Correlating real-time reservation capacity information received from third party devices with dynamically generated variable discounts

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and system are provided for correlating real-time reservation capacity information received from a plurality of this party devices, with dynamically generated variable discounts. A deal inventory database, consumer profiles database, historical database, and deal rules and definitions database are accessed and/or updated in real-time to enable correlating the real-time reservation capacity information received from a third party device. Dynamically generated variable discounts are provided to user devices based on at least the user device real-time location, and other factors. Selections made via the user device are updated in multiple databases and communicated to the respective third party device in real-time.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 receive real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information via a first communication interface with a plurality of first third party devices associated with respective merchants, wherein the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information is maintained by the respective third party device and is updated in real-time or near real-time to reflect reservations at the respective merchant;   receive via a second communication interface with at least a user interface of a user device, search input comprising one or more dates and one or more times;   determine a real-time user device location based on at least one of global positioning system (GPS) data or identifying information of a network by which the user device has communicated;   access, via a third communication interface with a consumer profile database, preference data associated with a user of the use device;   in real-time or near real-time relative to receiving the search input, access an inventory database and determine one or more identified merchants having associated reservation capacity information reflecting availability at the one or more and one or more times indicated by the search input, and an associated one or more deals comprising one or more discounts;   generate scores for the respective one or more deals based on at least the real-time location data relative to locations of the one or more identified merchants, and the preference data relative to a respective deal and the one or more identified merchants; and   provide via the user interface the one or more deals, associated one or more merchants, and associated reservation capacity information in an order according to the generated scores.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 correlate the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information received via the first communication interface with the one or more deals in the inventory database to determine variable discount amounts based on a reservation time.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more deals comprise a first deal correlated to a first set of reservation times and a second deal correlated to a second set of reservation times, dependent upon the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information provided via a first communication interface. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 receive additional user input indicating a selection of the one or more deals;   generate a new reservation and cause transmittal of the new reservation via the first communication interface to the respective first third party device associated with the selected merchant; and   update the inventory database and the correlated reservation capacity information.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 provide a map view of the one or more merchants relative to the real-time user device location.   
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 weight one or more scores for respective one or more deals based on a discount amount and a merchant rating.   
     
     
         7 . A method comprising:
 receiving real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information via a first communication interface with a plurality of first third party devices associated with respective merchants, wherein the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information is maintained by the respective third party device and is updated in real-time or near real-time to reflect reservations at the respective merchant;   receiving via a second communication interface with at least a user interface of a user device, search input comprising one or more dates and one or more times;   determining a real-time user device location based on at least one of global positioning system (GPS) data or identifying information of a network by which the user device has communicated;   accessing, via a third communication interface with a consumer profile database, preference data associated with a user of the use device;   in real-time or near real-time relative to receiving the search input, accessing an inventory database and determine one or more identified merchants having associated reservation capacity information reflecting availability at the one or more and one or more times indicated by the search input, and an associated one or more deals comprising one or more discounts;   generating scores for the respective one or more deals based on at least the real-time location data relative to locations of the one or more identified merchants, and the preference data relative to a respective deal and the one or more identified merchants; and   providing via the user interface the one or more deals, associated one or more merchants, and associated reservation capacity information in an order according to the generated scores.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 correlating the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information received via the first communication interface with the one or more deals in the inventory database to determine variable discount amounts based on a reservation time.   
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the one or more deals comprise a first deal correlated to a first set of reservation times and a second deal correlated to a second set of reservation times, dependent upon the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information provided via a first communication interface. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 receiving additional user input indicating a selection of the one or more deals;   generating a new reservation and cause transmittal of the new reservation via the first communication interface to the respective first third party device associated with the selected merchant; and   updating the inventory database and the correlated reservation capacity information.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 providing a map view of the one or more merchants relative to the real-time user device location.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising:
 weighting one or more scores for respective one or more deals based on a discount amount and a merchant rating.   
     
     
         13 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions to:
 receive real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information via a first communication interface with a plurality of first third party devices associated with respective merchants, wherein the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information is maintained by the respective third party device and is updated in real-time or near real-time to reflect reservations at the respective merchant;   receive via a second communication interface with at least a user interface of a user device, search input comprising one or more dates and one or more times;   determine a real-time user device location based on at least one of global positioning system (GPS) data or identifying information of a network by which the user device has communicated;   access, via a third communication interface with a consumer profile database, preference data associated with a user of the use device;   in real-time or near real-time relative to receiving the search input, access an inventory database and determine one or more identified merchants having associated reservation capacity information reflecting availability at the one or more and one or more times indicated by the search input, and an associated one or more deals comprising one or more discounts;   generate scores for the respective one or more deals based on at least the real-time location data relative to locations of the one or more identified merchants, and the preference data relative to a respective deal and the one or more identified merchants; and   provide via the user interface the one or more deals, associated one or more merchants, and associated reservation capacity information in an order according to the generated scores.   
     
     
         14 . The computer program product according to  claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable program code instructions further comprise program code instructions to:
 correlate the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information received via the first communication interface with the one or more deals in the inventory database to determine variable discount amounts based on a reservation time.   
     
     
         15 . The computer program product according to  claim 13 , wherein the one or more deals comprise a first deal correlated to a first set of reservation times and a second deal correlated to a second set of reservation times, dependent upon the real-time or near real-time reservation capacity information provided via a first communication interface. 
     
     
         16 . The computer program product according to  claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable program code instructions further comprise program code instructions to:
 receive additional user input indicating a selection of the one or more deals;   generate a new reservation and cause transmittal of the new reservation via the first communication interface to the respective first third party device associated with the selected merchant; and   update the inventory database and the correlated reservation capacity information.   
     
     
         17 . The computer program product according to  claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable program code instructions further comprise program code instructions to:
 provide a map view of the one or more merchants relative to the real-time user device location.   
     
     
         18 . The computer program product according to  claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable program code instructions further comprise program code instructions to:
 weight one or more scores for respective one or more deals based on a discount amount and a merchant rating.