.

[0031] (Seat map) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a seat map according to this embodiment. The "seat map" in this embodiment is a seat map, seat layout diagram, or seat arrangement diagram in a facility such as a movie theater or theater hall. It is also called a seating chart. If the venue is a restaurant, the "seat map" includes a table layout diagram and table arrangement diagram that are subject to reservation.

[0032] In the seat map, the actual location of each seat in the facility and the location of viewing objects such as screens are depicted so that users can understand the location and distance of each seat, and each seat is assigned a seat number. Furthermore, each seat may be labeled with a seat class and price.

[0033] In addition, each seat is marked so that users can know whether the seat can be reserved or not. For example, a seat marked with an "X" indicates that the seat has already been reserved (a seat that cannot be reserved), and a seat without an "X" indicates that the seat is vacant (a seat that can be reserved). Users can select the seat they wish to reserve from among the seats without an "X".

[0034] (Seat reservation management DB) 5 is a diagram showing an example of data in the seat reservation management DB according to this embodiment. The seat reservation management DB has data items such as "facility ID", "facility name", "seat map ID", "seat number", "seat class", "view image", and "reservation flag", for example.

[0035] "Facility ID" indicates a unique identifier assigned to each facility. "Facility name" indicates the name of the facility. "Seat map ID" indicates the identifier of the seat map for that facility. "Seat number" indicates the identifier number of each seat located within the seat map. "Seat class" is information that indicates one of the attributes of the seat (also known as type or classification), and specifically indicates the rank of the seat, such as S seats, A seats, B seats, etc. The higher the "seat class" rank, the more convenient the seat is for users, such as providing an easier view of the stage, and the seat price can also be set higher.

[0036] A "view image" refers to the field of view when a user sits in the seat and directs his or her gaze toward an object of viewing, such as a screen, stage, or performer; in other words, an image data file of the view. Therefore, the facility operator takes at least one view image for each seat and stores the view image (image data file of the view) in advance in the seat reservation management DB, corresponding to each seat.

[0037] In addition, since the view image of seats that are not in the front row may actually be obstructed by the heads of people sitting in the seats in front during viewing, the view image may be an image in which an image corresponding to the heads of people sitting in the seats in front is superimposed on the view image depending on the seat arrangement position.

[0038] The "reservation flag" indicates whether the seat is reserved or vacant. For example, "0" indicates vacant (reservable), and "1" indicates reserved (unreservable).

[0039] <Reservation operation example> Fig. 6 is a diagram showing reservation screen example 1 of the seat reservation system according to this embodiment. First, a user who wishes to make a seat reservation uses the reservation terminal 30 to access the reservation screen of the seat reservation system 100 (seat reservation server 10). When the user selects and specifies a desired facility and seat map, a seat map for the selected or specified facility is displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal 30.

[0040] As shown in reservation screen example 1, "Please select the seat you wish to reserve from the available seats. The view image from the seat will be displayed. If you select multiple seats that interest you at the same time, you can compare the view images and prices.", users can select one seat or multiple seats at the same time from the available seats.

[0041] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing reservation screen example 2-1 of the seat reservation system according to this embodiment. When a user simultaneously selects, for example, four seats from among vacant seats, view images of the four selected seats are simultaneously arranged at a glance and displayed in a list on the screen of the reservation terminal 30 so that they can be compared. Additionally, the seat numbers, seat classes, seat fares, etc. corresponding to the seat view images may also be displayed so that they can be compared. Note that the display form is not limited to the form of reservation screen example 2-1, and it is sufficient that multiple seats selected simultaneously by the user can be compared on the screen at the same time.

[0042] Specifically, the user selects several seats from the vacant seats that the user thinks will provide a good view of the stage and performers, as reservation candidate seats (hereinafter referred to as candidate seats), based on the current seat availability on the seat map. For example, seat number A6 is a seat in the front row and is closest to the screen and stage, so it may be one of the most promising candidate seats for the user. Seat number E5 is close to the middle aisle and located in the center, so it may be a seat that is more suitable for getting a good view of the entire screen and stage. Seat number F5 is located in almost the same position as E5, but since it is seat class A, the seat price is cheaper than seat class S, so some users may think that it is better to select seat number E5 rather than seat number E5 if there is not much difference in the image view. Seat number J10 is close to the right aisle but is far from the screen and stage, but some users may want to see how much difference there is in the image view depending on the seat position.

