a)-(d) illustrate exemplary home pages of a travel agent path for a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
a) and (b) illustrate respectively exemplary destination and port menus that aid in the location selection process;
a) and (b) illustrate exemplary renter information pages for a travel agent path in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
a)-(c) illustrate an exemplary “my account” page for a travel agent path in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Optionally, an administrator computer 112 can be in communication with the customer/promotional database 108 to provide an authorized administrator with control over the content of database 108, thereby providing the administrator with control over the promotional offers available through the reservation booking website and control over how users associated with a customer account experience the reservation booking website, as described in the referenced Ser. No. 11/377,811 patent application.
The reservation booking website hosted by system 150 preferably provides a plurality of user-interactive pages for display on the user computers. These pages preferably interact with users of the user computers to obtain user input regarding a plurality of rental vehicle reservation characteristics (e.g., the location where the rental vehicle corresponding to the rental vehicle reservation is to be picked up, temporal information (e.g., starting/ending dates) for the reservation, the vehicle type (e.g., compact car, full-size car, etc.) for the reservation, renter information (e.g., name, address, etc.), etc.). As noted above, examples of pages for the rental vehicle reservation-booking website include a Home (H) page, a Choose Vehicle Type (CV) page, a Choose Location (CL) page, a Renter Information (RI) page, a Verify (V) page, a Confirmation (C) page and others, as described in the above-referenced related patent applications.
When entering the website in a conventional fashion through the website's home page (H) 200, the user, depending on his/her desires, can either submit all data values for all necessary data types to the website via a single data exchange (see the path with the arrow labeled TLV), two data exchanges (see the paths labeled with the TL/TV/LV arrows), or in single-step fashion via three data exchanges. In instances where the user does not submit all necessary data types from the home page, one or more intermediate pages 202 are displayed for the user to submit remaining reservation data. Once the website has received all necessary data from the user, a verify page (V) 204 is presented from which the user can review his/her data entries and thereafter book the reservation if all is accurate (step 206). Upon booking the reservation, a confirmation page 208 is then displayed that summarizes pertinent details of the reservation.
It is advantageous to tailor a user's path through the website based on the user's needs, particularly when that user is a repeat user such as a travel agent. To enhance a travel agent's experience with a rental vehicle reservation-booking website, the inventors herein disclose an improvement to such a website wherein a specialized travel agent path within the website is provided. The navigational route of the travel agent path preferably corresponds the route described in the above-referenced related patent applications with respect to the primary H, CL, CV, RI, V, and C pages, but is also preferably further enhanced such that the pages of the travel agent path are specially configured for travel agent users as well as the inclusion of some additional pages that are designed to accommodate a user profile maintained by the website for a travel agent user, as will be described hereinafter with respect to a variety of preferred pages of the travel agent path. However, it should be noted that other travel agent paths could be used in the practice of the invention. As used in the context of the travel agent path, a user or travel agent user refers to the travel agent himself/herself or a person empowered by the travel agent to actually access the website to book rental vehicle reservations on behalf of a client. As such, the travel agent users of the travel agent path may also include for example an assistant or a secretary to a travel agent.
Any reservations booked by the travel agent will be associated with the travel agent's identifier so that commissions can be paid to the travel agent when the travel agent's client rents a vehicle in accordance with the rental vehicle reservation. Typically, commissions become payable to the travel agent upon closing of the rental contract corresponding to the subject reservation, wherein the commission is based on the actual rental contract opened and closed by the renter. However, it should be noted other commission procedures could be adopted by a rental vehicle service provider. Preferably the travel agent identifier is one of the standard travel agent identifiers that are already used in the industry, such as Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) numbers, International Airport Transport Association (IATA) numbers, Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) numbers or the like. However, it should be noted that any identifier could be used, including an identifier issued through the website.
