intelligent

How have you used technology to scale-up your operations ?

In multiple ways . We have used revenue management , where we have an algorithm which is based on specific measures to predict the demand and then adjusts the price accordingly . We also use a lot of AI in our guest communication with Machine Learning ( ML ). This is able to predict the kind of property that the guest is looking for , making it easier for the guest to choose and the ML is able to use our bot to instantly answer guests ’ requests and questions .

Is this your own technology which you have developed or is it provided by someone else ?

It ’ s a combination of both . Sometimes we take bits of an existing technology and then develop plugins for it to make it suit our needs . For example , we use a rate shopper which tells us how the market is doing – on top of this we have built our own compset and forecast analysis to see how specific properties or competitors are doing .

What is the main technology you use for day-to-day operations ?

I can ’ t say there is main technology we use . Our entire business , from the homeowner acquisition to sales to finance and accounting and all the operations , is based around different tech . We try to minimise manual processes as much as we can . We are constantly looking at processes and anything that is repetitive , or just requires hands to do , we try and automate . We recently automated our entire recruitment process ; CVs are still looked at and interviews held , but everything else is automated .

How have you developed your in-house technology ?

We have a CTO based out of London who spends time with our different teams to understand the challenges we face . From there , we look at what tools or processes can be simplified or sped up and remove any margin for error . We then go and build .

We have four people in our tech team and ISE coders as and when we need them on a part time basis .

Does this save costs overall – i . e ., building your own tech rather than buying it in ?

The thought process behind the use of technology is multifold – increase speed , reduce errors , improve efficiency and , in the long-run , reduce costs . But just a focus on cost should not be the reason behind what technology to use . I ’ m not a big fan of building your own tech if it ’ s a product everyone is using . What you should focus on is layers on top of the tech to improve and speed up your processes .

Tell me more about your custombuilt algorithm .

It ’ s been running for several years now – we are pretty well connected when it comes to hotels – we want to now start adding demand from flights and regions , so we know which markets are going to be busy in Dubai . Based on this , we can then start to market to those countries when we start seeing occupancy on the flights filling up .

What plans do you have for developing your technology ?

I can ’ t disclose our future tech plans , but what I can say is the next 18 months is going to be very exciting . We are developing a homeowner app which is going to be the bestin-class . We have been working on this for the past six months . I hope it will be ready to launch before the end of the year .

Tell me more about your career

I co-founded bnbme in Dubai with my wife in 2018 after letting out one of our own properties and realising the higher return on

Previous page : Vinayak Mahtani , CEO , bnbme Holiday Homes

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