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Gopika Shah (Applied Economics and Predictive Analytics, M.S., 2017)

I am currently a Revenue Manager at Hilton Worldwide Inc. and a recent graduate of the M.S. in Applied Economics and Predictive Analytics program. Two years ago, I had the opportunity to start both my M.S. program here at SMU and my career as a Revenue Specialist at Hilton. Within the first eleven months of my time at Hilton, I moved from being a Standard Model Specialist to a Premier Model Manager. This promotion would not have been possible without my training in the M.S. program. Having the opportunity to take various analytic courses like Business Forecasting, Econometrics, and Predictive Analytics, I was able to learn various programs and methods of forecasting and trend analysis. This provided me the analytical background needed to work with Premier Model/Full Service hotels and improve their forecast accuracy.

In addition to creating forecasts for my hotels, I also do a market analysis on a weekly basis. This helps me quantify supply and demand in the market and create a pricing strategy that supports my hotels. Seeing the basics of supply and demand in the market and understanding it on a theoretical level is necessary in implementing a strong pricing strategy. I am thankful for the economic theory classes I was able to take in my master’s program that helped explain these fundamentals.

The M.S in Applied Economics and Predictive Analytics is great program that combines technical coursework with theoretical application. I was fortunate enough to take several classes that better prepared me for my career at Hilton.