Hotel Business Information System
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hotel business information system.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a hotel business
information system that customizes user terminals installed in guest rooms of
a hotel according to guests' desires and provides various business and tour
contents via the terminals to promote the status of the guest rooms to a
business and tour information center.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, tourists or businessmen who lodge at a hotel utilize the
guest rooms of the hotel only as sleeping accommodations. Tourists actually
rely on limited brochures kept at a defined place to acquire tour information
about places of scenic beauty and historic interest, traffic, culture and arts,
etc. Also, businessmen on business trips have to carry a portable computer
in order to prepare documents, and it is often difficult to gain access to the
Internet and acquire necessary data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hotel business
information system that customizes user terminals installed in guest rooms of
a hotel according to guests' desires, and that provides various business, tour
and shopping contents via the terminals.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hotel
business information system that makes information on guests at an affiliated
hotel into a database, manages the database, and provides advertisements
of articles most suitable to an individual guest's tastes using the information
on the guest to recommend articles appropriate for the guest while the user
terminal at a guest room is not in use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hotel
' business information system that makes information on guests at an affiliated
hotel into a database, manages the database, and establishes the
environment of the user terminal to be suitable to the individual guest's tastes
using the information on the guest to produce a comfortable atmosphere in
the guest rooms.
To achieve the objects of the present invention, in an information
system where a local server that configures an intranet with. a plurality of
user terminals is connected to a main server via the Internet, a hotel
business information system has a local server installed in each hotel for
managing the user terminals installed in respective guest rooms of the hotel,
making information on guests at the hotel into a database, and managing the
database; and the main server provides business, tour and shopping
contents to the individual user terminals via the local server, makes
information on guests at the hotel where the local server is installed into a
database, and manages the database.
When the guest's information is previously recorded in a database,
the local server establishes the environment of the user terminal using the
guest's information such as nationality, language, operating system (OS)
program and office automation (OA) program.
The shopping contents comprise a cyber shopping mall. When a
guest buys an article at the cyber shopping mall with the user terminal, the
purchase content is managed as guest information into a database and is
stored in the local server and the main server. In this case, the local server
extracts an advertisement about an article that suits the guest's tastes, using
the guest information, and sends the advertisement to the user terminal while
the user terminal is temporarily not in use, so that the user terminal outputs
the advertisement.
A room management system is installed in the hotel to control the
environments of the individual guest rooms, and the local server uses the
room management system to establish the environment of each guest room
based on the individual guest's information that includes the guest's
nationality, preferred temperature and humidity of the guest room, and
background music that suits the guest's tastes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the
invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of
the invention:
FIG. 1 is a schematic of a hotel business information system
according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic of a main server and a local server used in the
present invention;
FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method for establishing
the environment of a user terminal by the present invention system;
FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram of a main display provided on the
user terminal in the present invention system;
FIG. 5 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a cyber shopping service
provided via the user terminal in the present invention system;
FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method for providing
advertisements via the user terminal in the present invention system;
FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method of billing for
access to an external Internet via the user terminal in the present invention
system; and
FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method for establishing
the environment of a guest room in the present invention system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiment
of the invention has been shown and described, simply by way of illustration
of the best mode contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the
invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in
various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention.
Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in
nature, and not restrictive.
FIG. 1 is a schematic of a hotel business information system
according to the present invention. A main server MS and a plurality of local
servers LS1 ~ LSn are connected to a data network N such as the Internet.
The main server MS provides tour and business contents to guests at a
plurality of affiliated hotels, and. manages the guests. The local servers LS1 ~
LSn are installed in the respective hotels and are configured to communicate
with a plurality of user terminals (for example, personal computers) UT11 ~
UT1 m and Utn1 - UTnm installed in guest rooms of the hotels. A general
user (as a member) may have access to a web site in the main server MS
via the data network N using his/her own personal computer (not shown) to
receive various tour reservation services such as hotel reservations from the
web site.
FIG. 2 schematically shows the main server and the local server. The
main server MS comprises a web server 40, a DNS (Domain Name
Service)/DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server 42, a
management server 44, a mail server 46, and a storage area management
server 48. The web server 40 operates an Internet web server that provides
tour and business contents to members. The DNS/DHCP server 42 extracts
an IP address from a domain name and allocates information about the IP
address and network environments to guests in construction of a network.
