Server device, server device control method and program

Abstract

Provided is a server device contributing to expansion of profit of a hotel. The server device comprises an acquisition means and a control means. The acquisition means acquires a guest room reservation rate related to guest rooms of a hotel which can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers. The control means controls reservation of the guest rooms by the plurality of reservation servers on the basis of the acquired guest room reservation rate.

Description

Server device, server device control method and storage medium

[0001] The present invention relates to a server device, a control method for a server device, and a storage medium.

[0002] Technology exists for booking hotel rooms.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes providing optimized hotel room allocation in response to receiving multiple hard and soft constraints and receiving preferences and room characteristics at the time of reservation.

[0004] Special Publication No. 2022-552028

[0005] There are several ways for users to reserve hotel rooms, including through the hotel's own website, through a travel agency, or through an OTA (Online Travel Agent) website. When an OTA sells a room to a user through an OTA website, the hotel must pay a certain commission to the OTA. Therefore, in order to maximize their profits, hotels want to prioritize reservations made through their own website over reservations made through OTA websites, which incur commissions.

[0006] However, the above demands cannot be met even if the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied. Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the fees that hotels pay to OTA operators.

[0007] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a server device, a control method for a server device, and a storage medium that contribute to increasing the profits of hotels.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a server device comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers; and a control means for controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a server device, the method including: an acquisition step in a server device of acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers; and a control step of controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer mounted on a server device to execute an acquisition process for acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers, and a control process for controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates.

[0011] According to each aspect of the present invention, a server device, a control method for a server device, and a storage medium are provided that contribute to increasing hotel profits. Note that the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described above. The present invention may achieve other effects instead of or in addition to the effects described above.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an overview of an operation of an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration of a reservation management server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reservation status management database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of reservation status information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a reservation server control unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing configuration of an OTA server according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an inventory management database according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display of a control server according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a reservation management server according to the present disclosure.

[0013] First, an overview of one embodiment will be described. Note that the reference numerals in the drawings are added to each element for convenience as an example to facilitate understanding, and the description of this overview is not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the blocks shown in each drawing represent functional units, not hardware units. Connection lines between blocks in each drawing include both bidirectional and unidirectional lines. Unidirectional arrows are used to schematically indicate the flow of the main signal (data) and do not exclude bidirectionality. Note that in this specification and drawings, elements that can be similarly described may be assigned the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation.

[0014] The server device 100 according to one embodiment includes an acquisition unit 101 and a control unit 102 (see FIG. 1). The acquisition unit 101 acquires the room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers (step S1 in FIG. 2). The control unit 102 controls the reservation of rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates (step S2).

[0015] The server device 100 controls room reservations by the reservation server based on the room reservation rate. For example, when the room reservation rate is low, the server device 100 controls each reservation server, including a server operated by an OTA operator, to sell rooms. When the room reservation rate is low, the server device 100 does not restrict room sales by the reservation server, thereby increasing opportunities for users to make hotel reservations. On the other hand, when the room reservation rate increases, the server device 100 stops room sales by, for example, an OTA server operated by an OTA operator that charges a high room sales commission. As a result, the room sales commission paid by the hotel to the OTA operator decreases, thereby increasing the hotel's profits.

[0016] Specific embodiments will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0017] First Embodiment The first embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0018] [System Configuration] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system (hotel reservation system) according to Embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the information processing system includes a hotel server 10, a travel agency server 11, multiple OTA (Online Travel Agent) servers 20-1 to 20-3, a reservation management server 30, and a control server 40.

[0019] In the following description, unless there is a particular reason to distinguish between the OTA servers 20-1 to 20-3, they will simply be referred to as the "OTA server 20." Similarly, for other elements, the symbol to the left of the hyphen will represent that element.

[0020] The information processing system includes a server that handles hotel reservations, etc. A hotel server 10, a travel agency server 11, and an OTA server 20 accept reservations for rooms from users. In the following description, the hotel server 10, the travel agency server 11, and the OTA server 20 that accept hotel room reservations will be collectively referred to as the "reservation server."

[0021] The information processing system includes a plurality of reservation servers, including a plurality of OTA (Online Travel Agent) servers 20 operated by a plurality of OTA operators.

[0022] The hotel server 10 is a server that allows a hotel to directly sell rooms to customers, and realizes a hotel reservation site that handles rooms in the hotel itself.

[0023] The travel agency server 11 is a server device managed and operated by a travel agency operating in a brick-and-mortar store or the like.

