Extended Web Enabled Multi-Featured Business To Business Computer System For Rental Vehicle Services

Abstract

A method and apparatus are disclosed for use in connection with managing rental vehicle reservations where different parties can be empowered to perform various management actions on the reservations. In this way, the workload with respect to reservation management can be spread over multiple parties. In a disclosed embodiment, the different parties can be parties such as insurance companies, repair facilities, assist companies, credit hire companies, lawyers, and fleet management companies.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for managing a rental vehicle reservation for a replacement vehicle corresponding to a disabled vehicle, the method comprising:
 storing a transaction in memory, the transaction corresponding to the replacement rental vehicle reservation, the replacement rental vehicle reservation having a plurality of operational activity phases, the operational activity phases comprising a reservation phase, an open rental phase and a closed rental phase;   storing an administration schedule data structure in memory, the administration schedule data structure configured to empower a plurality of different parties to perform management actions on the transaction;   communicating data over the Internet to a remote computer operated by a party, the communicated data for populating a graphical user interface (GUI) screen for display on the remote computer, the communicated data comprising data about the transaction to facilitate performance of a management action on the transaction;   receiving an input over the Internet from the remote computer through the GUI screen, the received input comprising an instruction from the party operating the remote computer to perform the facilitated management action on the transaction;   automatically performing the management action corresponding to the instruction on the transaction;   conditioning performance of the communicating step, the input receiving step, and the automatically performing step on the party operating the remote computer being empowered by the administration schedule data structure to take the facilitated management action on the transaction; and   repeating the communicating step, the input receiving step, the automatically performing step, and the conditioning step for a plurality of different parties with respect to a plurality of different management actions over the course of all of the operational activity phases for the rental vehicle reservation; and   wherein the method steps are performed by a processor.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the processor defining the administration schedule data structure such that at least a plurality of the parties are empowered with differing authorities for performing management actions on the transaction. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the parties comprise a plurality of users who are employed by the same business organization. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the users comprise a plurality of insurance adjusters organized into a virtual workgroup through the administration schedule data structure. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the parties correspond to a plurality of different business organizations. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the parties comprise a first party corresponding to an insurance company and a second party corresponding to a repair facility at which the disabled vehicle is undergoing repair work. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to create the replacement rental vehicle reservation. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to extend an authorization period of the transaction. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to extend an authorization period of the transaction within a defined authority range. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to approve an invoice for the transaction within a defined authority range. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the parties comprise a first party corresponding to an insurance company and at least one second party corresponding to at least one member of the group consisting of (1) an assist company, (2) a credit hire company, (3) a lawyer, and (4) a fleet management company. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the transaction comprises a plurality of the transactions, the method further comprising the processor performing the method steps for the plurality of transactions, and wherein the parties comprise a plurality of different insurance companies and a plurality of different repair facilities. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising the processor defining the administration schedule data structure such that (1) at least one of the insurance companies is associated with a plurality of different repair facilities, and (2) at least two of the repair facilities associated with the at least one insurance company are differently empowered with respect to the management actions they can perform on transactions for the at least one insurance company. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the different management actions eligible to be performed on the transactions comprise (1) an authorization for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (2) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (3) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (4) an extension for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (5) a vehicle type change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (6) an invoice approval or rejection for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase, and (7) an invoice remittance for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the different management actions eligible to be performed on the transactions comprise (1) an authorization for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (2) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (3) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (4) an extension for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (5) a vehicle type change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (6) an invoice approval or rejection for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase, and (7) an invoice remittance for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the processor storing the transaction in a master database of reservation data; 
 the processor providing a synching function so that a mobile computer may be selectively connected to the master database and, under operator command, a database in the mobile computer containing reservation data may be uploaded to the master database; 
 comparing the data from the two databases; and 
 choosing to store data from each according to a synch protocol at least partially specified by a user. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the processor permitting an entry of user satisfaction data and transmitting the user satisfaction data to an authority for response thereto. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the processor providing (1) a menu of action items with to a plurality of the transactions for selective entry and processing by a user thereof and (2) a command template through which a user may execute a plurality of entered action items all together without further user action. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the processor (1) performing the method steps with respect to a plurality of the transactions, the transactions corresponding to a plurality of replacement rental vehicle reservations with a plurality of different rental vehicle service providers, and (2) providing a plurality of graphical user interface (GUI) screens to a plurality of the remote computers over the Internet through a plurality of stateless connections, the GUI screens configured to solicit user input for creating and managing the transactions. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the processor receiving vehicle repair data for the disabled vehicle; and 
 the processor automatically extending an authorization period for the transaction based at least in part on the received vehicle repair data. 
 
