There is so much data that a hotel has or can have access to... but in most cases, there's no one who understands how to translate these data into actionable insights on a hotel's current and future business. A vast array of external and publically available data can influence a hotel's performance, its offering and allows the hotel to be better at what it delivers to its guests and its shareholder. Years of underutilized data are sitting in PMS, POS, CRM, and other systems. More than ever hotels need to justify investments and budgets. So will a data scientist be able to give these answers?

Mark Pate
Mark Pate
Assistant Controller/IT Director & HR Administrator at Highpointe Hotel Corporation

“Data Scientist” – That is perfect term to describe my job for the last two (2) months. You see the Hotel Development Company where I work is trading in three (3) legacy systems (Time & Attendance, Payroll & Human Resources & Employee Benefits) for a shiny new Human Capital Management (HCM) System.

My purpose for living recently has been manage the massive amount of data involved in a hospitality project like this – seven (7) years' worth of detailed employee data, in fact. As a “Data Scientist” my job is to be the facilitator between the Executive Team, the Operations folks, our Accounting & IT staff, our General Managers & end users and the firm making our shiny new HCM system. There are very high expectations on both sides and a real need to justify the investment and bring the project in on time and on budget.

Would I trade this experience and all that I have learned from it? No Way – not everyone can be a “Data Scientist”! Those who can gain knowledge and experience that few others dare to try.

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