[0024] The OTA server 20 is managed and operated by an OTA operator that sells rooms online. The OTA server 20 implements a hotel reservation site for selling rooms to customers. The OTA operator sells rooms at multiple hotels. In the example of FIG. 3 , the OTA server 20 sells (accepts reservations for) rooms at multiple hotels, including hotels managed and operated by the hotel server 10.

[0025] The reservation servers (hotel server 10, travel agency server 11, OTA server 20) are connected to the reservation management server 30 via a network.

[0026] The reservation management server 30 is also called a site controller. The reservation management server 30 collectively manages the reservation status from each reservation server. Specifically, the reservation management server 30 manages the room availability (room inventory) of each hotel.

[0027] The control server 40 is a server managed and operated by the hotel. The control server 40 performs the main operations of the hotel. Specifically, the control server 40 stores reservation information of guests (e.g., name, gender, address, stay dates (stay length: check-in date, check-out date), room type, etc.). The control server 40 uses the reservation information to perform check-in and check-out procedures for guests.

[0028] A user carries a terminal 50. The user makes hotel reservations and the like using the terminal 50. Examples of the terminal 50 include mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablets.

[0029] The configuration of the information processing system shown in Figure 3 is an example and is not intended to be limiting. For example, one hotel may include multiple hotel servers 10. Alternatively, the information processing system may include multiple travel agency servers 11.

[0030] Although FIG. 3 illustrates the hotel server 10 and control server 40 corresponding to one hotel, in reality the information processing system includes hotel servers 10 and control servers 40 corresponding to multiple hotels.

[0031] [Overall Operation] Next, an overall operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0032] <Room Reservation> Here, a case where a user makes a hotel reservation using the OTA server 20 will be described.

[0033] The reservation management server 30 manages the status (reservation status) of hotel rooms. The reservation management server 30 stores the total number of rooms available for sale and the number of rooms already sold (reserved) for each hotel. The reservation status is also shared with the reservation servers (hotel server 10, travel agency server 11, OTA server 20).

[0034] The user operates the terminal 50 to access the accommodation reservation site provided by the reservation server (here, as described above, the OTA server 20). In response to the user's access, the OTA server 20 presents the user with rooms available for sale (reservable by the user) based on the reservation status notified by the reservation management server 30.

[0035] When a user operates the terminal 50 to apply for a reservation, the OTA server 20 notifies the reservation management server 30 of the user's reservation information (e.g., the user's name, gender, address, accommodation date (length of stay), room type, etc.). Specifically, the OTA server 20 transmits a "room reservation notification" including the reservation information and the hotel ID to the reservation management server 30 (step S01 in FIG. 4).

[0036] The hotel ID is an ID for identifying each hotel. Examples of the hotel ID include the name of the hotel and a predetermined code. The hotel ID is shared by any method among the entities participating in the system. For example, the system administrator determines the hotel ID and sets the determined hotel ID in the reservation management server 30. The system administrator also notifies the OTA operator of the determined hotel ID. Each OTA operator sets the notified hotel ID in its own OTA server 20.

[0037] In response to receiving the room reservation notification, the reservation management server 30 updates the hotel reservation status. After updating the reservation status, the reservation management server 30 notifies the reservation servers of the updated reservation status. Specifically, the reservation management server 30 generates reservation status information based on the latest reservation status. The reservation management server 30 sends a "reservation status notification" including the generated reservation status information to each reservation server (step S02).

[0038] Upon receiving the reservation status notification, each reservation server updates the hotel reservation status (room availability, inventory status) held by the server itself.

[0039] Furthermore, upon receiving the room reservation notification, the reservation management server 30 transfers the received room reservation notification to the control server 40 (step S03).

[0040] The control server 40 stores the reservation information included in the room reservation notice. As described above, the reservation information is used for the check-in procedure of the guest.

[0041] <Suspension of Room Sales> Here, when a customer reserves a room and stays at the hotel, each OTA operator (OTA server 20) charges the hotel a room sales commission (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a commission). The commission charged by the OTA operator to the hotel is determined by a contract between the parties (hotel, OTA) and typically differs for each OTA operator. For example, OTA operator A charges the hotel 10% of the accommodation fee as a commission. OTA operator B charges the hotel 5% of the accommodation fee as a commission.

[0042] The reservation management server 30 controls the reservation of rooms by each reservation server so as to maximize the hotel's profits while taking into consideration the commission paid by the hotel to the OTA company in response to the user's stay at the hotel.

[0043] Specifically, the reservation management server 30 acquires the reservation rate of the guest rooms. For example, the reservation management server 30 calculates the reservation rate of the guest rooms periodically or at a predetermined timing. For example, the reservation management server 30 calculates the reservation rate of the guest rooms when the reservation status is updated.

