Hotel reservation system that performs price comparison

Abstract

To provide a hotel reservation system that searches for vacant rooms at lower prices even after making a reservation.SOLUTION: A hotel reservation method including a server comprises steps of: obtaining identification information corresponding to vacant rooms of hotels from external servers; obtaining reservation information of a vacant room from a user terminal; transmitting to the user terminal whether a reservation corresponding to the reservation information is confirmed or not; searching for a first vacant room available within a predetermined period from a check-in date until based on the identification information before the check-in date included in the reservation information; and providing a reservation change alarm through the user terminal if determining the vacant room with the lower price than that of the reserved vacant room by comparing a price of the reserved vacant room and a price of the first vacant room that is available within the predetermined period.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a hotel reservation system that categorizes available hotel rooms into the same category, presents prices for each available room, and searches for a price lower than the reserved available room. [Background technology]

[0002] The hotel data and hotel vacancy data provided by each provider are different, making it important to standardize them. This is becoming increasingly important as the demand for accommodations and the number of customers reserving accommodations increases. When reserving accommodations, even if it is the same hotel and the same room, different hotel reservation agencies display the rooms and prices differently, making it difficult for customers to obtain the information they want.

[0003] Since different prices can be offered for different rooms even within the same hotel, there is a need to research technology that can find and notify users of lower prices even after a reservation has been made.In this regard, active research is being conducted into hotel reservation methods that provide users with the desired available rooms by considering various factors other than price. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention can provide a hotel reservation system that searches for and recommends cheap available rooms even after a reservation has been made. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one embodiment, a hotel reservation method performed by a server includes the steps of: acquiring reservation information from a user terminal; transmitting a reservation confirmation result corresponding to the reservation information to the user terminal; acquiring identification information corresponding to vacant rooms of a plurality of hotels from a plurality of external servers; searching for a first vacant room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the check-in date based on the identification information up to the check-in date included in the reservation information; comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a first vacant room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the check-in date; and, if a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room is determined, canceling the reservation of the reserved vacant room; reserving a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room; and providing a reservation change alarm via the user terminal.

[0006] The step of comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a first vacant room that can be entered within the specified period, and if a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room is determined, providing a reservation change alarm via the user terminal may include the steps of determining a vacant room that is the same as the reserved vacant room from among first vacant rooms that can be entered within a specified period from the entry date based on the identification information, and if there is a penalty for canceling the reserved vacant room, determining a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room based on the difference between the price of the reserved vacant room and the price of a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room.

[0007] The step of comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a first vacant room available for entry within the predetermined period, and providing a reservation change alarm via the user terminal if a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room is determined, may include the steps of acquiring a location of the hotel reserved by the user, searching for a vacant hotel within a predetermined distance from the hotel reserved by the user from among the first vacant rooms available for entry within the predetermined period from the entry date based on the identification information, determining a second vacant room similar to the vacant room reserved by the user within a predetermined similarity threshold, comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of the similar second vacant room within the predetermined similarity threshold, and providing the reservation change alarm to the user terminal if the price of the similar second vacant room within the predetermined similarity threshold is lower than the price of the reserved vacant room.

[0008] The step of comparing the price of the reserved room with the price of a similar room within the predetermined threshold may include the steps of: acquiring information on the reserved room and a second room similar to the reserved room within the predetermined threshold from the plurality of external servers; formulating a score for the reserved room and a second room similar to the reserved room within the predetermined threshold based on the information; and comparing the prices if the score is equal to or greater than a predetermined score.

[0009] The step of searching for a first vacant room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the entry date based on the identification information up to the entry date included in the reservation information can include the steps of searching for a third vacant room within a predetermined price range from the price of the reserved vacant room, acquiring preference information of the user, and quantifying the vacant room reserved by the user and the third vacant room within the predetermined price range based on the preference information, and providing a recommendation alarm to the user terminal if the third vacant room within the predetermined price range has a higher score than the vacant room reserved by the user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The present invention can increase consumer satisfaction by helping them make reservations at lower prices within the same available rooms.

[0011] The present invention can increase user satisfaction by recommending available rooms that reflect the user's preferences and usage history.

