JP7500650B2 - Information processing system, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

There is a sales management system that operates a website that handles travel products and other products. The sales management system can provide coupons to give users benefits such as price discounts. For example, the funds for the coupon discounts are provided by hotels, travel agencies, government agencies, etc., and the sales management system may issue coupons depending on these providers.

In such cases, it may be difficult for users to purchase products such as travel products while appropriately selecting coupons. For example, when there are many types of applicable coupons, it is not easy to purchase travel products while taking into account the existence of coupons.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a technology that makes it easy to appropriately select coupons and purchase products such as travel products.

To solve the above problem, the information processing system of the present invention includes a coupon selection means for selecting multiple coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for an item to be sold from multiple coupons stored in advance in a storage unit, a payment amount acquisition means for acquiring a payment amount obtained by subtracting the sum of discount amounts for the item by the multiple selected coupons from the price of the item, and a presentation means for presenting the item and the payment amount.

The information processing method according to the present invention also includes the steps of selecting, from among a plurality of coupons previously stored in a storage unit, a plurality of coupons that satisfy the conditions for use of an item to be sold, obtaining a payment amount by subtracting the sum of the discount amounts for the item by the selected plurality of coupons from the price of the item, and presenting the item and the payment amount.

The program of the present invention also causes a computer to function as a coupon selection means for selecting, from a plurality of coupons prestored in a storage unit, a plurality of coupons that satisfy the conditions for use of an item to be sold, a payment amount acquisition means for acquiring a payment amount obtained by subtracting the sum of discount amounts for the item by the plurality of selected coupons from the price of the item, and a presentation means for presenting the item and the payment amount.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coupon selection means may select, for each of a plurality of items included in the search result, a plurality of coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for that item, the payment amount acquisition means may acquire the payment amount for each of the plurality of items, and the presentation means may present the payment amount for each of the plurality of items.

In one aspect of the present invention, the presentation means may sort the plurality of items based on the payment amount and present the plurality of items based on the result of the sorting.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coupon selection means may select multiple coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the item to be sold from multiple groups, each group including one or more different coupons.

In one aspect of the present invention, the coupon selection means may select coupons such that the number of coupons selected from each of the multiple groups is at most one.

Another information processing system according to the present invention includes a coupon selection means for selecting multiple coupons that satisfy the conditions for use of an item to be sold from multiple groups, each of which includes one or more different coupons, and a presentation means for presenting information on the selected coupons. The coupon selection means selects coupons such that the number of coupons selected from each of the multiple groups is at most one, and the number of coupons selected from the multiple groups is two or more and less than the number of groups, and the discount amount of the selected coupon is the largest among the groups to which the selected coupon belongs.

In one aspect of the present invention, the number of the plurality of groups is n (n is an integer equal to or greater than 3), and the coupon selection means selects a coupon that satisfies the use conditions and has the largest discount amount from each of a portion of the plurality of groups, and when the number of coupons selected from the portion of the groups is (s-1) (s is an integer equal to or greater than 2 and equal to or less than (n-1)), the coupon selection means may select a coupon that satisfies the use conditions and has the largest discount amount from a coupon set that includes coupons that belong to a plurality of groups different from the portion of the groups.

In one aspect of the present invention, the information processing system may further include a coupon acquisition means for allocating the selected coupons to the user when a command to acquire the selected coupons for the item being sold is input from the user, and a purchase processing means for executing a purchase process for the item based on the coupons allocated to the user when the user commands the purchase of the item being sold.

In one aspect of the present invention, the information processing system may further include a coupon acquisition means for allocating the selected coupons to the user when the user instructs to proceed with the purchase procedure for the item that is on sale, and a purchase processing means for executing the purchase process for the item based on the coupons allocated to the user.

In one aspect of the present invention, the presentation means presents a selected coupon for the item to be sold, and the coupon selection means may change the selected coupon based on an instruction from the user to change the presented coupon.

