System and method for providing hospitality products

Abstract

The invention provides a system for providing hospitality products, comprising at least one device of a customer of a hospitality establishment, and a server cluster that is provided by and / or provided to the hospitality establishment. The server cluster receives one or more instructions from the device, for facilitation of provision of at least one product selected by the customer thereto them, by election of one provider of the selected product filtered from a plurality thereof. A corresponding method is further described.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING HOSPITALITY PRODUCTS

[0001] The invention relates to the provision of hospitality products. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for providing hospitality products in which customers of a hospitality establishment are offered products by the hospitality establishment that are from external providers.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The hospitality industry plays a pivotal role in providing memorable and comfortable experiences to customers, encompassing a diverse range of goods and services that relate to accommodation, dining, and entertainment. However, despite its crucial role, the hospitality industry faces numerous challenges, especially when it comes to providing services to customers that are both high-quality and cost-effective.

[0003] Conventionally, a hospitality establishment, such as a hotel, is to employ a large number of staff to manage the hospitality establishment so that its customers may be provided with relevant hospitality products. These hospitality products may include goods and services that may be, but shall not be limited to, food and beverages, housekeeping, and transportation. However, the provision of hospitality products requires the maintenance of a large number of staff to ensure consistency in quality. This is further aggravated by economic inflation, which further increases the overall operation costs of the hospitality establishment.

[0004] Among the prior arts that relate to systems and methods for providing hospitality products includes the patent US20140257963A1, which discloses a kind of system and method for delivering hotel services. In particular, it informs a hotel’s customers on goods and / or services relevant to their hotel and its surrounding area. In particular, there may be one or more providers of these goods and / or services that may be registered with the hotel. Furthermore, the system and method further track the usage of providers by the customers and report this information to the staff of the hotel.

[0005] Yet another prior art that relates to systems and methods for providing hospitality products includes the patent US10719896B2, which discloses a kind of system and methodthat is capable of allowing customers to identify, via arbitrary search, amenities and / or services available at venues such as lodging facilities and travel accommodations. The amenities and / or special. The system provides a network of one or more servers and devices to enable customers to identify hospitality / tourism features based on availability, matching attributes, and user preferences.

[0006] However, none of the aforementioned prior arts discloses or inform of means that enable the management of a hospitality establishment with minimal staff while still offering quality hospitality products. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a system and method that enables customers of a hospitality establishment to be provided with products by the hospitality establishment, which are from external providers that are appropriately elected by the hospitality establishment.SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0007] The main objective of the invention is to provide a system and method where customers of a hospitality establishment arc offered hospitality products, by the hospitality establishment, which are from internal or external providers. To achieve this objective, there is provided a server cluster, which may include one or more servers, which (i) receives one or more instructions from a device of the customer that relates to a selected product, (ii) elects a provider that offers the selected product from a plurality of providers for the elected provider to provide the selected product to the hospitality establishment, and (iii) receives one or more responses from the device of the guest that relates to feedback of their selected product that was from the elected provider. In particular, it is preferred that there is an opacity between the customer and the elected provider. In particular, it is preferred that the customer is provided with their selected product under the impression it is affiliated with the hospitality establishment.

[0008] Advantageously, the present invention may enable a hospitality establishment to have a minimum number of staff while still providing quality experiences to their customers.

[0009] The present invention intends to provide a system for providing hospitality products, comprising at least one device of a customer of a hospitality establishment, and a server cluster that is provided by and / or provided to the hospitality establishment. The server clusterreceives one or more instructions from the device, for facilitation of provision of at least one product selected by the customer thereto them, by election of one provider of the selected product filtered from a plurality thereof.

[0010] Preferably, the server cluster receives one or more responses from the device that pertain to feedback information of the selected product of the provider that was elected by the server cluster.

[0011] Preferably, the server cluster includes at least one storage device that stores data files that include provider data files, which pertain to feedback information of providers historically elected by the server cluster to provide products to customers of the hospitality establishment.

[0012] Preferably, the server cluster includes a feedback module that updates the provider data files based on the response from the device.

[0013] Preferably, the server cluster further comprises a provider management module, which comprises a provider aggregator module, for aggregating a plurality of providers.

[0014] Preferably, the provider management module further comprises a first ranking module for ranking the providers based on feedback information of each provider obtained from the stored provider data files and / or external sources.

[0015] Preferably, the provider management module further includes a second ranking module for ranking the providers based on fees imposed by providers for their product, which corresponds to the selected product.

[0016] Preferably, the provider management module further includes a filter module, for filtering any one or a combination of providers aggregated by the provider aggregator module, providers ranked by the first ranking module, and providers ranked by the second ranking module.

[0017] Preferably, the provider management module further includes an election module for electing one provider to provide the selected product to the customer.

[0018] Preferably, the provider management module further includes an ordering module for ordering the selected product from the provider that was elected.

[0019] Preferably, the server cluster further includes a product provision module that validates repackaging of the selected product to ensure the selected product is made to become affiliated with the hospitality establishment prior to providing the selected product to the customer.