The management server 44 manages a main guest (member) information
database 50 and a main contents database 52 that stores contents provided
to the guests (members). The mail server 46 manages web mail sent to/from
the guests (members). The storage area management server 48 manages
storage areas on the web provided to the guests (members).
The main guest information database 50 makes information about all
guests at the hotels where the respective local servers LS1 - LSn are
installed as well as members of the Internet web site on the web server 40
into a database, which stores the guests' personal information, such as
nationality, language, home and work addresses, telephone number, e-mail
address, age and sex, a shopping history using a cyber shopping mall on the
web site, and the contents provided on the web site such as tour and
business information.
The main contents database 52 stores various contents provided by
the main server MS to the user terminals UT11 ~ UT1 m and Utn1 - Utnm of
the respective local servers LS1 ~ LSn and members of the Internet web site
installed on the web server 40. The contents database 52 comprises a tour
information database that stores contents about tourist attractions,
restaurants, culture and arts, etc.; a business information database that
stores contents about exchange rates; an entertainment database that stores
contents about movies, games, music videos, and virtual casinos; a cyber
shopping database that provides cyber duty-free shops for sales of tax-free
articles and cyber shopping malls for souvenirs and special products; a
reservation service database that provides hotel, rent-a-car, railroad or
airplane reservations; and an advertisement database that stores various
advertisements provided to the user terminals UT11 - UT1m and Utn1 ~
Utnm of the respective local servers LS1 ~ LSn.
The local server LS comprises an application server 10, a
DNS/DHCP server 12, a management server 14, and a system management
server 16. The application server 10 drives an application program
implemented on the Intranet, that is, a network in a hotel, and manages a
contents database 20 for various contents on the Intranet provided to the
user terminals UT1 T ~ UT1 m installed in the respective guest rooms of the
hotel. The DNS/DHCP server 12 identifies the user terminals UT11 - UT1 m
and assigns IP addresses. The management server 14 manages a local
guest information database 18 that stores information about guests who
have ever registered at a hotel that has the local server LS installed. The
system management server 16 remotely installs, deletes or controls
operating system (OS) programs (e.g., Window 95, Window 98, etc.) and
office automation (OA) programs (e.g., MS word, MS excel, etc.) of the user
terminals UT11 ~ UT1 m installed in the respective guest rooms.
The guest information database 18 of the local server LS has the
same configuration as the guest information database 50 of the main server
MS. Information updated in the guest information database 18 of the local
server LS is periodically sent to the main server MS and stored in the main
guest information database 50. The guest information stored in the guest
information database 50 of the main server MS is sent to the local server LS
by the request of the local server LS, and it is stored in the local guest
information database 18.
The contents database of the local server LS includes general
information about the corresponding hotel and other information such as
room service, incidental facilities and geographical features around the hotel.
The local server LS is connected to the main server MS via the data
network N such as the Internet by way of a firewall/proxy server 30.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method for establishing the
environment of a user terminal at a guest room in advance according to the
guest's tastes, in the business information system.
As a guest has access to an Internet site on the web server 40 via
the data network using his/her own user terminal (e.g., personal computer) to
make a hotel reservation, reservation information (e.g., nationality, age, sex,
hotel name, check-in/out date, etc.) entered by the guest is sent to the web
server 40 via the data network, and the web server 40 sends the reservation
information to the main management server 44.
The main management server 44 stores the reservation information
in the main guest information database 50 and sends it to the local
management server 14 corresponding to the hotel title of the reservation
information. The local management server 14 stores the reservation
information in the local guest information database 18.
When the guest checks into the hotel without a reservation, the
guest's check-in information (e.g, nationality, age, sex, check-in/out date,
etc.) entered by an operator of the hotel is stored in the local guest
information database 18 via the local management server 14.
Preferably, to glean more personal information from the guest during
the reservation or check-in, the guest is urged to make out a tourist
insurance card to carry tourist insurance without fee for a predefined period
including the lodging term at the hotel, and the guest's personal information
on the tourist insurance card is also stored in the guest information
databases 18 and 50.
When the guest's reservation or check-in information is stored in the
guest information database 18 via the local management server 14, the local
management server 14 searches the local information database 18 to
determine whether the guest has ever been registered at the hotel. When the
guest's information is detected from the local guest information database 18,
the guest's database includes information about the guest's nationality,
language, previous ID and password, and previous OS and OA programs.
