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Anyone familiar with Atlantic City, New Jersey, knows two things: There are gems of architectural design there, but those gems are scattered among a blighted cityscape.
   
In terms of the city’s overall visual impression, while elements such as the Walk shopping district and the entryway promenade near the convention center have been unmitigated improvements, the image of Atlantic City held by thousands of visitors remains stubbornly negative—fancy casinos intermingled with urban decay; beach blocks with open-air drug markets; a tourist center dotted with abandoned buildings, vagrants and worse.
   
Noble charitable ventures and public services to help local citizens have actually added to the negative stigma of the town, simply due to a lack of planning—while no one denies their social value, locating a soup kitchen and a methadone clinic in the middle of the tourist district does little to promote the city as a vacation resort.
   
In fact, it all contributes to one dismal fact that has been exacerbated by the recession: People are afraid to bring their families to town. “We have customers from Atlantic County who drive to Pennsylvania to play because they don’t feel safe in Atlantic City,” laments Bob Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts. “Talk about the opposite of convenience gambling: They’re 20 minutes away, and they’re driving an hour and 20 minutes to gamble. That’s a problem we have to be honest about, and we have to address it. And that’s being done, today.”
   
What is being done is a concerted effort of public and private entities to turn Atlantic City around, in a grand effort initiated by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie shortly after he took office. Based on a study done by Jon Hanson, the former chairman of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, Christie put forth a series of recommendations that eventually became state Senate Bill S11, which created the groundwork for a tourism district to be developed and governed by the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
   
The CRDA—the agency charged with channeling a portion of casino profits to public projects around the state—got a boost for its efforts when another Christie-backed measure eliminated the $30 million annual subsidy casinos had been paying to keep the state horse racing industry afloat. Instead of keeping the profit that had been going to the racetracks, the casinos formed the Atlantic City Alliance to channel $30 million a year to the effort to create the tourism district, and to cooperatively market the entire resort to tourists.
  
It’s an effort many believe is long overdue. Competition from Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and elsewhere has combined with the overall recession to devastate Atlantic City casino revenues over the past few years, finally forcing the start of what has been talked about for decades: transforming the shore resort into a vacation destination where people would go for more than gambling.
   
“The casinos can’t rely on high-frequency gamblers to come and pay the bills anymore,” says industry analyst Cory Morowitz, president of Morowitz Gaming Advisors. “There is still a portion of those gamblers coming, but Atlantic City has to become a destination, or it won’t be viable for long.”
   
Paul Steelman, a South Jersey native who is CEO of the international architectural firm Steelman Partners, says it is necessary to reinvent Atlantic City by concentrating on what he calls “entertainment culture.” “We are very fortunate to be designing many new entertainment cities in Vietnam, China and other locations,” Steelman says. “We know what competition is being designed and developed. Atlantic City needs to think big. Thinking small will just continue its slide into failure.”

First Priorities

Most agree that before it can think big, Atlantic City needs to address its most critical problem—the perception that it is not safe, not clean, and not “walkable.”
   
“The No. 1 priority is to clean up the city, and make it an inviting place for tourists and for gamers who are looking for more than just a convenient gaming product,” says Morowitz, “something where people will want to come for a day and enjoy themselves—multiple days, in fact.”
   
It is among the first priorities of the CRDA as it works to implement the tourism district during the coming months and years. Jeremy Sunkett, director of project management for CRDA, says the revitalization of Atlantic City is already under way on several fronts.
   
Sunkett does not call what the CRDA is doing a “redevelopment plan,” because that dictates municipal powers the state agency does not have. “We’re not planners,” he says. “We’re taking the work the planners have done—there’s an Atlantic City master plan; there’s Main Street Atlantic City—and seeing where there are gaps in them that we can fill with very targeted real estate plays in the downtown, where we have opportunities to develop dense urban amenities to create a more highly functioning downtown.”
   
Density is the key word here, he says. “Now, on either side of the Walk, you have dead spaces. There’s a disconnect there, and then you have the casinos. A lot of what we’re doing is about activating those dead spaces, creating connectivity, and bringing elements into the downtown that may not exist. There may be a housing product we can bring into downtown that doesn’t exist now. And if you bring housing and employment into the downtown, I think you’re really beginning to change the underlying fundamentals of how the town works.”
   
