JP7534615B2 - Information processing system, information processing method, and information processing program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program capable of providing facility information.

In order to boost sales, restaurants and other facilities implement various measures to increase the number of users who make reservations at the facility. Previously, systems capable of increasing the number of users have been proposed. For example, a system has been proposed in which information about multiple restaurants and an overview of each restaurant's menu is displayed on a user terminal, and when a user selects a specific restaurant, detailed information such as transportation information to the restaurant, advertising information for the restaurant, and discount information is provided to the user terminal according to the user's current location (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-306714 A

However, conventional technology aims to increase sales by increasing the number of customers, and does not take into account the efficiency of kitchen operations. For this reason, for example, if the number of customers at a restaurant increases, the number of food and drink orders may increase, which may lead to a decrease in kitchen operation efficiency. In this case, the restaurant will not be able to increase sales even if the number of customers increases. As such, with conventional technology, it is difficult to prevent a decrease in kitchen operation efficiency while increasing the number of customers.

The object of the present invention is to provide an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can prevent a decline in work efficiency in a facility's kitchen and increase the number of users.

The information processing system according to the present invention includes an acquisition processing unit that acquires reservation information for a facility for which a first dish menu is specified and reserved among a plurality of dish menus, and an output processing unit that outputs update information for the first dish menu for a target date or target time period of use based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition processing unit.

The information processing method according to the present invention is a method executed by one or more processors, which includes an acquisition step of acquiring reservation information for a facility for which a reservation has been made by specifying a first dish menu among a plurality of dish menus, and an output step of outputting updated information for the first dish menu for a target date or time period of use based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition step.

The information processing program of the present invention is a program for causing one or more processors to execute an acquisition step of acquiring reservation information for a facility for which a reservation has been made by specifying a first dish menu among a plurality of dish menus, and an output step of outputting updated information for the first dish menu for a target date or target time period of use based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition step.

The present invention provides an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can prevent a decline in work efficiency in a facility's kitchen and increase the number of users.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of facility information used in the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information used in the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of cooking reservation information used in the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search condition setting page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of information processing executed in the information processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of reservation information used in an information processing system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of dish reservation information used in an information processing system according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a search result page displayed on a user terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings to facilitate understanding of the present invention. Note that the following embodiment is an example of the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[Information Processing System 1]
1, an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an information processing device 2, a user terminal 3, and a facility terminal 4. The information processing device 2, the user terminal 3, and the facility terminal 4 are capable of communicating with each other via a communication network N1 such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or a public telephone line.

The information processing device 2 can receive search conditions for searching for facilities from the user terminal 3, and executes a search process based on the search conditions to present the search results on the user terminal 3. The information processing device 2 also executes reservation processing for a facility selected by the user from among the facilities included in the search results. In the following, in this embodiment, an example will be described in which the facility to be searched for in the information processing system 1 is a restaurant that serves food and beverages. The facility may be any type of facility, such as an accommodation facility, where reservations can be made by specifying a food menu.

The user terminal 3 is an information processing device operated by a user who requests a facility search and reservation. The facility terminal 4 is an information processing device that is placed at a facility and manages reservations for the facility. The information processing system 1 includes one or more user terminals 3 and multiple facility terminals 4 placed at each facility.

In this embodiment, the information processing device 2 alone corresponds to the information processing system of the present invention, but the information processing system of the present invention may include one or more of the components of the information processing device 2, the user terminal 3, and the facility terminal 4. For example, when the components of the information processing device 2, the user terminal 3, and the facility terminal 4 work together to share and perform the information processing (see FIG. 8) described below, a system including multiple components that perform that processing can be considered as the information processing system of the present invention. For example, the information processing device 2 and the facility terminal 4 may constitute the information processing system of the present invention.

[Information processing device 2]
1, the information processing device 2 is a server including a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, an operation display unit 23, and a communication I/F 24. The information processing device 2 is not limited to a single computer, and may be a computer system in which multiple computers work together. Various processes executed by the information processing device 2 may be distributed and executed by one or multiple processors.

The communication I/F 24 is a communication interface that connects the information processing device 2 to the communication network N1 by wire or wirelessly and performs data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol with external devices such as the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 via the communication network N1.

The operation display unit 23 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays various information, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

The storage unit 22 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores various information. Specifically, data such as facility information D1, reservation information D2, and food reservation information D3 are stored in the storage unit 22. The facility information D1 includes information about the restaurant that is the search target and the reservation target. The reservation information D2 includes reservation information for the restaurant. The food reservation information D3 includes information about the food course specified at the time of reservation. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the facility information D1, Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the reservation information D2, and Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the food reservation information D3. The storage unit 22 also stores image data showing the interior and exterior of the restaurant, map data showing the location of the restaurant, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, facility information D1 includes information such as the corresponding "facility ID," "facility name," "area," "genre," "address," and "URL" for each restaurant. The facility ID is identification information for the restaurant, and the facility name is the name of the restaurant. The area is the name of the area where the restaurant is located, for example. The genre is information that can identify the contents of the products (food and drink) provided at the restaurant, for example, indicating the cuisine genre. The address is the detailed address of the restaurant and is used as information indicating the location of the restaurant. The URL is access information for accessing a web page such as the restaurant's homepage or reservation page. Facility information D1 may also include information on the amount (budget) that is preset as the average amount required to use the restaurant, identification information for an image of the restaurant, etc.

Reservation information D2 is stored in the storage unit 22 in association with each restaurant registered in the facility information D1. FIG. 3 shows reservation information D2 for restaurant S1. As shown in FIG. 3, reservation information D2 includes information such as "visit date," "reservation person name," "number of people making reservation," and "course of meal." The visit date is the date on which the user plans to visit the restaurant (date of use). The reservation person name is the name of the user who made the reservation. The number of people making the reservation is the number of people planning to visit the restaurant. The course of meal is information indicating the content of the course meal to be provided to the user. The course of meal includes multiple dishes. The course of meal is an example of a menu of the present invention. If the user can specify a menu of meals other than the course of meal when making a reservation, the menu of meals may be registered in the reservation information D2. The reservation information D2 is registered or changed by the control unit 21 each time a new reservation or a change in reservation is accepted from the facility terminal 4 or the user terminal 3. The user can also make a reservation request without specifying a course of meal. Additionally, reservation information D2 may include reservation time information including the start time and end time of use (see FIG. 9), information on the table and room to be used by the user, etc.