[0043] Based on the above-mentioned concept, for example, the user selects several candidate seats, and the view images, seat numbers, seat classes, seat fees, etc. of the selected seats are displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal 30 in a list arranged at the same time so as to be comparable. Since the distance and angle to the screen and stage differs for each seat, the actual view differs for each seat. However, according to this embodiment, the user can compare the image views (actual views) of the candidate seats side by side and confirm the differences and differences in the actual views, so that the user can finally "reserve" the seat that he / she likes the most. In addition, the user does not need to select seats one by one from vacant seats and check the selected view images one by one, but can select multiple seats at the same time and compare the view images, so that it takes less time and effort for the user to complete the reservation.

[0044] 8 is a diagram showing reservation screen example 2-2 of the seat reservation system according to this embodiment. Reservation screen example 2-1 is an example of a PC screen, while reservation screen example 2-2 is an example of a smartphone and tablet terminal screen. In the case of a smartphone or the like, all view images may not be displayed for comparison on one screen. In such a case, the user can compare all view images by swiping the screen downward.

[0045] As described above, since the view image of a seat that is not in the front row may be obstructed by the head of a person sitting in the seat in front during actual viewing, it is also possible to display an image in which an image corresponding to the head of a person sitting in the seat in front is superimposed on the view image according to the seat arrangement position. This makes it possible to compare view images from seats that are closer to reality.

[0046] <Information Processing> Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the view image acquisition process of the seat reservation server according to this embodiment. Each step (hereinafter, abbreviated as "S") can be realized by the CPU 11 reading and executing a program capable of realizing this flowchart. Note that, as a premise of this flowchart, it is assumed that a seat map of the facility desired by the user is already displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal 30 operated by the user (for example, see Fig. 6).

[0047] S1: The candidate seat acquisition unit 102 judges whether or not it has received information on the candidate seats selected by the user of the reservation terminal 30 from among the seats in the seat map from the reservation terminal 30. The information on the candidate seats includes, for example, "seat numbers." If the information on the candidate seats has been received, it proceeds to S2.

[0048] S2: The view image display control unit 104 judges whether the candidate seats selected by the user of the reservation terminal 30 received in S1 include multiple seats. If there are multiple candidate seats, that is, for example, if the information on the candidate seats includes multiple "seat numbers", proceed to S3. If there are not multiple candidate seats (if there is only one candidate seat), that is, for example, if the information on the candidate seats includes only one "seat number", proceed to S5.

[0049] S3: The view image display control unit 104 identifies and acquires a view image corresponding to each candidate seat selected by the user by referring to the seat reservation management DB. Specifically, an image data file of a "view image" corresponding to a "seat number" is acquired from the seat reservation management DB.

[0050] S4: The view image display control unit 104 transmits each of the view images of S3 to the reservation terminal 30 to display the view images side by side. As a result, the view images corresponding to each of the multiple candidate seats are displayed side by side on the screen of the reservation terminal 30 operated by the user (see, for example, FIGS. 7 and 8).

[0051] S5: When it is determined in S2 that there are not multiple candidate seats, that is, the user has selected only one candidate seat, the other candidate seat selection unit 103 executes an other candidate seat selection process to select other candidate seats according to the seat attributes of the one candidate seat as other candidate seats to be proposed to the user. As a result, even if the user has selected only one candidate seat, the view image display control unit 104 identifies view images corresponding to the candidate seat selected by the user and the other candidate seats selected in S5 (S3) and transmits them to the reservation terminal 30 (S4), so that the view images corresponding to each of the multiple candidate seats are displayed side by side on the screen of the reservation terminal 30 operated by the user.

[0052] (Other candidate seat selection process) The alternative seat selection process executed by the alternative seat selection unit 103 in S5 will be described in detail. When selecting alternative candidate seats to be proposed to the user, the alternative seat selection unit 103 first acquires the seat attributes (attribute values) of one of the candidate seats selected by the user. The seat attribute information according to this embodiment includes "seat class" (see FIG. 5, for example). "Seat class" indicates the grade of the seat, and has attribute values ​​such as S seat, A seat, B seat, etc.