In one aspect of the present invention, the information processing system further includes a confirmation means for confirming whether the multiple assigned coupons can be used when the user instructs to purchase the item for sale, and when any of the multiple assigned coupons is not available, the coupon selection unit may newly select multiple coupons that are partially or entirely different from the multiple assigned coupons and that satisfy the usage conditions for the item for sale.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a travel sales system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the travel sales system. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an overview of the processing of the travel sales system. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a coupon table. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of a coupon selection unit. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selected coupon. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of a selected coupon. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a list of searched travel plans is displayed. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an error message. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a travel plan confirmation screen. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an information input screen. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a coupon change screen. FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing an example of a process after a reservation completion button is pressed. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen that is output when a coupon cannot be used.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Duplicate explanations will be omitted for components with the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, a travel sales system that sells travel products such as accommodations, transportation, and events will be described.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of a travel sales system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The travel sales system includes a travel sales server 1. The travel sales server 1 communicates with one or more customer terminals 2, and provides travel-related products to users who operate the customer terminals 2.

The travel sales server 1 includes a processor 11, a memory unit 12, a communication unit 13, and an input/output unit 14. The travel sales system may be realized by multiple server computers that execute the processing of the travel sales server 1.

The processor 11 operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 12. The processor 11 also controls the communication unit 13 and the input/output unit 14. The program may be provided via the Internet or the like, or may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flash memory or a DVD-ROM.

The storage unit 12 is composed of memory elements such as RAM and flash memory, and an external storage device such as a hard disk drive. The storage unit 12 stores the above programs. The storage unit 12 also stores information and calculation results input from the processor 11, the communication unit 13, and the input/output unit 14. The storage unit 12 also stores data such as itinerary templates, which will be described later.

The communication unit 13 realizes the function of communicating with other devices, and is composed of, for example, an integrated circuit for wireless LAN or wired LAN. Based on the control of the processor 11, the communication unit 13 inputs information received from other devices to the processor 11 or the memory unit 12, and transmits information to other devices.

The input/output unit 14 is composed of a video controller that controls the display output device, and a controller that acquires data from an input device. Examples of input devices include a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel. Based on the control of the processor 11, the input/output unit 14 outputs display data to the display output device, and acquires data that is input by the user operating the input device. The display output device is, for example, an externally connected display device.

The travel sales server 1 may reserve travel products by requesting a reservation via the communication unit 13 from an external reservation management system that manages reservations and inventory of travel products. The travel sales server 1 may also manage inventory of travel products without using an external reservation management system. Travel reservations and inventory management may also be performed by different reservation management systems or servers corresponding to the types of items, such as accommodations, airplanes, and trains.

Next, the functions provided by the travel sales system will be described. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functions realized by the travel sales system. The travel sales system includes a search unit 51, a plan output unit 52, a coupon management unit 53, and a reservation completion processing unit 59. The coupon management unit 53 functionally includes a coupon selection unit 54, a payment amount acquisition unit 55, a coupon acquisition unit 56, a coupon change unit 57, and a coupon confirmation unit 58. These functions are realized by the processor 11 included in the travel sales server 1 executing a program stored in the memory unit 12 and controlling the communication unit 13, etc.

In addition, some or all of these functions may be realized by a processor 11 included in the customer terminal 2 executing a program and controlling the communication unit 13, etc. In this case, the customer terminal 2 may be included in the travel sales system.

The search unit 51 acquires search conditions input by the user, and acquires one or more travel products that satisfy the search conditions from among the multiple travel products stored in the memory unit 12. Here, the search conditions are, for example, if the type of travel product is an accommodation facility, the accommodation area, check-in date, check-out date, number of rooms, number of people, and desired price range. If the type of travel product is a means of transportation such as an airplane, the search conditions include the departure point, destination, company used, and departure date. The search unit 51 may transmit the search conditions to an external reservation management system, and receive travel products that satisfy the search conditions from the reservation management system.

The plan output unit 52 presents information about the travel product (including the payment amount and information about the coupons to be applied) to the user by transmitting the information about the travel product to the customer terminal 2. The travel product about which the plan output unit 52 presents information to the user may be a travel product acquired by the search unit 51. The payment amount is acquired by the payment amount acquisition unit 55.

The coupon selection unit 54 selects, from the multiple coupons previously stored in the memory unit 12, multiple coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel product to be sold. More specifically, the multiple coupons previously stored in the memory unit 12 belong to one of multiple groups. Each of the multiple groups includes one or more coupons that are different from each other.

Here, for each of the multiple travel products included in the search results by the search unit 51, the coupon selection unit 54 selects multiple coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for that travel product. More specifically, the coupon selection unit 54 selects coupons for a certain travel product such that the number of coupons selected from each of the multiple groups is at most one, and the number of coupons selected from the multiple groups is two or more but less than the number of groups.