As shown in FIG. 4, the food reservation information D3 includes information on the date of visit, the food course, and the number of reservations. FIG. 4 shows the food reservation information D3 for the restaurant S1. The food reservation information D3 registers information on the number of reservations for each food course for each date of visit. For example, in the restaurant S1, on "September 2, 2020," user X1 has reserved course A for four people, and user X3 has reserved course A for two people (see FIG. 3), so the total number of reservations, "6," is registered for "course A" in the food reservation information D3. Also, on "September 2, 2020," user X2 has reserved course B for three people (see FIG. 3), so the number of reservations, "3," is registered for "course B" in the food reservation information D3. Similarly, for each date of visit, the total number of reservations for each food course (course A, course B, course C) offered by the restaurant S1 is registered in the food reservation information D3. The control unit 21 calculates the number of reservations for each visit date based on the reservation information D2 (see FIG. 3) and registers it in the food reservation information D3.

In another embodiment, some or all of the facility information D1, reservation information D2, and food reservation information D3 may be stored in another server accessible from the information processing device 2 via the communication network N1. In this case, the control unit 21 of the information processing device 2 may obtain the information from the other server and execute various processes such as the information processing described below (see FIG. 8).

The storage unit 22 also stores layout data and image data for generating various web pages, such as a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) and a search result page P2 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7), included in a reservation site (e.g., a restaurant reservation site) displayed on the user terminal 3. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 of the information processing device 2 can display the various web pages on the user terminal 3 by generating the various web pages and transmitting information about the web pages to the user terminal 3. In another embodiment, the control unit 21 of the information processing device 2 can cause the control unit 31 of the user terminal 3 to display the various web pages by transmitting data necessary for displaying the various web pages to the user terminal 3.

The reservation site may be a collection of web pages belonging to one preset domain, but the reservation site may also be a collection of web pages belonging to multiple domains stored in the storage unit 22 of the same information processing device 2. The various pages included in the reservation site may be stored in a distributed manner on multiple servers.

Furthermore, the storage unit 22 stores control programs such as an information processing program for causing the control unit 21 to execute information processing (see FIG. 8) described below. For example, the information processing program is non-temporarily recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD or DVD, and is read by a reading device (not shown) such as a CD drive or DVD drive provided in the information processing device 2 and stored in the storage unit 22.

The control unit 21 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic processes. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various arithmetic processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 21 controls the information processing device 2 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 22.

Conventionally, restaurants have implemented various measures to increase the number of customers who make reservations at restaurants in order to boost sales. Conventionally, however, the aim has been to increase sales by increasing the number of customers, and kitchen work efficiency has not been taken into consideration. For this reason, for example, when the number of customers at a restaurant increases, the number of food and drink orders increases, which may lead to a decline in kitchen work efficiency. In this case, even if the number of customers increases, the restaurant will not be able to increase its sales. Thus, with conventional technology, it is difficult to prevent a decline in kitchen work efficiency while increasing the number of customers. In contrast, with the information processing device 2 according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a decline in kitchen work efficiency and increase the number of customers in a restaurant.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 21 includes various processing units such as a reception processing unit 211, a search processing unit 212, a reservation processing unit 213, an acquisition processing unit 214, a determination processing unit 215, and an output processing unit 216. The control unit 21 functions as the various processing units by executing various processes in accordance with the information processing program using the CPU. Some or all of the processing units may be configured with electronic circuits. The information processing program may be a program for causing multiple processors to function as the processing units.

The reception processing unit 211 receives a search request including search conditions such as area, date of use (date of visit), and number of people from the user terminal 3. The area, date of use, and number of people information received by the reception processing unit 211 is used in the search process executed by the search processing unit 212 to search for restaurants that can be reserved.

For example, the reception processing unit 211 displays a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) on the user terminal 3. The search condition setting page P1 includes an area input field K11 for inputting a desired area, a visit date input field K12 for inputting a desired date of use (visit date), and a number of people input field K13 for inputting the number of people. The search condition setting page P1 may also allow the input of information such as the time of visit (reservation time) and cuisine genre.

When the user inputs the above information on the search condition setting page P1 and presses the "Confirm" button K15, the reception processing unit 211 receives a search request from the user terminal 3.

The search processing unit 212 executes a search process to search for restaurants when the search request is accepted by the reception processing unit 211. Specifically, in the search process, the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurants that satisfy the search conditions. For example, the search processing unit 212 extracts restaurants that are located in the area and that can be reserved for the visit date and the number of occupants from among multiple restaurants registered in facility information D1 (see FIG. 2).

The search processing unit 212 also outputs the search results of the search process. Specifically, the search processing unit 212 transmits the search results to the user terminal 3, thereby causing a search result page P2 (see Figures 6 and 7) to be displayed on the user terminal 3. This allows the user to select a restaurant for which they wish to make a reservation from the restaurants displayed as the search results on the user terminal 3.

The search result page P2 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7) displays a list of information on each restaurant (restaurant information R2) that satisfies the search criteria. Each restaurant information R2 displays an overview of the restaurant, an image, a details button K22 for displaying the restaurant's details page, the contents of each course, and a reservation button K23 for making a reservation request specifying the course. In addition, each restaurant information R2 displays discount information M2, which will be described later. If the user finds a restaurant for which a reservation is desired on the search result page P2, the user selects the desired course from among the courses offered by the restaurant and presses the reservation button K23 to make a reservation request. On the other hand, if the user does not find a restaurant for which a reservation is desired on the search result page P2, the user presses the change conditions button K21. When the change conditions button K21 is pressed, the reception processing unit 211 redisplays the search criteria setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) and accepts a change operation of the search criteria from the user. In addition, the user can make a reservation request without specifying a course. For example, a user can press a details button K22 corresponding to the restaurant for which the user wishes to make a reservation, and make a reservation request for only a seat on the details page (not shown) of that restaurant. The user can also specify a seat (private room, counter, etc.) on the details page.

The reservation processing unit 213 accepts a reservation request from a user for the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation, and executes the reservation process if the restaurant is available for reservation. In the reservation process, the reservation processing unit 213 registers the reservation details in reservation information D2 (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the restaurant that is the subject of the reservation (restaurant S1 in this case). The reservation processing unit 213 also calculates the total number of reservations for cooking courses for each visit date, and registers this number of reservations in the cooking reservation information D3 (see FIG. 4). The reservation processing unit 213 updates the reservation information D2 and the cooking reservation information D3 each time a reservation is accepted or canceled.

