Embarking on a Data Science Odyssey in Hospitality
Greetings! I’m Ferdi, currently in my third year of computer science studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada, and a data science intern at Bukit Vista. This unique chapter of my life is where the analytical rigor of computer science meets the dynamic world of hospitality data science. Over the past four months, not only have my technical skills been sharpened, but my very approach to problem-solving has been redefined.
As I navigated the complexities of real-world data, my theoretical knowledge from university lectures evolved into practical, hands-on experience. And it’s here, amidst Bukit Vista’s commitment to innovation and excellence, that I’ve discovered a new facet of my academic and professional identity.
Are you curious about how this transformation unfolded? How did the principles I’ve learned in the classroom apply to the vibrant, unpredictable realm of hospitality? Join me as we delve into this journey of growth, learning, and data-driven exploration.
Mastering Revenue Management: Data Science at the Heart of Dynamic Pricing
In the ever-evolving world of property management, Bukit Vista has faced a significant challenge: optimizing property performance through dynamic pricing. As our property portfolio rapidly expanded, we recognized the need for a more sophisticated approach to pricing. Our previous method involved analyzing past data of each property through graphs, distilling insights into the best pricing decisions. However, as we scaled, this process became increasingly complex. Our initial solution, the ATLAS automation tool, was designed to adjust property daily rates based on performance. But a new issue emerged: evaluating the effectiveness of ATLAS’ pricing decisions and their impact on sales.
To tackle this challenge, Bukit Vista introduced an innovative solution: a comprehensive dashboard to monitor ATLAS’s pricing decisions. Developed on Redash, this dashboard facilitates the creation of SQL queries and the visualization of complex data. It provides an in-depth view of various metrics, such as the average price changes per property, the status of pricing decisions, and historical pricing trends. This tool is not just a simple display of numbers; it’s a fusion of analytical insights crafted into user-friendly visualizations. The dashboard’s primary function is to ensure daily quality control of ATLAS’s pricing outputs, enabling real-time adjustments and strategic decision-making.
The implementation of this visualization dashboard marks a significant stride in Bukit Vista’s commitment to data-driven decision-making, echoing our core value: “Don’t assume, use data.” This tool empowers our business intelligence team to meticulously monitor ATLAS’s performance, pinpointing any discrepancies in its pricing predictions swiftly. This proactive approach not only enhances the accuracy of our pricing strategies but also prevents potential revenue losses before they escalate. Looking ahead, Bukit Vista envisions further refining ATLAS to reduce the need for human intervention by continuously analyzing and learning from its performance data.
This strategic shift towards an automated, data-centric approach in dynamic pricing embodies Bukit Vista’s dedication to innovation and excellence in property management, ensuring our properties are not just managed but are managed intelligently and efficiently.
Automated Excellence: Crafting Superior Guest Experiences in Hospitality
Bukit Vista, a leading Property Management company, faced a challenge in efficiently recommending accommodations to a diverse range of guests with varying preferences and budgets. The manual process of matching guest inquiries with suitable properties was time-consuming, and as the volume of daily inquiries increased, the need for an automated recommendation system became evident.
To address this, Bukit Vista developed two new automation tools: MOR (Missed Opportunity Retargeting) and BEST (Bali Event Spreadout Technique). These systems cater to two primary guest types: those with failed past inquiries and confirmed guests nearing check-out. MOR and BEST utilize a recommender system that scans inquiry details such as property type, area, and budget, and then sends tailored recommendations through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs).
The implementation involves collecting guest preference data via OTAs. The system automatically scans for new inquiries and upcoming check-outs daily. MOR focuses on unconverted past inquiries, while BEST targets guests checking out within the next five days, offering them property recommendations and information on local events or attractions in Bali.
The introduction of MOR and BEST has revolutionized the reservation process at Bukit Vista. The reservation team, previously engaged in manual search and filtering, now efficiently monitors and sends out AI-generated recommendations. This automation significantly reduces workload, particularly on high-inquiry days, ensuring that guest preferences are swiftly and accurately catered to. The result is an enhanced guest experience, optimized property performance, and a testament to Bukit Vista’s commitment to technological innovation in property management.
These AI-driven projects showcase the industry’s trend towards integrating AI for not just operational efficiency, but also for informed, strategic decision-making that enhances guest satisfaction and partner relations.
Streamlining Property Assessments with AI: The Gaia Revenue Projection Tool
Bukit Vista’s growing partnership network posed a significant challenge in efficiently providing property assessments and revenue projections. The manual process, essential for offering in-depth analysis and revenue predictions to partners, became impractical with the increasing volume of requests, necessitating a scalable solution.
In response, we developed the Gaia Revenue Projection tool, an AI-driven solution designed to automate the process of property assessment and revenue projection. By inputting property details, Gaia evaluates critical aspects such as design, location, product-user fit, and ranking potential. The tool then generates a detailed revenue projection document, which undergoes a final review and revision by the business intelligence team before being shared with partners.
Gaia utilizes a Large Language Model (LLM) for detailed property assessments, considering factors like design and location. Additionally, a regression model predicts daily rates and potential revenue based on property specifics like type, size, and location. This comprehensive approach ensures that the projections are both accurate and relevant to each unique property.
The property assessment automation really helps us as executors to speed up the work in making revenue projections, which previously could take more than 2 hours, now even just enter the data needed, the results of the analysis are immediately generated by AI.” – Reza Erfit, a data science intern & a user of the tool
–Reza Erfit, a data science intern & a user of the tool
The introduction of Gaia has significantly reduced the time required for revenue projection documents, cutting down from approximately three hours to under an hour, including supervision and finalization. The process has become more accessible to the team, allowing for instant draft generation and sharing via Slack. The future roadmap includes enhancing Gaia’s accuracy for full automation, further streamlining the process, and aiding in rapid decision-making for partners. This innovation stands as a testament to Bukit Vista’s commitment to leveraging technology for efficiency and precision in property management.
My Evolution: Data Science as a Catalyst for Professional Growth in Hospitality
My internship at Bukit Vista has been transformative, and deeply influenced by the company’s core values. These principles—focusing on data over assumptions, valuing details, and embracing innovation and failure as learning opportunities—have molded me into a more effective, resilient, and ethically-minded data professional. They have fostered a mindset to help others, challenge ideas constructively, and strive for continuous improvement.
Your Invitation: Shape the Future of Hospitality with Data Science at Bukit Vista
As my time at Bukit Vista continues to shape my path as an aspiring data scientist, I invite you to consider how you could also grow and learn in this dynamic field. For those looking to make an impact through data science in hospitality, Bukit Vista offers a world of opportunity. Discover your potential at Bukit Vista Careers.