WO2000039721A1

WO2000039721A1 - Apparatus and method for a flexible-product voucher

Info

Publication number: WO2000039721A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/023799
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jay S. Walker; Daniel E. Tedesco
Original assignee: Walker Digital LLC
Current assignee: Walker Digital LLC
Priority date: 1998-12-28
Filing date: 1999-10-12
Publication date: 2000-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 2001-06-28
Also published as: AU1111500A

Abstract

A flexible product voucher is redeemed by receiving a request for a product, said request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within a general product class; determining whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and if the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product, then providing the requested product to a customer.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR A FLEXIBLE-PRODUCT VOUCHER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to commercial transactions. In particular, the present invention relates to flexible-product vouchers, and systems and methods for creating and using flexible product vouchers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Airlines presently fly over 500,000 empty seats a day. This fact has lead to many attempts in the airline industry to turn these products into revenue. Attempts to capitalize on this inefficiency, however, must comport with constraints that stem from a combination of airline economics and user requirements. For example, the practice of discounting tickets just before they expire yields diluting results. That is, many travelers would wait until just before flights to purchase tickets at substantial discounts. This would in turn tend to depress conventional, full-priced retail sales. As another example, retail discounts often instigate fare wars between competitors that ultimately damage the entire industry through the resulting downward pressure on retail price structures.

Many past attempts to solve the empty-seat problem on airlines hinge upon the traveler's flexibility; the more flexible the traveler, the deeper the discount. Airlines can capitalize on traveler flexibility using a technique called load balancing, that is, changing inventory and booking decisions according to availability, traffic patterns, and sales trends.

An example of a flexibility-based attempt at selling airline ticket inventory exists in the sale of stand-by vouchers. Stand-by vouchers are sold to extremely flexible travelers who must present their vouchers to an airline's gate agent within several hours of the flight. Then, travelers can board the plane if, immediately prior to the flight, seats are still available on the flight. For example, Airtech, Ltd. of New York, NY, sells a "Flightpass™ that operates on a stand-by basis (see, e.g., <http://www.airtech.com/at flightpass/at faqflightpass.htm#spaceavailable>;

<http://www.airtech.com/at flightpass/at choose flightpass.htm>; both available on November 5, 1998). There are, however, many shortcomings associated with the standby tickets. First, the degree of uncertainty required of the traveler is often too much to encourage sales in an effective manner. That is, often, a traveler must even go so far as to pack and go to the airport on the day of the flight with no guarantee that the traveler will get to board the flight. Another shortcoming associated with standby tickets is that many travelers become dissatisfied with the airline when they are not able to use their standby vouchers on full flights. This dissatisfaction hurts the airline's goodwill, and negatively impacts on its efforts to develop a brand image that focuses on reliability and customer service.

A second flexibility-based attempt to sell distressed airline-ticket inventory is seen in the various e-mail notification services offered by airlines. Many airlines, including Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Continental, Icelandair, Southwest, TWA and USAirways have instituted programs whereby travelers register their e-mail addresses with the airline, (see, e.g.

