Meeting site selection based on all-inclusive meeting cost
AssigneeGetThere Inc.
InventorsGlenn Bingham, Craig Martin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Meeting or conference facilities are evaluated based on an all-inclusive meeting cost. The all-inclusive meeting cost is used to rank the facilities based on the lowest all-inclusive meeting cost or on highest quality below a maximum cost. Meeting planners can then compare total meeting cost at facilities with different characteristics, and find the facilities that offer the most value. An application server is used to calculate all-inclusive meeting cost from a comprehensive database of cost factors. The list of generated meeting facilities and their costs can be generated quickly for a large number of potential meeting facilities.
Claims29
A computer implemented method of selecting a meeting facility for hosting a meeting, the method comprising:
- receiving a range of dates, a list of attendees of the meeting, and an originating location for each of the attendees;
- calculating an all-inclusive cost for hosting the meeting at each of a plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the specified range of dates and the specified list of attendees;
- ranking the plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the calculated all-inclusive costs;
- receiving a list of preferences and geographic locations corresponding to the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities;
- and
- removing facilities from the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities which do not contain the preferences and which do not correspond to the geographic locations specified in the received list of preferences and geographic locations.
A computer system comprising:
- a processor;
- a network connection;
- and
- a memory, the memory including instructions that when executed by the processor perform selection if a meeting facility for hosting a meeting by (1) receiving a range of dates, a list of attendees of the meeting, and an originating location for each of the attendees, (2) calculating an all-inclusive cost for hosting the meeting at each of a plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the specified range of dates and the specified list of attendees, (3) ranking the plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the calculated all-inclusive costs, (4) receiving a list of preferences and geographic locations corresponding to the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities, and (5) removing facilities from the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities which do not contain the preferences and which do not correspond to the geographic locations specified in the received list of preferences and geographic locations.
A method of evaluating a plurality of potential meeting facilities for an optimal meeting facility, the method comprising:
- defining minimum requirements for the optimal meeting facility;
- transmitting the minimum requirements to an application server;
- receiving a list of ranked meeting facilities, the list being ranked based on all-inclusive cost calculation corresponding to an estimated total cost of holding the meeting at each meeting facility;
- choosing preferences for meeting facilities from the list of ranked meeting facilities;
- choosing specific geographic locations corresponding to a geographic location of at least one of the meeting facilities in the list;
- transmitting the preferences and the specific geographic location to the application server;
- and
- receiving an updated list of meeting facilities from the application server based on the chosen preferences and geographic locations.
A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform selection of a meeting facility for hosting a meeting by:
- receiving a range of dates, a list of attendees of the meeting, and an originating location for each of the attendees;
- calculating an all-inclusive cost for hosting the meeting at each of a plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the specified range of dates and the specified list of attendees;
- ranking the plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the calculated all-inclusive costs;
- receiving a list of preferences and geographic locations corresponding to the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities;
- and
- removing facilities from the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities which do not contain the preferences and which do not correspond to the geographic locations specified in the received list of preferences and geographic locations.
A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a processor causes the processor to evaluate a plurality of potential meeting facilities for an optimal meeting facility by:
- defining minimum requirements for the optimal meeting facility;
- transmitting the minimum requirements to an application server;
- receiving a list of ranked meeting facilities, the list being ranked based on all-inclusive cost calculation corresponding to an estimated total cost of holding the meeting at each meeting facility;
- choosing preferences for meeting facilities from the list of ranked meeting facilities;
- choosing specific geographic locations corresponding to a geographic location of at least one of the meeting facilities in the list;
- transmitting the preferences and the specific geographic location to the application server;
- and
- receiving an updated list of meeting facilities from the application server based on the chosen preferences and geographic locations.
A computer system comprising:
- a processor;
- a network connection;
- and
- a memory, the memory including instructions that when executed by the processor evaluate a plurality of potential meeting facilities for an optimal meeting facility by:
- defining minimum requirements for the optimal meeting facility;
- transmitting the minimum requirements to an application server;
- receiving a list of ranked meeting facilities, the list being ranked based on all-inclusive cost calculation corresponding to an estimated total cost of holding the meeting at each meeting facility;
- choosing preferences for meeting facilities from the list of ranked meeting facilities;
- choosing specific geographic locations corresponding to a geographic location of at least one of the meeting facilities in the list;
- transmitting the preferences and the specific geographic location to the application server;
- and
- receiving an updated list of meeting facilities from the application server based on the chosen preferences and geographic locations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.