The payment amount acquisition unit 55 acquires the payment amount by subtracting the sum of the discount amounts for the travel product by the multiple coupons selected by the coupon selection unit 54 from the price of the travel product. The payment amount acquisition unit 55 also acquires the payment amount for each of the multiple travel products acquired by the search unit 51. The plan output unit 52 sorts the multiple travel products based on the payment amount and presents the multiple travel products based on the sorting results. When presenting the multiple travel products, the plan output unit 52 presents the payment amount for each of the multiple travel products.

When a user inputs an instruction to acquire multiple coupons selected by the coupon selection unit 54 for any travel product, the coupon acquisition unit 56 allocates the selected multiple coupons to the user. If the coupon acquisition unit 56 is unable to allocate coupons to the user due to circumstances such as exceeding the coupon issuance limit, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may output an error message. Furthermore, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may present or acquire multiple coupons newly selected by the coupon selection unit 54 from the coupons that satisfy the usage conditions.

The instruction to acquire a coupon does not have to be explicitly given. More specifically, when an instruction to proceed with the purchase of a travel product is input from the user, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may assign to the user a number of coupons selected by the coupon selection unit 54 for that travel product. Hereinafter, the case of reserving a travel product will be mainly described as an example of purchasing a product.

When a user inputs an instruction to purchase a travel product, the reservation completion processing unit 59 executes the purchase process for that travel product based on the coupon assigned to the user.

The coupon change unit 57 changes the coupon used in the purchase process based on an instruction from the user to change the coupon.

When a user instructs the purchase of a travel product, the coupon confirmation unit 58 checks whether the multiple coupons assigned to the user for that travel product can be used. If any of the multiple coupons assigned to the user cannot be used, the coupon selection unit 54 newly selects multiple coupons that are partially or completely different from the multiple assigned coupons and that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel product.

Figure 3 is a flow diagram showing an overview of the processing of a travel sales system. Figure 3 shows a typical flow for selling travel products. Figure 3 is merely a diagram showing an overview of the processing, and some processing that is performed depending on user input and processing status is omitted in Figure 3. The processing of the travel sales system will be explained below using Figure 3. Note that in the following, a travel product will be referred to as a travel plan, and the processing will be mainly explained when the travel plan is an accommodation facility.

First, the search unit 51 acquires the search conditions for the travel plan entered by the user from the customer terminal 2 (step S101). For example, if the type of travel plan is accommodation, the search conditions include the accommodation area, check-in date, check-out date, number of rooms, number of people, and desired price range.

Then, the search unit 51 retrieves a list of travel plans that satisfy the search criteria from the database (step S102). Information on multiple travel plans is stored in the database. If the travel plan includes accommodation facilities, the travel plan information includes the area in which the accommodation facilities included in the travel plan are located, the number of available rooms by date, the number of people that can stay in a room, and information on meals and services included in the travel plan. Furthermore, multiple travel plans for one accommodation facility may be stored in the database, and the number of available rooms may be managed in common for multiple travel plans. Note that the database is physically located in the memory unit 12 or an external reservation management system.

Next, the coupon selection unit 54 selects coupons to be applied to each of the travel plans included in the list (step S103). Strictly speaking, the coupon selection unit 54 selects multiple coupons to be proposed to the user as coupons to be applied. If the user does not accept the use of the coupons, or if the coupons cannot be used due to system reasons, the coupons selected by the coupon selection unit 54 here may not be used.

There are multiple groups of coupons. Each of the multiple groups includes one or more coupons that are different from each other. The groups are defined according to the type of organization that provides the funds for the coupon discount.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of a coupon table stored in the storage unit 12. The coupon table stores information on multiple coupons. The coupon information is stored in association with information indicating the usage conditions. The information indicating the usage conditions includes an available plan ID, a minimum usage amount, and whether it is a first-time only. The available plan ID indicates a travel plan for which the coupon can be used. More specifically, for a certain coupon information, the coupon can be used for plan IDs within the range indicated by the available plan ID. The minimum usage amount indicates that the coupon cannot be used for travel plans whose list price is lower than the minimum usage amount. The first-time only indicates that the coupon can be used only if the customer has not stayed at an accommodation facility that includes the travel plan. The usage conditions may include the presence or absence of stock (the number of available coupons is one or more, or the number of coupons issued (not shown) has not reached the issuance upper limit set for each coupon).