[0053] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 3-1 of the seat reservation system according to this embodiment. When the seat number of one candidate seat selected by the user is, for example, A6, its seat attribute (attribute value) is acquired as an S seat, so in this embodiment, the other candidate seat selection unit 103 can select A1-10, B1-10, C1-10, D1-10, and E1-10 (shown as A to E / 1-10 for convenience) which are the same S seats as the other candidate seats with the same seat attribute as the one candidate seat. In this case, since the number of other candidate seats is still as large as 50 at this point, the "seat number" is further acquired as information on the seat attribute, and seats (A1, A10) which have the same alphabet (for example, A) indicating the row position of the seat as the seat number A6 of the one candidate seat selected by the user and are end seats are selected. In addition, the seat number A6 of one candidate seat selected by the user is selected, and the seat (E6) which has the same number (for example, 6) indicating the seat row position and is the end seat in the alphabet is selected.

[0054] In this way, other candidate seats to be proposed to the user are those with the same seat class S seat number as A6 of the one candidate seat selected by the user, and from among these, the leftmost seat (A1), the rightmost seat (A10) in the same row based on seat number A6, and the end seat (E6) in the same row that is farthest from the stage, etc. Needless to say, the seats to be selected are premised on being vacant, and for example, if the leftmost seat (A1) in the same row based on seat number A6 is not vacant, the next leftmost seat (A2) may be selected as the next best choice.

[0055] As a result, view images corresponding to seat numbers A6, A1, A10, E6 are displayed side by side on the screen of reservation terminal 30 operated by the user, so that the user can compare the view image of seat number A6 selected by the user with the view images of A1, A10, E6 appropriately selected as comparison subjects by other candidate seat selection unit 103 to check the difference / slight difference in actual visibility depending on the seat position even within the same seat class (in this case, it can be confirmed how much difference / slight difference there is in actual visibility depending on the position even within the same seat class), and finally "reserve" the seat that he / she likes best.

[0056] On the other hand, the other candidate seat selection unit 103 is not limited to only other candidate seats with the same seat attributes as the one candidate seat selected by the user as other candidate seats to be proposed to the user, but can also select other candidate seats with different seat attributes from the one candidate seat selected by the user.

[0057] 11 is a diagram showing a reservation screen example 3-2 of the seat reservation system according to this embodiment. When the seat number of one candidate seat selected by the user is A6, the seat attribute (attribute value) is acquired as seat S, so the other candidate seat selection unit 103 can select seats F to J / 1-10 and seats K to O / 1-10 as other candidate seats with different seat attributes from the one candidate seat. Furthermore, "seat number" is acquired as information on seat attributes, and for example, G6 (because F6 is full) and K6 are selected as other candidate seats having the same number (for example, 6) indicating the row position of the seat as the seat number of the one candidate seat selected by the user, A6, and the best seat (end seat closest to the stage, etc.) in the seat class.

[0058] As a result, other candidate seats to be proposed to the user are seats of seat classes A and B whose seat number is different from A6 of the candidate seat selected by the user, and from among these, end seats (G6, K6) in the same row that are close to the stage or the like are selected from among seats of seat classes A and B, using seat number A6 as a reference.

[0059] As a result, the view images corresponding to seat numbers A6, G6, and K6 are displayed side by side on the screen of the reservation terminal 30 operated by the user, so that the user can compare the view image of seat number A6 selected by the user with the view images of G6 and K6 appropriately selected as comparison subjects by the other candidate seat selection unit 103 to see the difference in actual visibility for each seat class (in this case, it can be confirmed how much difference in actual visibility there is for different seat classes), and ultimately "reserve" the seat that the user likes best.

[0060] In addition, in the alternative candidate seat selection process, whether to select an alternative candidate seat with the same seat attribute as the one candidate seat selected by the user or a different alternative candidate seat as the alternative candidate seat to be proposed to the user depends on what viewpoint is emphasized in having the user compare the seat view images. In other words, the alternative candidate seat selection process selects an alternative candidate seat to appropriately compare the difference or difference between the one candidate seat selected by the user and the actual view, and the alternative candidate seat to be proposed to the user simply needs to select an alternative candidate seat according to the seat attribute of the one candidate seat selected by the user (indicating the user's preferred seat preference). The alternative candidate seat according to the seat attribute may be called an alternative candidate seat related to the seat attribute.