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are included as part of the detailed description to facilitate understanding of the various embodiments, provide various embodiments and, together with the detailed description, explain the technical features of the various embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of a processor according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 illustrates a hotel reservation system that recommends available rooms according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of determining a room that is the same as the reserved room and providing an alarm if a room with a lower price is determined according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of determining availability similar to a reserved availability according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of developing scores and comparing prices for similar rooms to a reserved room according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation of recommending a third vacant room within a predetermined price range by quantifying it with a score according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 illustrates an operation for providing recommended alarms according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Although the present invention can be modified in various ways and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, it is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. In the description of each figure, similar reference numerals are used to refer to similar components.

[0015] Terms such as "first," "second," "A," and "B" may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The term "and / or" includes a combination of two or more related listed items or any of two or more related listed items.

[0016] When a component is said to be "coupled" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly coupled or connected to the other component, but that there may be additional components in between. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there are no additional components in between.

[0017] The terms used in this application are used only to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood not to preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0018] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted to be consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and unless expressly defined in this invention, they should not be interpreted as having an ideal or overly formal meaning.

[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the present invention, the same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of the same components will be omitted, in order to facilitate overall understanding.

[0020] 1 illustrates the operation of a processor in a server according to an embodiment. Specifically, referring to FIG. 1, at least one processor 110 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor for performing a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each of the memory 120 and the storage device 160 may be composed of at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium. For example, the memory 120 may be one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), and the storage device 160 may be a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid-state drive (SSD), or various memory cards (e.g., a microSD card).

[0021] The server 100 may also include a transceiver 130 that may be included in the server and performs communication via a wireless network. The server 100 may also include an input interface device 140, an output interface device 150, a storage device 160, etc. Each component included in the server 100 is connected to each other by a bus 170 to perform communication with each other.

[0022] Examples of user terminals include a communication-enabled desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook PC, smartphone, tablet PC, mobile phone, smart watch, smart glass, e-book reader, portable multimedia player (PMP), portable game console, navigation device, digital camera, digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) player, digital audio recorder, digital audio player, digital video recorder, digital video player, personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.

[0023] The server can acquire the location of the user terminal from a first external server. Here, the first external server may refer to a server containing location information of various devices via GPS, and the location of the user terminal can be determined using data acquired from various servers other than GPS. The user terminal may refer to electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet PCs, computers, and notebook PCs. The server can acquire identification information corresponding to the locations and availability of multiple hotels from multiple external servers. The multiple external servers may refer to multiple servers providing hotel information. That is, they may refer to servers containing hotel information provided by various providers such as Yanolsa and Agoda. The identification information may refer to information indicating hotels and availability, as will be described in detail later. Classification by same hotel can be performed based on the identification information, as will be described later. Here, the same hotels can be arranged and displayed on the display, and the availability prices of multiple hotels can be displayed together on the display. The server can acquire reservation information from the user terminal and transmit a reservation confirmation status corresponding to the reservation information to the user terminal. Here, the reservation confirmation status can be acquired from the hotel via an external server.

[0024] The server can transmit an output signal to display the same classified vacant rooms and the corresponding prices on the display.

[0025] The server can classify multiple hotels into the same hotel group based on the identification information based on a pre-trained identification model.

[0026] Here, the pre-trained discrimination model can use machine learning. Here, a deep learning model or a machine learning model can be used. Here, the training dataset can include various speech information and word information, and a supervised learning method can be used. Here, the deep learning model module can use a deep neural network (DNN) algorithm. Without being limited to the above, a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), or a deep belief network (DBN) algorithm can be used. Since each of these algorithms is a well-known technology, a description thereof will be omitted.

[0027] The server can classify multiple vacant rooms into the same vacant room group using a predetermined method, as described below.

[0028] The identification information may include company name information that provides the identification information and company-specific hotel name display information. Company name information may refer to the name of a company that mediates hotel reservations, such as "Agoda." Company-specific hotel name display information may be acquired from multiple companies. In one embodiment, hotel names may be displayed differently for each of the multiple companies. In one embodiment, a first company may display Lotte Hotel as LOTTE HOTEL, and a second company may display it as LOTTE HOTEL WORLD, SEOUL. In this case, a system that automatically recognizes these as the same hotel may be required. This will be described in detail later.

