Apparatus and method for an internet based computer reservation booking system

Abstract

The present invention is a software product that provides merchants that sell time-slot inventories tools to capitalize on the Internet revolution. The present invention enables the creation of web-sites for merchants with a built-in web-based reservation booking system. This offers customers the on-line benefits of access, selection and immediacy in making real-time reservation/appointments over the Internet. The software product also simplifies the merchant's booking process by providing a central web-based reservation/appointment management system that can be used for all bookings, regardless if made by telephone, by a walk-in customer, or by a customer via the Internet. The software product also provides the merchant with a powerful direct marketing tool. As a merchant uses the software product, user-customer profiles and demographics are captured in the database module, thus creating (in Web jargon) a “community” of customers specific to the merchant. The merchant is thus empowered, using the mail module, to directly communicate with its customer base, using customer profiles and demographics to create a highly targeted and effective marketing and promotional ad campaign. The software product also allows the merchant to auction off time-slot inventory over the Internet. Lastly, the software product enables the creation of Web “super-communities” consisting of the aggregate of all the individual merchant's customer-communities using the software product.

1 .- 36 . (canceled)  
     
     
         37 . A method comprising: 
 providing a restaurant reservation database located at a central computing location, the database including a plurality of records corresponding to time-slots for tables at a restaurant;    providing an Internet booking module at the central computing location configured to enable Internet customers to book available timeslots to reserve tables at the restaurant;    providing the restaurant with a copy of the database residing on a computer located at the restaurant;    providing the restaurant the ability to book reservations in the copy of the database for non-Internet customers;    synchronizing the database at the central computing location and the copy of the database at the restaurant by: 
 updating the copy of the database at the restaurant when the database at the central computing location is updated in response to Internet customers booking time slots to reserve tables at the restaurant; and  
 updating the database at the central computing location when the restaurant books time-slots in the copy of the database to reserve tables for customers not making bookings over the Internet.  
   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , further comprising: 
 aggregating a plurality of reservation booking databases associated with a plurality of restaurants at the central computing location;    maintaining a restaurant related web site and affiliating the plurality of restaurants with the web site; and    providing a search module on the web site to enable Internet users to search for a selected restaurant among the plurality of restaurants affiliated with the web site.    
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38  further comprising: 
 providing a restaurant search module on the web site allowing an Internet user to select the restaurant among the plurality of restaurants affiliated with the web site;    providing a reservation date and search module on the web site enabling the Internet user to search for available reservations at the selected restaurant for an entered date and time; and    a display module to display the available and the not available time slots for the entered date and time,    whereby the Internet user uses the provided Internet booking module to book one of the available timeslots to a reserve table at the selected restaurant.    
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein providing Internet booking module further comprises requiring the internet user to enter one or more of the following personal information: user name; email address; telephone number, credit card number; or a user password.  
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , further comprising writing the entered personal information into a record in the database corresponding to the booked time slot for a table for the restaurant and a corresponding record in the copy of the database at the restaurant.  
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 37 , further comprising providing a cancellation module at the central computing location configured to permit the Internet user to cancel a previously booked time-slot for a table booked by the Internet user at the restaurant.  
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 37 , wherein providing the restaurant the ability to book reservations in the copy of the database for non-Internet customers further comprises: 
 displaying on the computer located at the restaurant the available and the booked time-slots for the tables at the restaurant during a specified data and time;    booking a selected time slot for a table at the restaurant in the name of a customer not using the Internet;    writing personal information of the non Internet customer into a record of the copy of the database on the computer at the restaurant; and    writing the personal information of the non Internet customer into a corresponding record into the database at the central computing location when the two databases are synchronized.    
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 37 , further comprising providing the restaurant with a reservation display module, which is configured to display, for a selected date and time period, the following: 
 bookings for time slots for tables previously booked at the restaurant by Internet users during the selected date and time period;    bookings for time slots for tables previously booked at the restaurant by the restaurant for non-Internet users during the selected date and time period; and    available time slots for tables at the restaurant during the selected date and time.    
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 37 , further comprising providing a table display module configured to display at the computer at the restaurant the tables at the restaurant.  
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45 , wherein the providing the table display module further comprises displaying a first group of tables in a first display mode and a second group of tables in a second display mode.  
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 37 , further comprising providing a non-dial up Internet connection between the central computing location and the computer located at the restaurant.  
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , further comprising synchronizing the database at the central computing location and the copy of the database on the computer at the restaurant over the Internet connection.  
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , further comprising performing the synchronization in substantially real time over the Internet connection.