Coupon information includes information indicating the size and form of the discount, more specifically, the discount rate or discount amount. Coupon discounts include discounts based on discount amount and discount rate. Coupon information includes the upper limit of usage, which is the number of coupons that can be used from the beginning for that coupon in the entire travel sales system, and the available number, which is the number of remaining coupons that can be used, equivalent to the upper limit of usage minus the number of coupons that have already been used. Coupons cannot be provided infinitely, for example, because the source of funds is limited. Given this constraint, using multiple coupons within a group is not appropriate, as it would mean that the coupon benefits would be provided to only a very limited number of people. Furthermore, selecting coupons from all groups is not desirable, as it would reduce the number of people to whom the coupons are provided. Below, a coupon selection process that deals with such circumstances will be explained.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the processing of the coupon selection unit 54. The processing shown in Figure 5 is a processing in which the number of groups n is an integer equal to or greater than 3 (here, 4) and the maximum number of coupons s is an integer equal to or greater than 2 (n-1) and less (here, 3), and is executed for each travel plan. The maximum number of coupons s is the maximum number of coupons that a user can use at one time. Here, in the processing shown in Figure 5, the coupon selection unit 54 may execute the processing by referring to a coupon table copied for reference at predetermined time intervals (for example, every hour), rather than the coupon table itself.

First, the coupon selection unit 54 selects the first group (group A) (step S201). Here, it is assumed that the group containing the coupon that is to be preferentially used is at a higher position.

When a group is selected, the coupon selection unit 54 searches the coupon table for coupons that belong to the selected group and satisfy the usage conditions (step S202). If there are coupons that satisfy the usage conditions (Y in step S203), the coupon selection unit 54 obtains the discount amount for each coupon obtained by the search (step S204), and selects the coupon with the largest discount amount as the coupon for the selected group (step S205). On the other hand, if there are no coupons that satisfy the usage conditions (N in step S203), steps S204 and S205 are skipped.

If there is an unselected group (N in step S206) and the number of selected coupons is not (the maximum number of coupons s-1) (N in step S207), the coupon selection unit 54 selects the next group (step S208) and repeats the process from step S202. On the other hand, if all groups have already been selected (Y in step S206), the process ends. If there is an unselected group (N in step S206) and the number of selected coupons is (the maximum number of coupons s-1) (Y in step S207), the coupon selection unit 54 selects one coupon with the largest discount amount from the remaining groups. More specifically, the coupon selection unit 54 searches for a coupon that belongs to any of the remaining groups and satisfies the usage conditions (step S209). The coupon selection unit 54 then calculates the discount amount for each of the searched coupons and selects one coupon with the largest discount amount (step S210).

Figure 6 is a diagram explaining an example of a selected coupon. In Figure 6, coupons that can be used for a travel plan with a plan ID of P001 and a price of 50,000 yen are listed, and the discount amount of the selected coupon is enclosed. In the example of Figure 6, the number of groups n is 4, and the maximum number of coupons s is 3. In the example of Figure 6, coupons that include the plan ID of the travel plan in the available plan ID, have a price greater than the minimum usage amount, and meet conditions such as first-time only are extracted and listed from the multiple coupons stored in the coupon table.

Figure 6 also shows the discount amount calculated for each coupon by the coupon selection unit 54. For coupons for which a discount amount is set, that discount amount is used to select the coupon. For coupons for which a discount rate is set, the discount amount is calculated by multiplying the price by the discount rate. The price used to calculate the discount amount is the original price for groups A, C, and D, and for group B, it is the list price minus the discount amount of the coupon for group A.

In the example of Figure 6, three coupons in group A meet the usage conditions, and the coupon with the largest discount amount of 5,000 yen is selected. Furthermore, the 35% discount coupon is selected from group B, which is the only coupon that meets the usage conditions. Here, since two coupons (maximum number of coupons s-1) have been selected from groups A and B, another coupon is selected from the coupon set that includes the remaining coupons in groups C and D. More specifically, the coupon with the largest discount amount of 5,000 yen is selected from the available coupons in groups C and D.

Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of a selected coupon. In Figure 7, coupons that can be used for a travel plan with a plan ID of P005 and a price of 10,000 yen are listed in the same format as in Figure 6. The number of groups n and the maximum number of coupons s are the same as in the example in Figure 6.