Sunkett acknowledges that making the town clean and safe is the first priority, but he says the best way to do that is through development. Nevertheless, he says assuring a clean and safe tourism spot is a “condition precedent” to everything else that must occur to revitalize the city. “Because it’s a condition precedent, it’s our minimum goal,” he says. “It sets the stage for additional development. But by the same token, if you look at what we’re trying to do, nothing gets you clean and safe better than doing intelligent, dense development that’s going t
o activate these dead zones.”
   
Much of that development is already under way. Construction is progressing on a parking garage in the heart of the city, right next to the Walk shopping district and across the street from Angelo’s Fairmount Tavern, a local landmark Italian restaurant. Catacorner from that is a lot owned by the CRDA on which it is seeking ideas in advance of a request for proposal—issuing what is called a “request for qualifications,” or RFQ, on a project that would turn a vacant lot used for surface parking into a “local-serving retail” facility with shops on the ground floor to complement what the Walk offers.
   
CRDA’s strategy includes implementing offerings ranging from an arts district to a revitalized downtown area.
   
“The essence of this is a real estate strategy for the downtown of Atlantic City, and there’s a plan attached to that strategy,” Sunkett explains. “Along the way, there are things we’ll need to do in the name of redevelopment, like acquiring property, and going through zoning and planning changes.”
   
One way to expedite redevelopment, says Sunkett, is to initiate projects on land CRDA already owns. “One of the biggest barriers to development in any area is land acquisition,” he says, “and we happen to own land that’s in some very strategic areas. We’ve initiated a handful of projects, and we’ve focused on places where we think we can generate the most impact.”
   
Feet on the Street

The CRDA’s current batch of projects address clean-and-safe issues by concentrating on what Sunkett calls getting “feet on the street”—activating dead zones by creating walkability. “The places you have feet on the street, where people are walking, are created because of a dense development pattern that lends itself to walkability,” Sunkett says. “In an urban area, creating walkability, creating activity and creating commerce sustain a clean and safe environment.”
   
Several of CRDA’s proposals and projects focus on what Sunkett calls the “highest and best use” for the real estate. One project still in the development stages would concentrate government and quasi-government agencies in an office building in the middle of town.
   
At an April investment conference, Sunkett pointed to Norristown, Pennsylvania, as an example where construction of an office complex in the center of town led to a revitalization of an entire urban area—parking structures, restaurants and retail popped up to support the new presence of office workers. “It moved the needle from a revitalization standpoint,” Sunkett says. “We feel we have the same opportunity here in Atlantic City.”
   
For Atlantic City, the CRDA is proposing that several agencies move into a five-story office building in downtown Atlantic City. Sunkett suggests placing CRDA together with the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the Casino Control Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement. “Right there, you have five government or quasi-government agencies, all with a presence in town,” says Sunkett. “I would guess you have upwards of 100-200 employees just among those five agencies. In a five-story office building, you could pre-lease 80 percent with these five agencies.”
   
Sunkett says the agency has already spoken with developers, and is confident the other 20 percent of that office space would fill quickly, and “bring some serious financing to the table.” He adds that conventional financing could be readily obtained for a building that was 80 percent pre-leased. “Then, the restaurants, shopping, parking and the rest will spring up,” Sunkett says. “And, all that creates a better market for residential development. It all becomes mutually reinforcing.”
   
CRDA also has considered what is called an “eds and meds” center that would combine space for Stockton College, Atlantic Cape Community College and AtlantiCare medical center. At the investment conference, Sunkett said such a development could support different types of housing projects—one concentrating on student housing, the other on various levels of workforce housing.
   
Sunkett says he’s encouraged at the potential for creating a new commercial office market in the downtown. “Getting an office project done in the downtown is one of the more doable projects,” he says. “There are people making unsolicited inquiries about office space in town. That’s very promising for the city.”
   
Griffin at Trump agrees that a renewed commercial office market would generate other development, including new housing. “If you want residents to come, I think the city will need to find ways to incentivize those businesses to locate here,” Griffin says. “And if they locate here, and good, affordable housing is here, I think this city could see a renaissance unparalleled in New Jersey.”
    
Other projects aimed at replacing dead zones with “feet on the street” include a proposed arts district, and the “Atlantic Village” development, which would capitalize on the popularity of Boardwalk Hall and other performance venues.
    
According to Sunkett, the arts district will begin with the current project near Mississippi and Fairmount, which will involve a mixed-use development including residential elements and ground-floor retail. “That’s within the area we’ve identified as the arts district, so we put that out in the RFQ as something to consider,” Sunkett says. “The ground floor of this development is not the kind that will attract a Walk tenant, but hopefully, complementary, local-serving retail specific to the area, to serve locals as well as being a tourist attraction.”
    
