2025-04-23 –, Zeiss Plenary (Spectrum)
GetYourGuide, a global marketplace for travel experiences, reached diminishing returns with its XGBoost-based ranking system. We switched to a Deep Learning pipeline in just nine months, maintaining high throughput and low latency. We iterated on over 50 offline models and conducted more than 10 live A/B tests, ultimately deploying a PyTorch transformer that yielded significant gains. In this talk, we will share our phased approach—from a simple baseline to a high-impact launch—and discuss the key operational and modeling challenges we faced. Learn how to transition from tree-based methods to neural networks and unlock new possibilities for real-time ranking.
GetYourGuide is a global online marketplace that helps travelers discover and book the best experiences. One of our core challenges is ensuring users always see the most relevant activities first—a task historically powered by an XGBoost-based ranking system. However, as we continued refining our tree-based models, returns on incremental improvements began to plateau. To spark our next step change in performance, we decided to adopt Deep Learning.
In this talk, we will share how, in just nine months, we migrated our ranking pipeline to a Deep Learning architecture while maintaining tight latency and high-throughput requirements. We will walk through our phased approach, starting with a minimal viable model to confirm our production setup and gradually increasing its complexity. Along the way, we tested over 50 iterations offline and ran more than 10 live A/B tests to validate the impact on our customers. Ultimately, we rolled out a PyTorch transformer-based model with significant business impact. We will also discuss the main challenges we faced on the operational and modeling sides, how we overcame them, and the lessons we learned.
You will leave with practical strategies for transitioning from traditional tree-based models to neural networks in production. Join us to learn how to advance your machine-learning capabilities and unlock new dimensions of relevance and personalization for real-time ranking.
Intermediate
Expected audience expertise: Python:Novice
Theodore Meynard is a data science manager at GetYourGuide.He leads the evolution of their ranking algorithm, helping customers to find the best activities to book and locations to explore. Beyond work, he is one of the co-organizers of the Pydata Berlin meetup and the conference.
When he is not programming, he loves riding his bike, looking for the best bakery-patisserie in town.
Mihail Douhaniaris is a Senior Data Scientist at GetYourGuide, a leading online travel marketplace for discovering and booking tours, attractions and activities worldwide. At GetYourGuide, Mihail works on the marketplace ranking algorithms, enhancing search relevance and enabling travelers discover experiences best tailored to their preferences. Beyond his role, Mihail is also passionate about responsible AI, ML observability, and deploying machine learning at scale.