In the example of Figure 7, there are no coupons in group A that satisfy the conditions for use. A 35% off coupon is selected from group B. Here, since the number of coupons selected from groups A and B is 1, one coupon each is selected from groups C and D (an 8% off coupon and a 500 yen off coupon).

The method of selecting coupons is not limited to the above. When coupons that satisfy the usage conditions are obtained from a number of groups exceeding the maximum number of coupons, the coupon selection unit 54 may determine the coupon with the largest discount amount from each group, and select the maximum number of coupons from the determined coupons. The coupon selection unit 54 may also determine coupons from each group based on the discount amount for coupons other than the specific group, select (the maximum number of coupons s-1) from the determined coupons, and select another coupon from the specific group.

When multiple coupons are selected for each travel plan, the payment amount acquisition unit 55 calculates the payment amount when the coupons are applied to each travel plan included in the list (step S104). The payment amount acquisition unit 55 acquires the payment amount by subtracting the sum of the discount amounts of the selected coupons from the list price of the travel plan. Of course, the payment amount acquisition unit 55 may acquire the payment amount by an equivalent calculation, such as repeatedly subtracting the discount amounts of the selected coupons in order from the list price of the travel plan.

Once the payment amount has been calculated, the plan output unit 52 sorts the multiple travel plans that meet the search criteria and are included in the list based on the calculated payment amount, and displays a list of travel plans based on the sorting results (step S105).

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which a list of searched travel plans is displayed. In Figure 8, a list of multiple travel plans that meet the pre-entered search criteria is shown, output by the customer terminal 2 after acquiring the list of travel plans from the plan output unit 52. The information on each of the displayed travel plans includes a list price Pr indicating the list price of the travel plan before discounting, and a discounted price Pd indicating the payment amount after discounting. If the sorting condition Sc set by the user or determined in advance is to sort by highest or lowest payment amount, the plan output unit 52 displays a list of travel plans sorted based on the calculated discounted payment amount. For each travel plan, a reservation button Bb is displayed, which the user presses when he or she wishes to make a reservation for that travel plan.

As shown in FIG. 8, by selecting multiple coupons to be applied in advance and displaying the discounted payment amount when the selected multiple coupons are applied together with the travel plan information, the user can easily search for travel products taking into account the actual payment amount. In addition, by sorting and displaying travel products based on the discounted payment amount instead of the list price, it becomes easy to search for travel products taking into account the actual payment amount even when, for example, there are many travel plans that meet the search criteria.

In FIG. 8, a coupon acquisition button Bg is displayed next to the contents of multiple coupons proposed for use. When the user presses the coupon acquisition button Bg, the coupon acquisition unit 56 assigns a coupon to the user (step S106). More specifically, when information indicating that the coupon acquisition button Bg has been pressed is acquired from the customer terminal 2, the coupon acquisition unit 56 associates information identifying the multiple coupons displayed in the area corresponding to the coupon acquisition button Bg with the user and stores it in the storage unit 12. The user is a user who operates the customer terminal 2 to log in to the travel sales system and perform searches, etc., but if the user is not logged in, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may display a login screen to authenticate the user in order to identify the user to whom the coupon should be assigned.

When the coupon acquisition button Bg is pressed, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may perform an inventory check of the multiple target coupons. More specifically, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may check whether the available number of the multiple target coupons to be acquired is 0. If any coupon is out of stock (the available number of the coupon is 0), the coupon acquisition unit 56 outputs an error message to the customer terminal 2. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an error message displayed by the customer terminal 2. The coupon table used for the inventory check here may be a reference copy table that is copied once per specified period. The inventory check may be performed by checking whether the number of issued coupons has reached the upper limit instead of checking the available number.

In addition, when the coupon acquisition button Bg is pressed, the coupon selection unit 54 may again select multiple optimal coupons. If the reselected coupon is different from the previous one, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may present a new coupon combination to the user and acquire the new coupon if the user accepts, or may acquire a new coupon without presenting it. By reselecting, it is possible to acquire the optimal coupon according to changes in inventory, etc.

In addition, when the user presses the reservation button Bb for the travel plan that he or she wishes to reserve, and the customer terminal 2 transmits information indicating that the reservation button Bb has been pressed, the plan output unit 52 obtains information indicating the travel plan specified by the user (step S107).