[0029] The server may perform a primary classification to classify the identification information based on the hotel name display information and the company name information for each company. Among the primary classified identification information, the server may perform a secondary classification to classify the hotel names as the same hotel if the hotel names are similar to each other by a predetermined first threshold or more based on the hotel name information. In one embodiment, the primary classification may mean that, for example, a first company acquires three hotel information sets, a second company acquires four hotel information sets, and a third company acquires five hotel information sets, totaling 12 hotel information sets, and the like, the first, second, and third companies are primarily classified by the same company. After classifying the identification information by company, the information may be classified based on the hotel name. As described above, hotel names may be displayed as LOTTE HOTEL, LOTTE HOTEL WORLD, SEOUL, LOTTE HOTEL WORLD (LOTTE HOTEL ZANSIL), etc. In this case, since the same hotel is entered with different hotel names, a system that can automatically classify them as the same hotel may be required.

[0030] In one embodiment, since the word "HOTEL" can be included in all naming conventions, it can be determined by the number of matches for words other than "HOTEL." In one embodiment, if the hotel name "LOTTE" is included, it can be classified based on "LOTTE." In this case, since the presence or absence of the word "SEOUL" should not be recognized as different hotels, it can be classified based on "LOTTE." Here, since "LOTTE" is the same as "LOTTE" in terms of hotel classification criteria, hotels with the same word names can be classified as the same hotel. In the case of Lotte Hotels, if there are Gangnam and Jamsil branches, it may be necessary to recognize these as different hotels. Therefore, in one embodiment, it is possible to use "LOTTE" as the classification criteria, and if the name of the area where Lotte Hotels are located (Jamsil, Gangnam) is available, it is possible to set up a system where words with corresponding names are classified differently. In other words, it is possible to classify a hotel as "LOTTE," while recognizing "Jamsil" and "Gangnam" as different hotels. In one embodiment, when Seoul is included, Jamsil and Gangnam may be located in different areas, and hotels may be identified by telephone numbers, fax numbers, etc., as will be described later.

[0031] In other words, hotel names being similar above a predetermined first threshold may mean that Lotte and LOTTE are recognized as the same and Gangnam and Jamsil are recognized as different, taking into account the syllables and names of the words, and classifying them as the same hotel when they are similar above the first threshold. If Lotte Hotel Gangnam and Lotte Hotel Jamsil are excluded from the hotel classification criteria, and Lotte is the same but Gangnam and Jamsil are different, if the first threshold is set to 80 or more, the word matching rate will be equivalent to 50%, which is one of the two words, and they can be classified as different hotels.

[0032] The identification information may further include hotel phone number information, hotel fax information, room availability information by business, and hotel address information. Here, the hotel phone number information and hotel fax information may be configured as a learning data set and pre-learned through machine learning, and multiple hotels may be classified into the same hotel group based on the learned data.

[0033] In one embodiment, hotel fax information can be configured by inputting a different hotel fax number for each company. In one embodiment, even if the fax number is for substantially the same hotel, the first company can be input as 82-2-1234567, the second company can be displayed without the "-" as 8221234567, and the third company can be displayed as +82-2-123-4567, so that the numbers are substantially the same but displayed differently. Here, to classify the same hotel, the following operation can be performed.

[0034] In one embodiment, if the number of a first company is determined to be the model number, the number of a second company can be unified by adding a "-" to 82-2-. Whether or not two numbers are identical can be determined by setting the system to recognize the same number if a predetermined number of consecutive digits are the same, excluding the area code 82. In this case, 1234567 out of 8221234567 is the hotel's unique number, and the system can set the system to recognize the same number if the seven consecutive digits of 1234567 out of 21234567, excluding the 82, are the same. Here, the "-" can be set as the criterion to be excluded from recognition. If the reference company is determined to be the first company, the remaining second and third companies can also be converted and stored as 82-2-1234567, and this can be output as the same hotel. Telephone numbers can also be obtained using an algorithm that searches for identical fax numbers in this way.

[0035] Vacancy information by provider refers to information about vacant rooms provided by multiple providers. As an example, the vacant room information may include various concepts and the presence or absence of items, such as whether the vacant room corresponds to a luxury room or a deluxe room, whether the vacant room has a kettle, whether the vacant room has an air conditioner, whether the vacant room has a refrigerator, whether the vacant room has a glass toilet, etc.

[0036] In one embodiment, even after classifying hotels into the same category by hotel name, hotel phone number, and hotel fax number, they must be classified by available rooms. In this case, since the same available room may be displayed at different prices by different providers, it may be necessary to display available room prices posted by various providers to the demander.