[0061] Furthermore, the above-mentioned seat attributes may be, in addition to "seat class" and "seat number", attributes indicating the luxury, spaciousness, and comfort of the seat, attributes indicating a pair seat, attributes indicating a silver seat, attributes indicating a priority seat, attributes indicating a leg-free seat with no seat in the front row, attributes indicating a seat close to an emergency exit, attributes indicating a seat with a charging port, etc. If a candidate seat selected by a user has, for example, an attribute of a priority seat, the priority seat is acquired as the seat attribute (attribute value), and therefore other candidate seat selection unit 103 can select other priority seats as other candidate seats having the same seat attribute as the one candidate seat.

[0062] [Embodiment 2] Next, a room reservation system according to the present embodiment will be described. The mechanism of the seat reservation system according to the above embodiment can also be used as a room reservation system for lodging facilities such as hotels and inns. For example, a user can access a hotel room map from a website and select a room visually displayed on the hotel room map to make a room reservation or select a room at check-in.

[0063] In the room reservation system according to this embodiment, a view image or field of view image outside the window from the room can be displayed to the user so that the user can understand what the outside scenery (which can also be called scenery or landscape) looks like from the location of the room when reserving a room or checking in. The view from the guest room window is particularly important to users when selecting a room, and since the user can check the different outside window scenery for each room in advance, this can be a useful reference when selecting a room. Note that configurations and explanations similar to those of the above-mentioned embodiment may be omitted. A detailed explanation is provided below.

[0064] <System configuration> (Software configuration) 12 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the room reservation server and reservation terminal according to this embodiment. The room reservation server 20 has a room map display control unit 201, a candidate room acquisition unit 202, an other candidate room selection unit 203, a view image display control unit 204, and a storage unit 205 as main functional units.

[0065] The guest room map display control unit 201 has a function of transmitting a guest room map showing the layout of guest rooms in the facility to the reservation terminal 40 and causing it to be displayed.

[0066] The candidate guest room acquisition unit 202 has a function of acquiring, from the reservation terminal 40, information on the candidate guest rooms selected by the user of the reservation terminal 40 from among the individual guest rooms on the guest room map.

[0067] The other candidate room selection unit 203 has a function of selecting other candidate room according to the room attributes of the one candidate room when the candidate room acquisition unit 202 acquires information on that one candidate room.

[0068] The view image display control unit 204 has the function of identifying view images corresponding to the candidate room selected by the user and other candidate room candidates by referring to the room reservation management DB, and transmitting those view images to the reservation terminal 40 for display.

[0069] The storage unit 205 has a function of storing the guest room map, the guest room reservation management DB, and the view image in a storage device such as the HDD 14.

[0070] Each of the above-mentioned functional units of the room reservation server 20 is realized by a computer program executed on hardware resources such as the CPU, ROM, and RAM of the computer constituting the room reservation server 20. These functional units may be interpreted as "means," "module," "unit," or "circuit." Furthermore, each of the above-mentioned functional units does not need to be realized by only one room reservation server 20, and may be realized by distributing them to servers on a network, for example, starting with the memory unit 205.

[0071] The reservation terminal 40 has, as its main functional sections, a guest room map display section 401, a candidate guest room selection section 402, and a view image display section 403.

[0072] The guest room map display unit 401 has a function of displaying a guest room map showing the layout of guest rooms in the facility received from the guest room reservation server 20.

[0073] The candidate room selection unit 402 has a function of allowing the user to select a candidate room from among the rooms in the room map. The candidate room selection unit 402 also transmits information on the selected candidate room to the room reservation server 20.

[0074] The view image display unit 403 displays the view image corresponding to the candidate guest rooms received from the room reservation server 20. doIn particular, when there are multiple candidate guest rooms, the view image display unit 403 displays the view images corresponding to each of the multiple candidate guest rooms side by side.

[0075] The above-mentioned functional units of the reservation terminal 40 are realized by a computer program (for example, an application program) executed on hardware resources such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM of a computer constituting the reservation terminal 40.

[0076] (Room map) 13 is a diagram showing an example of a guest room map according to the present embodiment. The term "guest room map" in this embodiment refers to a guest room layout diagram or guest room arrangement diagram in an accommodation facility such as a hotel or inn. It is also called a guest room table.

[0077] The guest room map depicts the actual location of each guest room in the accommodation facility on the floor map of each floor, as well as each facility (e.g., elevator) so that users can understand the location, distance, and direction of each guest room, and each guest room is assigned a guest room number.