[0044] The reservation management server 30 controls (limits) room reservations made by OTA operators (OTA servers 20) based on the calculated reservation rate (acquired reservation rate). Specifically, when the reservation rate is low (when there are many vacant rooms), the reservation management server 30 allows room reservations to be made by each OTA server 20. As the reservation rate increases, the reservation management server 30 sequentially stops room reservations made by the OTA servers 20 of OTA operators that charge high room sales commissions.

[0045] Specifically, the reservation management server 30 sends a "sales suspension instruction" to the OTA server 20 of the OTA operator that will suspend room reservations, the "sales suspension instruction" including the hotel ID of the hotel for which room reservations will be suspended and the date on which reservations will be suspended (hotel business days).

[0046] The OTA server 20, which has received the sales suspension instruction, suspends room reservations for the hotel specified by the hotel ID on the specified business day.

[0047] 5, for example, assume that OTA operator A's room sales commission is 10%, OTA operator B's room sales commission is 8%, and OTA operator C's room sales commission is 5%. In this case, if the reservation rate is lower than a predetermined threshold, the reservation management server 30 enables room reservations by each OTA server 20.

[0048] When the room reservation rate increases, the reservation management server 30 first stops the sale of rooms by OTA company A (OTA server 20-1), which has the highest room sales commission. In this case, the reservation management server 30 transmits a sales stop instruction to the OTA server 20-1. Upon receiving the sales stop instruction, the OTA server 20-1 stops the sale of rooms at the specified hotel.

[0049] When the reservation rate finally exceeds a predetermined threshold, the reservation management server 30 stops all room reservations through OTA operators, and as a result, reservations for the hotel are limited to reservations made through travel agencies and the hotel's own website.

[0050] Next, details of each device included in the information processing system according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0051] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the processing configuration (processing modules) of the reservation management server 30 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 6, the reservation management server 30 includes a communication control unit 201, a reservation status control unit 202, a reservation server control unit 203, and a storage unit 204.

[0052] The communication control unit 201 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 201 receives data (packets) from the OTA server 20. The communication control unit 201 also transmits data to the OTA server 20. The communication control unit 201 passes data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 201 transmits data acquired from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules transmit and receive data to and from other devices via the communication control unit 201. The communication control unit 201 has a function as a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and a function as a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0053] The reservation status control unit 202 is a means for controlling the reservation status (vacant room status) of each hotel.

[0054] The reservation status control unit 202 obtains the total number of rooms available for sale at each hotel using any means. For example, the reservation status control unit 202 provides an interface that enables employees of each hotel to register the total number of rooms (total number of rooms for each room type) in the reservation management server 30. Alternatively, the reservation status control unit 202 obtains the total number of rooms from the control server 40.

[0055] The reservation status control unit 202 manages the reservation status of each hotel using a reservation status management database (see FIG. 7). As shown in FIG. 7, the reservation status management database stores the total number of rooms and the number of reservations for each hotel's business day and room type. Note that the reservation status management database shown in FIG. 7 is an example and is not intended to limit the items stored therein.

[0056] The reservation status control unit 202 receives a room reservation notification from the reservation server. In response to receiving the room reservation notification, the reservation status control unit 202 updates the reservation status management database. The reservation status control unit 202 identifies an entry (entry in the reservation status management database) corresponding to the user's reservation using the hotel ID, accommodation date (stay period), and room type included in the room reservation notification. The reservation status control unit 202 increments the setting value in the reservation quantity field of the identified entry to update the reservation status management database.

[0057] When the reservation status is updated, the reservation status control unit 202 notifies each reservation server of the updated reservation status. Specifically, the reservation status control unit 202 generates reservation status information based on the information stored in the reservation status management database. The reservation status information is information about rooms available for sale by each reservation server (room inventory status).

[0058] The reservation status control unit 202 generates reservation status information for a hotel where there has been a change in inventory (a hotel corresponding to the hotel ID included in the room reservation notification). For example, as shown in Fig. 8, the reservation status control unit 202 generates reservation status information including the hotel ID of the hotel where there has been a change in inventory, the business day on which the change in inventory occurred, and the number of rooms available for sale for the room type.

[0059] The reservation status control unit 202 transmits a "reservation status notification" including the generated reservation status information to each reservation server.

[0060] Furthermore, upon receiving a room reservation notification, the reservation status control unit 202 transfers the received room reservation notification to the control server 40. The reservation status control unit 202 notifies the control server 40 of the reservation information.

[0061] The reservation server control unit 203 is a means for controlling the room sales of the reservation server, and in particular, the reservation server control unit 203 controls the operation of the OTA server 20 related to the room sales.