<http://travel.epicurious.com travel/c-planning/02_airfares/email/intro.html>; available on November 5, 1998). Then, closer to the flight (usually 2-3 day before), the airline emails the registered participant with a discount message if there is space available. This method requires that travelers decide on a moment's notice whether to take advantage of the airline's offer. This method also can ultimately lead to dilution because travelers may tend to wait for deep discounts. A third flexibility-based attempt to sell distressed airline ticket inventory is disclosed in applicant's pending patent application entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE SALE OF AIRLINE-SPECIFIED FLIGHT TICKETS, U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 08/889,304, Filed on July 8, 1997, incorporated herein by reference. This invention generally allows for an "unspecified-time airline ticket" to be sold to a customer by (1) making available an unspecified-time ticket, (2) examining a set of flights that would fulfill the terms of the unspecified-time ticket to determine which flight to select, and (3) providing to the customer notification of the selected flight prior to departure. The invention disclosed in this patent application provides travelers with reduced airfare in return for flight-time flexibility. Accordingly, the disclosed invention permits airlines to fill seats that would have otherwise gone unsold. Because of the flexibility required of the unspecified-time traveler, unspecified-time tickets are likely to attract leisure travelers unwilling to purchase tickets at the available published fares, and at the same time, are likely to exclude business travelers unwilling to risk losing a full day at either end of their trip. Moreover, the flexibility required of the unspecified-time traveler need not be limited to a departure time; unspecified characteristics of the ticket may also include the airline, the departing airport, the destination airport, or any other restriction that increases the flexibility afforded the airline in placing the traveler aboard a flight. The disclosed embodiments thus permit airlines to fill otherwise empty seats in a manner that stimulates latent and unfulfilled leisure travel demand while leaving their underlying fare structures intact. There are limits, however, to the flexibility achieved by using such unspecified- time tickets. For example, making available an unspecified-time ticket requires the airline to review demand forecast data and to allocate specific seats for unspecified- time tickets in a "Computer Reservation System" (CRS). The dedication of this inventory to unspecified-time ticket sales restricts the airline's opportunity to be flexible in light of conventional retail sales channels.

Furthermore, after unspecified-time tickets are sold, the airline is committed to booking the corresponding ticket holders in the CRS according to their traveler- specified itinerary. The airline is then restricted in that it must actively place all unspecified-time ticket holders on one of several qualifying flights, regardless of whether a ticket holder plans to show up for the flight. This aspect overlooks the opportunity to sell the seat again in case the traveler does not show up to claim the seat, and therefore also overlooks the opportunity to gain from any unredeemed ticket revenue. Furthermore, the airline is ultimately committed to the discounted price; the airline must supply the ticket at the committed discounted price regardless of whether actual demand surpasses forecast demand.

A fourth flexibility-based method of selling empty seats is the practice ofpriceline.com™ and its pending and issued patents. The priceline.com™ system works most efficiently, however, when the number of sellers is sufficiently large such that participating sellers can compete with each other for buyers' business. Further, for priceline.com™ to be a valuable proposition to the customer, the customer must be notified within a reasonable time as to whether the customer's offer is acceptable by an airline. That is, airlines cannot leverage the option of selling to priceline.com™ customers, but rather, the airlines must be ready to sell a ticket when the customer is ready to buy.

Another way to sell empty seats is through Internet auctions. This method is flexibility-based, but is, however, unattractive and burdensome to buyers. Auctions have traditionally been a vehicle for sellers to extract the best (highest priced) demand from a market. As such, buyers may not get a very substantial discount, or any discount at all, on the retail price. Further, auctions require continuous competition between buyers until the close of the auction. This may be burdensome to buyers in that they must be actively involved in a potentially fruitless communication with the auction service to see if their price has been surpassed by a subsequent bidder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To alleviate the problems inherent in the prior art, the present invention introduces a flexible product voucher, and apparatus and methods for creating and using such vouchers.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a flexible product voucher is introduced comprising a price and a general product class, where the flexible product voucher is adapted to be redeemed upon receiving a request for a product. The request includes flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within the general product class. A determination is then made as to whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product, and if the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product, then providing the requested product to a customer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an apparatus for using flexible product vouchers.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a central controller of the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a flexible product voucher.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for redeeming a flexible product voucher. FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a method for redeeming a flexible product voucher.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for purging expired flexible product vouchers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As a contextual example of the present invention, the flexible product voucher can take the form of an airline voucher t hat represents a general product, such as a flight from New York to Los Angeles. Upon a traveler's redemption of the voucher, the specific characteristics (such as flight dates, flight numbers and airports) of the general product are revealed to the traveler. An airline or agent thereof can sell a flexible product voucher to a traveler for a price that is less than the standard retail price of a ticket. The flexible product voucher is valid for a predetermined time (e.g., one year). The traveler can then, through a remote communication device (e.g., telephone, personal computer), contact the system prior to a flight to query whether the airline will let him or her use the voucher on a given flight. This query is called a booking request. Upon receipt of a request for a product, in this case a booking request, the system can determine whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product. For example, the system can determine whether there is availability on the given flight, whether various restrictions are met, and if so, whether it would be profitable for the airline to book the traveler on the flight. If the airline finds it profitable, and all restrictions are met, then the airline books the passenger through an Airline Reservation System (ARS).