[0020] Preferably, the server cluster further includes a first finance module that facilitates financial transactions between the customer and the hospitality establishment in a first currency.

[0021] Preferably, the server cluster further includes a second finance module that facilitates financial transactions between the hospitality establishment and the providers in a second currency.

[0022] The present invention further intends to provide a method for providing hospitality services, comprising the steps of providing a server cluster, by the hospitality establishment, and interacting with the server cluster, by a device of a customer of the hospitality establishment. The server cluster receives one or more instructions from the device, for facilitation of provision of at least one product selected by the customer thereto them, by election of one provider of the selected product filtered from a plurality thereof.

[0023] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of receiving one or more responses from the device, by the server cluster, which pertain to feedback information of the selected product of the provider that was elected by the server cluster.

[0024] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of storing data files that include provider data files, which pertain to feedback information of providers historically elected by the server cluster to provide products to the customers of the hospitality establishment.

[0025] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of updating, by a feedback module of the server cluster, the provider data files based on the response from the device.

[0026] Preferably, the method further comprises any one or a combination of steps that include the step of aggregating a plurality of providers, by a provider aggregator module of a provider management module, the step of ranking the providers based on feedback information of each provider obtained from the stored provider data files and / or externalsources, by a first ranking module of the provider management module, and the step of ranking the providers based on fees imposed by provider for their product, which corresponds to the selected product, by a second ranking module of the provider management module.

[0027] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of filtering, by a filter module of the provider management module, any one or a combination of providers aggregated by the provider aggregator module, providers ranked by the first ranking module, and providers ranked by the second ranking module.

[0028] Preferably, the method further comprises the step of validating, by a product provision module of the server cluster, repackaging of the selected product to ensure the selected product is made to become affiliated with the hospitality establishment prior to providing the selected product to the customer.

[0029] One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] To facilitate an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood and appreciated.

[0031] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first example embodiment of the system of the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a second example embodiment of the system of the present invention.

[0033] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the server cluster within the present invention.L0034J FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of the provider management module within the server cluster of the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a flowchart detailing an example method of the present invention, which may be according to any one of the system embodiments shown in FIGS 1 - 4.

[0036] FIG. 6 is a flowchart that continues from the flowchart of FIG. 6.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] The present invention generally relates to a system and method for the provision of hospitality products. The invention may also be presented in a number of different embodiments with common elements.

[0038] According to the concept of the invention, there is provided a server cluster that may include one or more servers, which (i) receives one or more instructions from a device of the customer that relates to a selected product, (ii) elects a provider that offers the selected product from a plurality of providers for the elected provider to provide the selected product to the hospitality establishment, and (iii) receives one or more responses from the device of the customer that relates to feedback information towards their selected product that was provided by the elected provider that was elected by the hospitality establishment. In particular, the hospitality establishment ensures opacity between the customer and the elected provider.

[0039] From hereon, it is noted that the term “product”, in the context of the invention, broadly relates to any one or both goods and services that may be tangible or intangible. Furthermore, it is preferred that the term “product” relates to the hospitality industry, and hence may synonymously be referred to as “hospitality product”. With this, the term “product” may be, but shall not be limited to, food and / or their servicing thereof to a customer, beverages and / or their servicing thereof to a customer, transportation services, housekeeping services, therapeutic services, or the like.

[0040] From hereon, it is to be noted that the term “hospitality establishment”, in the context of the invention, broadly relates to any kind of place or facility that offers hospitality products. A hospitality establishment may be, but shall not be limited to, hotels, motels, resorts, lodgings, guest houses, or the like. The hospitality establishment may generally have a plurality of rooms that each may house one or more customers.

[0041] From hereon, it is to be noted that the term “provider”, in the context of the invention, broadly relates to entities that provide, offer, or vend hospitality products to customers of the hospitality establishment. These entities may be one or more humans or non-humans. Preferably, these entities are to substantially interact with the hospitality establishment before providing, offering, or vending hospitality products to customers of the hospitality establishment. These entities are to be regarded as entities external to the hospitality establishment and may generally be located outside of the hospitality establishment.

[0042] The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the figures. For ease of reference, common reference numerals or series of numerals will be used throughout the figures when referring to the same or similar features common to the figures.

[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates a first example embodiment of the system of the present invention. As shown, there is preferably a customer C that interacts with a server cluster 2 via a device 1, with the device 1 interfacing the server cluster 2. In particular, the server cluster 2 is provided by and / or provided to a hospitality establishment in which customer C may be currently staying. Further shown in that the server cluster 2 may comprise a first server 21, a second server 22, and a third server 23. The server cluster 2 may further interact with a plurality of providers 4 which may include a first provider 41, a second provider 42, a third provider 43 or more.

[0044] With reference to FIG. 1, the customer C is to interact with the device 1 for device 1 to send one or more instructions to the server cluster 2. Preferably, these instructions may pertain to the selection of at least one product that is offered by the hospitality establishment. The server cluster 2 receives these instructions from device 1, and subsequently facilitates provision of the customer’s selected product to the customer C. More specifically, the servercluster 2 interacts with the providers 4 that are able to provide the selected product, for electing one provider 4 from the plurality thereof. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the server cluster 2 may have elected third provider 43, and may interact with the third provider 43 accordingly for them to provide the customer’s selected product to the customer C.