When the guest's information is not detected from the local guest
information database 18, the local management server 14 requests the main
management server 44 to search the main guest information database 50 for
the guest's reservation or check-in information. When the guest's information
is detected from the main guest information database 50, the main
management server 44 sends the guest's database information having the
same content as that stored in the local guest information database 18 to the
local management server 14. The local management server 14 stores the
guest's database information in the local guest information database 18.
Once the guest's database information is detected as described
above, the local management server 14 sends the guest's data (e.g.,
nationality, language, ID, password, OS and OA programs, etc.) to the
system management server 16. Based on the guest's data, the system
management server 16 reads the guest's previous OS program (e.g.,
Window 95 or Window 98) and OS program from the program database 17
and remotely installs them on the user terminal in the guest's guest room.
For example, when the guest is Chinese, the system management server 16
installs the Chinese version of the OS program on the user terminal and sets
the previous log-in ID and password. Then, the system management server
16 installs the Chinese version of the previous OS program.
With the user terminal of the guest room set up, the guest can gain
access to various contents provided by the local server and the main server
of the present invention system via the user terminal. The guest can also
gain access to other Internet sites as well as the contents provided by the
present invention system, and perform word processing using the installed
OA program.
On the other hand, when the guest's information is not detected even
from the main guest information database 50, the local management server
14 sends the guest's nationality or language data included in the reservation
or check-in information to the system management server 16. The system
management server 16 then installs an OS program according to the guest's
nationality or language, and a basic OA program on the user terminal of the
corresponding guest room.
Upon receiving the guest's request for installation of a desired OA
program on the user terminal, the local management server 14 sends the
request information to the system management server 16 so that the system
management server 16 installs the requested OA program on the
corresponding user terminal. Also, the local management server 14 stores
the information about the installed OA program in the guest information
database 18.
As such, information about the guest's user terminal is stored
cumulatively in the guest information database and it is used to establish the
optimal environment of the user terminal.
FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing contents provided by the
local server and the main server installed on the user terminal. The
exemplary main display of the contents provided by the present invention
system comprises, as shown in the figure, Intranet contents supported by the
local server LS and Internet contents supported by the main server MS.
The Intranet contents provide information about the hotel where the
local server LS is installed, and its surroundings, and it comprises: a general
information page that provides information about the location and address of
the hotel; a room service page that provides information about the type and
price of room services and allows the guest to reserve a desired room
service; a hotel event page that provides information about the hotel's special
events; a hotel area map page that provides information about the traffic and
principal buildings around the hotel; a hotel news page that offers the hotel's
news; a room information page that provides information about the type and
price of guest rooms; a restaurant/bar information page with information
about restaurants/bars; an incidental facilities page that provides information
about the hotel's incidental facilities, such as sauna, swimming pool, health
club, etc.; and a shopping information page that provides information about
the individual stores in the hotel.
The Internet contents comprise: a business information page that
provides business information such as exchange rates by country; a tour
information page that provides tour information about tourist attractions,
restaurants, culture and arts, etc.; a private service page that provides space
for e-mail communications and data storage for the individual guests using
the mail server 46 and the storage area management server 48 of the main
server MS; an entertainment page that provides entertainment such as
movies, games, music videos, virtual casinos, etc.; a cyber shopping page
that provides information about cyber duty-free shops for sale of duty-free
articles and cyber shopping malls for souvenirs and special products so that
the guest can purchase desired articles from the shopping malls; a
community page that provides electronic notice boards for self-introduction of
the guests (members) and chat services for chatting with other guests
(members); a reservation service page that allows a guest (member) to make
a reservation for a guest room, rent-a-car, or transportation (e.g., railroad,
bus, airline, etc.); and a news page that provides notices to all guests
(members).
Now, a description will be given for a process for cyber shopping
using a user terminal of a guest room in the present invention system with
reference to FIG. 5.
When a guest has access to a cyber shopping page shown in FIG. 4,
for example via the user terminal UT installed in his/her guest room, to make
; a purchase request for an article from a cyber duty-free shop, the purchase
request that includes the guest's ID, information about articles to be
purchased (e.g., article code, the number of articles, etc.) and delivery
destination is sent to the main server MS via the local server LS, in steps 1
and 2.