[0062] The reservation server control unit 203 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires the room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of the multiple reservation servers. The reservation server control unit 203 also functions as a control unit that controls the reservations of rooms by the multiple reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. The reservation server control unit 203 controls the reservations of rooms by at least the multiple OTA servers 20 based on the acquired room reservation rates (controls operations related to the sale of rooms by the OTA servers 20).

[0063] The operation of the reservation server control unit 203 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0064] The reservation server control unit 203 calculates the room reservation rate periodically or at a predetermined timing (step S101). For example, the reservation server control unit 203 calculates the room reservation rate when the reservation status management database is updated.

[0065] The reservation server control unit 203 calculates the room reservation rate for the room type on the business day on which the reservation was made (the business day on which the reservation status changed). The reservation server control unit 203 calculates the room reservation rate using the total number of rooms and the number of reservations. For example, in the example of Figure 7, when a reservation is made for a single room type on June 3, 2023, the room reservation rate for that business day and room type is calculated to be 25%.

[0066] The reservation server control unit 203 determines the operation mode of the OTA server 20 based on the calculated room reservation rate (step S102). The reservation server control unit 203 executes threshold processing on the calculated room reservation rate to determine the operation mode (room sales mode, room sales suspension mode) of the OTA server 20. The reservation server control unit 203 controls room reservations (acceptance of room reservations) by each of the multiple OTA servers 20 based on the result of threshold processing on the room reservation rate.

[0067] Specifically, if the acquired (calculated) room reservation rate is lower than the first threshold, the reservation server control unit 203 does not stop room sales by each OTA server 20. The reservation server control unit 203 determines the operation mode of all OTA servers 20 to be the "room sales mode."

[0068] As the room reservation rate increases, the reservation server control unit 203 suspends room sales in order starting from the OTA servers 20 of OTA operators with high room sales commissions. As the room reservation rate increases, the reservation server control unit 203 switches the operation mode of the OTA servers 20 corresponding to the OTA operators with high room sales commissions to the "room sales suspension mode."

[0069] For example, if the room reservation rate is higher than the second threshold (second threshold > first threshold), the reservation server control unit 203 stops room sales for the OTA server 20 of the OTA operator with the highest room reservation fee.

[0070] If the reservation rate eventually becomes higher than the Nth threshold (N is an integer greater than or equal to 3; Nth threshold > second threshold > first threshold), the reservation server control unit 203 will target the OTA servers 20 of all OTA operators for stopping room sales.

[0071] If there is no OTA server 20 that stops the sale of a room (step S103, No branch), the reservation server control unit 203 does not perform any particular operation.

[0072] If there is an OTA server 20 that will stop selling room rooms (step S103, Yes branch), the reservation server control unit 203 sends a "sales stop instruction" to the OTA server 20 that is the target of the room sales stop (step S104).

[0073] The reservation server control unit 203 transmits a sales suspension instruction including the hotel ID of the hotel having the room for which sales are to be suspended, the business days for which sales are to be suspended, and the room type to the OTA server 20. The reservation server control unit 203 transmits the sales suspension instruction to the OTA server 20 that has been set to a room sales suspension mode according to the room reservation rate.

[0074] In this way, when an OTA company sells a hotel room, the reservation server control unit 203 controls the reservation of rooms by multiple OTA servers 20 based on the room reservation rate and the room sales commission that the hotel pays to the OTA company that sold the hotel room. More specifically, as the room reservation rate increases, the reservation server control unit 203 stops reservations of hotel rooms in order, starting with the OTA servers 20 corresponding to the OTA company with the highest room sales commission.

[0075] Furthermore, the reservation server control unit 203 acquires (calculates) the room reservation rate for each business day and room type of the hotel. Based on the acquired room reservation rate, the reservation server control unit 203 controls the reservation of rooms by multiple reservation servers for each business day and room type of the hotel.

[0076] The storage unit 204 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the reservation management server 30. For example, the storage unit 204 stores the room sales commission for each OTA company.

[0077] [OTA Server] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing configuration (processing module) of the OTA server 20 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Fig. 10, the OTA server 20 includes a communication control unit 301, a reservation control unit 302, an inventory control unit 303, and a storage unit 304.

[0078] The communication control unit 301 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 301 receives data (packets) from the reservation management server 30. The communication control unit 301 also transmits data to the reservation management server 30. The communication control unit 301 passes data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 301 transmits data acquired from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules transmit and receive data to and from other devices via the communication control unit 301. The communication control unit 301 has a function as a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and a function as a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0079] The reservation control unit 302 is a means for controlling hotel (guest room) reservations made by users. The reservation control unit 302 realizes the functions of an accommodation reservation site, etc. The reservation control unit 302 generates guest room information, etc. to be presented to users on the accommodation reservation site using the reservation status of each hotel.