To continue the contextual example, upon receiving a booking request, after determining that a given flight has availability and that the voucher has not expired, the system determines whether certain voucher restrictions are met such that the holder of the voucher is eligible to be booked on a given flight. Vouchers can have use restrictions to further prevent dilution. For example, a voucher may be restricted to a flight that requires a weekend stay-over to deter business traveler usage. Then, the system performs the aforementioned step of determining if it would be profitable for the airline to book the traveler on the flight. This step includes using demand forecast data and to evaluate the profit potential associated with booking the ticket. Such demand forecast data are frequently employed in airline revenue management systems to arrive at optimal retail pricing arrangements. Demand forecasting involves an algorithmic evaluation of dynamically changing variables that may effect retail sales. Such variables include seasonal and historic demand, competitor pricing, market trends, weather, current demand rates, and the perishability of airline seats. Note that many methods can be used to arrive at a probability that a given seat will sell at a given price through retail channels.

For example, a sufficient probability may exist (e.g., a 90% chance) that a given seat will sell at the published (retail) fare (e.g., $500). This probability may make it attractive for the airline to take the chance that the seat will in fact sell through conventional retail channels. Accordingly, the airline would deny a booking the seat to the holder of a discounted voucher (e.g. previously sold for $300). In this example, the airline would prefer to "take the chance" on retail sales because the expected profit to be gained through retail channels, ($450 = $500 x .90), is greater than the profit that can be retained by booking the flex-voucher, which is $300.

On the other hand, the airline may decide that a guaranteed sale using the voucher is more attractive than a typical retail sale. For example, it may not be sufficiently probable (e.g., a 55% chance) that a given seat will sell at the published fare (e.g., $500), which would make it more attractive to the airline to capitalize on the guaranteed sale made possible through the prior sale of the flex-vouchers. In this example, the airline would prefer to book the flex -voucher because the expected profit to be gained through retail channels, ($275 = $500 x 0.55), is less than the profit that can be retained by booking the flex-voucher, which is $300.

The airline's determination of whether the request for a product satisfies a set of purchase criteria may be based on pre-defined thresholds. For example, the airline may wish to book vouchers when the probability of sale at retail is less than a given probability (e.g., 85%). Furthermore, the airline may wish to book vouchers when, as in the above examples, the expected profit that is to be generated through retail sales is less than the profit that can be retained through the booking of the voucher (e.g., when probability of sale x retail price < flex voucher price). This embodiment takes into consideration that, if the airline chooses the retail channel, the profit is at best a speculative forecast while the booking of a voucher is a guaranteed way to retain the money received from the previous sale of the voucher. Additionally, the airline may wish to book vouchers when the expected retail profit is less than the profit that can be retained through the booking of the flex voucher by a predetermined dollar amount, for example, by $50. In an embodiment of the present invention, the voucher can be identified to the system by a unique identifier, possibly printed on the voucher, so that the voucher can be accounted for in a voucher database. Once the voucher is redeemed or booked, the voucher is recorded as redeemed or booked in the voucher database to prevent over- redemption of the voucher. The voucher database can also track the expiration date of the voucher. Also, in an alternate embodiment, the identifier can be used to track the number of times a buyer attempts to use their voucher so that a refund can be automatically given to the buyer if they do not get booked, for example, within five queries. In another embodiment, the traveler can query the system for as long as their voucher is valid. Turning now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus 100 for using flexible product vouchers. The apparatus 100 includes a central controller 110 that is in communication with buyer devices 120, 130 and 140 through a network 150, such as the Internet or the public switched telephone network. In this example, the buyer devices 120, 130 and 140 may be one or more of a personal computer, a telephone and a facsimile machine. The central controller 110 may comprise a computer, such as those based on the Intel® Pentium® microprocessor, which is adapted to communicate via the Internet (e.g. via a modem). Any number of buyer devices may be in communication with the central controller 110.