[0045] FIG. 2 illustrates a second example embodiment of the system of the present invention. FIG. 2 is substantially similar to FIG. 1, but has the further inclusion of external servers 3 which are preferably not part of the server cluster 2 as external sources. Whilst interactions between the device 1 and the server cluster 2 may remain the same as FIG. 1, interactions between the server cluster 2 and the providers may differ. More specifically, the server cluster 2 may interact with one or more external servers 3, which may include a first external server 3a, a second external server 3b, a third external server 3c, or more. Each of the external servers 3 is to further interact with a plurality of providers 4. For example, the first external server 3a may interact with a fir st set of providers that include a fir st provider 41a or more, the second external server 3b may interact with a second set of providers that include a second provider 41b or more, the third external server 3c may interact with a third set of providers that include a third provider 41c or more, and so forth.

[0046] With reference to FIG. 2 the customer C is to interact with the device 1 for device 1 to send one or more instructions to the server cluster 2. Preferably, these instructions may pertain to the selection of at least one product that is offered by the hospitality establishment. The server cluster 2 receives these instructions from device 1, and subsequently facilitates provision of the customer’s selected product to the customer C. More specifically, the server cluster 2 interacts with the external servers 3 to determine providers 4 that are able to provide the selected product, for electing one provider 4 from the plurality thereof. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the server cluster 2 may have elected third provider 41c, and may interact with the third provider 43 accordingly, via the third external server 3c, for them to provide the customer’s selected product to the customer C. Alternatively, the server cluster 2 may directly interact with the third provider 41c for them to provide the customer’s selected product to the customer C.

[0047] Regarding device 1, it may be a conventional commercially available end-user device, which may include smartphones, desktops, personal device assistants, a kiosk machine, or any device capable of interacting with a computer network. The device 1 may be a devicethat is owned by the customer C, or a device that is temporarily provided by the hospitality establishment to the customer C.

[0048] Details regarding the server cluster 2 shall be described later in the specification.

[0049] Regarding the external servers 3, they may be entities not part of the hospitality establishment and may facilitate aggregation of providers 4 and interactions between the said providers 4 and the hospitality establishment. By way of example, these external servers 3 may relate to entities that provide and manage a multitude of services that include payment gateway services, provider aggregation services, provider advertising services, or the like. By way of an even more detailed example, these external servers may be part of super app platforms provided by Grab Holdings Inc., Tencent Holdings Ltd., or the like.

[0050] Regarding the providers 4, they arc to be substantially in communication or interactable with the server cluster 2, so that they may receive instructions from the server cluster 2. In particular, according to the first embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the server cluster 2 may directly communicate or interact with the providers 4 for election of one of them from a plurality thereof. In particular, according to a second embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the server cluster 2 may instead communicate or interact with external servers 3 for the external servers 3 to further communicate or interact with providers 4 for the election of one of them from a plurality thereof. For communicating or interacting with the server cluster 2 and / or the external servers 3, the providers 4 each may have their device(s) that is connected to a computer network, which may be the same as embodiments of device 1, so that they may receive instructions to provide a customer’s selected product from the server cluster 2.

[0051] FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of the server cluster 2 within the present invention. As previously mentioned, the server cluster 2 comprises a first server 21, a second server 22, and a third server 23. These servers 21 - 23 are preferably one or more computers configured to perform resource management, and may be provided through cloud computing. In one embodiment , the servers 21 - 23 within the server cluster 2 may be provided by the hospitality establishment by being proprietarily owned by the hospitality establishment. In one alternative embodiment, the servers 21 - 23 within the server cluster 2 may be provided to the hospitality establishment by relevant service providers or third parties. In yet another embodiment, it may be a combination of both of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0052] Further shown in FIG. 3 is that the servers 21 - 23 arc preferably located at different locations. For example, the first server 21 is located at a first location, the second server 22 is located at a second location, and the third server 23 is located at a third location. These locations may be in different countries. In particular, the first location would be a place of origin of the customer C, the second location would be the location of the hospitality establishment, and the third location would be a location that may be different from the aforementioned locations.L0053J Further shown in FIG. 3 include the servers 21 - 23 with their relevant hardware and software components for performing their relevant operations. Preferably, the servers 21 - 23 have at least one processor that runs a server-side application software, and at least one data storage device interfaced with the said processor. The server-side application software are to manage communication between the device 1 and the providers 4, and the delivery and receipt of content for the servers 21 - 23. The data storage device acts as a medium that stores said content.

[0054] The processors of servers preferably perform the scheduling and the execution of software instructions of the software modules of the server-side application software running thereon while being interfaced with the data storage devices as well. Preferably, they may be, but shall not be limited to, a conventional processor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a combination thereof.

[0055] The data storage devices of the servers may store data therewithin in a permanent or semi-permanent manner. Preferably, the data storage devices may be, but shall not be limited to one or a combination of digital storage mediums such as hard disk drives, solid-state drives, hybrid drives, or the like. Tn embodiments where there are one or more digital storage mediums are present, they are preferably set up to have an increased reliability through the implementation of redundancy measures, such as a Random Array of Independent Disks (RAID) setup.