[0078] In addition, each room is marked so that users can know whether the room is available for reservation. For example, a room marked with an "X" indicates that the room has already been reserved (reservations not possible), while a room without an "X" indicates that the room is available (reservations possible). Users can select the room they wish to reserve from among the rooms without an "X".

[0079] (Room reservation management DB) 14 is a diagram showing an example of data in the room reservation management DB according to this embodiment. The room reservation management DB has data items such as "facility ID", "facility name", "room map ID", "room number", "elevation", "room class", "direction", "view image", and "reservation flag".

[0080] "Facility ID" indicates a unique identifier assigned to each facility. "Facility Name" indicates the name of the facility. "Guest Room Map ID" indicates the identifier of the guest room map for that accommodation facility. "Guest Room Number" indicates the identifier number of each guest room located within the guest room map.

[0081] "Height" is information that indicates one of the attributes of the guest room, specifically, the floor rank of the guest room, such as high floor or low floor. The higher the floor, the better the view and other user convenience the room has, and depending on the facility, the room rate may be set higher.

[0082] "Room class" is information that indicates one of the attributes of a room, and specifically indicates the rank of the room, such as special room, normal room, family room, double room, twin room, single room, etc. The room rate can be set differently depending on the "room class".

[0083] "Direction" is information that indicates one of the attributes of a guest room, specifically the direction the guest room faces, such as the ocean side, the mountain side, etc. In general, in the case of seaside accommodation facilities, rooms with an ocean view are highly convenient for guests, and depending on the facility, the room rates may be set higher.

[0084] A "view image" refers to the scenery seen when a user looks out of a window in the guest room, in other words, an image data file of the view. Therefore, the accommodation facility operator takes at least one view image for each guest room and stores the view image in advance in the guest room reservation management DB in association with each guest room.

[0085] The "reservation flag" indicates whether the room is reserved or vacant. For example, "0" indicates vacant (reservations possible), and "1" indicates reserved (reservations not possible).

[0086] Note that the room reservation management DB is merely an example, and the DB naturally contains other information necessary for reservations, such as rates (which may vary depending on the date).

[0087] <Reservation operation example> Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen of the room reservation system according to this embodiment. A user who wishes to make a room reservation uses a reservation terminal 40 to access the reservation screen of the room reservation system (room reservation server 20). When the user selects and specifies the desired accommodation facility, accommodation date, etc., a guest room map of the selected or specified accommodation facility is displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal 40.

[0088] As the example reservation screen says, "Please select the room you wish to reserve from the available rooms. The view from the room window will be displayed. If you select multiple rooms that interest you at the same time, you can compare the views as well as the prices." users can select one room or multiple rooms at the same time from the available rooms.

[0089] When a user simultaneously selects, for example, four rooms from among available rooms, the view images of the four selected rooms are simultaneously arranged and displayed in a list for comparison at a glance on the screen of the reservation terminal 40. Additionally, the room number, elevation, room class, direction, room rate, etc. corresponding to the view images of the rooms may also be displayed for comparison.

[0090] Specifically, the user considers the current room availability on the room map and selects from the available rooms, for example, several candidate rooms with an ocean view. For example, room number 903 is an ocean-facing room, so it could be one of the likely candidate rooms. Room number 901 is a special room with an even higher room grade. Room number 919 faces the mountains, and room number 303 faces the ocean, but is on a lower floor and therefore has a cheaper room rate, so some users may decide that the better value option is better if they are satisfied with the image view.

[0091] On the other hand, if the user selects only one room from the available rooms, the view image from the room selected by the user is displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal 40 together with the view images from the rooms selected by the other candidate room selection unit 203, arranged at a glance for comparison. When selecting other candidate room candidates to propose to the user, the other candidate room selection unit 203 first acquires the room attributes (attribute values) of the one candidate room selected by the user (e.g., room number 903). The other candidate room selection unit 203 acquires, as the information of the room attributes according to this embodiment, for example, the room attributes of room number 903, such as "height" (high floor), "room class" (normal), and "direction" (sea side), and can select other candidate rooms according to the room attributes of the one candidate room, i.e., other candidate rooms with the same or different room attributes.

[0092] As described above, the location and angle of each guest room in an accommodation facility relative to the scenery outside the window is different, so the actual view from the window is different for each guest room, but according to this embodiment, the user can compare the image views (actual views) of the candidate guest rooms side by side and check the differences and differences in the actual views, so that he or she can finally "reserve" the guest room that he or she likes the most. In addition, the user does not need to select rooms one by one from the available rooms and check the selected view images one by one, but can select multiple rooms at the same time and compare the view images, so it takes less time and effort for the user to complete the reservation.