The reservation processing unit 213 can also cancel the reservation registered in the reservation information D2 in response to an operation of the user terminal 3 or automatically cancel it. When the reservation processing is completed, the reservation processing unit 213 sends, for example, a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4.

The acquisition processing unit 214 acquires reservation information for restaurants that have been reserved by specifying a specific cooking course (an example of a first cooking menu of the present invention) from among multiple cooking courses. Specifically, the acquisition processing unit 214 acquires reservation information for restaurants that have been reserved by specifying a specific cooking course. The acquisition processing unit 214 acquires the number of reservations for each cooking course for the visit date (an example of a reservation target date of the present invention) set by the user in the search conditions from the cooking reservation information D3 (see FIG. 4).

For example, when a user inputs "September 2, 2020" as the date of visit on the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) and the search processing unit 212 searches for a restaurant S1 that satisfies the search condition, the acquisition processing unit 214 refers to the food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 4) corresponding to the restaurant S1 and acquires the number of reservations "6" for course A and the number of reservations "3" for course B corresponding to "September 2, 2020" (reservation target date). Note that when the number of reservations is "0" (e.g., course C), the acquisition processing unit 214 does not acquire the number of reservations. For each restaurant searched by the search processing unit 212, the acquisition processing unit 214 acquires the number of reservations for each food course on the reservation target date. The acquisition processing unit 214 is an example of an acquisition processing unit of the present invention. The content of the food course and the number of reservations are an example of reserved information of the present invention.

The determination processing unit 215 determines whether to allow the acceptance of a reservation corresponding to the update information of the specific cooking course based on the reserved information acquired by the acquisition processing unit 214. The update information is any one of discount information of the specific cooking course, discounted price information of the specific cooking course, and information on a cooking course that has the same content as the specific cooking course and is cheaper than the specific cooking course (an example of a second cooking menu of the present invention). Here, the case where the update information is the discount information is taken as an example. For example, the determination processing unit 215 determines whether to allow the acceptance of a reservation (discount reservation) corresponding to the discount information of the cooking course based on the number of reservations acquired by the acquisition processing unit 214. For example, in a restaurant kitchen, preparing orders for the same cooking course for multiple people is more efficient in terms of work efficiency and consumes ingredients more efficiently than preparing orders for different cooking courses for multiple people. For this reason, in a restaurant, when the number of reservations for a cooking course is already equal to or greater than a predetermined number, it is desirable from the viewpoint of kitchen work efficiency to accept a new reservation specifying the same cooking course.

Therefore, the judgment processing unit 215 allows the acceptance of discount reservations for the cooking course when the number of reservations for the cooking course is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. This allows users to make reservations for cooking courses that will increase work efficiency. The predetermined number is set in advance for each restaurant based on factors such as the content and type (genre) of the cooking course, the work load of the cooking course, and the number and ability of kitchen staff. For example, in a cooking course that requires a relatively long time (e.g., a kaiseki course), it is considered that the work efficiency of the kitchen will decrease if the number of servings for three people increases to four. On the other hand, in a cooking course that requires a relatively short time (e.g., a hot pot course), the work efficiency of the kitchen is unlikely to decrease even if the number of servings for three people increases to four. Therefore, for example, the predetermined number for a cooking course that requires a long time is set to a value larger than the predetermined number for a cooking course that does not require a long time. Also, for example, the predetermined number for a cooking course with a high unit price may be set to a value larger than the predetermined number for a cooking course with a low unit price. The administrator of each restaurant can set the predetermined number in advance based on the factors and change it as appropriate. The predetermined number may be set to a different value for each course, or may be set to the same value. As an example, let us assume that the predetermined number for each course at restaurant S1 is set to "5."

For example, the determination processing unit 215 allows the discounted reservation of course A to be accepted because the number of reservations "6" for course A corresponding to the visit date "September 2, 2020" is equal to or greater than the predetermined number "5" (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, the determination processing unit 215 does not allow (rejects) the discounted reservation of course B to be accepted because the number of reservations "3" for course B corresponding to the visit date "September 2, 2020" is less than the predetermined number "5" (see FIG. 4). The determination processing unit 215 is an example of a determination processing unit of the present invention.

The output processing unit 216 outputs the update information of the specific cooking course for the target date or time period based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition processing unit 214. Specifically, the output processing unit 216 outputs the update information of the specific cooking course when the judgment processing unit 215 allows the reservation corresponding to the update information of the specific cooking course to be accepted. For example, when the update information is the discount information, the output processing unit 216 outputs discount information M2 regarding a discount reservation of the cooking course for the target date when the judgment processing unit 215 allows the discount reservation to be accepted. Note that the output processing unit 216 may output bonus information such as free service of a specific dish menu (e.g., dessert, drink) included in the cooking course, and point information given to users by the restaurant, instead of the discount information M2.

Specifically, the output processing unit 216 displays discount information M2 corresponding to the reservation target date on the search result page P2. For example, the output processing unit 216 displays discount information M2 corresponding to a cooking course for which the number of reservations for the cooking course is equal to or greater than a predetermined number on the search result page P2. The output processing unit 216 is an example of an output processing unit of the present invention.

For example, if the predetermined number is set to "5" for restaurant S1 and the reservation target date (visit date) is "September 2, 2020," the number of reservations for course A, "6," is equal to or greater than the predetermined number "5," and the determination processing unit 215 allows the discounted reservation of course A to be accepted. In this case, the output processing unit 216 displays discount information M2 for course A in restaurant information R2 for restaurant S1 on search result page P2 (see FIG. 6). For example, the output processing unit 216 displays discount information M2 that discounts the list price of "3,500 yen" to "discount price 3,000 yen" in association with course A. A user can reserve course A at restaurant S1 for a "discount price of 3,000 yen" by pressing the reservation button K23 for course A on search result page P2.

In contrast, for example, if the predetermined number is set to "5" for restaurant S1, and the reservation date (visit date) is "September 2, 2020," the number of reservations for course B, "3," is less than the predetermined number "5," and the determination processing unit 215 does not allow the discounted reservation of course B to be accepted. Therefore, the output processing unit 216 does not display the discount information M2 for course B in the restaurant information R2 for restaurant S1 on the search result page P2 (see FIG. 6). With the above configuration, it is possible to encourage the user to make a reservation for course A.