[0056] In particular, the first server 21 may at least comprise a first processor 211 that runs a first server-side application software 211a for operating one or more modules for (i) enabling the customer C to make a reservation at the hospitality establishment, and (ii)facilitating financial transactions between the customer C and the hospitality establishment in a first currency. These modules may at least include a customer reservation module 2111, and a first finance module 2112. It should be noted that while the aforementioned modules may be in a software embodiment, they may also be a hardware embodiment where they are directly connected to the processor 21, or they are their own independent computer system. While not shown, the first server-side application software 211a may further include one or more ancillary software modules that support the operations of the first server 21.

[0057] Regarding the customer reservation module 2111 of the first server 21, it enables the customer C to make a reservation at the hospitality establishment. More specifically, prior to arriving at the hospitality establishment, the customer C, who may be located at the first location, may interact with the first server 21 of the server cluster 2 for making a reservation at the hospitality establishment. Furthermore, the customer reservation module 2111 may facilitate the obtainment of relevant information from the customer C which may include their personal identity, duration of stay, selected hospitality products, etc.

[0058] Regarding the first finance module 2112, it facilitates financial transactions between the customer C and the hospitality establishment in a first currency. More specifically, the first currency is a native currency of the first location in which customer C originates. In particular, the first finance module 2112 shall initiate or communicate with relevant payment gateways native to the first location so that the customer C is able to make their payment for making a reservation at the hospitality establishment. Furthermore, the first finance module 2112 may facilitate a transfer of funds between a bank account of the customer C and a bank account of the hospitality establishment, which may both be in the first currency. Furthermore, the first finance module 2112 may confirm payment by customer C.

[0059] Whilst not shown, the first server 21 may include a communication unit and / or module for communicating with the other servers in the server cluster 2. It is to be noted that upon confirmation of payment by the first finance module 2112, the first server 21 may communicate with the other servers in the server cluster 2 to inform them of customer C. More specifically, the first server 21 may communicate with the second server 22 to notify the second server 22 that customer C has made their payment and reservation to the hospitality establishment. Furthermore, the first server 21 may communicate with the third server 23 to provide relevant information from the customer C thereto for the third server 23 to store said information therewithin as a customer information data file 2321.

[0060] In particular, the second server 22 may comprise a second processor 221 that runs a second server-side application software 221a for operating one or more modules for at least (i) managing customers and rooms within the hospitality establishment, (ii) managing interactions and / or communications between the hospitality establishment and the providers 4, (iii) offering products to the customers C of the hospitality establishment and managing the provision of product(s) provided by the providers 4 to the customers C, (iv) managing the feedback information provided by the customers C on their selected products that were provided by the elected provider, and (v) facilitating financial transactions between any one or a combination of the hospitality establishment, the customer C, and the providers 4, in a first currency and / or a second currency.

[0061] With this, the modules of the second server 22 may at least include a customer and room management module 2211, a provider management module 2212, a product provision module 2213, a feedback module 2214, and a second finance module 2215. It should be noted that while the aforementioned modules may be in a software embodiment, they may also be a hardware embodiment where they arc directly connected to the second processor 22, or they are their own independent computer system. While not shown, the second serverside application software 221a may further include one or more ancillary software modules that support the operations of the second server 22.

[0062] Regarding the customer and room management module 2211 of the second server 22, it shall perform or facilitate the management of customers C and rooms within the hospitality establishment. More specifically, it may inform staff of the hospitality establishment on the room occupancy within the hospitality establishment, the relevant information of the customers C, and current customers within the hospitality establishment and their designated rooms within the hospitality establishment. It may further enable communication between the customer C and the server 22 via the device 1, and / or communication between a room of the hospitality establishment and the server 22 via the device 1.

[0063] Regarding the provider management module 2212 of the second server 22, it shall perform or facilitate the management of interactions and / or communications between the hospitality establishment and the providers 4. More specifically, it shall (i) aggregate providers from a plurality of providers 4, (ii) filter the plurality of providers 4 based on theselected product of the customer C, (iii) elect one provider from the plurality of providers 4 that is to provide customer C with their selected product, (iv) make an order for the selected product of the customer C from the elected provider, and (v) facilitating payment between the hospitality establishment and the elected provider.L0064J Regarding the product provision module 2213 of the second server 22, it shall substantially facilitate the provision of the selected product of the customer C from the elected provider to the customer C. It may also facilitate and / or validate the repackaging of the selected product in such a way the product is affiliated with the hospitality establishment. In particular, the repackaging and / or provision of the selected product may be done with assistance from the staff of the hospitality establishment.

[0065] Regarding the feedback module 2214 of the second server 22, it shall substantially facilitate the receipt and assignment of feedback information received from the customer C towards the elected providers on their product that were provided to the customer C. In particular, the feedback module 2214 shall assign the feedback information related to the elected provider and further save the feedback information within the second server 22 as one or more provider data files 2324 that pertain to the elected provider.

