Booking Matching Orchestration With Privacy-Preserving Lead Attribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in the online travel industry is the lack of personally identifiable information (PII) for travelers, making it difficult to accurately match booking events and provide relevant recommendations, while GDPR regulations restrict the use of PII data, hindering the identification of hotels that proposed experiences leading to bookings for commission payment.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for determining eligible lead information using non-PII data through a booking matching algorithm, which includes a data matching server that initiates a matching event, sets timeframes, and correlates booking and lead data based on criteria such as temporal thresholds, provider identification, and location data to identify which hotel proposed an experience resulting in a booking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If deterministic matching using PII data is used to accurately match booking events, then matching precision is improved, but privacy protection deteriorates and compliance with GDPR regulations worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes PII data from the matching process, retaining only non-PII identifiers (anonymous IDs, device identifiers, cookies) that can still enable accurate matching between lead events and booking events without violating privacy regulations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary anonymous identifier system that mediates between the need for accurate matching and privacy protection requirements. This intermediary allows matching to occur through indirect identification rather than direct PII comparison, maintaining precision while ensuring GDPR compliance
2Object-affected harmful factors
If non-PII data is used for matching to protect privacy and comply with GDPR, then privacy protection is improved, but matching precision deteriorates due to lack of personally identifiable information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the anonymous identifier system universal, enabling it to serve multiple functions: maintaining user privacy, enabling accurate matching across different devices and sessions, and supporting commission tracking. This multi-functional approach allows non-PII data to achieve precision previously thought to require PII
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the identification parameters from PII-based to non-PII-based identifiers, while compensating for potential precision loss through enhanced matching algorithms that consider multiple attributes (device identifiers, cookies, IP addresses, behavioral patterns) to achieve accurate matching without personal information
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple hotels propose the same experiences to customers, then service provider versatility is improved, but the ability to identify the referring hotel for commission payment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by embedding unique anonymous identifiers with hotel-specific information in the lead event data before the booking occurs. This preliminary tagging enables automatic attribution when the booking is made, even when multiple hotels propose the same experience, ensuring precise commission allocation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the matching system provides attribution information back to the appropriate hotel based on the matched lead event. This feedback loop ensures that commission payments are accurately directed to the hotel that originally referred the customer, maintaining precision in a multi-provider environment
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, systems, and computer program products for determining eligible lead information for accurate matching to booking events. A matching event from a service provider associated with one or more booking events is received. A lead lookup timeframe and a booking lookup timeframe based on the matching event is determined. Booking event data that includes one or more sets of booking event attributes for the booking events is obtained based on the matching event and the booking lookup timeframe. Lead data for the plurality of booking events is obtained based on the matching event and the lead lookup timeframe. Eligible lead information for each booking event of the one or more booking events that is correlated with a corresponding lead from the lead data is determined based on a booking matching algorithm using on one or more criterion. The eligible lead information is provided to the service provider.