INFORMS News: Wyndham wins Revenue Management and Pricing Prize

Wyndham Exchange & Rentals (WE&R) won the 2011 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section Practice Award that recognizes outstanding applications of revenue management and pricing techniques. The winner and finalists were selected based on their impact, originality and technical merit.
Wyndham’s metrics and algorithms team was recognized for their project “Optimizing Vacation Exchange.”

“The team from Wyndham has created an innovative solution to a difficult problem: how to enable its 3.8 million members to trade time at their vacation properties,” says Robert Shumsky, chair of the judging committee. “Their solution was simple and transparent to their members and was backed up by a sophisticated optimization model to dynamically calculate the value of each property in the exchange. The new system improved customer satisfaction, increased transactions and revenue for Wyndham and led to a sea change in the industry.”

The prize was awarded at the INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section summer conference at Columbia University.

The other finalists included Google, Inc. (“DoubleClick Ad Exchange: Auction Design in Practice”) and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts (“Golf Course Revenue Management”).