[0066] Regarding the second finance module 2215, it may facilitate financial transactions between the customer C and the hospitality establishment in a first currency and / or financial transactions between the hospitality establishment and the providers 4. The first currency may be as previously described. The second currency is preferably a native currency of the second location in which the hospitality establishment and / or the providers 4 may be located. In particular, the second finance module 2215 shall initiate or communicate with relevant payment gateways native to the second location so that the customer C may still be able to make their payment to any one or both the hospitality establishment and the providers 4 in the first currency. In particular', the second finance module 2215 shall also initiate or communicate with relevant payment gateways native to the second location so that the hospitality establishment may be able to make payment to the elected provider in the second currency for providing the customer’s selected product to the customer C.L0067J In particular, the third server 23 may comprise a data storage device 232 that acts as a database of the server cluster 2. Preferably, the data storage device 232 may store a plurality of data files that include customer information data files 2321, room information data files2322, finance record data files 2323, and provider data files 2324. Preferably, these data files are stored in the data storage device 232 in a digital format. Whilst not shown, the third server 23 may further comprise a processor running an application software for facilitating management of the data files in the data storage device 232. More specifically, the customer information data files 2321 stores customer information of at least one customer C, the room information data files 2322 stores information relating to the rooms of the hospitality establishment, the finance record data files 2323 stores information relating to the financial records relating to prices of the customer’s selected products as historically imposed by the elected providers 4. The provider data files 2324 stores information relating to the feedback information received from the customer C on their selected product received from providers 4 that had been elected. Preferably, there is an inter-relationship between the finance record data files 2323 and the provider data files 2324.

[0068] FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of the provider management module 2212, which is preferably within the second server 22 of the server cluster 2 of the present invention. In particular, the provider management module 2212 itself may comprise a plurality of modules that include a provider aggregator module 22121, a grouping module 22122, a filtering module 22123, a first ranking module 22124, a second ranking module 22125, an election module 22126, an ordering module 22127, and a payment module 22128.

[0069] The provider aggregator module 22121 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to aggregate a plurality of providers 4.

[0070] In accordance with the embodiment of the system as shown in FIG. 1, the provider aggregator module 22121 may perform web content extraction such as web-scraping to aggregate relevant providers 4 that provide products that are offered by the hospitality establishment.

[0071] In accordance with the embodiment of the system as shown in FIG. 2, the provider aggregator module 22121 may interact with the external servers 3 for obtaining providers 4 that are already onboard the external servers 3. For example, in the case where a first external server 31 is part of a super app platform, there may be a plurality of providers on or partnered with the super app platform. Hence, by the provider aggregator module 22121 may interact with the first external server 31 to aggregate providers 4 that are on or partnered with the super app platform that provides products that are offered by the hospitality establishment.

[0072] The grouping module 22122 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to group the aggregated providers 4 into their relevant categories and their offered products. For example, from the aggregated providers 4, the grouping module 22122 shall categorise and / or classify them into one or more relevant groups. More specifically, the aggregated providers 4 may each be grouped into a plurality of groups, with a first group of providers that relate to those that provide dining products (Chicken Rice, etc.), a second group of providers that relate to those that provide service products (Massage Service, etc.), and so forth.

[0073] It is to be noted that the grouping module 22122 may further categorise and / or classify each provider in each group based on the products they provide based on the products that are offered by the hospitality establishment. For example, for dining products, each provider in one group may be further categorised and / or classified based on a first dining product (e.g. Chicken Rice), a second dining product (e.g. Chilli Crab), and so forth. It is to be further noted that the grouping module 22122 may manage products that are offered by one provider of the same.

[0074] The filter module 22123 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to filter the providers 4. In one embodiment of the invention, the filter module 22123 may filter the aggregated providers 4 by whitelisting specific providers so that only these specific providers will be considered for one provider to be eventually elected. In another embodiment of the invention, whitelisting may be done periodically so that new providers of products may be considered and evaluated by the customers. It is to be noted that the filter module 22123 may either filter providers 4 that had been aggregated by the provider aggregation module 22122, providers 4 that had been ranked by the first ranking module 22124, and / or providers 4 that had been ranked by the second ranking module 22125.

[0075] The first ranking module 22124 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to rank the providers 4. This may be done based on any one or both of (i) historical feedback of the providers 4 on their products based on the feedback information of each provider obtained from the provider data files 2324 stored in the third server 23, and historical feedback of the providers on their products based on the feedback information of each provider obtained from the external servers 3. It is to benoted that both aforementioned embodiments of the first ranking module 22124 may be in a single combination, and that it is preferable that the provider data files 2324 stored in the third server 23 is at least referenced. In particular, the first ranking module 22124 may further include a function that assigns a score to the providers 4 prior to ranking them, with the providers 4 being based on any one or both feedback information of each provider and historical feedback of each provider based on their products. With this, the first ranking module 22124 may rank the providers based on the assigned scores based on an order such as ascending order, descending order, or the like.