The central controller 110 may be a "web server" of a seller. The central controller 110 may generate a web page that may be accessed via the World Wide Web and allow purchases from the seller to be made in a manner known in the art. A buyer device may appropriately access the web page to communicate with the central controller 110 in a manner that is also known to those skilled in the art.

Alternatively, the central controller 110 may provide a voice interface through an INRU (Interactive Voice Response Unit) or a voice recognition system. The buyer devices 120, 130 and 140 may then be telephones that permit communication with the central controller 110 by using the voice of the customer or dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals.

Referring to FIG. 2, the central controller 110 comprises a processor 200, such as the Intel® Pentium® microprocessor. The processor 200 is in communication with a data storage device 210, such as an appropriate combination of magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory. For example, the data storage device 210 may comprise one or more of a ROM, RAM and hard disk. The processor 200 and the data storage device 210 may each be (i) located entirely within a single computer or other computing device; (ii) connected to each other by a remote communication medium, such as a serial port cable, telephone line or radio frequency transceiver; or (iii) a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the central controller 110 may comprise one or more computers that are connected to a remote server computer for maintaining databases.

The processor 200 is also in communication with input and output devices 215, such as a keyboard and a video display monitor. Appropriate input and output devices will be understood by those skilled in the art. The data storage device 210 stores a program 220 for controlling the processor

200. The processor 200 performs instructions of the program 220, and thereby operates in accordance with the present invention, and particularly in accordance with the methods described in detail herein. In one embodiment, the instructions are stored in a compressed and/or encrypted format. As used herein, the phrase "adapted to be executed by a processor" encompasses instructions stored in a compressed and/or encrypted format, as well as instructions that have to be compiled or installed by an installer before being executed by the processor 200.

The program 220 furthermore includes program elements that may be necessary, such as an operating system and "device drivers" for allowing the processor 200 to interface with computer peripheral devices. Appropriate device drivers and other necessary program elements are known to those skilled in the art, and need not be described in detail herein.

The storage device 210 also stores (i) a voucher product database 230, (ii) an inventory database 240, (iii) a purchase criteria database 250, and (iv) a voucher sales database 260. The databases 230, 240, 250 and 260 are described in detail below and depicted with exemplary entries in the accompanying figures. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations and accompanying descriptions of the databases presented herein are exemplary arrangements for stored representations of information. A number of other arrangements may be employed besides those suggested by the tables shown. Similarly, the illustrated entries of the databases represent exemplary information, and those skilled in the art will understand that the number and content of the entries can be different from those illustrated herein.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a flexible product voucher. In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible product voucher comprises a paper ticket 300 on which a price 310 and a general product class 320 are printed. Price 310 defines the price at which the voucher is sold to the consumer. General product class 320 defines the general category from which the specific product requested by a consumer is chosen. For example, general product class 320 can define the general product to be airline tickets, and the specific product desired within the general product class can be a ticket for a specific seat on a specific flight. Other examples of general product classes include automobile rental, wherein the specific product desired can be a specific automobile for a specific amount of time, and hotel accommodations, wherein the specific product desired can be a specific room on a specific date.

