Proximity-based patron relationship management

What is this patent about?

’858 is related to the field of restaurant and hospitality management, specifically focusing on the automated identification and management of customers based on their physical proximity to a venue or staff member. In high-traffic environments like bars, festivals, or busy restaurants, it is often difficult for staff to maintain personalized service or for groups to coordinate dining preferences. The system addresses these challenges by bridging the gap between digital patron profiles and real-time physical presence.

The underlying idea behind ’858 is the use of passive proximity detection to bridge the physical and digital gap between a venue and its customers. By leveraging background signals from a patron's mobile device, such as location beacons or hardware identifiers, the system can automatically surface a customer’s specific needs—like food allergies, favorite drinks, or past survey feedback—to a staff member's handheld device the moment the customer walks in. This removes the need for manual check-ins and allows for a highly personalized service experience that feels natural rather than transactional.

The claims of ’858 focus on a system and method that automatically aggregates individual patrons into logical groups based on detected information similarities and shared physical location. The independent claims describe a server-side architecture that receives device identifiers and geolocation data to not only identify individuals but to synthesize 'group information.' This includes the ability to broadcast this group data to a management interface, allowing staff to see a unified view of a party’s collective preferences and historical satisfaction levels.

In practice, the invention functions as an intelligent concierge that operates behind the scenes. When a group of people enters a venue, the system identifies similarities in their profiles—such as shared dietary restrictions or language preferences—and presents this as a consolidated profile to the host. The system further refines the experience by using historical satisfaction surveys to match specific patrons with the hosts they have preferred in the past, effectively automating the optimization of the patron-host relationship.

This approach differs from traditional CRM systems that require manual data entry or active 'check-ins' by the user. By utilizing automated group formation and real-time proximity triggers, the invention eliminates the friction of identifying customers in crowded spaces. Unlike prior solutions that treat every customer as an isolated data point, this system recognizes the social context of dining by dynamically linking devices into parties, ensuring that the venue can cater to the collective needs of a group as efficiently as an individual.