For example, when the predetermined number is set to "5" for restaurant S1 and the reservation target date (visit date) is "September 4, 2020", the number of reservations for course A "8" and the number of reservations for course C "6" are each equal to or greater than the predetermined number "5", and the determination processing unit 215 allows discount reservations for course A and course C to be accepted. Therefore, the output processing unit 216 displays discount information M2 for each of courses A and C in the restaurant information R2 for restaurant S1 on the search result page P2 (see FIG. 7). For example, the output processing unit 216 displays discount information M2 for course A that discounts the list price "3,500 yen" to a "discount price of 2,800 yen" in association with course A, and displays discount information M2 for course C that discounts the list price "5,000 yen" to a "discount price of 4,500 yen".

Here, the output processing unit 216 may output discount information M2 according to the number of reservations for the cooking course. For example, the output processing unit 216 may increase the discount rate (discount amount) the greater the number of reservations. For example, as described above, the output processing unit 216 may set the discount price of course A to "3,000 yen" when the number of reservations for course A is "6" (see FIG. 6), and set the discount price of course A to "2,800 yen" when the number of reservations for course A is "8" (see FIG. 7). In this way, the control unit 21 may change the discount rate (discount amount) according to the number of reservations.

In another embodiment, the output processing unit 216 may output the discount information M2 when the number of reservations for the course is equal to or greater than a predetermined number and the reservation target date is a specific date. For example, a restaurant may want to secure reservations early for specific dates, such as every Friday and Saturday, the end of the month, and event dates. In such a case, the output processing unit 216 may be configured to output the discount information M2 when the reservation target date is a specific date, and not output the discount information M2 when the reservation target date is other than the specific date. On the other hand, a restaurant may want to accept many walk-in customers on specific dates, such as every Friday and Saturday, the end of the month, and event dates, because many walk-in customers may visit the restaurant. In such a case, the output processing unit 216 may be configured to not output the discount information M2 when the reservation target date is a specific date, and to output the discount information M2 when the reservation target date is other than the specific date.

In another embodiment, the output processing unit 216 may output the discount information M2 on a specified day. For example, it is conceivable that there will be many reservations for restaurants on specific days such as Fridays and Saturdays every week, the end of the month, and event days, even if there are no benefits such as discount services. For this reason, when the reservation target date is the specific day, the output processing unit 216 may not output the discount information M2 until just before the reservation target date (for example, the day before), and may output the discount information M2 on the day before the reservation target date (an example of a specified day of the present invention). For example, in the case of restaurant S1, if a user sets "Saturday, September 5, 2020" as the condition for the visit date (see FIG. 5) at the current time ("Tuesday, September 1, 2020") and makes a search request, the output processing unit 217 does not output the discount information M2 at this time. On the other hand, if a user makes a search request at the current time (Friday, September 4, 2020) by setting the visit date as Saturday, September 5, 2020, the output processing unit 216 currently outputs discount information M2. This makes it easier to accept last-minute reservations by offering a discount service when there are reservation slots available at short notice.

The specified date of the present invention is not limited to the day before the specific date, and may be set according to the reservation target date. For example, if the reservation target date is an event date, the specified date may be one week or one month before the event date. In this case, the output processing unit 216 does not output discount information M2 before the specified date, but outputs discount information M2 after the specified date.

When a user makes a reservation request by pressing the reservation button K23 for the food course at restaurant S1 on the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 7, the reservation processing unit 213 accepts the reservation request for restaurant S1 and executes the reservation process for restaurant S1. The reservation processing unit 213 registers the presence or absence of discount information M2 in association with the person making the reservation (user) in the reservation information D2. When a new reservation is accepted and the reservation information D2 and food reservation information D3 are updated, the output processing unit 216 executes a process to output the discount information M2 based on the updated number of reservations.

The control unit 21 may also have a function for executing accounting. For example, when a discount reservation is made for a food course on the reservation date, the control unit 21 executes discount processing for the reservation. For example, when user X1 (a group of four people) reserves course A including discount information M2 at restaurant S1 and visits restaurant S1 on "September 2, 2020," and the food of course A is served, accounting is executed for user X1's food and drink bill at the discounted price ("3,000 yen/person").

[User terminal 3]
1, the user terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, an operation display unit 33, and a communication I/F 34. The user terminal 3 is an information processing device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer.

The communication I/F 34 is a communication interface that connects the user terminal 3 to the communication network N1 by wire or wirelessly and performs data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol with external devices such as the information processing device 2 and the facility terminal 4 via the communication network N1.

The operation display unit 33 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays information such as various web pages, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

The storage unit 32 is a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various information. For example, a control program such as a browser program is stored in the storage unit 32. Specifically, the browser program is a control program that causes the control unit 31 to execute communication processing with an external device such as the information processing device 2 according to a communication protocol such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The browser program may also be a dedicated application for executing communication processing with the information processing device 2 according to a predetermined communication protocol. Note that other information such as map data may also be stored in the storage unit 32.

The control unit 31 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic operations. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for the various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 31 controls the user terminal 3 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 32.

Specifically, the control unit 31 functions as a browser processing unit 311 by executing various processes according to the browser program stored in the memory unit 32. The browser processing unit 311 is capable of executing browser processing to display a web page provided from the information processing device 2 via the communication network N1 on the operation display unit 33 and input operations on the operation display unit 33 to the information processing device 2. In other words, the user terminal 3 can function as an operation terminal for the information processing device 2 by the control unit 31 executing the browser program. Note that some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 31 may be configured with electronic circuits.

For example, in the user terminal 3, when a user operation is performed to make an access request to a specific URL corresponding to the reservation site of the reservation service provided by the information processing system 1, the control unit 31 acquires webpage data of the reservation site from the information processing device 2 and causes the operation display unit 33 to display the webpage of the reservation site. Note that, for example, the access request to the specific URL is made by a selection operation from a list of preregistered websites, a selection operation from search results on an information search site, or a text input operation. In addition, when a dedicated application corresponding to the information processing device 2 is installed in the user terminal 3, the user of the user terminal 3 performs an operation to launch the dedicated application, and the webpage of the reservation site is displayed on the operation display unit 33.

Then, by operating the user terminal 3, the user can set desired search conditions on the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) of the reservation site, request a search for restaurants, and view the search result page P2 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7). The user can also select a desired restaurant from among the restaurants presented as search results and make a reservation request (reservation request). Furthermore, the user can select the desired restaurant and the desired course of food to make a reservation request.