If the travel agent identifier does not match a travel agent identifier that has previously been registered with the website, then the page 500 of
Also, it should be noted that the identifier entered in field 402 can be specific to an individual travel agent person or to a travel agent entity that comprises a collection of individual travel agent persons, dependent upon the particular business situations of the different travel agent users of the website. Preferably, the travel agent identifier is applicable to a travel agent entity, and then each individual travel agent who works for the travel agent entity, will then maintain a user profile with the website. However, other options can be practiced. For example, the travel agent entity may also maintain a single user profile to which all of its travel agent individual employees have access.
a) illustrates home page 500 that is reached by the user after the user has entered the travel agent path. The name of the travel agent stored in database 108 corresponding to the user-entered identifier in field 402 is displayed in section 502. Furthermore, through buttons 540 and 542, the user can sign into (or create) a user profile that may be stored for the user in database 108, much like the buttons 304 and 306 shown in
If the travel agent user wants to sign up for a travel agent user profile, he/she can do so by selecting link 542. Upon selection of link 542, page 2300 of
Sections 506, 508, 510, and 512 operate largely as described in connection with the above-referenced related patent applications, namely as a means for obtaining location, temporal, renter age, and vehicle type information for the reservation from the user. However, it should be noted that section 506 includes two links 518 and 520 (in addition to link 518 that is user-selectable to display a list of available airport branch locations for the rental vehicle service provider) that are user-selectable to display the menus of
Through link 518, the travel agent user can access a menu 600 of popular travel destinations, as shown in
Through link 520, the travel agent user can access a menu 650 of popular travel ports of call, as shown in
As used herein in connection with menus 600 and 650, “destination” refers to a location that is generally considered a traveler attraction and/or a place where travelers can be expected to visit when traveling (e.g., a theme park, a particular hotel, the downtown area of a city, a cruise port (thus, the ports of call in menu 650 can be considered a subset of the class “destinations”), a popular travel region such as Napa wine country in California, and the like). These destinations are labeled with names reflective of the destination rather than a technical label that a user such as a travel agent may not readily associate with the destination (for example, a listing that is exclusively by address and zip code). In doing so, menus 600 and 650 can aid the travel agent user in quickly identifying the branch location of the rental vehicle service provider at which the reservation should be booked, as explained below, without the need for the travel agent to be familiar with specific street names and/or addresses in the area of interest.
Upon user-selection of a destination 610 or port 656 from the menu 600 or 650, that destination/port is preferably loaded into the location field of section 506. Thereafter, upon user selection of the search button 550, the website will access database 106 to determine which branch (or branches) is (or are) closest to the selected destination/port. This determination can be made through a variety of techniques, including but not limited to indexing tables that associate branch locations with destinations/ports, or on the fly locator technologies that will compute which branch locations are closest to the destinations/ports based on geographic coordinates therefor. Thereafter, in instances where the selected destination/port is associated with a plurality of branch locations, when the travel agent user reaches a choose location page, he/she will be presented with a list of branch locations near the selected destination/port (preferably with either or both of the branch location nearest the destination/port and the airport branch location nearest the destination/port being highlighted in some manner). Alternatively, in instances where the selected destination/port is associated only with a single branch location, the travel agent user's path through the website can bypass the “choose location” page altogether.
Section 514 of page 500 provides the travel agent user with the ability to define the commission structure for the reservation being booked. Preferably the travel agent user is provided with a number of optional commission percentages (e.g., 5%, 10%, or 15% as shown) that travel agent user can define for the rental vehicle reservations that they book on a per rental vehicle reservation basis. The user's commission percentage selection will define the commission that is paid to the travel agent when the travel agent's client fulfills the rental vehicle reservation. Preferably, the website will adjust the rate charged to the travel agent client to reflect the commission percentage chosen by the travel agent user. For example, if the travel agent user selects a 10% commission, the rental vehicle service provider may want to upwardly adjust the price for the rental transaction defined by the rental vehicle reservation to reflect the increased commission (for example by passing the entire increase in commission amount onto the renter's price or by passing a portion of the increase in the commission amount on to the renter's price). Further, if the travel agent user wants to apply a corporate discount rate or a promotional offer rate to the reservation, he/she can enter the appropriate identifier for the corporate discount or promotional offer through the corresponding field shown in section 514. Preferably, each corporate discount identifier and/or promotional offer identifier will have a commission identifier associated therewith that defines the commission to which the travel agent is entitled when that corporate discount or promotional offer is used to book a reservation. It should also be noted that section 514 can also include a field for user entry of a commission percentage to be applied to the reservation. Such a user entry field can be used instead of or in addition to the plurality of user-selectable commission percentage options that are shown in section 514 of
Link 552 can be selected by the travel agent user if he/she wishes to modify a previously-created reservation. Also, section 530 of page 500 includes a variety of links to information materials that may be of interest to travel agent users. Sections 544 and 546 can be populated with images and deep-links of the travel agent's choosing via the technology disclosed in the above-referenced Ser. No. 11/377,811 patent application.
