Meeting site selection based on all-inclusive meeting cost

Abstract

Meeting or conference facilities are evaluated based on an all-inclusive meeting cost. The all-inclusive meeting cost is used to rank the facilities based on the lowest all-inclusive meeting cost or on highest quality below a maximum cost. Meeting planners can then compare total meeting cost at facilities with different characteristics, and find the facilities that offer the most value. An application server is used to calculate all-inclusive meeting cost from a comprehensive database of cost factors. The list of generated meeting facilities and their costs can be generated quickly for a large number of potential meeting facilities.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A computer implemented method of selecting a meeting facility for hosting a meeting, the method comprising the steps of: 
 receiving a range of dates, a list of attendees of the meeting, and an originating location for each of the attendees;    calculating an all-inclusive cost for hosting the meeting at each of a plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the specified range of dates and the specified list of attendees; and    ranking the plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the calculated all-inclusive costs.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating step further includes the sub-step of estimating a cost for each said attendee to travel to each of the plurality of facilities.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating step further includes the sub-step of estimating a meal cost for each attendee at each of the plurality of facilities.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating step further includes the sub-step of estimating a lodging cost for each attendee at each of the plurality of facilities.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating step further includes the sub-step of estimating a conference room cost for the meeting.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further including the step of 
 receiving a list of preferred amenities and geographic locations corresponding to the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities; and    removing facilities from the ranked plurality of potential meeting facilities which do not contain the preferred amenities and which do not correspond to the geographic locations specified in the received list of preferred amenities and geographic locations.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of calculating the all-inclusive cost for hosting the meeting includes calculating optimized costs and summing the calculated optimized costs.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein calculating optimized costs includes calculating a minimum cost for ground transportation to and from airports.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein calculating optimized costs includes finding a lowest airfare among airport pairs corresponding to a first airport from a set of airports near an origin location of the attendees and a second airport from a set of airports near a destination location of the attendees.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein calculating optimized costs includes calculating a minimum costs for a plurality of ranges of dates.  
     
     
         11 . A computer system comprising: 
 a processor;    a network connection; and    a memory, the memory including instructions that when executed by the processor performing the functions of (1) receiving a request from a user via the network connection, the request including information defining minimum requirements of a meeting facility; (2) calculating an all-inclusive cost for a plurality of meeting facilities based on the received request; and (3) transmitting a list of a sub-set of the plurality of meeting facilities to the user, the sub-set being based on the calculated all-inclusive cost.    
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the memory further includes instructions for calculating the all-inclusive cost based on at least a range of dates, a list of attendees of the meeting, and, for each of the attendees on the list, an originating location.  
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the memory further includes instructions for ranking the plurality of potential meeting facilities based on the calculated all-inclusive costs and selecting the sub-set based on the ranking.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the memory further includes instructions for ranking the plurality of potential meeting facilities based on a predetermined quality rating of the meeting facilities.  
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions for calculating the all-inclusive cost further perform the function of querying a database for information relating to the plurality of meeting facilities.  
     
     
         16 . A method of evaluating a plurality of potential meeting facilities for an optimal meeting facility, the method comprising the steps of: 
 defining minimum requirements for the optimal meeting facility;    transmitting the minimum requirements to an application server; and    receiving a list of ranked meeting facilities, the list being ranked based on an all-inclusive cost calculation corresponding to an estimated total cost of holding the meeting at each meeting facility.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further including the steps of: 
 choosing preferred amenities for meeting facilities from the list of ranked meeting facilities;    choosing specific geographic locations corresponding to a geographic location of at least one of the meeting facilities in the list;    transmitting the preferred amenities and the specific geographic location to the application server; and    receiving an updated list of meeting facilities from the application server based on the chosen preferred amenities and geographic locations.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising the step of: 
 choosing one or more of the meeting facilities from the updated list and making a reservation at the chosen facility via an electronic request for proposal.    
     
     
         19 . A computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform the steps of: 
 receiving a request from a user, the request including information relating to minimum requirements for a meeting facility;    calculating an all-inclusive cost for a plurality of meeting facilities based on the received request; and    transmitting a list comprising a sub-set of the plurality of meeting facilities to the user, the sub-set being based on the calculated all-inclusive costs.    
     
     
         20 . A system comprising: 
 an application server;    a database coupled to the application server, the database storing information corresponding to a plurality of meeting facilities;    a meeting planner user agent processor having an interface for accepting requests for a list of potential meeting facilities ranked according to an all-inclusive cost of hosting a meeting;    a meeting facility user agent processor corresponding to at least one of the plurality of meeting facilities, the meeting facility user agent processor having an interface for accepting requests to modify information in the database relating to the meeting facility corresponding to the meeting facility user agent processor; and    a network coupling the meeting planner user agent processor, the meeting facility user agent processor, and the application server; wherein    the application server receives and processes the requests from the meeting planner user agent and the meeting facility user agent.