The “Atlantic Village” idea would involve creation of an entertainment and dining district to support the performance venues, mainly Boardwalk Hall. “We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” Sunkett comments. “We look at what happens in Philadelphia around the Kimmel Center, what happens in New York in places like Lincoln Center. You have this kind of convivial environment that exists in and around these performance venues, and you have a whole bunch of amenities aro
und them to capture people in the best way possible. There are restaurants in Philly where you can’t get a table before a show at the Kimmel Center.”
   
CRDA has released a rendering of its vision of the Atlantic Village, and Sunkett says it could come together pretty quickly
if current negotiations with a potential partner bear fruit. The land for the center that is not owned by CRDA is owned by that partner, which Sunkett would only identify as “one of our casino partners.”

Role of Casinos

The CRDA’s casino partners—the 11 casinos that provide the money the agency is charged with disbursing—are in various stages of revitalization themselves. The operator perhaps most involved with the type of revitalization away from the casinos that the CRDA is promoting, though, is the 12th casino, to open next year.
   
Kevin DeSanctis, CEO of Revel Entertainment, has been a tireless promoter of casino operators’ need to address the environment in the city streets adjacent to their properties. Revel’s blueprint for the redevelopment of the Inlet neighborhood is well-documented. It is a plan to be funded through a public/private partnership that would divide the Inlet into four districts—casino, resort, workforce and waterfront—with the Absecon Lighthouse surrounded by park space stretching to the ocean. In all, it would be a $300 million project.
   
The blueprint and rendering for the project was produced by the Revel casino’s principal architect, Philadelphia-based BLT Architects. “The Inlet plan is a call to arms,” says Michael Prifti, BLT’s executive architect for the Revel project. “It’s pretty amazing how some of the best real estate on the Jersey Shore is as undeveloped as it is. The plan includes workforce housing for staff, and for that to happen, it is beneficial to have a walkable city. If you look at New York and Philadelphia, a tremendous component of the workforce in those cities walk. In Atlantic City, that doesn’t happen, and that’s a tremendous detriment to the city.”
   
Sunkett says the Revel model would be a good one for other operators to follow. “I’d like to think that Revel represents a new model,” he says, “in the sense of a casino operator taking a very comprehensive view of their presence in the city. Revel has recognized the intrinsic value of the area around their facility being improved. You can call it good corporate citizenship, or enlightened self-interest.”
   
While all agree on the value of developing amenities around the casinos, some operators do not agree that it is the casinos’ responsibility to initiate or pay for these projects. Griffin, for example, repeats a position he first heard from Steve Wynn just before Wynn left Atlantic City: “Our job is to operate casinos, and to maximize revenue for our investors and tax revenue for the state,” Griffin says. “Our job is not to fill the void of government.”
   
Griffin is careful to emphasize his support of and partnership in the efforts of the CRDA, but says the there are some pressing issues that must be addressed by government. “Right now, we are entering a unique period where there will be a public/private partnership between the operators and the CRDA,” he says, “but there are a number of issues we cannot address. The rolling chair issue on the Boardwalk has not been addressed yet.
   
“When people walk outside my door, they are assaulted on the Boardwalk, and they feel very uncomfortable. And there’s nothing we an do; we have no control over the Boardwalk. Once customers get on Atlantic or Pacific, we have no control over that. I think it’s critical that the operators provide safety and cleanliness inside their facilities, and as far as the perimeter of what we own, but if you look at what we pay in property taxes, and what the budget is for this city, I think it’s important that services are provided for the taxes we pay.”
   
As far as the future of the casino district after Revel opens next year, all agree that some operators are going to be in trouble if they don’t renovate and reinvent their own properties. Says Steelman, “Many of Atlantic City’s properties are 30 years old and need drastic renovations to bring them to 2011 standards. By the time that actually happened, they’d need to be up to 2020 standards. These facilities will need to be torn down, like Las Vegas has done since the
late ’70s.”
   
Morowitz agrees. “Unfortunately, a lot of the product in Atlantic City was built for a different era,” he says. “Atlantic City properties have to redefine themselves, and they have to spend some capital. Whether it’s getting smaller and providing different experiences or getting larger and providing multiple experiences, there are opportunities to drive visitation to Atlantic City beyond our traditional drive-in markets.”
   