As explained in greater detail below, link 504 can be selected by the travel agent user if the travel agent user wishes to change the applicable travel agent identifier for the reservation or add an additional travel agent identifier for the reservation.
b) depicts the home page 500 that would be displayed on the travel agent user's computer when that particular user computer has been recognized as belonging to the travel agent user (such as through the placement of a cookie on the user computer by the website). To log into the travel agent user's stored profile, the travel agent user preferably must provide the profile's password in field 560, followed by the selection of button 562. If the travel agent user is not the same person as the one recognized by the website, then the travel agent user can select link 564 to access a different page such as the home page 500 of
c) depicts the home page 500 that would be displayed on the travel agent user's computer after the travel agent user has logged into his/her profile. Link 572 is then selectable to log the user out of the profile. If the travel agent user wants to access the details of his/her stored profile, user selection of link 570 will operate to display page 1400 of
Depending upon the user input in sections 506, 508, 510, and/or 512 of the home page, the travel agent user will be routed to an appropriate later page in the travel agent path of the website, as described in the above-referenced related patent applications. However, the various pages of the website that are within the travel agent path are preferably provided with additional functionality that is specific to the travel agent's business needs. For example,
a) depicts an exemplary renter information (RI) page 900 that is displayed within the travel agent path. Section 902 provides the travel agent user with data entry fields in which client renter information such as the client's first and last name can be entered.
Section 906 provides the travel agent user with data entry fields in which travel agent user information such as the travel agent's first and last name and telephone number can be entered. If the travel agent has logged into his/her stored profile, preferably this information can be automatically loaded into section 906 from the profile.
Section 908 provides the travel agent user with data entry fields in which he/she can enter the email addresses to which confirmations of the rental vehicle reservation will be sent (preferably a field 910 for the travel agent's email address and a field 912 for the client renter's email address). Once again, if the travel agent has logged into his/her stored profile, preferably the travel agent's email address can be automatically loaded into field 910 from the profile. Also, the website will preferably use the email addresses entered in section 908 to determine the email addresses to which a confirmation email will be sent upon booking of the rental vehicle reservation by the travel agent user. Thus, by entering an email address for his/her client in section 908, the travel agent user can control the website's delivery of a confirmation email to his/her clients.
Section 918 provides the travel agent user with data entry fields in which client renter information such as the client renter's address and telephone number(s) can be entered.
Section 920 provides the travel agent user with data entry fields in which client renter information such as the client renter's driver's license information can be entered.
Section 922 provides the travel agent user with data entry fields in which client renter information such as any flight information relevant to the client renter's rental vehicle reservation can be entered.
Button 916 is user-selectable to enter the information on page 900 into the reservation transaction. Button 914 is user-selectable to clear the fields of page 900 of any previously-entered information.
A convenient tool for enhancing the travel agent's ability to book rental vehicle reservations is the “my contacts” or “my clients” link 904. To save time and data entry effort for the travel agent user, database 108 preferably maintains a listing of the travel agent's clients. This client information can be stored in database 108 in any of a number of ways (see for example, the discussions below in connection with button 930 and
Upon user selection of link 904, the page 1000 of
Table 1010 preferably lists a plurality of clients 1028 with various aspects of the client information stored in database 108 being listed in the table's columns. Within column 1012, table 1010 lists each client's last name. Column 1012 is preferably sortable in both alphabetical and reverse alphabetical order via arrows 1014. Within column 1018, table 1010 lists each client's first name. Within column 1020, table 1010 lists the company associated with each client (if applicable). Within column 1022, table 1010 lists each client's telephone number. Within column 1024, table 1010 lists each client's email address. From the information in table 1010, the travel agent user should readily be able to identify the client on whose behalf he/she is booking a rental vehicle reservation. To select a client for the reservation, the travel agent user can select link 1030 adjacent to each client's information in table 1010. User selection of link 1030 is preferably effective to return the travel agent user to page 900, but with the selected client's information from database 108 automatically loaded into the client-specific fields of page 900.