     
     
         21 . An apparatus for managing a rental vehicle reservation for a replacement vehicle corresponding to a disabled vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor for communicating with a remote computer over the Internet; and   a memory, the memory configured to (1) store a transaction corresponding to the replacement rental vehicle reservation, the replacement rental vehicle reservation having a plurality of operational activity phases, the operational activity phases comprising a reservation phase, an open rental phase and a closed rental phase, and (2) store an administration schedule data structure, the administration schedule data structure configured to empower a plurality of different parties to perform management actions on the transaction;   wherein the processor and memory are configured to (1) communicate data over the Internet to the remote computer, the communicated data for populating a graphical user interface (GUI) screen for display on the remote computer, the remote computer being associated with a party, the communicated data comprising data about the transaction to facilitate performance of a management action on the transaction, (2) receive an input over the Internet from the remote computer through the GUI screen, the received input comprising an instruction to perform the facilitated management action on the transaction, and (3) automatically perform the management action corresponding to the instruction on the transaction, wherein performance by the processor of the communication operation, the input receiving operation, and the automated management action performance operation is conditioned on the remote computer being associated with a party that is empowered by the administration schedule data structure to take the facilitated management action on the transaction; and   wherein the processor and memory are further configured to repeat the conditional communication, input receiving, and automated management action performance operations for a plurality of different parties with respect to a plurality of different management actions over the course of all of the operational activity phases for the rental vehicle reservation.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the processor and memory are further configured to define the administration schedule data structure such that at least a plurality of the parties are empowered with differing authorities for performing management actions on the transaction. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein administration schedule data structure is further configured to define the parties such that the parties comprise a plurality of users who are employed by the same business organization. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23  wherein administration schedule data structure is further configured to define the users as a plurality of insurance adjusters organized into a virtual workgroup. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein administration schedule data structure is further configured to define the parties such that the parties correspond to a plurality of different business organizations. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein administration schedule data structure is further configured to define the parties such that the parties comprise a first party corresponding to an insurance company and a second party corresponding to a repair facility at which the disabled vehicle is undergoing repair work. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 26  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to create the replacement rental vehicle reservation. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 26  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to extend an authorization period of the transaction. 
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 28  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to extend an authorization period of the transaction within a defined authority range. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 26  wherein the administration schedule data structure is further configured to empower the repair facility to approve an invoice for the transaction within a defined authority range. 
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 25  wherein the parties comprise a first party corresponding to an insurance company and at least one second party corresponding to at least one member of the group consisting of (1) an assist company, (2) a credit hire company, (3) a lawyer, and (4) a fleet management company. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 21  wherein the transaction comprises a plurality of the transactions, and wherein the processor and memory are further configured to perform the repeated conditional communication, input receiving, and automated management action performance operations for the plurality of transactions, and wherein the parties comprise a plurality of different insurance companies and a plurality of different repair facilities. 
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 32  wherein the processor and memory are further configured to define the administration schedule data structure such that (1) at least one of the insurance companies is associated with a plurality of different repair facilities, and (2) at least two of the repair facilities associated with the at least one insurance company are differently empowered with respect to the management actions they can perform on transactions for the at least one insurance company. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 33  wherein the different management actions eligible to be performed on the transactions comprise (1) an authorization for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (2) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (3) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (4) an extension for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (5) a vehicle type change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (6) an invoice approval or rejection for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase, and (7) an invoice remittance for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 32  wherein the different management actions eligible to be performed on the transactions comprise (1) an authorization for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (2) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the reservation phase, (3) an authorization change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (4) an extension for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (5) a vehicle type change for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the open rental phase, (6) an invoice approval or rejection for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase, and (7) an invoice remittance for a replacement rental vehicle reservation during the closed rental phase. 
     
     
         36 . A computer-implemented method for managing a replacement rental vehicle reservation, the replacement rental vehicle reservation corresponding to a disabled vehicle, the method comprising:
 storing a transaction in memory, the transaction corresponding to the replacement rental vehicle reservation, the replacement rental vehicle reservation having a plurality of operational activity phases, the operational activity phases comprising a reservation phase, an open rental phase and a closed rental phase;   storing an administration schedule data structure in memory, the administration schedule data structure configured to empower a plurality of different parties to perform management of the transaction;   communicating data over the Internet to a remote computer, the communicated data for populating a graphical user interface (GUI) screen for display on the remote computer, the communicated data comprising data about the transaction to facilitate performance of a management action on the transaction;   receiving an input over the Internet from the remote computer through the GUI screen, the received input comprising an instruction for performing the management action on the transaction;   automatically performing the management action corresponding to the instruction on the transaction on a condition that a party from which the instruction input was received is empowered by the administration schedule data structure to perform the management action corresponding to the instruction;   repeating the communicating step, the input receiving step, and the automatically performing step over the course of all of the operational activity phases for the replacement rental vehicle reservation; and   wherein the method steps are performed by a processor.   
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36  further comprising the processor performing the communicating step and the input receiving step on a condition that a party associated with the remote computer is empowered by the administration schedule data structure to perform the facilitated management action.