[0037] In one example, for the same vacant room, if a first company displays a room at the Lotte Hotel Gangnam branch with an air conditioner, a deluxe room, a refrigerator, and a billiard table, and a second company displays a room with a billiard table, an air conditioner, and a deluxe room, this can be said to mean that the second company has displayed the room without considering whether or not it has a refrigerator. In this case, it may be necessary to recognize the rooms as the same and display them as the same. In this case, it is possible to set the criteria for recognizing the rooms as the same based on the billiard table, deluxe room, and air conditioner. Therefore, when setting a predetermined method taking into account that most hotel rooms have things like refrigerators, it is possible to set the rooms as the same based on the hotel room's class (whether or not it is a deluxe room or luxury room), whether or not it has air conditioning, and whether or not it has amenities or entertainment facilities such as a billiard table.

[0038] It is also possible to set it so that vacant rooms are quantified by Equation 1 (Equation 1), and when the quantified values ​​are compared and the difference between the vacant rooms is equal to or less than a predetermined similarity threshold, they are determined to be the same vacant room.

[0039]

number

[0040] S may represent a value that quantifies the number of available rooms in a predetermined manner. i may represent a value that quantifies the score corresponding to amenities or entertainment facilities. In one embodiment, a billiard table or ping-pong table is rare in a hotel room, so it may be assigned a score of 4 or 6, while a benefit such as a Netflix movie subscription may be common, so it may be assigned a score of 1. b may represent the number of common foods and beverages, or common items such as refrigerators and air conditioners, available in the hotel. In other words, the value a starts from 1, and the corresponding common foods and beverages, or common items such as refrigerators and air conditioners, are assigned values ​​represented by numbers such as 1, 2, 3, etc.

[0041] That is, the number 2 may represent a numerical value representing the score for common items such as an air conditioner, refrigerator, microwave, and water boiler. Here, various items other than air conditioner, refrigerator, and microwave can be input depending on the user's settings. c may represent a numerical value representing whether the room is a luxury room, a deluxe room, or a standard room. Here, c may be tabulated and assigned a score in advance. In one embodiment, a standard room may be assigned a score of 2, a deluxe room may be assigned a score of 6, and a luxury room may be assigned a score of 6.

[0042]

number

[0043] When determining whether two vacant rooms are the same using Equation 1, the more important factors can be determined to determine whether they are identical. That is, a method can be established in which emphasis is placed on distinctive factors such as billiard tables or ping-pong tables to determine whether they are identical, or a method can be established in which emphasis is placed on whether amenities or entertainment facilities such as billiard tables or ping-pong tables are identical and then the remaining factors are determined to be identical. Equation 1 can be used to determine the S value in various ways for each vacant room. In one example, if the S values ​​are 81, 97, 95, 40, 60, 58, and 43, a predetermined similarity threshold can be adjusted to classify vacant rooms with values ​​of 97 and 95, vacant rooms with values ​​of 58 and 60, and vacant rooms with values ​​of 40 and 43 as the same vacant room, while vacant rooms with values ​​of 81, 40, and 60 can be determined to be different vacant rooms. The vacant room matching rate can be the value obtained by subtracting the numerical value.

[0044] That is, by adjusting the predetermined similarity threshold value for 97 and 95 in the above example, it is possible to precisely determine whether the rooms are the same. The second threshold value can be a fixed value for determining whether multiple numerical values ​​are the same room. In this case, since values ​​with a difference of 2 or 3 are all listed as the same vacant room, the second threshold value can be set to about 4 or 5. Here, there may be intervals where numbers are concentrated. That is, the S values ​​should be classified, and concentrated values ​​should be further subdivided. Therefore, the S values ​​can be classified and divided into multiple intervals based on a specific value, and the number of values ​​included in the interval can be determined and the second threshold value can be adjusted in inverse proportion to the number.

[0045] In one embodiment, assuming the values ​​are 30, 32, 35, 38, 40, 43, 44, 47, 48, 50, 55, 57, 61, 68, 70, and 81, and the ranges are classified as less than 40, 40 to 50, 50 to 60, 60 to 70, 70 to 80, and 80 or greater, there are four values ​​for less than 40, five for 40 to 50, three for 50 to 60, two for 60 to 70, one for 70 to 80, and one for 80 or greater. Because the number of values ​​between 40 and 50 is the highest, the second critical value can be adjusted closely to 1, and the second critical value can be set in inverse proportion to the number of values ​​by adjusting the critical value to 2 for less than 40, 3 for 50 to 60, and 4 for the remaining values.