[0080] The reservation control unit 302 refers to the inventory management database and acquires information on rooms available for sale to users (see FIG. 11). The inventory management database shown in FIG. 11 is an example and is not intended to limit the items stored therein.

[0081] When the reservation control unit 302 accepts the user's reservation, it transmits a room reservation notification including reservation information to the reservation management server 30. Note that, since the hotel room reservation by the OTA server 20 is different from the gist of the present disclosure, further explanation will be omitted.

[0082] The inventory control unit 303 is a means for controlling the inventory of rooms that the OTA server 20 can sell.

[0083] The inventory control unit 303 receives a reservation status notification from the reservation management server 30. The inventory control unit 303 updates the corresponding entry in the inventory management database with the hotel ID, business days, and inventory quantity for each room type included in the reservation status notification (overwriting the set value in the inventory quantity field).

[0084] The inventory control unit 303 receives a sales suspension instruction from the reservation management server 30. The inventory control unit 303 identifies a corresponding entry in the inventory management database based on the hotel ID, business days, and room type included in the sales suspension instruction. The inventory control unit 303 sets the inventory quantity of the identified entry to "0."

[0085] In the example of Figure 11, when an instruction to stop sales of a single room at a hotel with hotel ID "ID01" on June 3, 2023 is received, the inventory control unit 303 sets the inventory quantity of the single room to "0".

[0086] By setting the inventory management database to a state where there is no room inventory, the OTA server 20 cannot sell rooms for the hotel, business days, and room type specified by the reservation management server 30.

[0087] The storage unit 304 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the OTA server 20 .

[0088] [Hotel Server] A detailed description of the configuration and operation of the hotel server 10 will be omitted because the operation of the hotel server 10 will be clear from the description of the operation of the OTA server 20.

[0089] [Travel Agency Server] A detailed description of the configuration and operation of the travel agency server 11 will be omitted because the operation of the travel agency server 11 is clear from the description of the operation of the OTA server 20.

[0090] [Control Server] Detailed description of the configuration and operation of the control server 40 will be omitted, as the operation of the control server 40 is clear from the above description.

[0091] [Terminal] Examples of the terminal 50 include a smartphone, a mobile phone, a game console, a mobile terminal device such as a tablet, a computer (personal computer, laptop computer), etc. The terminal 50 can be any equipment or device that can accept user operations and communicate with the OTA server 20, etc. Furthermore, the configuration of the terminal 50 is clear to those skilled in the art, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0092] [System Operation] Next, the operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment will be described.

[0093] The operation of the information processing system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0094] When accepting a room reservation from a user, the reservation server (one of the hotel server 10, the travel agency server 11, and the OTA server 20) sends a room reservation notification including reservation information to the reservation management server 30 (step S11).

[0095] Upon receiving the room reservation notification, the reservation management server 30 updates the hotel reservation status (room availability) and obtains the room reservation rate for rooms of the same room type as the reserved room (step S12).

[0096] The reservation management server 30 determines the OTA server 20 that will stop selling rooms based on the acquired room reservation rate and the room sales commission of the OTA company (step S13).

[0097] If there is an OTA server 20 that will stop selling rooms, the reservation management server 30 transmits a sales stop instruction to the OTA server 20 that will stop selling rooms (step S14).

[0098] The OTA server 20, which has received the sales suspension instruction, sets the inventory of the hotel, business days (available dates), and room type specified by the reservation management server 30 to "0" (step S15). By setting the inventory to "0," the OTA server 20 suspends sales of the specified room.

[0099] Next, a modification of the first embodiment will be described.

[0100] <Variation 1> In the above embodiment, the case where the site controller (reservation management server 30) is included in the information processing system has been described. The information processing system does not have to include the reservation management server 30. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 13, the functions of the reservation management server 30 described above may be implemented in a control server 40 that handles hotel operations.

[0101] That is, the control server 40 may have a function of controlling the operation mode of the OTA server 20 in addition to controlling the check-in procedures of guests.

[0102] <Modification 2> When the reservation management server 30 stops selling rooms through the OTA server 20, it may notify the hotel (hotel staff, etc.) to that effect.

[0103] When a room reservation made by at least one OTA server 20 among multiple reservation servers is stopped, the reservation server control unit 203 may send a reservation stop notification to the hotel (control server 40) so that hotel staff are aware that the room reservation has been stopped.

[0104] The reservation server control unit 203 sends a "reservation suspension notice" to the control server 40, which includes information about the OTA operator that has suspended room sales (the name of the OTA operator), the business days on which the sales were suspended, the room type, and the like.