[Facility terminal 4]
1 , the facility terminal 4 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, an operation display unit 43, and a communication I/F 44. The facility terminal 4 is an information processing device such as a tablet terminal or a personal computer. The facility terminal 4 may further include the same functions as the information processing device 2, or may be an information processing device integrated with the information processing device 2.

The communication I/F 44 is a communication interface that connects the facility terminal 4 to the communication network N1 by wire or wirelessly and performs data communication in accordance with a specified communication protocol with external devices such as the information processing device 2 and the user terminal 3 via the communication network N1.

The operation display unit 43 is a user interface that includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that displays information such as various web pages, and an operation unit such as a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel that accepts operations.

The storage unit 42 is a non-volatile storage unit such as a HDD, SSD, or flash memory that stores various types of information. For example, a control program such as a browser program is stored in the storage unit 42. Specifically, the browser program is a control program that causes the control unit 41 to execute communication processing with an external device such as the information processing device 2 according to a communication protocol such as HTTP. The browser program may also be a dedicated application for executing communication processing with the information processing device 2 according to a predetermined communication protocol.

The memory unit 42 also stores reservation management information (not shown) that manages reservations corresponding to restaurants. The reservation management information includes information such as the date of visit, the name of the person making the reservation, the number of people making the reservation, and the table. The reservation management information may be reservation information D2 (see FIG. 3). In other words, the reservation information D2 may be stored in the information processing device 2 or in the facility terminal 4.

In addition, the memory unit 42 stores information about the food course specified when making a reservation (food reservation information). The food reservation information includes information such as each day (date of visit), food course, and the number of reservations for each food course. The food reservation information may be food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 4). That is, the food reservation information D3 may be stored in the information processing device 2 or in the facility terminal 4.

The memory unit 42 also stores order information for the food menu ordered by the user. The order information includes information such as the food course specified by the user when making a reservation and the food menu ordered by the user at the restaurant on the day.

The control unit 41 has control devices such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The CPU is a processor that executes various arithmetic operations. The ROM is a non-volatile storage unit in which control programs such as a BIOS and an OS for causing the CPU to execute various processes are stored in advance. The RAM is a volatile or non-volatile storage unit that stores various information, and is used as a temporary storage memory (work area) for the various processes executed by the CPU. The control unit 41 controls the facility terminal 4 by having the CPU execute various control programs that are stored in advance in the ROM or the storage unit 42.

Specifically, the control unit 41 functions as a browser processing unit 411 by executing various processes according to the browser program stored in the memory unit 42. The browser processing unit 411 is capable of executing browser processing to display a web page provided from the information processing device 2 via the communication network N1 on the operation display unit 43 and input operations on the operation display unit 43 to the information processing device 2. In other words, the facility terminal 4 can function as an operation terminal for the information processing device 2 by the control unit 41 executing the browser program. Note that some or all of the processing units included in the control unit 41 may be configured with electronic circuits.

The control unit 41 also outputs the order information to a kitchen terminal (not shown). Specifically, the control unit 41 causes the kitchen terminal to output (print or display) an order form including the order details, table number, and order number corresponding to the order information. The kitchen staff checks the output order form and prepares the food. If the order form includes the same food menu (course) for multiple people, the kitchen staff can prepare the food menu all at once.

[Information Processing]
Hereinafter, the information processing executed in the information processing system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Specifically, in this embodiment, the information processing is executed by the control unit 21 of the information processing device 2. The control unit 21 can also execute information processing in parallel for each user terminal 3 in response to access from each user terminal 3. Note that the control unit 21 may end information processing midway due to a predetermined operation of the user terminal 3.

The present invention can be understood as an invention of an information processing method that executes one or more steps included in the information processing. One or more steps included in the information processing described here may be omitted as appropriate. The steps in the information processing may be executed in a different order as long as the same action and effect is achieved. Furthermore, although an example is described here in which each step in the information processing is executed by the control unit 21, another embodiment can also be an information processing method in which each step in the information processing is executed in a distributed manner by one or more processors.

First, in step S11, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a restaurant search request has been received from the user terminal 3. Specifically, the control unit 21 determines whether or not search conditions including area, date of visit, and number of people entered by the user on a search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) of a reservation site (e.g., a restaurant reservation site) displayed on the user terminal 3 have been received. The search conditions may also include information such as time of visit, cuisine genre, and budget. When the control unit 21 receives the search request from the user terminal 3 (S11: Yes), the process proceeds to step S12. The control unit 21 waits until it receives the search request from the user terminal 3 (S11: No).

Next, in step S12, the control unit 21 searches for restaurants that satisfy the search criteria from among the multiple restaurants included in the facility information D1 (see FIG. 2). In the example shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 21 searches for restaurants that belong to the "Ginza" area and can be reserved for "4 people" on "September 2, 2020."

Next, in step S13, the control unit 21 determines whether or not there is a restaurant that can be reserved using the search criteria. If there is a restaurant that can be reserved in the facility information D1 (S13: Yes), the process proceeds to step S14. On the other hand, if there is no restaurant that can be reserved in the facility information D1 (S13: No), the process proceeds to step S131. For example, a restaurant that currently has available reservation slots is determined to be the restaurant that can be reserved. Note that even if the reservation slots are currently filled, a restaurant that has a setting in the reservation method settings (not shown) that allows the acceptance of reservation requests for request reservations may be determined to be a restaurant that can be reserved.

In step S14, the control unit 21 extracts restaurants that can be reserved from the facility information D1. For example, the control unit 21 extracts restaurants that belong to the Ginza area and can be reserved for four people on September 2, 2020, from among the multiple restaurants registered in the facility information D1.

Next, in step S15, the control unit 21 obtains the number of reservations for each meal course for the visit date set by the user as a search condition from the meal reservation information D3 (see FIG. 4).

For example, when a user inputs "September 2, 2020" as the date of visit on the search condition setting page P1 (see FIG. 5) and the control unit 21 searches for restaurant S1 that meets the search condition, the control unit 21 references the food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 4) corresponding to restaurant S1 and obtains the number of reservations "6" for course A and "3" for course B that correspond to "September 2, 2020" (the reservation target date). The control unit 21 obtains the number of reservations for each food course on the reservation target date for each searched restaurant. Step S15 is an example of an acquisition step of the present invention.

