How Hotel Oversight automated and enhanced data quality with Secoda

Hotel Oversight is a rapidly growing hotel management company in Paris, helping hoteliers implement innovative, growth-driven management models. The data team, including analyst Delphin Ponnappan, is responsible for analyzing key data related to hotel performance and pricing strategies. As the volume and complexity of data grew, their existing data catalog tool, which relied heavily on manual processes, became a major hurdle. This not only consumed significant time but also increased the risk of errors, impacting the accuracy of critical business decisions.

The results:

• Automated 100% of data lineage tracking with Secoda, significantly reducing errors and making it easier for the team to identify both upstream and downstream impacts.
• Saved 80% of time previously spent on manual data cataloging and documentation.
• Improved data quality by proactively addressing issues through custom SQL data quality monitors.

The goal:

Hotel Oversight aimed to eliminate the manual processes that bogged down their data management efforts and threatened the quality of their data. By adopting Secoda, they sought to automate data lineage, documentation, and monitoring while integrating with their existing tools to support strategic decision-making.

The challenge:

As Hotel Oversight expanded, their data became increasingly complex and difficult to manage. The primary issue was their existing data catalog tool, which relied heavily on manual processes. Over 75% of the work involved manually mapping data lineage and providing descriptions for each table. "We were having a data catalog tool [that] was more than 75% manual. We had to map the lineage of each and every table, give the description on our own—it was too much manual work," explained Delphin. This inefficiency not only consumed vast amounts of time but also introduced a higher risk of errors, making it challenging to maintain high data quality—critical for key business decisions like pricing strategies and performance assessments.

Automating success with Secoda

In search of a better solution, Hotel Oversight implemented Secoda, a comprehensive data management platform known for its automation and data quality features. Secoda's ability to automate lineage mapping and integrate with their existing tools was a game-changer. "Secoda was the one tool that provided lineage with Data Studio and had cool AI features, so we saw it as the best choice," said Delphin.

Harnessing automation for lineage and quality monitoring

The automation provided by Secoda allowed Delphin’s team to significantly reduce manual work and improve the accuracy of their data management processes. One of the standout features for the team is the ability to easily track upstream and downstream data impacts through Secoda’s automated lineage, ensuring that any changes are accurately reflected in all reports. "The lineage feature is really helpful because, in the beginning, we sometimes missed some reports, but now Secoda ensures everything is covered," Delphin noted.

Secoda's AI capabilities, integrated through Slack, have also been invaluable. The team plans to set up custom instructions and AI governance rules within Secoda to better control the AI’s responses and improve what it references. The Slack integration enhances communication between the data and business teams, ensuring quick and accurate responses to data-related inquiries.

Additionally, Secoda’s monitoring features allow the team to set up custom SQL data quality monitors and alerts, enabling them to address potential issues before they impact the business. This proactive approach is crucial for maintaining high data quality standards at Hotel Oversight.

"The custom SQL query feature is really good. I can find issues with a table and work on solutions before the business team even notices," Delphin added.

Future plans with Secoda's Data Quality Score

As Hotel Oversight continues to grow, their partnership with Secoda has empowered Delphin and her team to focus on more strategic analysis rather than getting bogged down by manual tasks. This shift has streamlined their data management processes and positioned the company to respond more effectively to the growing demands of their business while maintaining high data quality.

Looking ahead, Hotel Oversight plans to leverage Secoda's Data Quality Score feature to gain automated suggestions on improving data quality through enhanced documentation and monitors that ensure data freshness. With Secoda, Delphin and her team are well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of their business, driving efficiency and ensuring data accuracy and reliability.

The implementation

The implementation of Secoda delivered significant improvements for the Hotel Oversight team:

• Seamless Integration: Secoda was integrated smoothly with existing tools like BigQuery, Data Studio, Slack, and Airtable, ensuring continuity in their data workflows without any disruption.
• Enhanced Efficiency: The automation of data lineage mapping and cataloging drastically reduced manual workload, allowing the team to reallocate time and resources to more strategic initiatives.
• Proactive Data Quality Management: Custom SQL data quality monitors and alerts were set up, enabling the team to detect and resolve potential issues before they could impact the business, leading to more reliable and accurate data.

Secoda has proven to be a pivotal solution for Hotel Oversight, enabling them to automate and enhance their data quality efforts without compromising on accuracy or accessibility. For other companies facing similar challenges, Secoda offers a pathway to improving data operations that support significant and sustainable growth.