[0105] The control server 40 presents the information included in the reservation suspension notice to the hotel staff, manager, etc. For example, the control server 40 displays a message such as that shown in Fig. 14 on a liquid crystal monitor, etc. Alternatively, the control server 40 transfers the reservation suspension notice to a terminal (not shown) carried by the staff, etc. The staff's terminal displays the message as shown in Fig. 14.

[0106] As described above, the information processing system according to the first embodiment controls room sales by reservation servers (mainly the OTA server 20) in accordance with the room reservation rate. More specifically, when the room reservation rate is low, the reservation management server 30 allows all OTA servers 20 to sell rooms. As a result, numerous sales channels are secured, and room reservations are promoted. On the other hand, as the room reservation rate increases, the reservation management server 30 stops room sales by OTA operators, which charge high room sales commissions. When the room reservation rate is high, there is no reason for hotels to rely on room sales by OTA operators, which charge high room sales commissions, and hotels' profits will increase if they prioritize room sales on their own website, etc., which do not require room sales commissions.

[0107] Next, the hardware of each device constituting the information processing system will be described. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the reservation management server 30.

[0108] The reservation management server 30 can be configured using an information processing device (a so-called computer), and has the configuration shown in Fig. 15. For example, the reservation management server 30 includes a processor 311, a memory 312, an input / output interface 313, and a communication interface 314. The components such as the processor 311 are connected by an internal bus or the like, and are configured to be able to communicate with each other.

[0109] However, the configuration shown in Fig. 15 is not intended to limit the hardware configuration of the reservation management server 30. The reservation management server 30 may include hardware not shown, and may not have an input / output interface 313 as necessary. Furthermore, the number of processors 311 and the like included in the reservation management server 30 is not intended to be limited to the example shown in Fig. 15; for example, the reservation management server 30 may include multiple processors 311.

[0110] The processor 311 is a programmable device such as a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), or a digital signal processor (DSP). Alternatively, the processor 311 may be a device such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 311 executes various programs including an operating system (OS).

[0111] The memory 312 is a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), etc. The memory 312 stores an OS program, application programs, and various data.

[0112] The input / output interface 313 is an interface for a display device and an input device (not shown). The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input device is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, or the like that accepts user operations.

[0113] The communication interface 314 is a circuit, module, etc. that communicates with other devices. For example, the communication interface 314 includes a network interface card (NIC).

[0114] The functions of the reservation management server 30 are realized by various processing modules. The processing modules are realized, for example, by the processor 311 executing a program stored in the memory 312. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can be a non-transitory medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium. That is, the present invention can also be embodied as a computer program product. The program can be downloaded via a network or updated using a storage medium storing the program. Furthermore, the processing modules can be realized by a semiconductor chip.

[0115] The OTA server 20 and the like can also be configured using an information processing device, similar to the reservation management server 30, and the basic hardware configuration is no different from that of the reservation management server 30, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0116] The reservation management server 30 is equipped with a computer, and the functions of the reservation management server 30 can be realized by causing the computer to execute a program. The reservation management server 30 also executes a control method for the reservation management server 30 by the program.

[0117] [Modification] The configuration, operation, etc. of the information processing system described in the above embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the configuration, etc. of the system.

[0118] In the above embodiment, the reservation management server 30 is described as restricting room sales through the OTA server 20 based on the room reservation rate. The reservation management server 30 may also restrict room sales through the travel agency server 11 based on the room reservation rate. In other words, the reservation management server 30 may ultimately continue room sales through the hotel's own website (hotel server 10).

[0119] In the above embodiment, the operation of the reservation management server 30 was described under the assumption that the room sales commission paid by the hotel to each OTA operator is different. If the room sales commission paid to each OTA operator is the same, the reservation management server 30 may limit room sales by the OTA server 20 based on the room reservation rate without taking the room sales commission into consideration. For example, the reservation server control unit 203 of the reservation management server 30 may uniformly stop room sales by the OTA server 20 when the room reservation rate exceeds a predetermined threshold. Alternatively, the reservation management server 30 may stop room sales by randomly selected OTA servers 20 as the room reservation rate increases. In other words, the reservation management server 30 may increase the number of OTA servers 20 for which room sales are stopped as the room reservation rate increases.

[0120] When the room reservation rate drops due to cancellations of room reservations, the reservation server control unit 203 of the reservation management server 30 may resume room sales for the OTA server 20 that has stopped room sales. In this case, the reservation server control unit 203 may notify the OTA server 20 that is resuming sales of the latest inventory number by specifying the business days and room types.

[0121] In the above embodiment, the reservation management server 30 controls the sale of rooms by the OTA server 20 based on the room reservation rate for each business day and room type. The reservation management server 30 may also control the sale of rooms by the OTA server 20 based on the room reservation rate for the entire hotel (room reservation rate for each business day) regardless of room type.

