Importance

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Abstract

A system for automatically planning, booking and calendaring travel arrangements includes a data storage device, a booking engine, an output device and a processor. Maintained in the storage device is a database of user profile information. The processor receives a travel request input including travel request data gathered from a user's calendar application. The stored user profile information and the travel request data is used to automatically formulate a travel request in response to the travel request input. The travel request includes airline, hotel and rental car reservation information. A travel query file is automatically created from the travel request. The creation of the travel query file includes: automatically executing an air booking process, based on at least two categories of user preference information selected from the categories of lowest price, arrival/departure time, airline, non-stop, duration, alternate airports and full fare automobile upgrades; automatically executing a car booking process; and automatically executing a hotel booking process. The travel query file is submitted to the booking engine for creating a travel request query. The travel request query is submitted to a travel distribution system for retrieving air, car and hotel availability information. Retrieved air, car and hotel availability information is used to create a suggested travel itinerary, which is outputted for display. The suggested travel itinerary can be manually changed or confirmed. The confirmed travel itinerary can be processed to automatically create and store appointment events in a user's calendar application.

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First Claim