Aperçu de la présentation
How the bunny saves you money: consumer airfare prediction and other challenges at Hopper
Buying a plane ticket is a time-consuming and frustrating process that often leaves the consumer unhappy. Flight prices are less transparent and fluctuate more than almost anything else a consumer buys, even though airfare is one of the most expensive purchases for a typical family.
Our goal at Hopper is to bring more transparency to pricing, by giving consumers advice about where and when to fly -- and when to buy -- to save money on their air travel. We believe this helps consumers buy more quickly, with less effort, and ultimately be happier with their purchase decision. One of our key features is our "when to buy" advice: we'll watch prices for your trip and notify you when the price is right.
Recommending when to buy is tough for two main reasons: first is the airfare marketplace and its idiosyncrasies present unique analytical challenges, and second is that the prediction must be highly consumer-friendly: both easy comprehensible and immediately actionable. If we're too conservative and tell you to buy too early, we risk missing out on a better deal later, but if we're too optimistic and wait too long, you could end up paying more as prices rise towards your departure date. Because prices change at the whim of the airlines in unpredictable ways, it's impossible to know for sure. But this session will outline how we've tackled these challenges to help consumers save 10% on average, and up to 40% in some cases.
À propos de Patrick
As Chief Data Scientist at Hopper, Patrick Surry analyzes flight data to help consumers make smart travel choices. Patrick is recognized as a travel expert and he frequently provides data-driven insight on the travel industry and trends.
Patrick's studies and commentary have been featured in outlets such as New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg Businessweek, TIME, and many others. Patrick also regularly appears on various broadcast stations to offer travel insight and tips.
Patrick holds a PhD in mathematics and statistics from the University of Edinburgh, where he studied optimization based on evolutionary algorithms, following an HBSc in continuum mechanics from the University of Western Ontario.