[0122] The reservation management server 30 may use different thresholds for each room type to control the operation of the OTA server 20. For example, the reservation management server 30 may use different thresholds for single rooms and double rooms as the thresholds for initially halting room sales by the OTA server 20. For example, the reservation management server 30 may halt room sales by the OTA server 20 early (at a stage when the room reservation rate is low) for room types that are popular with users.

[0123] Alternatively, the reservation management server 30 may change the threshold value that limits the sale of rooms by the OTA server 20 depending on the day of the week or the season of the business day.

[0124] In the above embodiment, the reservation management server 30 calculates the room reservation rate to obtain the room reservation rate. The reservation management server 30 may obtain the room reservation rate from another external server. For example, the reservation management server 30 may request an external server that has a reservation status management database to provide the room reservation rate, and obtain the room reservation rate from the external server.

[0125] In the above embodiment, the reservation status management database is configured inside the reservation management server 30, but the database may also be configured on an external database server, etc. In other words, some of the functions of the reservation management server 30 may be implemented in another device. More specifically, the above-described "reservation status control unit (reservation status control means)," "reservation server control unit (reservation server control means)," etc. may be implemented in any of the devices included in the system.

[0126] There are no particular restrictions on the format of data transmission between each device (reservation server, reservation management server 30), but data transmitted between these devices may be encrypted. User names and other information are transmitted between these devices, and in order to properly protect this information, it is desirable to transmit and receive encrypted data.

[0127] In the flow charts (flowcharts, sequence diagrams) used in the above explanation, multiple steps (processes) are described in order, but the order of execution of the steps executed in the embodiments is not limited to the order described. In the embodiments, the order of the steps shown in the drawings can be changed to the extent that the content is not affected, such as by executing each process in parallel.

[0128] The above-described embodiments have been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, and it is not intended that all of the above-described configurations are required. Furthermore, when multiple embodiments are described, each embodiment may be used alone or in combination. For example, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with another configuration.

[0129] From the above explanation, it is clear that the present invention has industrial applicability, and the present invention is suitably applicable to information processing systems for hotel reservations, etc.

[0130] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. [Supplementary Note 1] A server device comprising: an acquisition means for acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms available for reservation from each of a plurality of reservation servers; and a control means for controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 2] The server device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the plurality of reservation servers include a plurality of OTA (Online Travel Agent) servers operated by a plurality of OTA operators, respectively, and the control means controls reservations of the rooms by at least the plurality of OTA servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 3] The server device according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein the control means controls reservations of the rooms by the plurality of OTA servers based on the result of threshold processing of the room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 4] The server device according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the control means controls reservations of the rooms by the multiple OTA servers based on the room reservation rate and a room sales commission that the hotel pays to the OTA operator that sold the hotel room when the OTA operator sells the hotel room. [Supplementary Note 5] The server device according to Supplementary Note 4, wherein the control means suspends reservations of the hotel rooms in order from the OTA server corresponding to the OTA operator with the highest room sales commission as the room reservation rate increases. [Supplementary Note 6] The server device according to any one of Supplements 1 to 5, wherein the acquisition means acquires the room reservation rate for each business day and room type of the hotel, and the control means controls reservations of the rooms by the multiple reservation servers for each business day and room type of the hotel based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 7] The server device according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein, when the control means suspends reservations of the rooms by at least one reservation server among the multiple reservation servers, the control means transmits a reservation suspension notice to the hotel so that an employee of the hotel is aware that reservations of the rooms have been suspended.[Supplementary Note 8] A control method for a server device, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers; and a control step of controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 9] The control method for a server device according to Supplementary Note 8, wherein the plurality of reservation servers include a plurality of OTA (Online Travel Agent) servers operated by a plurality of OTA operators, respectively, and the control step controls reservations of the rooms by at least the plurality of OTA servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 10] The control method for a server device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the control step controls reservations of the rooms by the plurality of OTA servers based on a result of threshold processing on the room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 11] The control method for a server device according to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the control step controls reservations of the rooms by the multiple OTA servers based on the room reservation rate and a room sales commission that the hotel pays to the OTA operator that sold the hotel room when the OTA operator sells the hotel room. [Supplementary Note 12] The control method for a server device according to Supplementary Note 11, wherein the control step stops reservations of the hotel rooms in order from the OTA server corresponding to the OTA operator with the highest room sales commission as the room reservation rate increases. [Supplementary Note 13] The control method for a server device according to any one of Supplements 8 to 12, wherein the acquisition step acquires the room reservation rate for each business day and room type of the hotel, and the control step controls reservations of the rooms by the multiple reservation servers for each business day and room type of the hotel based on the acquired room reservation rate. [Supplementary Note 14] The control method for a server device according to Supplementary Note 13, wherein the control step includes, when the reservation of the room by at least one reservation server among the plurality of reservation servers is stopped, sending a reservation stop notification to the hotel so that an employee of the hotel is aware that the reservation of the room has been stopped.[Supplementary Note 15] A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer mounted on a server device to execute the following: an acquisition process for acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms that can be reserved from each of a plurality of reservation servers; and a control process for controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 16] The storage medium according to Supplementary Note 15, wherein the plurality of reservation servers include a plurality of OTA (Online Travel Agent) servers operated by a plurality of OTA operators, respectively, and the control process controls reservations of the rooms by at least the plurality of OTA servers based on the acquired room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 17] The storage medium according to Supplementary Note 16, wherein the control process controls reservations of the rooms by the plurality of OTA servers based on the result of threshold processing for the room reservation rates. [Supplementary Note 18] The storage medium of Supplementary Note 17, wherein the control process controls reservations of the rooms by the multiple OTA servers based on the room reservation rate and a room sales commission paid by the hotel to the OTA operator that sold the hotel room when the OTA operator sells the hotel room. [Supplementary Note 19] The storage medium of Supplementary Note 18, wherein the control process stops reservations of the hotel rooms in order starting from the OTA server corresponding to the OTA operator with the highest room sales commission as the room reservation rate increases. [Supplementary Note 20] The storage medium of any one of Supplements 15 to 19, wherein the acquisition process acquires the room reservation rate for each business day and room type of the hotel, and the control process controls reservations of the rooms by the multiple reservation servers for each business day and room type of the hotel based on the acquired room reservation rate. [Appendix 21] The storage medium described in Appendix 20, wherein the control process, when the reservation of the room by at least one of the plurality of reservation servers is stopped, sends a reservation stop notification to the hotel so that the hotel staff is aware that the reservation of the room has been stopped.