If the travel agent user wishes to add a new client to his/her contact list, he/she can begin the process of adding a new client by selecting the “create new” button 1004. User selection of button 1004 is effective to display page 1600 of
Also, it should be noted that for some travel agent entities, it may be desirable for the travel agent's client list to be accessible to multiple individual travel agents who are members of the travel agent entity. In such instances, database 108 preferably stores the client list such that the names on the list are applicable to all individual travel agents of the travel agent entity. In such circumstances, and using the example of
Furthermore, database 108 is preferably capable of storing a variable amount of information for each client. For example, for some clients, the travel agent may only know of basic details such as name and telephone number while for other clients the travel agent may know more detailed information (e.g., also an email address, address, etc.), while for still other clients, the travel agent may know all pertinent information relative to the fields of page 900. Thus, upon user selection of link 1030, the website preferably automatically loads all available information for the selected client into the corresponding fields of page 900. If some fields are left blank in page 900, then the travel agent can fill those fields in manually if necessary.
Returning to
In addition or alternatively to this functionality, button 930 can also be provided on page 900. User selection of button 930 would operate to add the client information entered on page 900 to the travel agent's client list. Similar functionality to the paragraph described above can be implemented to account for instances where a client of the same name is already stored in table 1010 for that travel agent.
Once the travel agent user has supplied all necessary components of the reservation, then the verify page 1100 is preferably displayed on the travel agent user's computer. Summary section 330 preferably summarizes all of the previously-supplied information for the reservation. Now that the travel agent user has populated the reservation with the client information from page 900, information 710 in the summary section preferably has an adjacent edit link 1104 that is user-selectable to recall page 900 to thereby allow the travel agent user to modify the client information. The verify page also provides additional information about the reservation such as estimated cost, and the like, as shown in
Optionally, page 1100 may include a field 1120 for the travel agent user to enter a purchase order number for the reservation. This purchase order number may be a number that the travel agent uses for his/her own record-keeping. Upon entry of a purchase order number in field 1120, this number can be stored by the website in association with the reservation, and in turn be included on the confirmation page or other billing information for the reservation. It should be noted that the purchase order number entry field 1120 can also be included on other pages of the travel agent path, for example on the home page or some other intervening page of the website encountered between the home page and the verify page. Similarly, summary section 330 can also include a section that lists the user-entered purchase order number for the reservation together with an adjacent edit link, the adjacent edit link being user-selectable to allow the user to change the applicable purchase order number for the reservation.
To print the confirmation information, the user can select “print confirmation” button 1220. Furthermore, the confirmation page 1200 may also include a link 1222 that is effective upon user selection to begin a process of creating a new reservation with features similar to the booked reservation described on the confirmation page (for example, user selection of link 1222 can create a new reservation with the same components and return the user to the verify page from which the user can make appropriate changes via the edit links in summary section 330), a link 1224 that is user-selectable to create a new reservation (for example by returning to the home page 500 that corresponds with whether the travel agent user has previously logged into his/her user profile during the current session), a link 1226 that is user-selectable to display the RI page to allow the travel agent user to enter any information in sections 918, 920 or 922 that may have been omitted (thereby allowing the renter to speed up the transaction when the renter arrives at the branch location to open the reservation), a link 1228 that is user-selectable to modify or cancel the confirmed reservation (it should be noted that when the travel agent client selects this link, the travel agent client is preferably disabled from altering the commission percentage selection and/or travel agent identifier that is associated with the reservation; even more preferably, the travel agent client is disabled from even viewing the commission structure in place for the reservation upon selection by the travel agent client of link 1228), a link 1230 that is user-selectable to allow the user to specify the email address of another party to whom the confirmation information will be sent, a link 1232 that is user-selectable to display a page that further educates the user about the travel agent program provided by the rental vehicle service provider or a signup page 2300 as shown in
a)-(c) depict an exemplary page 1400 that would be displayed on the travel agent's user computer upon selection of the “my account” button 570 or upon a user signing up to create a new travel agent account (and selecting button 2308 on page 2300). Within section 1404 of page 1400, the travel agent user can enter his/her personal information such as first name, last name, telephone number, and email address. Within section 1406 of page 1400, the travel agent user can enter information about the travel agent entity with which he/she is affiliated such as travel agency name, address, and telephone number.
Within section 1408, the travel agent user can provide further personal information that can be used by the website when the travel agent user books a rental vehicle reservation for himself/herself (e.g., address, additional telephone numbers, driver's license information and even preferred reservation characteristics (not shown; as described in the above-referenced related patent applications)).
Within section 1410, the travel agent user can define the travel agent identifiers that will be associated with his/her user profile. Section 1412 will list any travel agent identifiers that are already stored in the profile. Through field 1414, the travel agent user can add a new travel agent identifier to be stored in the profile. Upon selection of link 1416, the travel agent identifier entered by the user in field 1414 will be added to the travel agent user profile.
