Students use artificial intelligence to develop an interactive app for Lafayette-based housekeeping company, Keepers

(Lafayette, LA) University of Louisiana at Lafayette students spent the summer working on enhancing a mobile artificial intelligence (AI) application for Keepers, a locally founded startup that automates the entire housekeeping process for short-term rental property hosts and managers. Students used AI to help Keepers streamline their all-in-one solution for short-term rental housekeeping operations.

Dr. Henry Chu, Executive Director of the Informatics Research Institute and Professor in the School of Computing and Informatics searches for opportunities to help students get real-world experience through a collaboration with the Opportunity Machine. The Opportunity Machine (OM) is a local entrepreneur support organization focusing on early-stage technology, research-driven, and innovative startups.  Keepers, a graduate of the OM tech startup program, was looking to expand its tech capabilities as the company quickly grew.
Keepers Founder and CEO Carleena Andrepont said, “Throughout the summer, the students work and drive to make the AI functionality more and more adaptable to real-world situations, especially with how Keepers operates. Each week we could see the improvements made, and it is truly impressive what the students accomplished in such a short time.”
“Partnerships like these are valuable not only for the students and startups involved —they uplift the entire local community. We're building a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem by connecting non-technical entrepreneurs with talented technical individuals. This connectivity fosters a vibrant support network that fuels entrepreneurial activity and helps retain and nurture local tech talent,” commented Destin Ortego, Executive Director at Opportunity Machine.

The interns chosen to work on the project were Kevin Nguyen, Tyler Searle, Austin J. Bryant, Nathaniel L. Agee, Colin E. Dupuis, and Luke Brinkley. The students worked under the leadership of Assistant Professor Sercan Aygun in the School of Computing and Informatics who runs the tiny Machine Learning and Embedded Computing (tML-EC) Lab. (https://www.sercanaygun.com/tml-ec-lab) 

Student Kevin Nguyen said “I was able to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application. The experience enriched my skills, expanded my professional network, and fueled my excitement for a career in technology.”

Keepers was established by its founder and CEO, Carleena Andrepont, in response to her frustration in coordinating housekeeping services for her short-term rentals. Andrepont aims to simplify the entire process for hosts by automating it, ensuring that every guest arrives at a clean and fresh rental. Keepers is striving to become an industry standard for property owners by providing seamless integration with existing property management technology, like Airbnb, VRBO, Hostaway, and more.

Andrepont currently serves Texas, Utah, Nevada, Louisiana, and Alaska, with more locations coming soon! She is thankful for the dedicated team that helped improve her company’s vision for the platform. 

The internship offered an opportunity to expand their knowledge and “rely on each other’s strengths to push through roadblocks, Student Austin Bryant said as he reflected on the summer.  “I gained valuable experience and learned what I am capable of as a software developer working with a talented team. I got an extensive understanding of machine learning, model deployment, and image analysis.” commented student Luke W Brinkley.

With the app, owners and housekeepers can easily check the cleanliness and organization of household items. The app uses powerful AI models to track objects through segmentation. Using the generative conversational AI module from Gemini, the app analyzes each household item to assess its positioning and cleanliness level. This allows for a fast and effective mobile application that guides housekeepers in their tasks.

“This internship was an invaluable learning experience,” said student Colin E Dupuis. “Coming from an electrical engineering background, I enjoyed strengthening my programming skills and learning app development centered around machine learning. These skills, along with the experience of working on a project with the lab, will help me in the future.”

Keepers integrates clients' properties into the platform and allows the app to take over the entire housekeeping process for short-term rentals. The personalized dashboard provides full management of cleaning services and has expanded to include move-out cleaning.

Despite not going into a software engineering career path, this experience will help my career as a power engineer.” Student Nathaniel L Agee said, “This internship enlightened me on the necessary steps of building an AI model and how much data it takes to train such a model. 

Short-term rental hosts can check their property's status in real-time, access housekeeping services, and easily communicate tasks, pricing, and scheduling.

“I enjoyed learning how image segmentation works and how different post-processing techniques for images work," said Tyler Searle. Machine learning-powered photo recognition technology ensures that high-quality standards are met with each cleaning.

The full-service app automatically calculates the price for each cleaning job based on property specifications. There is no cost to join as a host, property owner, or housekeeper. Visit usekeepers.com to check it out!

Photo Attachment: Keepers Intern Team.jpg
Pictured L-R: Kevin P. Nguyen, Tyler Searle, Austin J. Bryant, Nathaniel L. Agee, Colin E. Dupuis, and Luke Brinkley.

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Informatics Research Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
The Institute is committed to groundbreaking research, shaped by community and user engagement, that drives scientific advancements and real-world solutions toward healthier populations, resilient communities, and a secure, interconnected world. For more information, please visit informaticsinstitute@louisiana.edu.

Andrea Frey, External Affairs Officer
andrea.frey@louisiana.edu
337.482.0627

About Opportunity Machine
Opportunity Machine’s mission is to support and elevate early-stage technology, research-driven, and innovative startups. Our focus lies in nurturing tech and tech-enabled ventures through specialized business education, targeted mentorship, strategic networking opportunities, and a workspace environment designed to meet high-growth startups’ dynamic needs. For more information, please visit opportunitymachine.org.

Theresa Goldkamp, Community Coordinator
theresa@opportunitymachine.org
337-769-4085

About Keepers
At Keepers, our mission is to alleviate the struggle hosts face regarding housekeeping for their short-term rentals. We understand that managing housekeeping duties can be time-consuming and challenging, which is why we’ve developed an innovative platform that automates the entire process. Visit usekeepers.com for more information.

Carleena Andrepont, Founder & CEO
c.andrepont@usekeepers.com
337-257-5996