The flexible product voucher is adapted to be redeemed when the central controller 110 (FIG. 1) receives a request for a product. The central controller 110 determines whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product, and if so, the requested product is provided to the customer. The request for the product defines the general product class because the product is contained in the general product class.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the received request for a product includes flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within the general product class. Flexible product voucher information can include, but is not limited to, information about the price of the flexible product voucher, information about when and how the requester would like to use the flexible product voucher, a quantity of requested product, authentication information, and a serial number identifying the voucher. The requested product can be, for example, at least one airline ticket, automobile rental, and/or hotel room.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the flexible product voucher further includes expiration information 103 printed thereon. This expiration information defines the amount of time the voucher can be used. For example, a consumer can purchase a voucher with expiration information that allows the voucher to be used only within one year from the date of purchase. Thereafter, on a predetermined date, the voucher expires and cannot be used. The price 310, general product class 320, and expiration information 330 and other information such as a unique voucher identifier may be printed on the voucher in the form of text and/or machine-readable indicia, such as a bar code.

Table 1 is a tabular representation of an example of the voucher product database 230 (FIG. 2). The information stored in the voucher product database 230 illustrates the types of flexible product vouchers that can be sold to customers, as well as associated information such as purchase criteria, expiration information, and price. The flexible product voucher information can be stored, for example, in a database by the company that sells the product, or by another company that acts as a broker or reseller of the product. In Table 1, the general product class is defined, the purchase criteria are stored, the expiration information is defined, and the price is stored.

TABLE 1

In Table 1 , two general product classes are illustrated. The first general product class is any New York to Los Angeles round-trip flight. The second general product class is any New York to San Francisco round trip flight. These are only examples of general product classes. A general product class can take on any form, and one general product class could be, for example, a round trip flight to any particular destination. The purchase criteria for both illustrated general product classes involve comparing the retail price to the flexible product voucher price. Both general product classes are valid for one year from their respective purchase dates. Finally, the price is shown for each flexible product voucher.

Table 2 is a tabular representation of an example of an inventory database used in redeeming the flexible product vouchers.

TABLE 2

In Table 2, five coach seats are available for a round-trip flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. The retail price for each seat is $500, and the demand forecast is 90%. In this example, the flexible product voucher will satisfy the purchase criteria for the requested product if the equation (Price of voucher) > (0.90 X $500) is satisfied. Thus, if the price of the voucher is greater than $450, the purchase criteria are satisfied, and the requested product will be supplied to the customer.

The received product voucher information can include a "trigger" that is correlated with the particular purchase criteria that are used when determining whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product. For example, Table 3 displays purchase criteria that are tied to particular examples of triggers, such as round-trip flights. As such, Table 3 is a tabular representation of an example of a purchase-criteria database.

TABLE 3

In the example in Table 3, trigger information can be product voucher information that defines a request for any round trip flight between New York and Los Angeles. If this information is included in, extrapolated from or derived from the product voucher information that is received, then following purchase criteria can be used: the product is supplied to the customer if the percent likelihood of a conventional retail sale multiplied by the conventional retail price is less than the amount of money paid for the voucher. As shown in Table 3, the trigger information can also include a unique voucher identification number. In this example, if the voucher identification number ABC 123 is received, then the product will be supplied to the customer when the percent likelihood of a conventional retail sale is less than 85%.

Table 4 is a tabular representation of an example of a voucher sales database used to store information pertaining to individual product vouchers that have been sold to customers.

TABLE 4

Flexible product vouchers may be sold by receiving desired flexible voucher characteristics and payment for the voucher from a customer via a buyer device. In response the central controller 110 could generate a unique voucher identifier and an expiration date, and record in the voucher sales database 260 (FIG. 2) the voucher identifier, voucher characteristics, sale price, and restrictions. The status of such a voucher would initially be "not redeemed".

Figure 4 is a flow chart 400 of an embodiment of a method according to the present invention. The flow chart in Figure 4 is not meant to imply an order to the steps; the steps may be performed in any order that is practicable. At step 401, a request for a product is received, the request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within a general product class. At step 402, it is determined whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria defined by the voucher information. If the request satisfies the set of purchase criteria, then at step 403, the requested product is provided to the customer. If the request does not satisfy the set of purchase criteria for the requested product, then the requested product is not supplied to the customer, and the processing of that request ends (step 404).

