LAFAYETTE, La. (press release) — Students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette enhanced a mobile AI app for Keepers, a local startup that automates housekeeping for short-term rental properties. This collaboration, led by Dr. Henry Chu and the Opportunity Machine, aims to provide students with real-world experience while supporting local entrepreneurs.
Keepers’ Founder and CEO, Carleena Andrepont, praised the students for their impressive progress over the summer, noting how they adapted AI functionalities to real-world operations. The student interns—Kevin Nguyen, Tyler Searle, Austin J. Bryant, Nathaniel L. Agee, Colin E. Dupuis, and Luke Brinkley—gained valuable skills in machine learning and app development, working under Assistant Professor Sercan Aygun.
“Despite not going into a software engineering career path, this experience will help my
career as a power engineer.” student Nathaniel L Agee said in a press release. “This internship enlightened me on the necessary steps of building an AI model and how much data it takes to train such a model.”
The app enables hosts and housekeepers to monitor cleanliness and organization through AI-driven analysis, offering seamless integration with platforms like Airbnb and VRBO. Short-term rental hosts can check their property's status in real-time, access
housekeeping services, and easily communicate tasks, pricing and scheduling. The service currently operates in Texas, Utah, Nevada, Louisiana and Alaska, with plans for expansion. The internship not only enhanced the students’ technical skills but also strengthened their professional networks. For more information, visit usekeepers.com.