[0093] The above-mentioned guest room attributes may include, for example, an attribute indicating barrier-free access, an attribute indicating a guest room close to an emergency exit, and may further include an attribute indicating an accommodation plan set by the facility.

[0094] <Summary> According to the seat reservation system of this embodiment, a user selects one or more seats on the seat map as reservation candidates, and the view images, seat classes, seat fees, etc. of the seats selected by the user and the system are displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal in a list arranged in a comparative manner at the same time. Since the distance and angle to the viewing object differs for each seat, the actual view differs for each seat. According to this embodiment, the user can compare the image views (actual views) of the candidate seats in the same order, and can confirm the differences and differences in the actual views, and finally reserve the seat that he or she likes the most. In addition, the user does not need to select seats one by one from the vacant seats and check the selected view images one by one, but can select multiple seats at the same time and compare the view images, which saves the effort and time required for the user to complete the reservation.

[0095] According to the room reservation system of this embodiment, the user selects one or more rooms on the room map as reservation candidates, and the view image from the window of the room selected by the user and the system, the room class, the room rate, etc. are displayed on the screen of the reservation terminal in a list arranged in a comparative manner at the same time. Since the layout position and angle of the rooms in accommodation facilities with respect to the scenery outside the window are different for each room, the actual view of the scenery from the window differs for each room. According to this embodiment, the user can compare the image views (actual view) of the candidate rooms in the same order, and can confirm the difference and difference in the actual view, and finally reserve the room that he / she likes the most. Furthermore, the user does not need to select rooms one by one from the vacant rooms and check the selected view images one by one, but can select multiple rooms at the same time and compare the view images, which saves the effort and time required for the user to complete the reservation.

[0096] Although the present invention has been described by showing specific examples according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is apparent that various modifications and changes can be made to these examples without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. In other words, the details of the examples and the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0097] The seat reservation system according to this embodiment can be applied to reservation systems for reserved seats in facilities such as movie theaters and theater halls, as well as baseball stadiums, soccer stadiums, stadiums, event show venues, concert venues, etc. Furthermore, the room reservation system according to this embodiment can be applied to accommodation facilities as well as preview reservation systems for real estate properties such as condominiums for sale or rental, where users can select properties they wish to preview based on the view from the interior windows. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 10 Seat Reservation Server 30 Reservation terminal 100 Seat Reservation System 101 Seat map display control unit 102 Candidate Seat Acquisition Department 103 Alternative Seat Selection Section 104 View image display control unit 105 Storage section 201 Guest room map display control unit 202 Candidate Room Acquisition Department 203 Alternative Room Selection Department 204 View image display control unit 205 Storage section 301 Seat map display unit 302 Candidate Seat Selection Division 303 view image display section 401 Guest room map display section 402 Candidate Room Selection Department 403 view image display

Claims

1. a seat map display control means for causing the reservation terminal to display a seat map showing the seat arrangement of the facility; A candidate seat acquisition means for acquiring identifier information of a candidate seat among each of the seats; a view image display control means for acquiring a view image corresponding to the candidate seat from a storage means that stores, for each seat arranged on the seat map, seat identifier information, seat attribute information, and a view image of an object viewed from the seat in association with each other, and for displaying the acquired view image on the reservation terminal; an alternative candidate seat selection means for selecting, when the candidate seat acquisition means acquires identifier information of a candidate seat, another candidate seat having the same seat attribute as the candidate seat or another candidate seat having a different seat attribute; having the view image display control means causes the reservation terminal to display view images corresponding to a plurality of candidate seats including the candidate seat and the other candidate seat side by side; A seat reservation device comprising:

2. On the computer, a seat map display means for displaying a seat map showing the seating arrangement of the facility; a candidate seat selection means for allowing a user to select a candidate seat from among the seats arranged on the seat map; a view image display unit that displays a view image of an object viewed from the candidate seat; The view image display means is an application program which, when a candidate seat is selected by the user, displays side-by-side view images of the object to be viewed from each of a plurality of candidate seats, including the candidate seat and other candidate seats having the same seat attribute as the candidate seat or other candidate seats having different seat attributes among the seats stored in the storage means in correspondence with the seat attribute information of the candidate seat.

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