Here, the coupon acquisition button Bg may not be present on the screen shown in FIG. 8. In this case, when the user presses the reservation button Bb and the customer terminal 2 instructs the user to proceed with the purchase procedure for the travel plan, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may assign the coupon proposed for the travel plan to the user. The instruction to proceed with the purchase procedure for the travel product may be acquired by receiving information from the customer terminal 2 indicating that the reservation button Bb has been pressed on the screen displaying the search results as shown in FIG. 8. Specifically, when the user is logged in, when the reservation button Bb is pressed, the assignment is performed by the same process as when the coupon acquisition button Bg is pressed. When the user is not logged in, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may not output the login screen, but may assign the proposed coupon to the user immediately after the user enters information such as a password on a subsequent screen (see FIG. 10) and logs in.

When information indicating the specified travel plan is acquired, the plan output unit 52 outputs information indicating details of the travel plan about which information was acquired to the customer terminal 2 (step S108).

Figure 10 shows an example of a travel plan confirmation screen. The travel plan confirmation screen is an example of a screen displayed by the customer terminal 2 that has received information showing the details of the travel plan. The information showing the details of the travel plan includes the name of the travel product, the dates to be booked, the list price, the discounted payment amount, information showing the basis for calculating the fee, and other information (not shown) explaining the contents of the travel product. The price and the discounted amount are also displayed on the travel plan confirmation screen, allowing the user to easily proceed with booking the travel product even when multiple coupons have been applied and it is difficult to predict the payment amount.

The plan confirmation screen includes an area (not shown) for inputting the user's login information (user ID and password) and a login button Ba. To prevent user errors, this area is displayed even if the user is already logged in. Pressing the login button Ba by the user is an instruction to authenticate the user and also an instruction to proceed with the reservation. If the user is logged in, the plan output unit 52 may simply display a button instructing the user to proceed with the reservation.

The plan output unit 52 displays the information input screen after the button to proceed with the reservation is pressed (step S109).

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of an information input screen. In step S109, the plan output unit 52 outputs information for the information input screen, and the customer terminal 2 that receives the information displays the information input screen. The information input screen is a screen that allows the user to input information necessary to actually use the travel plan (e.g., the name and sex of the guest, and whether they are an adult or a child), and also displays any coupons that are planned to be used (coupons to be used).

The coupons that the plan output unit 52 displays as coupons to be used may be coupons proposed and acquired by the coupon acquisition unit 56 for this travel plan, or the coupon selection unit 54 may execute the process shown in FIG. 5 for coupons that the user has already acquired instead of coupons stored in the coupon table, and the plan output unit 52 may display the selected coupons on the information input screen as coupons to be used.

On the information input screen, the user can change the coupon they plan to use by pressing the change button Bc located next to the coupon.

When the change button Bc is pressed, the coupon change unit 57 outputs information on the coupon change screen and displays the coupon change screen on the customer terminal 2. Then, based on the coupon change instruction input by the user, the coupon change unit 57 changes the coupon to be used by the user in the subsequent reservation completion process (coupon to be used).

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of a coupon change screen. On the coupon change screen, the user can select one of the coupons in the same group as the coupon for which the change button was pressed as a coupon to be used for reserving a travel product. The user can also select not to use a coupon. When the user presses the apply button, the customer terminal 2 transmits information that another coupon has been selected or that a coupon will not be used to the coupon change unit 57. When the coupon change unit 57 receives information that another coupon has been selected or that a coupon will not be used from the user, it changes the coupon to be used. The coupons displayed on the coupon change screen are coupons that the user has already acquired. The coupon change unit 57 may display, on the coupon change screen, coupons that the user has not acquired and that satisfy the usage conditions as candidates for the coupon to be changed. When a change to a coupon that the user has not acquired is instructed, the coupon acquisition unit 56 may acquire the changed coupon at the timing when the apply button is pressed.

When the user presses the reservation completion button Bs in FIG. 11, the information input from the customer terminal 2 and an instruction to complete the reservation are transmitted. When the instruction to complete the reservation is transmitted, the coupon confirmation unit 58 checks the stock of the coupon to be used and confirms whether it can actually be used (step S110). When the reservation completion button Bs is pressed, the coupon confirmation unit 58 may check the stock of the coupon to be used. Here, when the reservation completion button Bs is pressed, the coupon selection unit 54 may again select multiple optimal coupons. Furthermore, the reservation completion processing unit 59 executes reservation processing of the travel plan based on the input reservation information (step S111).