[0076] The second ranking module 22125 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to rank the providers 4 based on prices of their products. Most preferably, the second ranking module 22125 shall rank them based on the current pricing of their products that had most recently been obtained by the provider aggregator module 22121. More specifically, the second ranking module 22125 shall rank the products of the providers 4 by comparing a difference amount between (i) the price or fees of the product as set by the providers 4 and (ii) the price or fees of the product that was offered to the customer by the hospitality establishment that is preferably set by the second finance module 2215. Products are to be ranked based on the difference amount with those that have a higher difference amount have a higher rank than those who have a lower difference amount, or by any permissible way.

[0077] It is to be noted that the order of operations of the first ranking module 22124 and the second ranking module 22125 is of irrelevance as either one of the ranking modules 22124, 22125 may perform ranking first prior to the other.

[0078] It is to be noted that certain embodiments of the present invention may only include first ranking module 22124 or the second ranking module 22125.

[0079] The election module 2216 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to elect one provider from the providers 4, which have been ranked by the ranking modules 22124, 22125, to be elected to provide a customer’s selected product to the customer C of the hospitality establishment. Preferably, the provider that had the highest rank in any one or both ranking modules 22124, 22125 may be elected as the elected provider by the election module 2217.L0080J The ordering module 2217 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to order of the customer’s selected product from an elected provider. More specifically, it shall enable the second server 22 to communicate with the elected provider, by way of direct communication with devices of the provider or through the relevant external servers 3, to request for the customer’s selected product at the price as set by the elected provider. With this, the elected provider may receive the order and prepare to provide the product to the customer C of the hospitality establishment.

[0081] The payment module 22128 of the provider management module 2212 is to enable and / or facilitate the second server 22 to make payment towards the elected provider, preferably by prompting the second finance module 2215 to credit funds of a second currency into a relevant bank account of the elected provider so as to pay them for their provided product.

[0082] FIGS 5 - 6 illustrate a flowchart of the example method of the present invention, which may be according to the preferred embodiment as shown in FIGS 1 - 4. More specifically, the flowchart describes the provision of a product selected by the customer of the hospitality establishment from beginning to end. It is noted that the steps described in this flowchart are not to be interpreted as non-limiting, and minor modifications to the steps (e.g. additions, omissions, or swaps) are permissible by a skilled person without substantial deviation from as described. Furthermore, while the specific features of the system of the present invention may not be implicated, they arc to be deemed as substantially present for enabling the steps described in the flowchart of FIGS 5 - 6.

[0083] The steps of FIGS 5 - 6 may begin with step SI, which involves aggregating, by the provider aggregator module 221221, a plurality of providers 4 that relate to the products to be offered by the hospitality establishment to its customers.

[0084] Following step SI is step S2, which involves grouping by the grouping module 22122 the providers 4 into one or more sets of categories.

[0085] Following step S2 is step S3, which involves interfacing, by at least one customer C with the server cluster 2 via the device 1 for the customer C to select one or more products that are to be offered by the hospitality establishment.

[0086] Following step S3 is step S4, which is a decision step whereby it is determined, preferably by the provider management module 2212, whether or not the product selected by the customer C is to be provided to them at a scheduled time. Should this be the case, step S4 proceeds to step S5. Else, step S4 proceeds to step S6.

[0087] In step S5, since it was determined that the product selected by the customer is to be provided to the customer at a scheduled time, the provider management module 2212 may withhold ordering of the customer’s selected product until or prior to the scheduled time. More specifically, the provider management module 2212 may initiate its downstream processes at a predetermined period prior to the provision of the customer’ s selected product, which may be, by way of example, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or the like. With this step S5 may proceed to step S6.

[0088] Following step S4 or step S5 is step S6, which involves initiating, by the provider management module 2122, the prevision of the customer’s selected product to the customer C

[0089] Following step S6 is step S7, which involves filtering by the filtering module 22123, the sets of providers into one set of providers that relate to the customer’s selected product.

[0090] Following step S7 is step S8, which involves ranking, by the first ranking module 22124, the said set of providers based on a first set of data that relates to their ratings and reviews, while referencing provider data files 2324 in the third server 23.

[0091] Following step S8 is step S9, which involves filtering, by the filtering module 22123, the set of providers that has been ranked by the first ranking module 22124 for a subset of the set of providers to remain.

[0092] Following step S9 is step S10, which involves ranking, by the second ranking module 22125 the subset of providers, based on a second set of data that relates to their fees for providing their products, while referencing provider data files 2324 and / or finance record data files 2323 in the third server 23.

[0093] Following step S10 is step Sil, which involves filtering, by the filtering module 22123 of the subset of providers that has been ranked by the second ranking module 22125,for one provider, which has a price or fees that have a highest difference when compared with the price or fees of the product that was offered to the customer by the hospitality establishment that was set by the second finance module 2215, to remain.

[0094] Following step Sil is step S12, which involves electing, by an election module 22126 of the provider management model 2212, the provider as filtered in the previous step for them to provide the customer’s selected product to customer C.

[0095] Following step S12 is step S13, which involves communicating, by an ordering module 22127 of the provider management model 2212, with the elected provider for an order for the customer’s selected product to be placed for customer C. Preferably, the payment module 22128 may initiate payment for the ordered customer’s selected product to the elected provider in the second currency.

