Location-based presentations of ticket opportunities

Abstract

Location-based information is used to estimate which tickets are likely to be unused and to provide channels through which such tickets can be reassigned to others capable of attending the appropriate event. Locations of users (e.g., ticket holders or users interested in an event) are tracked (e.g., by tracking a user device or determining whether the user has redeemed other related tickets, such as a parking voucher), and it is estimated whether and/or when the user could arrive at the event. If it is unlikely that a ticket holder will be able to arrive at the event, an electronic offer can be presented to the ticket holder to surrender the ticket (which may result in a partial or full compensation). If the ticket is surrendered, the ticket can be electronically offered to another user selected based on the user's location and/or relationship to the initial ticket provider.

1 . A ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers, the ticket management system comprising:
 a ticket database that identifies, for each ticket in a set of tickets for an event, an assignment indicating whether the ticket has been assigned to a user and an identifier of any user to whom the ticket is assigned;   an offer database that identifies a location and a time of the event;   a locator that:
 accesses the offer database to identify the location of an event and the time of the event, 
 receives a signal from each of a plurality of transmitters, each of the plurality of transmitters including a global positioning satellite, a Wi-Fi access point or a cell phone tower; and 
 estimates, at a time prior to the time of the event, a current location of a mobile device of a user based on the signals from the plurality of transmitters; 
   an attendance predictor that predicts whether the user will be able to attend the event, the prediction being based on the location of the event, the time of the event and the estimated current location of the user;   an offer engine that:
 determines, based on the prediction of whether the user will be able to attend the event, that an offer is to be presented to the user, 
 generates the offer, the offer indicating that acceptance of the offer will cause an assignment of a ticket of the set of tickets for the event to change, 
 presents the offer to the user; and 
 detects an acceptance of the offer from the user; and 
   a ticket assigner that, in response to the detection of the acceptance, changes the assignment of the ticket in the ticket database.   
     
     
         2 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the offer engine comprises a surrender-offer engine that determines that the offer is to be presented to the user when the attendance predictor predicts that the user will not be able to attend the event,   the ticket is, prior to the acceptance, assigned to the user,   the offer is an offer to surrender the ticket, and   the ticket assigner changes the assignment of the ticket by removing the assignment.   
     
     
         3 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a ticket-offer engine that:
 generates a second offer, 
 presents the second offer to a second user, and 
 detects a second acceptance of the second offer from the second user, 
   wherein the ticket assigner, in response to the detection of the second acceptance, assigns the ticket to the second user in the ticket database.   
     
     
         4 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the detected acceptance of the offer is a conditioned acceptance, the acceptance being conditioned upon another user agreeing to purchase the ticket, and wherein the assignment is only changed upon occurrence of the another user agreeing to purchase the ticket. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising an account database including a plurality of accounts, wherein:
 each account corresponds to a respective user,   at least one account of the plurality of accounts includes a variable indicating that the respective user is to serve as a back-up ticket holder for the event,   the offer engine queries the account database for an account with the variable indicating that the respective user is to serve as a back-up ticket holder for the event,   the user is identified based on the query,   the offer is an offer to have a right to use the ticket, and   the ticket assigner changes the assignment of the ticket by assigning the ticket to the user.   
     
     
         8 . A method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers, the method comprising:
 accessing an offer database that identifies a location and a time of an event;   identifying, based on the access to the offer database, the location and time of the event;   receiving a signal from each of a plurality of transmitters, each of the plurality of transmitters including a global positioning satellite, a Wi-Fi access point or a cell phone tower;   estimating, at a time prior to the time of the event, a current location of a mobile device of a user based on the signals from the plurality of transmitters;   predicting whether the user will be able to attend the event, the prediction being based on the location of the event, the time of the event and the estimated current location of the user;   determining, based on the prediction of whether the user will be able to attend the event, that an offer is to be presented to the user,   generating the offer, the offer indicating that acceptance of the offer will cause an assignment of a ticket of a set of tickets for the event to change in a ticket database, the ticket database identifying, for each ticket in the set of tickets for the event, an assignment indicating whether the ticket has been assigned and an identifier of any user to whom the ticket is assigned;   presenting the offer to the user;   detecting an acceptance of the offer from the user; and   changing, in response to the detection of the acceptance, the assignment of the ticket in the ticket database.   
     