[0131] The disclosures of the above-cited prior art documents are incorporated herein by reference. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that these embodiments are merely illustrative and that various modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. In other words, the present invention naturally includes various modifications and alterations that may be made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the entire disclosure, including the claims, and the technical concepts thereof.

[0132] 10 Hotel server 11 Travel agency server 20 OTA server 20-1 OTA server 20-2 OTA server 20-3 OTA server 30 Reservation management server 40 Control server 50 Terminal 100 Server device 101 Acquisition means 102 Control means 201 Communication control unit 202 Reservation status control unit 203 Reservation server control unit 204 Storage unit 301 Communication control unit 302 Reservation control unit 303 Inventory control unit 304 Storage unit 311 Processor 312 Memory 313 Input / output interface 314 Communication interface

Claims

1. an acquisition means for acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms available for reservation from each of the plurality of reservation servers; a control means for controlling the reservation of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates; A server device comprising:

2. The plurality of reservation servers include a plurality of OTA (Online Travel Agent) servers operated by a plurality of OTA operators, respectively; The server device according to claim 1 , wherein the control means controls reservations of the rooms by at least the plurality of OTA servers based on the acquired room reservation rate.

3. The server device according to claim 2 , wherein the control means controls the reservations of the rooms by the plurality of OTA servers based on a result of threshold processing for the room reservation rate.

4. The control means 4. The server device according to claim 3, wherein when the OTA operator sells a room at the hotel, the server device controls reservations of the room by the plurality of OTA servers based on a room sales commission paid by the hotel to the OTA operator that sold the room at the hotel and the room reservation rate.

5. 5. The server device according to claim 4, wherein the control means suspends reservations for the hotel rooms in order of the OTA server corresponding to the OTA business operator with the highest room sales commission as the room reservation rate increases.

6. the acquiring means acquires the room reservation rate for each business day and room type of the hotel; 6. The server device according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers for each business day of the hotel and each room type based on the acquired room reservation rates.

7. 7. The server device according to claim 6, wherein the control means, when suspending the reservation of the room by at least one reservation server among the plurality of reservation servers, transmits a reservation suspension notice to the hotel so that an employee of the hotel is aware that the reservation of the room has been suspended.

8. In the server device, an acquisition step of acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms available for reservation from each of the plurality of reservation servers; a control step of controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates; A method for controlling a server device, comprising:

9. The computer installed in the server device an acquisition process for acquiring room reservation rates for hotel rooms available for reservation from each of the multiple reservation servers; a control process for controlling reservations of the rooms by the plurality of reservation servers based on the acquired room reservation rates; A program to execute.