The flexible product voucher information received at step 401 can include, but is not limited to, the price at which the flexible product voucher was purchased, expiration information about the flexible product voucher, a quantity of requested product, authentication information, and/or a serial number identifying the voucher.

The set of purchase criteria used in step 402 can include, but is not limited to, inventory information such as a quantity available of the product, use restrictions such as the requirement of a weekend stay, profitability conditions such as the cost of the seat per flight, the flexible product voucher price, and the probability of a retail sale.

As an example of satisfying the purchase criteria, an airline can decide that the purchase criteria are satisfied when a probability of a retail sale of the requested product multiplied by a retail price of the requested product is less than a flexible voucher price. As another example, the purchase criteria can be satisfied when the difference between a flexible voucher price and a probability of a retail sale of the product multiplied by a retail price of the product is greater than a predetermined value. As another example, the purchase criteria can be satisfied when the probability of a retail sale of the product is less than a predetermined threshold. If the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product, then the requested product is provided to a customer. Providing the requested product to the customer can include, in one embodiment, sending a message to the customer confirming that the flexible product voucher has been redeemed for the requested product and assigning ownership of the product to the customer. This message can include security information, a confirmation code, a statement of terms and conditions for redeeming the flexible product voucher, and statement of terms and conditions for using the requested product. As an example, but not the only example, if the customer would like to redeem the flexible product voucher for one or more airline tickets, the message sent to the customer can include flight information such as a seat number and a flight number. In this example, providing the product to the customer can include sending an airline ticket to the customer or advising the customer that an electronic ticket (e-ticket) will be available for the customer.

The request for a product received in step 401 can be received over a network from a terminal device such as a computer, a telephone, a facsimile, or the like. The determination at step 402 can be made on the central controller 110 (FIG. 1). The requested product can then be provided to the customer at step 403 in any way that is appropriate for the requested product. For example, if the requested product is a seat on an airplane flight, a ticket can be mailed to the customer or a computer can store the customer's information for "ticketless" travel. On the travel date, the customer can board the airplane in the conventional way and be flown to his destination. Included in the requested product can be a message to the customer. Some examples of a message can be information about the product, information about other products, coupons, and PIN numbers for identification and access. This message can be sent over a network to a terminal device such as a computer, telephone, or facsimile. Additionally, the message can be sent to the customer over land by normal mail or mail-equivalent methods.

Figures 5A and 5B are a flow chart 500 that illustrate a detailed method for managing the redemption of product vouchers. At step 502, the central controller 110 receives, from a buyer device, a booking request from a customer including a voucher identifier and an identifier of the flight desired. In other embodiments, the customer need not specify a flight, but may instead specify other criteria. It is then determined at step 504 whether the requested flight has sufficient unsold seats to book the voucher, thereby allowing the buyer to redeem the voucher. The step 504 can be performed by querying the inventory database 240 (FIG. 2).

If there is not sufficient availability, the customer is prompted for an alternate flight identifier at step 506. For example, if the customer contacted the central controller 110 via telephone, an Interactive Voice Response Unit (IVRU) can be configured to relay an audio message to the customer. Alternatively, if the customer contacted the central controller 110 via personal computer, a Web-based interface (e.g. a web page) can be configured to prompt the customer for an alternate flight identifier. If at step 504 it is determined that the requested flight has sufficient availability, it is determined at step 508 whether the buyer's voucher has expired. The central controller 110 can, for example, query the voucher sales database 260 (FIG. 2) and compare the corresponding expiration date to the system time. In an alternate embodiment, a voucher may be deemed "expired" if it has already been redeemed, as would be recorded in the voucher sales database. If at step 508 it is determined that the buyer's voucher has expired, an appropriate message is communicated to the buyer at step 510, and the redemption status is updated in the voucher sales database 260 at step 512.