For the city outside of the casinos, Sunkett says CRDA’s efforts are all about “trying to leverage private investment.” He says the standard for downtown development is a 15-to-1 ratio for private-to-public investment. “That’s an incredibly favorable ratio to those of us in the economic development business,” he says. “The great thing about this plan is we’re working on all of these things simultaneously. We’re sorting out ownership on one block; we’re putting out an RFP for another block. We’re having conversations on the downtown office building while we’re neck-deep in this arts district initiative.
   
“When you accomplish one of these things, it creates irreversible momentum. An office project here, a supermarket there—it all creates momentum, and that is infectious.”

If you own a casino today, you are painfully aware that the recent recession has resulted in lower visitor counts, reduced occupancy rates in guestrooms, and ultimately, reduced revenue. Some properties have reduced room rates to attract more business, and several properties have shuttered parts of their facilities to reduce operating costs.
   
Many have put off expansion plans, some going as far as stopping work on projects until the economy improves. Others have focused their new work in overseas markets such as Macau, where the recession has only slowed the rate of growth.
   
The recession, however, has not ended business—it’s just slowed it down. Through fat or lean, a lot of business activity has still gone on—certainly less now than in the previous fat times, but in both fat and lean economies, casinos still have guests, the bars and restaurants have patrons, and the guest rooms get used. Over time they all need maintenance; over time they all get to the point where they need to be refreshed.
   
In the lean times, the question is how much money can we spend on capital improvements, and where is the best place to spend that money?
   
We asked that question of a number of leaders in the casino industry—owners, contractors, and design professionals such as architects and engineers, and asked them where best to spend a hypothetical $50 million in capital improvements.
   
Now, the $50 million figure was used as representative of a small capital improvement budget, one that reflected the lean times of the business cycle as opposed to the $200 million budgets of years past. We understand that for some properties, $50 million is a large budget at any time—but the answers we gathered will be useful for any property at any time, fat or lean, large or small.

Priorities for Improvements

Of course, the point in any capital improvement is to drive up the visitor count. Recapture those customers who have gone elsewhere seeking a new experience, and bring in people who have never been to the property. For recaptures, the key is to have them see the improvements as they arrive, and make them curious about what else may have changed.
   
Joel Bergman, president of Bergman Walls & Associates, sums it up neatly with a short list of priorities: “Generally, the porte cochere/entry is the first physical building element a guest experiences upon arrival at a property. Spending a few dollars to enhance the appearance will create a new sense of excitement. Similarly, making over the gaming floor is an impactful experience for the guest. Secondarily, dining venues, lounges and bars, and lastly, guestroom improvements and additions fall into the spending spectrum.”
   
This follows the logic that the greatest portion of visitors to a casino will be on the gaming floor, but may also then visit the restaurants and bars along with customers that come only to dine. The smallest quantity of visitors will be those who also stay in the guestrooms overnight.

Points of Entry

For many properties, the point of entry is in a parking structure. Many guests prefer to self-park over valet parking, and many will use the parking structure because it’s closer to the casino and provides protection against the weather. Whatever the reason, the parking structure then becomes the entry point for the guest, and thus their first experience with the property.
   
Paul Keller, senior vice president and chief development officer of Isle of Capri Casinos, emphasizes the need to improve the “touch points” of the guest experience. This includes keeping the parking structure in good order.
   
“Re-striping the parking lot and a really good power wash gives the patron a sense of cleanliness at the ‘front door’ for all self-parkers,” says Keller. “That has a positive intangible impact.”
   
The value of good lighting for a customer’s sense of security and clear way-finding is also noted by Brett Ewing, partner at Thalden Boyd Emery Architects, and Bob Dollar, vice president of Friedmutter Group Architects.

Gaming Floor

Beyond the point of entry, the gaming floor is the main attraction for most of the visitors to a casino. It is also one of the hardest areas to upgrade, given that it is in service around the clock. However, simple upgrades with minimal disruption are available. Keller says a small budget can make a big impact in the gaming floor, noting that the emphasis needs to be placed on a customer’s “touch points”—literally.
   
“On the gaming floor, aside from the gaming product, there are few things that customers care about more than the chairs,” Keller says. “So, making sure those have good cushions and new fabric can make a big impact for very little money.”
   
Dollar suggests that cosmetics can also go a long way.
   
“Changing the casino carpet can make a big impact on the property and can frequently be achieved relatively quickly and cost-effectively,” he says. “Changing the color or pattern of the carpet, or adding or deleting pathways in response to a property’s changes and gaming demands, can significantly enhance a property and the gaming environment.”
   