The main server MS records information about the articles in the
guest database according to the guest's ID, in step 3, and sends
acknowledgement information of the purchase request (including guest ID,
information about articles to be purchased (e.g., article code and the number
of articles to be purchased), and delivery destination) to the local server LS,
in step 4. The local server LS records information about articles to be
purchased (including article code and purchase price) in the guest database
according to the guest's ID in the local guest information database 18, in step
5, and sends an approval notice of the purchase request to the
corresponding user terminal, in step 6.
The main server MS sends purchase information (including the
guest's ID and name (read out from the guest information database 50),
article code, the number of articles, delivery destination, etc.) to the
management server of the duty-free shop via a network (not shown), in step
7, and receives an acknowledgement signal of the purchase information from
the management server of the duty-free shop, in step 8.
Based on the purchase information, the duty-free shop delivers the
purchased articles to the delivery destination (for example, an affiliated
business agent), in step 9. Then, the delivery destination sends delivery
acknowledgement information (including the guest's ID, article code and
delivery destination) to the main server MS via the network using a
management terminal (not shown), in step 10.
The main server MS adds a code indicating the delivery of the
purchased articles to the information about the purchased articles that is
stored in the corresponding guest database (in step 3), in step 11 , and sends
a notice of delivery confirmation (including the guest's ID, article code and
delivery destination) indicating the delivery of the purchased articles, to the
local server LS, in step 12. The local server LS adds a code indicating the
delivery of the purchased articles to the information about the articles that is
stored in the corresponding guest database of the local guest information
database 18 (in step 5), in step 13.
When the guest makes a check-out request, in step 15, a billing
system 60 receives the check-out request and requests the local server LS
to send guest data necessary for billing, in step 16. The local server LS
reads guest data necessary for billing from the local guest information
database 18, in step 17, and sends it to the billing system 60, in step 18. The
billing system 60 prints a bill and sends it to the guest, in step 19.
When the guest pays the bill in cash or with a credit card, the
payment content is sent to the billing system 60. The billing system 60 has
access to a bank server (not shown) and transfers the payment from the
bank account of the hotel to that of the duty-free shop.
Because the guest can buy articles using the terminal in the guest
room, the articles are rapidly delivered to the guest's desired place and the
purchase information of the articles is stored in the guest information
database for later use.
FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method for providing
advertisements, with the user terminal set up as described above with
reference to FIG. 3, while the user terminal is not used.
First, the local management server 12 searches the local guest
information database 18 to determine whether the guest has ever been
registered at the hotel. When the guest's information is detected from the
local guest information database 18, the guest database includes information
about the guest's nationality, language, and a list of articles previously
purchased (See. FIG. 5).
When the guest's information is not detected from the local guest
information database 18, the local management server 12 requests the main
management server 44 to search the main guest information database 50 for
the guest's information. If the guest's information is detected from the main
guest information database 50, the main management server 44 sends the
guest's database information having the same content as that stored in the
local guest information database 18 to the local management server 12. The
local management server 12 stores the guest's database information in the
local guest information database 18.
As described above, when the guest's database is checked, the local
management server 18 sends the guest's database information to the
application server 10, which sends advertisements of articles suitable to the
guest's tastes to the user terminal UT at the guest room based on the guest's
database information.
If there is no advertisement contents of the articles present in the
local advertisement contents database 20, the application server 10 requests
the main management server 44 to download the advertisement contents of
the articles from the main advertisement contents database 52.
At first, when the articles to be advertised based on the guest's
database information include those previously purchased in the cyber
shopping mall, the articles of the types related to the previously purchased
articles are classified by as many as a predetermined number. For example,
if the guest has ever purchased a perfume, articles of as many as a
predetermined number are classified from perfume and cosmetics.
Alternatively, when the guest has ever purchased a timepiece, articles of as
many as a predetermined number are classified from timepieces or jewelry.
Secondly, articles most statistically preferred by guests are classified by as
many as a predetermined number by the guests' nationality.
The application server 10 sends the advertisements of the above-
classified articles to the user terminal of the guest room. Preferably, the
advertisement contents comprise full-screen advertisements in the form of a
motion picture including audio signals.
As the advertisements that fit the guest's interests are sent to the
user terminal of the guest room, sponsors expect promotion of their products
and the buyers can buy their desired products.
FIG. 7 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method of billing for
access to an external Internet.