[0046] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hotel reservation system that recommends available rooms according to one embodiment.

[0047] 2 in detail, a plurality of servers 3 can acquire room availability information from a plurality of hotels 2, and server 1 can acquire identification information 10 about the available rooms from the plurality of servers 3. When a user requests information about available hotel rooms from the server through a user terminal 4, server 1 processes the data based on the identification information 10 and can display the available room information through the user terminal 4. In this case, the available rooms are classified by the same hotel, and prices of various providers for available rooms within the same hotel are displayed together, thereby providing information that allows consumers to make rational consumption.

[0048] After the hotel reservation is confirmed, the server 1 can transmit information about available rooms to the consumer and recommend information about cheap available rooms. Furthermore, the server 1 can provide a recommendation alarm 11 or reservation change alarm that recommends available rooms desired by the user or notifies the user of reservation changes by converting the scores into numerical values ​​based on the ratings described below or the user's preferences.

[0049] FIG. 3 shows an operation of determining a room that is the same as the reserved room and providing an alarm if a room with a lower price is determined according to one embodiment.

[0050] Specifically, the server acquires reservation information from a user terminal, transmits a reservation confirmation status corresponding to the reservation information to the user terminal, acquires identification information corresponding to available rooms at multiple hotels from multiple external servers, searches for a first available room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the check-in date included in the reservation information based on the identification information up to the check-in date included in the reservation information, compares the price of the reserved available room with the price of a first available room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the check-in date, and determines a room that is priced lower than the reserved available room. If the predetermined period is determined, the server can provide a reservation change alert via the user terminal. Here, the predetermined period can be the reference date itself, one day before or after the reference date, or various other periods set by the user. The reservation change alert can be an alert that notifies the user that an existing reservation has been canceled and changed to a room with a lower price, or can be set to provide an alert that notifies the user that the reservation cannot be automatically made but that a change to the reservation is possible, depending on the user's settings. In other words, the reservation change alert can be set to provide an alert to the user terminal together with the reservation change availability alert, allowing the user to input whether or not to make a change.

[0051] The server can acquire identification information corresponding to vacant rooms of multiple hotels (301), acquire reservation information from the user terminal (302), transmit the reservation confirmation status to the user terminal, determine the same vacant room as the reserved vacant room (303), compare the price of the same vacant room as the reserved vacant room with the price of the reserved vacant room, and if it determines the vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room, it can provide a reservation change alarm (304).

[0052] FIG. 4 illustrates an operation for determining availability similar to a reserved availability according to one embodiment.

[0053] Explaining FIG. 4 in more detail, the server may determine, based on the identification information, a vacant room identical to the reserved room from among the first vacant rooms available for entry within a predetermined period from the entry date. If there is a penalty for canceling the reserved room, the server may determine a vacant room priced lower than the reserved room based on the difference between the price of the reserved room and the price of a vacant room priced lower than the reserved room. The penalty for canceling the reserved room may vary depending on the date and time of cancellation. Here, vacant rooms identical to the reserved room are the same vacant room, but different prices can be set by different providers providing information on vacant rooms. Therefore, vacant rooms with different prices can be the same vacant room by obtaining price information for vacant rooms from various providers. If a vacant room priced lower than the reserved room is determined, the server determines whether the difference between the price of the reserved room at the time of determination and the price of the vacant room priced lower than the reserved room is greater than the penalty. Since utility is possible only if the difference is greater than the penalty, a reservation change alarm may be provided.

[0054] The server can obtain the location of the hotel reserved by the user (401), search for available hotel rooms within a predetermined distance from the available rooms that can be entered within a predetermined period from the check-in date included in the reservation information (402), determine the available rooms that are similar to the reserved room within a predetermined threshold, compare the prices, and if the price is lower than the reserved room, provide a reservation change alarm (404).

[0055] FIG. 5 illustrates the operation of developing ratings and comparing prices for rooms similar to the reserved room according to one embodiment.