     
         9 . The method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 8 , wherein:
 determining that the offer is to be presented comprises determining that the offer is to be presented to the user when the attendance predictor predicts that the user will not be able to attend the event,   the ticket is, prior to the acceptance, assigned to the user,   the offer is an offer to surrender the ticket, and   changing the assignment comprises removing the assignment.   
     
     
         10 . The method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 9 , further comprising:
 generating a second offer;   presenting the second offer to a second user;   detecting a second acceptance of the second offer from the second user; and   assigning, in response to the detection of the second acceptance, the ticket to the second user in the ticket database.   
     
     
         11 . The method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the detected acceptance of the offer is a conditioned acceptance, the acceptance being conditioned upon another user agreeing to purchase the ticket, and wherein the assignment is only changed upon occurrence of the another user agreeing to purchase the ticket. 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 8 , further comprising:
 querying an account database for an account from amongst a plurality of accounts with the variable indicating that a respective user of the account is to serve as a back-up ticket holder for the event; and   identifying the user based on the query,   wherein the offer is an offer to have a right to use the ticket, and   wherein changing the assignment of the ticket comprises assigning the ticket to the user.   
     
     
         15 . A ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers, the ticket management system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors and one or more memories are configured to:
 access an offer database that identifies a location and a time of an event; 
 identify, based on the access to the offer database, the location and time of the event; 
 receive a signal from each of a plurality of transmitters, each of the plurality of transmitters including a global positioning satellite, a Wi-Fi access point or a cell phone tower; 
 estimate, at a time prior to the time of the event, a current location of a mobile device of a user based on the signals from the plurality of transmitters; 
 predict whether the user will be able to attend the event, the prediction being based on the location of the event, the time of the event and the estimated current location of the user; 
 determine, based on the prediction of whether the user will be able to attend the event, that an offer is to be presented to the user; 
 generate the offer, the offer indicating that acceptance of the offer will cause an assignment of a ticket of a set of tickets for the event to change in a ticket database, the ticket database identifying, for each ticket in the set of tickets for the event, an assignment indicating whether the ticket has been assigned and an identifier of any user to whom the ticket is assigned; 
 present the offer to the user; 
 detect an acceptance of the offer from the user; and 
 change, in response to the detection of the acceptance, the assignment of the ticket in the ticket database. 
   
     
     
         16 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 15 , wherein:
 determining that the offer is to be presented comprises determining that the offer is to be presented to the user when the attendance predictor predicts that the user will not be able to attend the event;   the ticket is, prior to the acceptance, assigned to the user;   the offer is an offer to surrender the ticket; and   changing the assignment comprises removing the assignment.   
     
     
         17 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the one or more processors and one or more memories are further configured to:
 generate a second offer;   present the second offer to a second user;   detect a second acceptance of the second offer from the second user; and   assign, in response to the detection of the second acceptance, the ticket to the second user in the ticket database.   
     
     
         18 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the detected acceptance of the offer is a conditioned acceptance, the acceptance being conditioned upon another user agreeing to purchase the ticket, and wherein the assignment is only changed upon occurrence of the another user agreeing to purchase the ticket. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 15 , wherein the one or more processors and one or more memories are further configured to:
 query an account database for an account from amongst a plurality of accounts with the variable indicating that a respective user of the account is to serve as a back-up ticket holder for the event; and   identify the user based on the query,   wherein the offer is an offer to have a right to use the ticket, and   wherein changing the assignment of the ticket comprises assigning the ticket to the user.   
     
     
         21 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the attendance predictor predicts whether the user will be able to attend the event, at least in part by:
 identifying a distance between the current location and the location of the event; or   estimating a commute time between the current location and the location of the event.   
     
     
         22 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the attendance predictor predicts whether the user will be able to attend the event at a defined time prior to the time of the event. 
     
     
         23 . The method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 8 , wherein predicting whether the user will be able to attend the event includes:
 identifying a distance between the current location and the location of the event; or   estimating a commute time between the current location and the location of the event.   
     
     
         24 . The method for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 8 , wherein the predicting whether the user will be able to attend the event occurs at a defined time prior to the time of the event 
     
     
         25 . The ticket management system for estimating user locations and presenting location-sensitive ticket offers as recited in  claim 15 , wherein predicting whether the user will be able to attend the event includes:
 identifying a distance between the current location and the location of the event; or   estimating a commute time between the current location and the location of the event.