As shown in the figure, when the user terminal UT of the guest room
is connected to an external Internet via the proxy server 30, the proxy server
30 checks the access status of the user terminal and sends it to the local
management server 14. The proxy server 30 continues monitoring the
access status of the user terminal UT to the external Internet.
The local management server 14 records the access time of the user
terminal to the external Internet, received from the proxy server 30, as well
as the guest's ID in the local guest information database 18.
Upon detecting the end of the access of the user terminal UT to the
external Internet, the proxy server 30 notifies the local management server
14 of the detection and the local management server 14 records the
notification time and the guest's ID in the local guest information database 18.
As the user terminal UT has access to another Internet site via the
proxy server 30, the proxy server 30 and the local server 14 check the
access time to the Internet site in real time and store the checked access
time and the guest's ID in the guest information database 18.
When the guest makes a check-out request, the billing system 60
receives the guest's check-out request and requests the local management
server 14 to send guest data necessary for billing. The local management
server 14 reads out the data necessary for billing (including information
about the guest's Internet access time) from the local guest information
database 18 and sends it to the billing system 60. Thus the billing system 60
can charge the Internet access fee to the guest during the check-out.
FIG. 8 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a method for establishing
the environment of a guest room in the present invention system.
First, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the local management
server 14 searches the local guest information database 18 to determine
whether a guest according to the reservation or check-in information has
ever been registered at the hotel. When the guest's information is detected
from the local guest information database 18, the guest's database includes
information about the guest's nationality and the environment of the guest
room previously established (e.g., temperature, humidity, background music,
etc.). Preferably, the temperature and the humidity of the guest room are
divided into a predetermined number of levels (for example, five levels).
Otherwise, when the guest's information is not detected from the local
guest information database 18, the local management server 14 requests the
main management server 44 to detect the guest's information from the main
guest information database 50. When the guest's information is present in
the main guest information database 50, the main management server 44
sends the guest's database information having the same content as stored in
the local guest information database 18 to the local management server 14.
The local management server 14 stores the guest's database information in
the local guest information database 18.
As described, when the guest's database is checked, the local
management server 14 sends the corresponding guest's data such as
temperature, humidity and background music to the room management
system 70, and the room management system 70 sets the room's
temperature, humidity and background music according to the data.
When the guest's information is not detected even from the main
guest information database 50, the local management server 14 detects
guest databases including data about temperature, humidity and background
music by as many as a predetermined number (for example, thirty
databases) from among the guest databases according to the guest's
nationality from the guest information database 18, extracts only the data
about temperature, humidity and background music, and sends them to a
room management system 70.
The room management system 70 calculates the average values of
temperature and humidity in the extracted data and the most popular
background music. Based on the average values of temperature and
humidity and the most popular background music, the room management
system 70 establishes the environment of the guest room 80, i.e.,
temperature, humidity and background music, and sends the establishment
result to the local management server 14. The local management server 14
stores the data about the established environment such as temperature,
humidity and background music to the guest information database 18 as the
guest's information.
Satisfaction of the guest about the environment is evaluated while the
guest is present in the guest room. If necessary, the temperature, humidity
and background music of the guest room 80 are reset via the room
management system 70 by the guest's request. In this case, the room
management system 70 sends the reset results to the local management
server 14. The local management server 14 updates the data about the reset
temperature, humidity and background music for the guest in the guest
information database 18.
As such, the guest-based information about the environment of the
guest room is stored cumulatively in the guest information database and is
used later to establish the most optimal environment of the guest room.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is
presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is
to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed
embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications
and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the
appended claims.
As described above, the present invention customizes user terminals
installed in guest rooms of a hotel according to guests' desires and provides
various business, tour and shopping contents via the terminals, thus
promoting the status of the guest rooms to a business and tour information
center.
The present invention also makes information on guests at an
affiliated hotel into a database, manages the database cumulatively and
provides advertisements of articles most suitable to the individual guest's
tastes using the information of the guest (e.g., nationality, a list of articles
previously purchased from the cyber shopping mall) while the user terminal
at a guest room is not in use, to recommend articles adequate to the guest.
Furthermore, the present invention makes information on guests at
an affiliated hotel into a database, manages the database cumulatively and
establishes the environment of the user terminal suitable to the individual
guest's tastes using the information of the guest so as to .produce a
comfortable atmosphere in the guest rooms.