[0056] To explain FIG. 5 in more detail, the server acquires the location of the hotel reserved by the user, and based on the identification information, searches for available first rooms within a predetermined period from the check-in date that are within a predetermined distance from the hotel reserved by the user. It then determines similar second rooms within a predetermined similarity threshold to the room reserved by the user, and compares the price of the reserved room with the price of the similar second rooms within the predetermined similarity threshold. The server also acquires information about the second rooms similar to the reserved room within the predetermined similarity threshold from multiple external servers, and based on the information, determines a score for the second rooms similar to the reserved room within the predetermined similarity threshold. If the score is equal to or greater than a predetermined score, the server compares the prices. Here, Equation 1 can be used to search for similar second rooms within the predetermined similarity threshold. The score can be determined using the following equation (Equation 3):

[0057]

number

[0058] T may represent a numerical value of the score. z may represent the number of external servers. y may represent the number of comments included in one external server. W may represent a value obtained by multiplying the star rating for the comment by the number of words. q may represent a value that serves as a criterion for distinguishing whether the comment is positive or negative. q may be set by the user. r may represent a star rating or numeric rating for the comment. m may represent the number of words.

[0059] In one embodiment, five stars is the highest satisfaction level, and q is three stars. If five stars and a large number of words are included, it means that the comment is better. Therefore, a weighted value is assigned to the comment, resulting in a better numerical value. On the other hand, one star and a large number of words can mean a very negative comment, so a "-" sign is added to derive a very negative numerical value. K can represent a numerical value assigned to the number of photos included in the comment. This can be preset and set by the user through a table.

[0060] In one embodiment, one photo can be set to 10, two photos to 30, etc. In the situation of number 4, the more photos there are, the more sincere the postscript and the more positive the value, and in the situation of number 5, the more photos there are, the more negative the postscript. Therefore, a precise score can be obtained based on the positive and negative postscripts using this formula. By formulating a score using this formula (number 3) and comparing prices only when the score is equal to or higher than a predetermined score, a hotel room with a high score can be reserved.

[0061]

number

[0062]

number

[0063] That is, the server can obtain information on the reserved room and similar rooms within a predetermined similarity threshold from multiple external servers (501), and based on the information, can determine a rating for the reserved room and similar rooms within a predetermined similarity threshold (502), and if the rating is equal to or higher than a predetermined rating, can compare prices (503).

[0064] FIG. 6 illustrates an operation of recommending a third vacant room within a predetermined price range by quantifying it with a score according to an embodiment.

[0065] Explaining FIG. 6 in more detail, the server searches for a third available room within a predetermined price range from the price of the reserved available room, acquires preference information from the user, and, based on the preference information, numerically assigns scores to the available room reserved by the user and the third available room within the predetermined price range. If the third available room within the predetermined price range has a higher score than the available room reserved by the user, a recommendation alarm can be provided to the user terminal. Preference information is the user's preferred conditions and may refer to preference factors such as the price of the available room, the location of the hotel to be booked, the room grade, the number of rooms, and the number of beds. If the score of the third available room within the predetermined price range is higher than the score of the available room reserved by the user, the server can provide a recommendation alarm to the user terminal. The recommendation alarm and the reservation change alarm may differ depending on the price of the available room. The predetermined price range can be set by the user. The third available room can be numerically assigned a score according to Equation 6.

[0066]

number

[0067] G may represent a numerical value of the availability based on the user's preference information, and u may represent the number of preference factors preferred by the user.

[0068] f may represent a weighted value corresponding to a preferred preference factor, and p may represent a match rate value of the preferred factor. The match rate value of the preferred factor may be pre-tabulated and stored.

[0069] In one embodiment, if a user places importance on the location of a hotel, the weighting of f can be increased depending on the hotel's location, and p can be set to have different scores depending on the distance from the most important location. If a user prefers hotels within 1 km, and 1 km is used as the standard, and the match rate decreases by 10% for every 0.5 km further away, a hotel 1.5 km away could have a match rate of 90% according to this setting, and a hotel 5 km away would have a match rate of 20%.

[0070] In one embodiment, if a user places the most importance on price, the weighting of f can be increased according to the room price, and the score can be set to vary depending on how much higher p is than the most satisfactory price. If there is no difference in room price, it is set to 100%, and if the match rate drops by 5% for every 1,000 won increase, if the room price reserved is 50,000 won, 50,000 won corresponds to a 100% match rate, 60,000 won corresponds to 50%, 65,000 won corresponds to 25%, and 70,000 won and above corresponds to a 0% match rate.

[0071] The formula can be used to quantify the desired availability based on the user's preference, and can be set to recommend only when the quantified availability price is higher than the reserved availability price.