Next, in step S16, the control unit 21 determines whether or not to allow the acceptance of discounted reservations for the cooking course based on the number of reservations. Specifically, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. If the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the control unit 21 allows the acceptance of discounted reservations for the cooking course. If the number of reservations is less than the predetermined number, the control unit 21 does not allow the acceptance of discounted reservations for the cooking course. If the acceptance of discounted reservations for the cooking course is allowed (S16: Yes), the process proceeds to step S17. On the other hand, if the acceptance of discounted reservations for the cooking course is not allowed (S16: No), the process proceeds to step S161. The predetermined number is preset by the administrator for each restaurant depending on factors such as the content and type (genre) of the cooking course, the workload of the cooking course, the number and capabilities of kitchen staff, etc.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the number of reservations "6" for course A corresponding to the visit date "September 2, 2020" is equal to or greater than the predetermined number "5", so the control unit 21 allows the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course A. On the other hand, the number of reservations "3" for course B corresponding to the visit date "September 2, 2020" is less than the predetermined number "5", so the control unit 21 does not allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course B. Step S16 is an example of a judgment step of the present invention.

In step S17, the control unit 21 outputs discount information M2 to the search result page P2. For example, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the control unit 21 causes the user terminal 3 to display the search result page P2, and causes the search result page P2 to display discount information M2 for each restaurant in association with a meal course for which the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. Step S17 is an example of an output step of the present invention.

In response to this, in step S161, the control unit 21 causes the user terminal 3 to display the search result page P2 (see FIG. 6) without outputting the discount information M2 corresponding to the course. For each extracted restaurant, the control unit 21 causes the search result page P2 to display the discount information M2 for the course for which the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. Note that the control unit 21 may repeatedly execute the processes of steps S15 to S17 and S161 described above for each extracted restaurant. After steps S17 and S161, the process proceeds to step S18.

In step S18, when the control unit 21 receives a reservation request for a restaurant from the user on the search result page P2, it executes the reservation process. For example, when the user presses the reservation button K23 for course A included in the restaurant information R2 for restaurant S1 on the search result page P2 shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 21 completes the reservation process for course A at "discount price 3000 yen" at restaurant S1 and sends a reservation completion email to the user terminal 3 and the facility terminal 4 of restaurant S1. The control unit 21 registers information about course A at "discount price 3000 yen" at restaurant S1 in the reservation information D2. The control unit 21 also registers the presence or absence of discount information M2 in association with the person making the reservation (user) in the reservation information D2.

In step S13, if the search process finds that there are no restaurants available for reservation (S13: No), in step S131, the control unit 21 presents the user with a search result indicating that there are no restaurants available for reservation, and requests the user to change the search conditions. Then, the process proceeds to step S132.

In step S132, the control unit 21 determines whether or not a change to the search conditions has been accepted. If the control unit 21 determines that a change to the search conditions has been accepted (S132: Yes), the process returns to step S12. When returning to step S12, the control unit 21 executes the search process again based on the changed search conditions. On the other hand, if the control unit 21 determines that a change to the search conditions has not been accepted (S132: No), the control unit 21 ends the information processing. For example, if the user presses the cancel button K24 on the search result page P2 (see Figures 6 and 7), the control unit 21 ends the information processing. In this manner, the control unit 21 executes the information processing.

As described above, the information processing device 2 according to this embodiment acquires reservation information (e.g., the number of reservations) for a restaurant for which a specific dish menu (e.g., a course meal) from among multiple dish menus has been specified and reserved, and outputs update information for the dish menu for the target date or time period based on the acquired number of reservations. For example, the information processing device 2 determines whether or not to allow a discounted reservation for the dish course to be accepted based on the number of reservations. Then, if the discounted reservation is allowed to be accepted, the information processing device 2 outputs discount information M2 regarding the discounted reservation for the dish course for the target date (date of visit).

For example, in restaurant S1, if a certain number or more of reservations for course A have already been registered, restaurant S1 can accept further reservations for course A, thereby increasing the number of users (number of reservations) without reducing kitchen work efficiency. In this regard, according to the configuration of this embodiment, when the number of reservations for course A is equal to or greater than a certain number, discount information M2 for course A is presented to users, encouraging users to make reservations for course A and increasing the number of reservations for course A. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in kitchen work efficiency at the restaurant and increase the number of users. Also, since more of the same ingredients can be consumed at the restaurant, the efficiency of ingredient consumption and the restaurant's profit margin can be improved.

In addition, for example, if the number of reservations for course A is less than a predetermined number, the discount information M2 can be configured not to be output. This can prevent a decrease in kitchen work efficiency, food consumption efficiency, and a decrease in the restaurant's profit margin.

In addition, by presenting the discount information M2 to the user, it becomes easier for the user to make a reservation, and the number of operations such as searches and reservation requests by the user can be reduced. This makes it possible to reduce communication traffic related to search and reservation processes and to make effective use of computer resources.

The information processing system of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Other embodiments of the present invention are described below.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the control unit 21 obtains the number of reservations for the reservation target date (visit date) and outputs the discount information M2 when the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. In another embodiment, the control unit 21 may be configured to obtain the number of reservations for the target date and output the discount information M2 when the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. In other words, the facility of the present invention is not limited to a reservation target facility reserved by a user, but may be a facility used by a user without making a reservation. The number of reservations may include the number of orders placed by the current user who is visiting the restaurant on the day, in addition to the number of reservations for the cooking course specified at the time of reservation. For example, the control unit 21 may extract restaurants that can be reserved on the day without accepting a search request from the user, and output the discount information M2 when the number of reservations, including the number of orders for the cooking course accepted on the day, is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. The user may visit the restaurant by making a reservation on the day after seeing the discount information M2 for the cooking course, or may visit the restaurant without making a reservation. The control unit 21 may execute a checkout process at a discounted price when the user orders the cooking course in the restaurant on the day. The reservation target date described above is an example of a usage target date of the present invention.

In another embodiment, the control unit 21 may obtain the number of reservations for the reservation time period (visit time period) and output discount information M2 if the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number. If the time period (reservation time) can be set as a search condition, the number of reservations for a food course may differ for each time period. For this reason, the control unit 21 may be configured to output discount information M2 for each reservation time period.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, reservation information D2 may include a reservation time. The reservation time is the time during which a user can use the restaurant, and includes a start time when use begins and an end time when use ends. If the available time at restaurant S1 is set to a two-hour system, the time two hours after the start time is registered as the end time. When the reservation processing unit 213 accepts a reservation request from a user, it registers the start time and end time of use in reservation information D2 (see FIG. 9). The reservation processing unit 213 also calculates the total number of reservations for food courses for each time period and registers this in food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 10).

