US 5,732,398 · Granted 1998-03-24
The 1995 Patent That Turned Travel Agents Into Software
Imagine a kiosk or website that asks you a few questions about yourself—like whether you've been to a place before, what airlines you prefer, and your budget—then instantly shows you only the travel deals that actually match you. This patent describes the smart filtering system that powers that personalized travel shopping experience.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a self-service system that gathers information about a user's travel knowledge (first-time visitor status, familiarity with destinations) and personal preferences (age, family orientation, airline and hotel preferences, price range, lifestyle), then uses that data to filter and present only relevant travel options—airline tickets, car rentals, hotel bookings, tour packages, and cruises—from an inventory database based on available dates and user-selected criteria.
Why it matters
Filed in 1995 and granted in 1998, this patent captures an early attempt to automate travel agent functions through interactive kiosks and digital systems. It represents the shift from human travel agents handling every booking to self-service technology that uses customer profiling and filtering to streamline travel shopping. This kind of personalized recommendation engine became foundational to modern online travel sites, though the patent's specific claims are narrow enough that the concept evolved significantly beyond this filing.
Real-world use
When you visit a travel website today and it asks about your preferences or shows you filtered hotel results based on your budget and family size, you're encountering descendants of this idea.
Original USPTO abstract
In a self-service system of selling travel-related services or products by means of an interactive travel service system functioning like a travel agent, to simplify the search process by the system and the decision process by the user, the user is first queried as to travel knowledge, such as whether the user is a first-time visitor or is otherwise familiar with the travel destination, and as to personal attribute such as family orientation, age and preference for airlines, lodgings, car rental companies, price range and lifestyle. In accordance with the travel knowledge and attributes inputted electronically by the user, one or more recommendations or a whole listing will be presented for selection by the user. To simplify the process, the user is asked to input the relevant dates and the inventory database is searched so that only available choices will be presented. The system is particularly advantageous for self-service method of selling travel-related services or products such as local tour attractions, local bookings, car rental bookings, local or intrastate tour packages, airline tickets, out-of-state tour packages, cruises, optional tours or cruises, and other shopping options.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,732,398
- Filing date
- 1995-11-09
- Grant date
- 1998-03-24
- Assignee
- Keyosk Corp.
- Inventor(s)
- TAGAWA; RICHARD S.
- CPC class
- G07F17/0014
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