If at step 508 it is determined that the buyer's voucher has not expired, the appropriate redemption rules corresponding to the voucher's characteristics are retrieved at step 514 from the purchase criteria database 250 (FIG. 2). Thereafter at step 516 appropriate sales data corresponding to the requested flight is retrieved from the inventory database 240. Then at step 518 the sale price of the voucher is retrieved from the voucher sales database 260. At step 520, the retrieved sales data is evaluated in light of the retrieved voucher price, in a manner previously discussed. If at step 522 the central controller 110 determines that the voucher does not meet the retrieved corresponding redemption rules, a "rejection" message is communicated to the buyer at step 524.

If at step 522 it is determined that the voucher meets the retrieved corresponding redemption rules, the corresponding redemption status in the voucher sales database is changed to "redeemed" at step 526. Thereafter, at step 528, the inventory database 240 is updated to account for the redeemed voucher. At step 530, the buyer is "booked" in conventional manner through the employment of an Airline Reservation System (ARS). Finally, at step 532, a message is communicated to the buyer including product specifications and details. Accordingly, the above-described method serves to (i) identify available inventory for voucher redemption, (ii) prevent redemption of expired vouchers, (iii) prevent over-redemption of previously sold vouchers, (iv) optimize revenue for the airline in the redemption process, and (v) manage and update sales, product and inventory data. Figure 6 illustrates a flow chart 600 for purging expired vouchers. It can be desirable to periodically update the voucher sales database 260 by invalidating expired vouchers so that, for example, a given buyer is prevented from redeeming a voucher too long after the voucher has been purchased. At step 602, the central controller 110 retrieves the current time from a clock built into the central controller 110 or from an external clock. Then, at step 604, records in the voucher sales database that have a status of "not redeemed" are identified. At step 606, the central controller 110 determines, for each identified record, if the coπesponding expiration date predates the cuπent time. For the records identified at step 604, the appropriate corresponding status fields are updated in the voucher sales database 260 to "expired" at step 608. The present invention has been described in terms of several embodiments solely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled in the art will recognize from this description that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be practiced with modifications and alterations limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A flexible product voucher comprising:

(a) a price; and

(b) a general product class, said flexible product voucher adapted to be redeemed by:

(i) receiving a request for a product, said request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within the general product class;

(ii) determining whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and

(iii) providing the requested product to a customer if the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product.

2. The flexible product voucher of claim 1, further comprising: (c) expiration information.

3. The flexible product voucher of claim 1, wherein the request includes a quantity of the requested product.

4. The flexible product voucher of claim 1, wherein the requested product is at least one airline ticket.

5. The flexible product voucher of claim 1 , wherein the requested product is at least one delivery of a package.

6. The flexible product voucher of claim 1, wherein the requested product is at least one automobile rental.

7. The flexible product voucher of claim 1, wherein the requested product is at least one hotel stay.

8. A method for redeeming a flexible product voucher, comprising:

(a) receiving a request for a product, said request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within a general product class; (b) determining whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and

(c) providing the requested product to a customer if the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes a price at which the flexible product voucher was purchased.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes expiration information about the flexible product voucher.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes product inventory information.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes profitability conditions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the profitability conditions include a probability that the requested product will be sold independent of a flexible product voucher.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the profitability conditions include the requested product's retail price.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when a probability of a retail sale of the requested product multiplied by a retail price of the requested product is less than a flexible voucher price.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the difference between a flexible voucher price and a probability of a retail sale of the product multiplied by a retail price of the product is greater than a given value.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the probability of a retail sale of the product is less than a given threshold.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein providing the requested product to the customer includes sending a message to the customer confirming that the flexible product voucher has been redeemed for the requested product.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the message includes a confirmation code.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the confirmation code includes flight information.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the message includes a statement of terms and conditions for using the requested product.

22. The method of claim 8, wherein providing the requested product to the customer includes sending an airline ticket to the customer.

23. A medium storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to:

(a) receive a request for a product, said request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within a general product class; (b) determine whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and

(c) provide the requested product to a customer if the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product.

24. The medium of claim 23, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes the price at which the flexible product voucher was purchased.

25. The medium of claim 23, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes expiration information about the flexible product voucher.