David Kruljac, business development director for Penta Building Group, notes that big impacts can be had by simply upgrading gaming equipment due to technology changes and changing guest circulation patterns.
   
Older facilities have often grown over time, and the gaming floor can appear as a more-or-less disjointed space that looks like a number of smaller spaces cobbled together.
   
Dike Bacon, principal and director of planning and development for Hnedak Bobo Group, says his firm is addressing such a problem at the Sycuan Casino near San Diego.
   
“Our casino has historically suffered from the ‘repetitive addition syndrome’ that has ultimately resulted in the casino feeling very piecemeal and closed off from one area to the next,” says Sheila Howe, general manager of Sycuan. “The renovation is being reconfigured to open lines of sight to create better way-finding, provide greater visibility, improve security and encourage customers into other revenue-generating areas of the two-story casino.”
   
In a similar situation, Bergman Walls gained “an extremely positive response” from the owner of a Midwestern casino to a unifying renovation design. “What was a series of dated, disjointed and disconnected spaces has become a dynamic, vibrant and attractive gaming environment,” says Bergman. “The exciting ‘new’ casino has changed and broadened the existing player pattern within the gaming floor, and has attracted new players as well.”
   
Another aspect to improving the guest experience on the gaming floor deals with overall comfort as determined by the indoor air quality. Smoking is permitted in most casinos, but a growing number of customers prefer to be in a non-smoking environment. Designating non-smoking areas is helpful to attract such customers, but providing improved ventilation systems that prevent the migration of secondhand smoke is also a big plus.
   
“The better the indoor air quality is within the casino space, the longer the guest will stay, resulting in more play and revenue,” says Greg Peterson, project manager at AE Associates. “Additionally, the guest is more likely to come back again to the property if they perceive the casino to be less ‘smoky’ than the competition down the street or in the next town.”

Restaurants, Bars and Lounges

Beyond the gaming floor, upgrades in restaurants, bars and lounges can also be effective draws under small renovation budgets. Keller points to an Isle of Capri property in Iowa that recently re-branded a fine dining restaurant. Changes involved paint, tabletops, artwork and menu changes. The cover count in the restaurant tripled, for a cost of $250,000.
   
“At the end of the day, people want the food to be good and priced right,” Keller says. “The menu and the execution of service becomes more important than the exotic back bar feature that cost $1 million.”
   
Of course, there are times when a major renovation needs to be done, when new menu items and tabletops are just not enough. Adding more seats to accommodate the growing number of casino guests may be necessary, or changing the atmosphere of both the venue and the gaming floor by opening each up to the other is an option.
   
Dollar of Friedmutter Group cites the example of Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Southern California, where two restaurants were recently renovated in response to increased competition and the need to freshen the venues. Dollar notes that “by creating ‘dual-view’ from within the restaurant out to the casino, and vice-versa, guests experience new excitement and energy from a variety of senses.”
   
Ewing of Thalden Boyd Emery adds that third-party venues should also receive some consideration in restaurant renovations, as they bring in new competitive brands, and the third party will often share in the development costs.

Guest Rooms

Guest rooms also need to be updated from time to time—every five to seven years, according to Ewing. Soft goods wear out and amenities need to be updated with current technology, and the need for replacement doesn’t always coincide with the best economic times. Flat-panel televisions are an example of a change driven by technology, and one day they may be replaced when 3D TV becomes more commercially viable. Beyond that, a good guest room can add a great deal to a property’s reputation and brand image.
   
Erik Fong, principal and project architect of MBA Architecture, says the guest will be impressed every time.
   
“Hotel guest room renovations can enhance a casino’s brand by elevating the level of luxury, adding amenities, or modernizing with new technology,” he says.
   
Fong also notes as an example a renovation to a 600-key hotel that included new finishes, furniture, lighting, and upgrades to plumbing, electronics and other furnishings for less than $10 million. And, one advantage guest room renovations have is minimal disruption to operations, as one floor of guest rooms is taken out of service for renovation while the other rooms remain available for guests.
   
Ancillary spaces in hotels can also be considered for renovation. For example, Fong explains that some meeting space at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks, Nevada, was renovated to improve lighting, finishes and indoor air quality. The improvements changed the nature of the space sufficiently to become a revenue-driver for the hotel, and the rooms are now actively marketed for small and medium-sized conferences, where before the space had been used only as a last resort.