[0096] Following step S13 is step S14, which involves receiving, by the elected provider, the order for the customer’s selected product as placed by the ordering module 22127.

[0097] Following step S14 is step S15, which involves tracking, by the product provision module 2213 the arrival of the product at the hospitality establishment.

[0098] Following step S15 is step S16, which is a decision step whereby it is determined by the provider management module 2212 whether or not the product has arrived at the hospitality establishment. Should that be the case, step S16 proceeds to step S17. Else, step S17 proceeds to step S18.

[0099] In step S17, since it was determined that the product has not arrived the hospitality establishment, the provider management module 2212 shall continue tracking the status of the product. With this, step S17 may loop back to step S16 and continue therefrom.

[0100] In step S18, since it was determined that the product has arrived at the hospitality establishment, the provider management module 2212 shall liaise with the product provision module 2213 to notify staff of the hospitality establishment on the arrival of the product at the hospitality establishment.

[0101] Following step S18 is step S19, which is a decision step whereby it is determined by the product provision module 2213 whether or not repackaging of the product is required.Should this be the case, step S19 proceeds to step S20. Else, step S19 proceeds to step S22. In particular, the product provision module may be pre-configured to identify the category of product that requires repackaging, which may be, by way of example, dining products, service products, or the like.

[0102] In step S20, since it was determined that the product provided by the elected provider needs to be repackaged, the product provision module 2213 shall inform staff of the hospitality establishment to initiate repackaging of the product. In one example, in the case of a dining product, the product provision module 2213 may instruct the staff of the hospitality establishment to switch the original packaging of the dining product into one that may indicate affiliation with the hospitality establishment. In one example, in the case of a service product, the product may be an individual sent by the provider to provide his / her services to the customer C, hence the said individual may be reoutfitted into attire that may indicate affiliation with the hospitality establishment.

[0103] Following step S20 is step S21, which involves verifying that the repackaged product has been appropriately repackaged. This step may be performed by the product provision module 22123. In particular, the product provision module 22123 verifies the repackaged product from images of the repackaged product uploaded onto the second server 22. The images of the repackaged product may be uploaded onto the second server 22 by the staff of the hospitality establishment. Upon receiving images of the repackaged product, the product provision module 22123 may analyse the image to verify that the product has indeed been repackaged. The product provision module 22123 may analyse these images to determine the presence of at least one marking that may indicate the product has been repackaged. The marking may be, by way of example, a logo of the hospitality establishment, or the like.

[0104] Following step S19 or step S21 is step S22, which involves delivering or sending off the product to the customer C. This step may be physically performed by the staff of the hospitality establishment.

[0105] Following step S22 is step S23, which involves receiving, by the customer C, their selected product.

[0106] Following step S23 is step S24, which involves notifying the server cluster 2 that the customer’s selected product has been provided to the customer C or received by the customer C. This step may be performed by the customer C via the device 1.

[0107] Following step S24 is step S25, which involves consuming the customer’s selected product, by the customer C. It should be noted that the term “consume” in this context relates to consumption of goods and / or services.

[0108] Following step S25 is step S26, which involves notifying the server cluster 2 that the consumption of the product is completed. This step may be performed by the customer C via the device 1.

[0109] Following step S26 is step S27, which involves providing or responding to the server cluster 2 with feedback information on the product, by customer C, which may be in the form of form of qualitative or quantitative data.

[0110] Following step S27 is step 28, which involves receiving, by a feedback module 2214 of the second server, the feedback information provided by the customer C.

[0111] Finally, following step S28 is step S29, which involves providing, by the second server 21, the feedback information of the product provided by the elected provider to the third server 23 for the feedback information to be saved or updated therein as a provider data file 2324 relevant to the elected provider of the product.

[0112] Finally, following step S29 is step S30, which involves billing the customer C for their selected product. The billing of the customer C may be done in a first currency or the second currency.

[0113] Whilst not shown, it should be noted that the server cluster 2 intends to further enable the customer C located at the first location to make a reservation at the hospitality establishment from the first location. This process may be represented by a series of steps.

[0114] The first step of booking involves interfacing, by a customer C located at a first location, with a server cluster 2 via the device 1 for the customer C to make a reservation at the hospitality establishment, which operates the server cluster 2.

[0115] The second step of booking involves selecting, by the customer C, their desired products to be provided by the hospitality establishment based on product offerings of the hospitality establishment.

[0116] The thud step of booking involves initiating by the customer C via the fust device1, a financial transaction for payment to the hospitality establishment in a first currency to be made for making the booking.

[0117] The fourth step of booking involves facilitating, by the first finance module 2112 of the first server 21, which may be located at the first location, the financial transaction performed by the customer C.

[0118] The fifth step of booking involves facilitating, by the customer reservation module 2111 of the first server 21 of the server cluster 2, the reservation made by customer C by communicating with the second server 22 and / or the third server 23 within the server cluster2, which may be located at other locations.