26. The medium of claim 23, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes product inventory information.

27. The medium of claim 23, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes profitability conditions.

28. The medium of claim 27, wherein the profitability conditions include the likelihood that a product will be sold independent of a flexible product voucher.

29. The medium of claim 27, wherein the profitability conditions include the retail price of the product.

30. The medium of claim 23, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the likelihood of the retail sale of the product multiplied by the retail price of the product is less than the flexible voucher price.

31. The medium of claim 23, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the difference between the flexible voucher price and the retail sale of the product multiplied by the retail price of the product is greater than a given value.

32. The medium of claim 23, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the likelihood of the retail sale of the product is less than a given percentage.

33. The medium of claim 23, wherein providing the requested product to the customer includes sending a message to the customer confirming that the flexible product voucher has been redeemed for the requested product.

34. The medium of claim 33, wherein the message includes a confirmation code.

35. The medium of claim 34, wherein the confirmation code defines flight information.

36. The medium of claim 34, wherein the message includes a statement of the terms and conditions for using the requested product.

37. The medium of claim 23, wherein providing the requested product to the customer includes sending an airline ticket to the customer.

38. An apparatus for processing a flexible product voucher, comprising:

(a) a processor; (b) a memory coupled to said processor, and storing instructions adapted to be executed by said processor to: i. receive a request for a product, said request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within a general product class; ii. to determine whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and iii. to provide the requested product to a customer if the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and (c) a port adapted to be coupled to a network, said port coupled to said processor and said memory.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising a printer for printing tickets.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes the price at which the flexible product voucher was purchased.

41. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes expiration information about the flexible product voucher.

42. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes product inventory information.

43. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes profitability conditions.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the profitability conditions include the likelihood that a product will be sold independent of a flexible product voucher.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the profitability conditions include the retail price of the product.

46. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the likelihood of the retail sale of the product multiplied by the retail price of the product is less than the flexible voucher price.

47. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the difference between the flexible voucher price and the retail sale of the product multiplied by the retail price of the product is greater than a given value.

48. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the likelihood of the retail sale of the product is less than a given percentage.

49. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein providing the requested product to the customer includes sending a message to the customer confirming that the flexible product voucher has been redeemed for the requested product.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the message includes a confirmation code.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the confirmation includes flight information.

52. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the message includes a statement of the terms and conditions for using the requested product.

53. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein providing the requested product to the customer includes sending an airline ticket to the customer.

54. A system for processing a flexible product voucher, comprising:

(a) means for receiving a request for a product, said request including flexible product voucher information and information pertaining to a product within a general product class; (b) means for determining whether the request satisfies a set of purchase criteria for the requested product; and (c) means for providing the requested product to the customer.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes the price at which the flexible product voucher was purchased.

56. The system of claim 54, wherein the flexible product voucher information includes expiration information about the flexible product voucher.

57. The system of claim 54, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes product inventory information.

58. The system of claim 54, wherein the set of purchase criteria includes profitability conditions.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the profitability conditions include the likelihood that a product will be sold independent of a flexible product voucher.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the profitability conditions include the retail price of the product.

61. The system of claim 54, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the likelihood of the retail sale of the product multiplied by the retail price of the product is less than the flexible voucher price.

62. The system of claim 54, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the difference between the flexible voucher price and the retail sale of the product multiplied by the retail price of the product is greater than a given value.

63. The system of claim 54, wherein the purchase criteria are satisfied when the likelihood of the retail sale of the product is less than a given percentage.

64. The system of claim 54, wherein the means for providing the requested product to the customer includes means for sending a message to the customer confirming that the flexible product voucher has been redeemed for the requested product.

65. The system of claim 64, wherein the message includes a confirmation code.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein the confirmation code includes flight information.

67. The system of claim 64, wherein the message includes a statement of the terms and conditions for using the requested product.

68. The system of claim 64, wherein the means for providing the requested product to the customer includes means for sending an airline ticket to the customer.