[0072] That is, the server can search for available rooms within a predetermined price range from the available room reserved by the user (601), and can quantify the available room reserved by the user and a third available room within the predetermined price range by using a score, and if the score is higher than the reserved available room, can provide a recommendation alarm (602).

[0073] FIG. 7 illustrates operations for providing recommended alarms according to one embodiment.

[0074] To explain FIG. 7 in more detail, even if a user has already reserved a vacant room, recommended vacant rooms can be provided based on the user's preference information. If the user's preference information is acquired when the user reserves a hotel for 40,000 won on May 28, 2021, the check-in date, and the user prefers a large queen-size bed, and the currently reserved vacant room has a standard-size bed, the user may desire another vacant room with a larger bed size, even if it is slightly more expensive. When the server searches and finds a vacant room with one queen-size bed priced at 45,000 yen in a nearby hotel, if the preference score according to Equation 6 is higher than the preference score of 85,000 for the existing reservation, it can transmit a recommendation alarm 11 recommending the room to the user terminal 4.

[0075] The methods according to the present invention may be embodied in the form of program instructions executable by various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include, alone or in combination with other program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. The program instructions recorded on the computer-readable medium may be specially designed and constructed for the present invention, or they may be of the type well known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software.

[0076] Examples of computer-readable media include hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), RAM, flash memory, etc. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code, such as that produced by a compiler, but also high-level language code executable by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The above-mentioned hardware devices can be configured to operate as at least one software module to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

[0077] Furthermore, the above-described methods or apparatuses may be implemented in such a manner that all or part of their components or functions are combined or separated.

[0078] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and variations of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1 Server 2. Multiple Hotels 3. Multiple external servers 4. User terminal 10 Identification Information 11 Recommended Alarms

Claims

1. A hotel reservation method performed by a server, comprising: acquiring reservation information from a user terminal; transmitting a reservation confirmation result corresponding to the reservation information to the user terminal; obtaining identification information corresponding to a plurality of hotel vacancies from a plurality of external servers; searching for a first vacant room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the entry date based on the identification information up to the entry date included in the reservation information; comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a first vacant room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the entry date, and if a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room is determined, canceling the reservation of the reserved vacant room, reserving a vacant room with a lower price than the reserved vacant room, and then providing a reservation change alarm via the user terminal; comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a first vacant room available for entry within the predetermined period, and if a vacant room with a price lower than the reserved vacant room is determined, providing a reservation change alarm via the user terminal; acquiring the location of the hotel booked by the user; searching for a first available room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the entry date based on the identification information, the first available room being within a predetermined distance from the hotel booked by the user; determining a second vacant room that is similar to the vacant room reserved by the user within a predetermined similarity threshold; comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a similar second vacant room within the predetermined similarity threshold; and providing the reservation change alarm to the user terminal if the price of a similar second vacant room within the predetermined similarity threshold is lower than the price of the reserved vacant room; The step of comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a similar second vacant room within the predetermined similarity threshold value includes: acquiring information on second vacant rooms that are similar to the reserved vacant room within a predetermined similarity threshold value from the plurality of external servers; formulating a score for a second vacancy that is similar to the reserved vacancy within a predetermined similarity threshold based on the information; and comparing prices if the rating is equal to or greater than a predetermined rating.

2. comparing the price of the reserved vacant room with the price of a first vacant room available for entry within the predetermined period, and if a vacant room with a price lower than the reserved vacant room is determined, providing a reservation change alarm via the user terminal; determining a vacant room that is the same as the reserved vacant room from among first vacant rooms that can be entered within a predetermined period from the entry date based on the identification information; 2. The hotel reservation method of claim 1, further comprising: if there is a penalty for canceling the reserved vacant room, determining a vacant room priced lower than the reserved vacant room based on the difference between the price of the reserved vacant room and the price of a vacant room priced lower than the reserved vacant room.

3. The step of searching for a first vacant room that can be entered within a predetermined period from the entry date based on the identification information until the entry date included in the reservation information includes: searching for a third available room within a predetermined price range from the price of the reserved available room; acquiring user preference information; 2. The hotel reservation method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: quantifying the vacant room reserved by the user and a third vacant room within the predetermined price range based on the preference information, and providing a recommendation alarm to the user terminal if the third vacant room within the predetermined price range has a higher score than the vacant room reserved by the user.

Images