System and method for data aggregation

A centralized apartment reservation system configured to facilitate the reservation of an apartment for a user, the system comprising:

• a centralized database;
• and
• a centralized apartment reservation server (CARS), configured to:
• receive unit level property management data;
• update said centralized database based on changes in said property management data, wherein at least a portion of said property management data is stored in said centralized database in a universal data format;
• receive a request to check the availability of at least one apartment;
• present unit level apartment data related to said at least one apartment, including unit availability information;
• and
• reserve a specific unit.

A method for facilitating the reservation of a rental property, wherein said rental property is managed by a property management system, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving property management data from the property management system at a centralized property reservation server;
• translating said data from a property management data format to a uniform property data format;
• updating a centralized property reservation database with said data in said uniform property data format;
• receiving a request to check availability of property as recorded within said centralized property reservation database;
• retrieving unit level property data from said centralized property reservation database;
• presenting said unit level property data for available property units;
• and
• reserving a specific unit within said centralized property reservation database.

A method for facilitating online interrogation, for a user, of the availability of a specific apartment comprising the steps of:

• receiving a user selection of at least one apartment model on a first web site;
• receiving the user selection of a “check availability” button associated with said first web site;
• redirecting the user to a second web site, wherein said second web site is associated with a centralized apartment reservation server (CARS) and a CARS database, wherein said CARS database is populated and updated to reflect at least a portion of the data that is stored in at least two property management databases;
• presenting unit level apartment data to the user;
• and
• reserving a specific unit upon request by the user.

A method of aggregating, within a centralized database, property data from a plurality of property management computers each associated with at least one property management database, wherein the centralized database is associated with a centralized server, the method comprising the steps of:

• installing a software program on the property management computer, wherein said software program is configured to perform the steps of:
• obtaining unit level data from a property management database associated with said property management computer;
• and
• transmitting said unit level data to the centralized server for storage within the centralized database.

A method for facilitating an on-line reservation of an apartment comprising the steps of:

• aggregating unit level information, from more than one apartment and more than one property management system, within a centralized apartment reservation database;
• presenting said unit level information, wherein said unit level information comprises at least the availability of a selected apartment unit;
• and
• reserving said selected apartment unit in said centralized apartment reservation database, wherein said centralized apartment reservation database substantially reflects the availability status of individual apartment units in more than one property management databases.

An apartment reservation system for facilitating a user, who is on a user computer and browsing an internet listing service (ILS) website, to reserve a unit in an apartment complex having a property management computer for storing apartment data, the system comprising:

• a centralized apartment reservation database;
• a centralized apartment reservation server configured to receive the apartment data from the property management computer and to update said centralized apartment reservation database to reflect changes in the apartment data received from the property management computer;
• said centralized apartment reservation server further configured to present a centralized apartment reservation web page to the user via the user computer to facilitate checking the availability of at least one specific apartment unit;
• said centralized apartment reservation server further configured to allow the user to browse unit level data;
• and
• said centralized apartment reservation server further configured to receive a request to reserve a specific unit, to remove said specific unit from availability in said centralized apartment reservation database, and to send an alert to a property management system for said apartment complex.

A method for aggregating unit level property management data for apartments from among at least two property management systems, the method comprising the steps of:

• retrieving unit level apartment data from a property management database associated with a property management computer;
• transmitting said unit level apartment data to a centralized apartment reservation server;
• and
• updating a centralized apartment reservation database, associated with said centralized apartment reservation server, with said unit level apartment data, wherein said unit level apartment data comprises unit level data on specific property units, wherein said unit level property management data in said centralized apartment reservation database is transmitted from among at least two property management systems with each having a property management computer.

A method of facilitating online reservation of an apartment comprising the steps of:

• aggregating unit and model level information, for more than one apartment complex and more than one property management system, within a centralized apartment reservation database, wherein said centralized apartment reservation database substantially reflects the availability status of individual apartment units in more than one property management databases;
• presenting said model level information for at least one apartment complex, wherein said model level information comprises at least the availability of models within said at least one apartment complex;
• receiving a user selection of at least one model type;
• presenting said unit level information, wherein said unit level information comprises at least the availability of an apartment unit of said at least one model type;
• and
• reserving a selected apartment unit in said centralized apartment reservation database.