Figure 13 is a flow diagram showing an example of processing after the reservation completion button Bs is pressed. When the reservation completion button Bs is pressed and information indicating this is received from the customer terminal 2, the coupon confirmation unit 58 checks the inventory. More specifically, the coupon confirmation unit 58 refers to the coupon table and searches for coupons to be used that have a usable number of 0 (corresponding to those that are out of stock) (step S401). If there is no coupon with a usable number of 0 (all coupons are in stock) (N in step S402), the reservation completion processing unit 59 reduces the usable number in the coupon table by 1 for each of the multiple coupons to be used (step S403). Then, based on the input reservation information, the reservation completion processing unit 59 executes reservation processing (purchase processing) for the travel product (step S404). The reservation processing includes a process of sending the input information such as the guest to the accommodation facility, and a process of enabling the user to confirm that the reservation has been completed and information used to confirm the reservation at the accommodation facility. The reservation processing may include a payment processing.

On the other hand, if there is a coupon whose usable number is 0 (if there is a coupon that is out of stock) (Y in step S402), in steps S406 and onward, the coupon change unit 57 executes a process to change the coupon to be used from the coupon to be used. First, for each coupon whose usable number is 0, the coupon change unit 57 selects an optimal coupon that satisfies the use conditions and is from the same group as the coupon. Then, the coupon selection unit 57 acquires a plurality of coupons consisting of the selected coupon and coupons that are in stock, and presents them to the user as alternatives based on the acquired plurality of coupons (step S406). Here, if there is a coupon that is out of stock, all coupons may be reselected. More specifically, for coupons that satisfy the use conditions and have a usable number that is not 0, the coupon selection unit 54 may execute the process shown in FIG. 5, and the coupon change unit 57 may acquire the selected plurality of coupons. If there is a coupon that is out of stock, the coupon change unit 57 may reselect a coupon from among the coupons that the user has already acquired.

The coupon change unit 57 may also delete coupons with a usable count of 0 from the coupons to be used, and present an alternative based on the combination of coupons after the deletion. Here, the coupon change unit 57 may simply transmit to the customer terminal 2 a message indicating that an alternative exists and display it, or may even calculate the payment amount and transmit the payment amount to the customer terminal 2 and display it.

Figure 14 shows an example of a screen that is output when a coupon cannot be used, and is the screen that the customer terminal 2 outputs based on step S406. The upper area displays a notice that a coupon with a usable count of 0 has been deleted from the coupons to be used, the payment amount when the discount is applied using the deleted coupon, and an approval button Bn1. The lower area displays a newly selected combination of coupons from coupons with a usable count of 0, the payment amount, and an approval button Bn2. Also displayed at the bottom is a button Bz that instructs the user to reselect from the travel plan.

When the approval button Bn1 or Bn2 is pressed, the customer terminal 2 transmits an instruction to make a reservation with the alternative corresponding to that button. If that instruction is input to the travel sales server 1 (Y in step S407), the coupon change unit 57 changes the coupon to be used to the one presented in response to the approval button Bn1 or Bn2, and the reservation completion processing unit 59 executes the processing from step S403 onwards. On the other hand, if the button Bz is pressed and information to that effect is input to the travel sales server 1 (N in step S407), a process is executed to output a screen for searching for travel plans, for example a screen for entering search conditions or a screen displaying a list of travel plans (step S408).

By checking whether a coupon is available just before completing a reservation, you can have more precise control over the maximum number of coupons that can be used, for example if you are using a replicated coupon table.

1 Travel sales server, 2 Customer terminal, 11 Processor, 12 Memory unit, 13 Communication unit, 14 Input/output unit, 51 Search unit, 52 Plan output unit, 53 Coupon management unit, 54 Coupon selection unit, 55 Payment amount acquisition unit, 56 Coupon acquisition unit, 57 Coupon change unit, 58 Coupon confirmation unit, 59 Reservation completion processing unit, Pr Regular price display, Pd Discounted display, Sc Sorting conditions, Ba Login button, Bb Reservation button, Bc Change button, Bg Coupon acquisition button, Bn1, Bn2 Approval buttons, Bs Reservation completion button, Bz button.