Within section 1418, the travel agent user can define a preferred language and/or default country for reservations booked by the travel agent user through the profile.
Within section 1420, the travel agent user can control (via checkbox 1422) whether a cookie will be used to remember the travel agent user when he/she returns to the website on the same computer (thereby resulting in home page 500 of
Within section 1424, the travel agent user can also preferably control the email marketing that is sent by the rental vehicle service provider to his/her email address via selectable options 1426, 1428 and 1430.
To save the information entered in page 1400, the travel agent user can select button 1432. If the travel agent user does not want to save such information, he/she can select button 1434.
Also, if the travel agent user wants to build a client list (or add to an existing client list), he/she can select link 1402. Upon selection of link 1402, page 1500 of
For example, page 1500 preferably includes a link 1502 for each client listed in table 1010 that is user-selectable to initiate the booking of a new reservation for that client. Upon user selection of link 1502, the travel agent user is preferably deep-linked into the travel agent path to a page where the renter information is already pre-loaded with the client information corresponding to the selected link 1502.
Also, page 1500 preferably includes a link 1504 for each client listed in table 1010 that is user-selectable to display page 1700 of
Returning to page 1500, table 1010 also preferably includes a link 1506 that is effective upon user-selection to delete the client information corresponding from the selected link from the database 108 for that travel agent.
To add a new client to table 1010, the travel agent user can select button 1004. User selection of button 1004 is effective to display page 1600 of
It should also be noted that page 1600 can optionally be reached upon user selection of button 930 from page 1900. In such a circumstance, page 1600 would be automatically populated with the client information that the travel agent user had entered on page 1900. If the user wants to then save this information to the database, he/she can do so via selection of buttons 1604 or 1606.
Thus, through the pages of
It should also be noted that the website and related computer systems of the rental vehicle service provider are preferably configured to prevent the use of each travel agent user's client information in their own marketing operations. However, it should be noted that in instances where a client of a travel agent user visits the website or a branch location of the rental vehicle service provider independently of the travel agent, that client may still receive marketing information from the rental vehicle service provider as a result of such a separate visit (e.g., when a travel agent client books a rental vehicle reservation for himself independently of his/her travel agent and requests that the rental vehicle service provider send him/her marketing information).
Another feature of the preferred embodiment is for the website to allow for each reservation to be associated with multiple commission tracking identifiers.
Upon a request from a user to access the rental vehicle reservation-booking website, the website will check whether the user was referred to the website from a third party website to which a commission is payable in the event of a reservation being booked (step 1800). The website can learn the identity of the referring website through information that is passed in the URL when the website is accessed from the referring website (e.g., a commission tracking identifier for the referring website can be included in the URL used to access the travel agent path from the referring website). The website (or a different system) can then check a database such as database 108 to determine whether the referring website is one to which commissions are payable. If there is a referring website, and the referring website is entitled to a potential commission, then at step 1802, the website associates the retrieved identifier for the referring website with the reservation session begun by the user. This identifier serves as a commission tracking identifier and is stored by the website in association with any reservation booked through the session. The website then proceeds to step 1804.
Step 1804 can also be reached if the condition of step 1800 has not been met. If, at step 1804, the user has requested to access the travel agent path of the website (e.g., by selecting link 302 from home page 300), the website proceeds to step 1806 where a travel agent identifier is received from the user. Upon receipt of the travel agent identifier, then at step 1810, that travel agent identifier is also stored and associated with the reservation session to track any commissions that may be owed to the travel agent user. If step 1810 has been reached by way of step 1802, then it will be noted that the website has associated multiple commission tracking identifiers with a single reservation session such that commission to multiple different parties can be tracked.
It should also be noted that the commission tracking identifier for the referring website is preferably stored in association with the reservation by the website in a manner that does not allow the travel agent user to modify it. For example, through link 504 that is displayed on the travel agent path pages of the website, the travel agent user can access a page such as page 1900 of
Returning to
If step 1804 results in a determination that the user did not request to access the travel agent path, then at step 1808, the website preferably checks whether the user has requested to access his/her stored profile (e.g., through button 304 of page 300). If the user has not, then the website proceeds to step 1814 where the user continues along the general retail path of the website. If the user has accessed his/her profile by logging in, then at step 1812, the website checks whether the user's profile identifies the user as a travel agent. If the user's profile indicates the user is a travel agent, then the website proceeds to step 1810. If the user's profile indicates that the user is not a travel agent, then the website proceeds to step 1818 where the user continues along a personalized path of the website.
