Multiattribute Travel Booking Platform for Reducing Cognitive Burden
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing online travel agency (OTA) technology platforms complicate travel reservation processes due to information abundance, complex itinerary options, and conflicting consumer objectives, leading to sub-optimal decision-making and increased cognitive burden.
Innovation Solution
A multiattribute travel booking platform that analyzes user queries, ranks attributes based on preferences, assigns weights, and scores feasible itineraries to present the most suitable options, incorporating natural language processing, complex scheduling, and end-to-end integration for efficient travel planning and booking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If consumers evaluate numerous itinerary options using existing OTA platforms, then they can access comprehensive travel information, but the cognitive burden and decision-making complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an automated evaluation system that acts as an intermediary between travelers and the complex OTA platform. This system automatically evaluates itineraries based on multiple attributes (cost, time, convenience) and provides ranked recommendations, thereby mediating the information overload and simplifying consumer decision-making without filtering out comprehensive travel information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by allowing consumers to define their own preference weights for different itinerary attributes. The automated evaluation then performs the complex comparison and ranking work based on user-defined criteria, eliminating the need for consumers to manually evaluate numerous options while preserving information completeness.
2Adaptability or versatility
If consumers consider multiple conflicting objectives (e.g., price vs. luxury), then they can make balanced decisions, but the evaluation process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-defining multiple evaluation attributes and their corresponding weightings before the actual itinerary comparison. Consumers can set their preference weights in advance, and the system automatically applies these criteria to evaluate and rank all itinerary options, saving significant evaluation time while maintaining flexible adaptation to different consumer priorities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by allowing dynamic adjustment of attribute weights (e.g., prioritizing cost over luxury, or vice versa). The system processes different weight configurations efficiently, enabling consumers to explore various decision scenarios without manually re-evaluating each itinerary, thereby reducing time loss while maintaining versatile adaptability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing OTA platforms provide extensive itinerary options, then consumer choice variety increases, but the ability to identify optimal options decreases due to information overload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by breaking down the complex itinerary evaluation into distinct attributes (cost, time, convenience, luxury). Each attribute is evaluated separately with assigned weights, and the results are aggregated to produce an overall ranking. This segmented approach maintains comprehensive option variety while improving assessment accuracy through structured multi-criteria analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated evaluation system serves as an intermediary that processes the extensive itinerary options through a standardized multi-attribute framework. It transforms the unmanageable variety of options into a ranked list based on objectively evaluated attributes and user-defined weights, thereby preserving option diversity while enhancing the precision of quality assessment.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for facilitating travel reservations is presented. The method may commence with receiving a travel related query. Upon receiving the travel related query, an attribute set relevant to the travel related query may be ascertained. The method may continue with parsing the travel related query to derive attribute values related to the attribute set. Upon parsing, at least one attribute of the attribute set may be initiated with the derived attribute values. The method may include ranking the at least one attribute based on user preferences and assigning weights to the at least one attribute based on the ranking to create at least one weighted attribute. The method may continue with searching for feasible travel itineraries. The feasible travel itineraries may be scored based on the at least one weighted attribute. At least one travel itinerary selected based on the scoring may be presented to a user.