Claims (11)

a coupon selection means for selecting a plurality of coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel product to be reserved from a plurality of coupons that are stored in advance in a storage unit and each of which has a set discount rate or discount amount;
a payment amount acquisition means for acquiring a payment amount obtained by subtracting the discount amount for the travel product by the selected plurality of coupons from the price of the travel product;
a presentation means for presenting the travel product, the reservation date, and the payment amount;
Including,
the coupon selection means selects, for each of a plurality of travel products included in the search result, a plurality of coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel products from a plurality of groups each including one or a plurality of coupons different from each other, such that the number of coupons selected from each of the plurality of groups is at most one;
The payment amount acquisition means acquires the payment amount for each of the plurality of travel products,
the presentation means presents a list of the plurality of travel products, the list including the payment amount for each of the plurality of travel products;
Information processing system. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1 ,
the presentation means sorts the plurality of travel products based on the payment amount, and presents the plurality of travel products based on a result of the sorting.
Information processing system. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1,
the coupon selection means selects, as a coupon for one of the groups, a coupon with the largest discount amount from among coupons that belong to one of the plurality of groups and that satisfy a usage condition for the travel product to be booked;
Information processing system. 4. The information processing system according to claim 1,
The plurality of groups includes a group to which coupons whose discount funds are provided by government agencies belong.
Information processing system. 5. The information processing system according to claim 1,
a coupon acquisition means for allocating the coupon to the user when a command to acquire a coupon for the travel product to be booked is input by the user;
The presentation means presents to the user the coupon selected for the travel product to be booked,
The presentation means outputs information indicating coupons already acquired by the user when a button for changing the presented coupon is pressed;
and a change means for changing a coupon to be used by the user based on information indicating that the user has selected one of the coupons already acquired.
Information processing system. 5. An information processing system according to claim 1,
a coupon acquisition means for allocating the selected coupons to the user when a command to acquire the selected coupons for the travel product to be reserved is input by the user;
a purchase processing means for, when the user instructs the purchase of the travel product to be reserved, executing a purchase process for the travel product based on a coupon allocated to the user;
The information processing system further comprises: 5. An information processing system according to claim 1,
a coupon acquisition means for allocating the selected coupons to the user when the user instructs to proceed with a purchase procedure for the travel product to be reserved;
a purchase processing means for executing a purchase process for the travel product based on the coupon allocated to the user;
The information processing system further comprises: 8. The information processing system according to claim 6 ,
The presentation means presents a coupon selected for the travel product to be booked,
a change means for changing a coupon to be used in the purchase process based on an instruction from the user to change the presented coupon,
Information processing system. 8. The information processing system according to claim 6 ,
a confirmation means for confirming whether the allocated coupons can be used when the user instructs to purchase the travel product to be booked;
a change means for selecting, when any of the allocated coupons is unavailable, a plurality of new coupons which are partially or entirely different from the allocated coupons and which satisfy the usage conditions for the travel product to be reserved;
The information processing system further comprises: a step of a coupon selection means selecting a plurality of coupons that satisfy a usage condition for the travel product to be reserved from a plurality of coupons previously stored in a storage unit, each of which has a set discount rate or discount amount;
a payment amount acquisition means for acquiring a payment amount obtained by subtracting discount amounts for the travel product by the selected coupons from a price of the travel product;
a step of a presentation means presenting the travel product, the reservation target date, and the payment amount to a user;
the coupon selection means selects, for each of a plurality of travel products included in the search result, a plurality of coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel products from a plurality of groups each including one or a plurality of coupons different from each other, such that the number of coupons selected from each of the plurality of groups is at most one;
The payment amount acquisition means acquires the payment amount for each of the plurality of travel products,
the presentation means presents a list of the plurality of travel products, the list including the payment amount for each of the plurality of travel products;
Information processing methods. a coupon selection means for selecting a plurality of coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel product to be booked from a plurality of coupons previously stored in a storage unit, each of which has a set discount rate or discount amount;
a payment amount acquiring means for acquiring a payment amount obtained by subtracting the sum of the discount amounts for the travel product by the selected plurality of coupons from the price of the travel product;
a presentation means for presenting the travel product, the reservation date, and the payment amount to a user; and
A change means for changing the selected plurality of coupons;
The computer functions as
the coupon selection means selects, for each of a plurality of travel products included in the search result, a plurality of coupons that satisfy the usage conditions for the travel products from a plurality of groups each including one or a plurality of coupons different from each other, such that the number of coupons selected from each of the plurality of groups is at most one;
The payment amount acquisition means acquires the payment amount for each of the plurality of travel products,
the presentation means presents a list of the plurality of travel products, the list including the payment amount for each of the plurality of travel products;
program.

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