Appeal 2007-1315
Application 09/828,437
1 interfacing with a prior art Central Reservation System (CRS) booking
2 engine to enable real time flight class availability. “FIG. 2 illustrates a
3 vendor update system according to the preferred embodiment of the
4 present invention. Vendor access to a central server 105 is a key that
5 makes the system work smoothly. Vendors may directly adjust
6 inventory levels in a number of ways. For example, vendors may close
7 out certain dates that are not available for sale by clicking on a specific
8 date on a calendar displayed on a vendor interface 201, 202, 203, 204
9 close out a specified range of dates, adjust price levels for a specific date
10 or a range of dates, or offer a "block" of rooms at a certain price that
11 would be decremented as the number of rooms are sold.” (Among, ¶
12 [0040].)
13 13. Among describes an embodiment of providing information relative to
14 travel option availability in its description of how direct inventory
15 control of suboptions by vendors removes the prior art "middleman"
16 from the procedure. “All data input by vendors is stored in a master
17 database, 108 on the central server 105. The invention allows timely and
18 fresh data to be available for anyone wishing to purchase a travel
19 package. Accordingly, only products that are actually available are
20 displayed. For example, if a suboption such as a hotel property or
21 specific car type from a certain car company is sold out for a particular
22 day desired by a prospective buyer, the unavailable suboption will not be
23 offered for that component.” (Among, ¶ [0042].)
24 14. Among states that, “[i]n addition to sending confirmation messages to
25 the vendors 602, a confirmation message (e.g., email) is also sent to any
10
Page: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Next
Last modified: September 9, 2013