[0119] The sixth step of booking involves providing, by the first server 21 a notification to the second server 22 on customer C, which may relate to their payment status, summarised reservation information, and selected services.

[0120] Finally, the seventh step of booking involves providing, by the first server 21, information relating to customer C to the third server 23 for the information to be saved therein as a customer information data file 2321 that pertains to the customer C.

[0121] With this, the details pertaining to a system and method for providing of hospitality products have been described. The present disclosure includes as contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for providing hospitality products, comprising at least one device of a customer of a hospitality establishment; and a server cluster that is provided by and / or provided to the hospitality establishment, with at least one server having at least one processor that operates at least a provider management module having a filtering module and one or more ranking modules, and a product provision module, wherein the server cluster receives one or more instructions from the device that includes at least one selection of at least one product offered by the hospitality establishment, with the selection being made by the customer, for the provider management module and the product provision module to facilitate provision of the product to the customer by election of one provider of the product from a plurality of providers; wherein the plurality of providers is successively filtered by the filtering module upon selection of the product by the customer, in which providers are ranked by the ranking modules based on historical feedback of each provider regarding the product; and a difference between a price or fee of the product set by each provider and a price or fee of the product offered to the customer by the hospitality establishment; for election of one provider therefrom to provide the product to the hospitality establishment; whereby a requirement for repackaging of the product is determined by the product provision module based on the product, and in the event that repackaging is required, the product is repackaged and further verified by the product provision module that analyses images of the repackaged product through determining a presence of at least one marking related to the hospitality establishment on the repackaged product.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the server cluster receives one or more responses from the device that pertain to feedback information of the selected product of the provider that was elected by the server cluster.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the server cluster includes at least one storage device that stores data files that include provider data files, which pertain to feedback information of providers historically elected by the server cluster to provide products to customers of the hospitality establishment.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the server cluster includes a feedback module that updates the provider data files based on the response from the device.

5. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the provider management module further comprises a provider aggregator module, for aggregating a plurality of providers.

6. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ranking modules include a first ranking module for ranking the providers based on feedback information of each provider obtained from the stored provider data files and / or external sources.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the ranking modules further includes a second ranking module for ranking the providers based on fees imposed by providers for their product, which corresponds to the selected product.

8. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the provider management module further includes a filter module, for filtering any one or a combination of providers aggregated by the provider aggregator module; providers ranked by the first ranking module; and providers ranked by the second ranking module.

9. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the provider management module further includes an election module for electing one provider to provide the selected product to the customer.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the provider management module further includes an ordering module for ordering the selected product from the provider that was elected.

11. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the product provision module validates repackaging of the selected product to ensure the selectedproduct is made to become affiliated with the hospitality establishment prior to providing the selected product to the customer.

12. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the server cluster further includes a fust finance module that facilitates financial transactions between the customer and the hospitality establishment in a first currency.

13. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the server cluster further includes a second finance module that facilitates financial transactions between the hospitality establishment and the providers in a second currency.

14. A method for providing hospitality services, comprising the steps of providing a server cluster, having at least one server having at least one processor that operates at least one finance module, and a provider management module having a filtering module and one or more ranking modules, and a product provision module, by the hospitality establishment; and interacting with the server cluster, by a device of a customer of the hospitality establishment, for server cluster to receive one or more instructions from the device that includes at least one selection of at least one product offered by the hospitality establishment, with the selection being made by the customer, for the provider management module and the product provision module to facilitate provision of the product to the customer by election of one provider of the product from a plurality of providers; wherein the plurality of providers is successively filtered by the filtering module upon selection of the product by the customer, in which providers are ranked by the ranking modules based on historical feedback of each provider regarding the product; and a difference between a price or fee of the product set by each provider and a price or fee of the product offered to the customer by the hospitality establishment; for election of one provider therefrom to provide the product to the hospitality establishment; whereby a requirement for repackaging of the product is determined by the product provision module based on the product, and in the event that repackaging is required, the product is repackaged and further verified by the product provision module that analysesimages of the repackaged product through determining a presence of at least one marking related to the hospitality establishment on the repackaged product.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising the step of receiving one or more responses from the device, by the server cluster, which pertain to feedback information of the selected product of the provider that was elected by the server cluster.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of storing data files that include provider data files, which pertain to feedback information of providers historically elected by the server cluster to provide products to the customers of the hospitality establishment.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of updating, by a feedback module of the server cluster, the provider data files based on the response from the device.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, further comprising any one or a combination of the steps that include aggregating a plurality of providers, by a provider aggregator module of the provider management module; ranking the providers based on feedback information of each provider obtained from the stored provider data files and / or external sources, by the first ranking module of the provider management module; and ranking the providers based on fees imposed by the provider for their product, which corresponds to the selected product, by the second ranking module of the provider management module.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step of filtering, by a filter module of the provider management module, any one or a combination of providers aggregated by the provider aggregator module; providers ranked by the first ranking module; and providers ranked by the second ranking module.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, further comprising the step of validating, by the product provision module of the server cluster, repackaging of the selected product to ensure the selected product is made to become affiliated with the hospitality establishment prior to providing the selected product to the customer.

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