The food reservation information D3 shown in FIG. 10 includes information on the date of visit, time period, and number of reservations for each food course. The time period is set at a predetermined time interval. Here, the time period is set at one-hour intervals. The reservation processing unit 213 calculates the total number of reservations for each time period for each hour based on the reservation information D2 shown in FIG. 9, and registers the total number of reservations in the food reservation information D3.

The acquisition processing unit 214 acquires the number of reservations for the restaurant's reservation time slot. Specifically, the acquisition processing unit 214 refers to the food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 10) to acquire the number of reservations for each food course for the visit date and time (reservation time slot) included in the search conditions corresponding to the search request accepted by the reception processing unit 211. For example, when a user inputs "September 2, 2020" as the visit date and "19:00" as the visit time on the search condition setting page P1 and the search processing unit 212 searches for a restaurant S1 that satisfies the search conditions, the acquisition processing unit 214 refers to the food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 10) corresponding to the restaurant S1 and acquires the number of reservations "6" for course A of the restaurant S1 for "September 3, 2020, 19:00-20:00". For example, if a user enters "September 3, 2020" as the visit date and "18:00" as the visit time on the search condition setting page P1 and the search processing unit 212 searches for restaurant S1 that meets the search conditions, the acquisition processing unit 214 references the food reservation information D3 (see FIG. 10) corresponding to restaurant S1 and acquires the number of reservations "3" for course B at restaurant S1 for "September 2, 2020, 18:00-19:00."

The determination processing unit 215 determines whether or not to allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for a cooking course based on the number of reservations acquired by the acquisition processing unit 214. The determination processing unit 215 allows the acceptance of a discounted reservation for the cooking course if the number of reservations for the cooking course is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. In the above example, the determination processing unit 215 allows the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course A at restaurant S1 for "September 3, 2020, 19:00-20:00".

The determination processor may allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for the food course for a time period that is the same as or close to the reservation time period included in the reservation information D2. That is, when the visit date and time in the search conditions is "September 4, 2020, 18:00", the determination processor 215 may determine whether or not to allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course A based on the total number of reservations "8" obtained by adding up the number of reservations "4" for course A at restaurant S1 for "September 4, 2020, 18:00-19:00" and the number of reservations "4" for course A at restaurant S1 for "September 4, 2020, 19:00-20:00". In this example, the determination processor 215 allows the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course A because the number of reservations is equal to or greater than a predetermined number.

When the determination processing unit 215 allows the discount reservation to be accepted, the output processing unit 216 outputs discount information M2 related to the discount reservation of the food course for the reservation target time period. Specifically, the output processing unit 216 displays the discount information M2 corresponding to the reservation target time period on the search result page P2. For example, when a user inputs "September 2, 2020" as the visit date and "19:00" as the visit time on the search condition setting page P1 and makes a search request, the output processing unit 216 displays the discount information M2 for course A in the restaurant information R2 of the restaurant S1 on the search result page P2. In contrast, when a user inputs "September 2, 2020" as the visit date on the search condition setting page P1 and "18:00" as the visit time on the search condition setting page P1 and makes a search request, the output processing unit 216 does not display the discount information M2 for course A, course B, and course C in the restaurant information R2 of the restaurant S1 on the search result page P2.

In this way, by displaying discount information M2 corresponding to a specific time period, it is possible to increase reservations for food courses during that time period. In addition, it is possible to reduce the variation in the number of customers and the number of reservations for food courses for each time period, which can lead to improved business efficiency and increased sales. Note that the reservation target time period is an example of the usage target time period of the present invention.

The output processing unit 217 may display discount information M2 for each reservation time period corresponding to the reservation date on the search result page P2. For example, the output processing unit 217 may display information on whether or not a meal course can be reserved for each time period (18:00-19:00, 19:00-20:00, 20:00-21:00, 21:00-22:00) (vacancy information) and the presence or absence of discount information M2 for each meal course associated with each time period in the restaurant information R2 for restaurant S1 on the search result page P2.

The output processing unit 217 may also output discount information M2 when the number of reservations for a course is equal to or greater than the predetermined number and the reservation time period is a specific time period. For example, the output processing unit 217 may output discount information M2 when the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number and the reservation time period is a lunchtime or dinnertime period. For example, the output processing unit 217 may also output discount information M2 when the number of reservations is equal to or greater than the predetermined number and the reservation time period is a time period other than lunchtime or a time period other than dinnertime.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the determination processing unit 215 allows the acceptance of a discounted reservation for the food menu when the number of reservations for the food course included in the number of reservations is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. In another embodiment, the determination processing unit 215 may allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for the food course in the same or close time period as the reservation time period. For example, when the visit date and time of the search condition is "September 2, 2020, 18:00", the determination processing unit 215 may allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course B of the restaurant S1 in "September 2, 2020, 18:00-19:00", which is the same as the reservation time period "18:00", or may allow the acceptance of a discounted reservation for course A of the restaurant S1 in "September 2, 2020, 19:00-20:00", which is close to the reservation time period "18:00". In addition, the determination processing unit 215 may add the contents of the food course (food menu) to the conditions for allowing the acceptance of a discounted reservation. For example, the determination processing unit 215 allows the acceptance of a discount reservation for a specific cooking course that is in the same or close time slot as the reserved time slot. The specific cooking course can be, for example, a cooking course that does not require much effort (e.g., a hot pot course). The reserved time slot and the content of the cooking course are an example of the reserved information of the present invention.

In other words, the acquisition processing unit of the present invention acquires reservation information for a restaurant for which a specific food menu has been specified and reserved, and the determination processing unit of the present invention determines whether or not to accept a discount reservation for the food menu based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition processing unit.

In another embodiment, the determination processing unit 215 may allow the acceptance of discounted reservations for the food menu when the sum of the number of reservations for the food course included in the number of reservations and the number of people included in the search conditions is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. For example, if the predetermined number for each food course of restaurant S1 is set to "5," and the search conditions include a visit date of "September 2, 2020" and a number of people of "4," the total of "10" with the number of reservations for course A ("6") is equal to or greater than the predetermined number "5," and the total of "7" with the number of reservations for course B ("3") is equal to or greater than the predetermined number "5," so the determination processing unit 215 allows the acceptance of discounted reservations for courses A and B.