It should be noted that the commissions paid to travel agents and referring websites can be achieved in any of a number of ways. For example, the price from which the referring website's commission is calculated can optionally exclude any increases in price for the reservation that are caused by the commission payable to the travel agent (particularly in cases where the travel agent user has specified a larger than normal commission percentage for the reservation through section 514 of page 500).
Another feature of the preferred embodiment is for the website to provide confirmation pages that are user configurable, to either or both of the wishes of the travel agent user and the travel agent client.
It should also be noted that the user-configurable confirmation page 2000 is preferably viewed by both the travel agent user and the travel agent client (when a link to the page 2000 is emailed to the travel agent client following the reservation's booking by the travel agent user). Thus, the user-configurable confirmation page, as well as the resulting printer-friendly confirmation page, can preferably be accessed by both the travel agent user and the travel agent client.
a) and (b) depict an additional example of a user-configurable confirmation page 2100, wherein an additional feature is user-configurable. In the example of page 2100, an additional feature of driving directions is also added to the user-configurable nature of the confirmation page. Of course, it should be noted that alternatively, page 2100 could include the user-configurable driving directions feature but not the user-configurable weather report feature. Section 2102 of page 2100 includes the user-configurable driving directions feature. With this feature, a travel agent user and/or travel agent client can specify (e.g., via checkbox 2104) whether the printer-friendly confirmation page will include driving directions in section 1304 of page 1300. For example, the driving directions can be directions from a user-specified origin 2106 to a user-specified destination 2108. Similarly, the driving directions can be from a fixed location such as the selected branch location for the reservation to a user-specified destination or vice versa. The resulting display in section 1304 that is displayed upon selection of button 2110 can be a map and/or textual instructions that describe the navigational route in accordance with the origin and destination of the directions. To obtain such a map and/or textual instructions, the website can access any of numerous commercially available mapping/driving direction websites to retrieve the appropriate information.
a) and (b) illustrate a page 2200 that is an alternate version page 2100. With page 2200, section 2102 includes only checkbox 2104 when checkbox 2104 is in an unselected state. Upon user-selection of checkbox 2104, then section 2102 is expanded to include sections 2106 and 2108 for user entry of origin and destination information. User selection of button 2202 is effective to display a printer-friendly confirmation page wherein section 1304 includes a weather report and/or driving directions as directed by the user.
Optionally, the travel agent user's and/or the travel agent client's stored profile may be configured to specify whether and what type of features are to be displayed in section 1304 of the printer-friendly confirmation page. For example, the user's stored profile may include a setting that instructs the website to always display a weather report for the area near the branch location selected for the reservation during the reservation's time period.
Additional examples of user-configurable display features can include a confirmation page that displays a promotional offer or an available rental coupon in response to user input. Similarly, user input can be used to define whether the confirmation page will include advertisements and/or coupons for various attractions, stores, restaurants, or the like in the area where the branch location for the reservation is located. In this manner, if the user wishes to be informed of such options in the area, he/she can request that such information be included on the confirmation page. When printed out, the confirmation page can then serve as a useful reference for a renter who is visiting an unfamiliar area. To provide such information, the website can maintain a database of information eligible for inclusion on confirmation pages in response to user input.
It should also be noted that the travel agent user may want to include some form of note to his/her client in the confirmation page that is communicated to the client. To do so, the travel agent's stored profile may include one or more text strings that will automatically be included in the confirmation page, for example in a section above the confirmation information on the confirmation or printer-friendly confirmation page or in another available section on the page. The travel agent user's profile management page, such as the one shown in
While the present invention has been described above in relation to its preferred embodiment, various modifications may be made thereto that still fall within the invention's scope, as would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. Such modifications to the invention will be recognizable upon review of the teachings herein. For example, while the destination and port menus of
The following pending patent applications are related to this disclosure: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/377,811, filed Mar. 16, 2006, entitled “Method and System for Providing and Administering Online Rental Vehicle Reservation Booking Services”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/039,203, filed Jan. 20, 2005, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Improved Customer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/505,685, filed Aug. 25, 2004, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Customer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles Including Deep-Linking”, PCT patent application PCT/US03/18553, filed Jun. 13, 2003, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Customer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles Including Deep-Linking”, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/172,481, filed Jun. 14, 2002, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Customer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles”, the entire disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.