In the above embodiment, the discount service is provided to users who make reservations for a cooking course after the number of reservations for that cooking course reaches or exceeds a predetermined number, which may create a sense of unfairness between the users who make reservations while the number of reservations is less than the predetermined number. Therefore, in another embodiment, when a discount service is applied to a specific cooking course, the control unit 21 may also apply the discount service to other users who have previously reserved the same cooking course. In other words, when a discount reservation is made for a cooking menu for the target date or time period, the control unit 21 may also execute a discount process for each reservation corresponding to that cooking course for the reservation user registered in the reservation information D2.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned sense of unfairness, the control unit 21 may control so that users to whom the discount service is not applied cannot view the discount information M2 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7). For example, the control unit 21 registers the discount information M2 in association with the login information of the user. For example, when user X1 reserves course A at restaurant S1 at a discount price ("3000 yen/person"), the control unit 21 registers the reservation information of user X1 (course A, discount price, etc.) in the reservation information D2 in association with the login information. As a result, when user X1 logs in to the reservation site, the control unit 21 displays the discount information M2 for course A on the search result page P2. On the other hand, when another user logs in to the reservation site, the control unit 21 does not display the discount information M2 on the search result page P2, but displays information on course A at the regular price. This makes it possible to prevent users who have already reserved at the regular price from realizing that the same food course can be reserved at a discounted price.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the output processing unit 216 displays price information for the discounted food course (course A) on the search result page P2 with both the regular price and the discounted price, as shown in FIG. 6. In another embodiment, the output processing unit 216 may display only the discounted price as price information M3 for the discounted food course (course A) on the search result page P2, as shown in FIG. 11, and not display the regular price. The price information M3 for course A shown in FIG. 11 is an example of update information of the present invention.

In another embodiment, the output processing unit 216 may display the discounted food course (course A) as another food course (e.g., course D) with a discounted price applied on the search result page P2, as shown in FIG. 12. The output processing unit 216 also displays the price of course D as discount information M2. In FIG. 12, course D is a course meal with the same contents as course A, but is priced lower than course A. In this way, the output processing unit 216 may additionally display a food course (course A in the above example) for which the number of reservations for the food course is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, as another course name (e.g., course D). Course D shown in FIG. 12 is an example of a second food menu of the present invention, and information M4 on course D is an example of update information of the present invention.

The information processing system according to the present invention may be configured as a system including an acquisition processing unit that acquires reservation information for a facility reserved by specifying a specific food menu, a judgment processing unit that judges whether or not to permit acceptance of a discount reservation for the food menu based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition processing unit, and an output processing unit that outputs discount information related to the discount reservation for the food menu for a target date or a target time period when the discount reservation is permitted by the judgment processing unit. The information processing method according to the present invention may also be a method that executes, by one or more processors, the following steps: an acquisition step that acquires reservation information for a facility reserved by specifying a specific food menu, a judgment step that judges whether or not to permit acceptance of a discount reservation for the food menu based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition step, and an output step that outputs discount information related to the discount reservation for the food menu for a target date or a target time period when the discount reservation is permitted by the judgment step.

1: Information processing system 2: Information processing device 3: User terminal 4: Facility terminal 211: Reception processing unit 212: Search processing unit 213: Reservation processing unit 214: Acquisition processing unit 215: Determination processing unit 216: Output processing unit 217: Output processing unit

Claims (14)

an acquisition processing unit that, when a reservation is made by specifying a first dish menu among a plurality of dish menus that the facility can provide , acquires reservation information including the number of reservations for the first dish menu and a target date or time period for use of the facility ;
an output processing unit that outputs, when the number of reservations for the first dish menu acquired by the acquisition processing unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, any of output information regarding the first dish menu for the target date or the target time period , including discount information, discounted price information, information on a second dish menu that has the same content as the first dish menu but is cheaper than the first dish menu, and special offer information;
An information processing system comprising: a determination processor that determines whether or not to accept the reservation corresponding to the output information of the first dish menu based on the reservation information acquired by the acquisition processor,
the output processing unit outputs the output information of the first dish menu when the determination processing unit has permitted acceptance of the reservation corresponding to the output information of the first dish menu.
The information processing system according to claim 1 . the determination processing unit permits acceptance of the reservation corresponding to the output information of the first dish menu when the number of reservations for the first dish menu included in the reserved information is equal to or greater than the predetermined number.
The information processing system according to claim 2 . The predetermined number is set according to the content or type of the first dish menu.
The information processing system according to claim 3 . the determination processing unit permits acceptance of a reservation corresponding to the output information of the first dish menu for a time period that is the same as or close to the reserved time period included in the reserved information;
5. The information processing system according to claim 2. the output processing unit outputs the output information according to the number of reservations for the first dish menu included in the reservation information.
6. An information processing system according to claim 1. The output processing unit outputs the output information when the target usage date is a specific day or the target usage time period is a specific time period.
7. An information processing system according to claim 1. the output processing unit outputs the output information on a predetermined day prior to the target use date or the target use time period.
The information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The predetermined date is set according to the target date or the target time period of use.
The information processing system according to claim 8. The output processing unit displays the output information for each time period corresponding to the target use date.
10. The information processing system according to claim 1. The first dish menu is a course meal consisting of a plurality of dishes.
An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 10. when a reservation for the first dish menu corresponding to the output information is made, a discount process is executed for the reservation for the first dish menu corresponding to the reserving person registered in the reservation completion information;
An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 11. When a reservation is made by specifying a first dish menu among a plurality of dish menus that the facility can provide , acquiring reservation information including the number of reservations for the first dish menu and a target date or time period for using the facility ;
When the number of reservations for the first dish menu is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, outputting any one of output information regarding the first dish menu for the applicable date or the applicable time period , such as discount information, discounted price information, information on a second dish menu that has the same content as the first dish menu but is cheaper than the first dish menu, and special offer information ;
An information processing method executed by one or more processors. When a reservation is made by specifying a first dish menu among a plurality of dish menus that the facility can provide , acquiring reservation information including the number of reservations for the first dish menu and a target date or time period for using the facility ;
When the number of reservations for the first dish menu is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, outputting any one of output information regarding the first dish menu for the applicable date or the applicable time period , such as discount information, discounted price information, information on a second dish menu that has the same content as the first dish menu but is cheaper than the first dish menu, and special offer information ;
An information processing program for causing one or more processors to execute the above.

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