Design Process

We also asked if the smaller budget made a difference in the design process itself. The answer was a resounding “no” among our respondents, with some qualifications.
   
Penta’s Kruljac noted that the smaller projects often had to work around existing layouts, structure and building systems—a much more challenging process than just gutting a space and starting from scratch. Consequently, more time is spent on the front (design) end with greater collaboration required between owners, designers and contractors.
   
Keller stresses the need for clear directions to the design team and quick owner feedback on design proposals, as design budgets, being smaller, do not allow for several iterations of the design.
   
Both Bergman and Fong note that smaller budgets often mean a more restrictive material palate and less latitude in finish materials and furniture selection. Fong also notes that alternate sources—less expensive products manufactured overseas, for example—often did not arrive with the promised level of q
uality.
   
Lean economic times may stay with us for a while, but the need to keep properties fresh and attractive remains. The budget for capital improvements may be smaller than in years past, which makes targeting improvements where they can make the biggest impact all the more important. Focusing on the important “touch points” of the entry points, gaming floor, restaurants and bars, and guestrooms will ensure that the property is not only improved, but seen as such by its visitors.
   
Small-budget projects, like their large-budget cousins, still need to have their scope well-defined, their costs determined, schedule established, communication pathways planned, and the work executed on time, on budget, and well-performed.         
Thorough planning on the front end of a project, whether an entirely new ground-up facility or a relatively small renovation, can make a significant difference in how well everything comes together.

The hotel room has always been a place where gamblers could sleep in between the excitement of the casino floor and the showroom. No more. In today’s competitive market, guest rooms are as much of an attraction as the rest of the casino and hotel.
   
Whether it’s a compact, spare room or a themed suite with 1,600 square feet of space, hotel operators need to make the guest room experience comfortable and memorable. It takes more than fine linens and a 42-inch flat screen to impress today’s sophisticated guest. We will explore current trends in room accommodations that have proven to be successful in increasing guest satisfaction, especially those that create the desire to come back.
   
A lot of life goes on in a guest room. Jeff McIntyre, principal of premier hotel operator Gemstone Properties, likes to say that a guest room has four zones: the sleep zone, the entertainment zone, the work zone and the wet zone. When planning and evaluating rooms, McIntyre says that each zone needs to be carefully considered to allow each to stand on its own, while not conflicting with the concurrent use of other zones. For example, one guest may want to sleep while the other watches the game. A huge tub as a main centerpiece in a suite may be sexy, but not if the guest wants to use the room for a private business meeting.
   
As we go through the trends in each zone, it’s important to remember that they need to coexist. Unless specifically desired, as in the case of a themed suite, one zone should not dominate.

The Sleep Zone

Creating the standout room draws upon a palette of both high- and low-tech solutions. When considering the sleep zone, the most important factors will be the low-tech ones. The bed itself should be appropriately sized for the room. A California king in a compact room is not the right choice. Think of circulation around the bed as much as you think of the comfort of the bed itself. Select the right size for the room.
   
“Mattresses and linens are one of the strongest elements in forming guest impressions,” says Bill Langmade, president of Purchasing Management International. “More time is spent in contact with them than with any other portion of the room. A quality mattress is essential.”
   
There are now high-end installations where the choice of soft and firm pillows extends to the mattress itself, with adjustable support models. They need to be simple to operate, and long-term maintenance and dependability issues are still shaking out, but from a marketing perspective, these are a distinct bonus. Bed linens should, of course, be high thread-count, natural fibers, and the best you can initially afford to get payback in serviceability and satisfaction.
   
Think through bed placement. If you have spectacular nighttime views, the bed might want to face the windows. In a more traditional setting, the bed will want to overlook the entertainment zone. Maximize installations that allow control of room elements directly from the sleep zone. Being able to turn off the TV, turn down the lights and close the drapes without leaving the warm world under the covers will make a positive impression on your guests.

The Entertainment Zone

Entertainment is sparkle, showmanship, slick and, when done well, sublime. This is the best area to incorporate high-tech innovation. The communication wires into the room that used to support an analog telephone and “cable TV” are now the pipeline to the outside world. If used intelligently, it is also the pipeline to increased revenues and guest satisfaction.
   
A high-quality in-room information and entertainment system should offer all of the following: broadcast TV selections; a variety of music channels; premium and on-demand media options; access to front-desk functions like check-out, reservations, event ticketing and program schedules; room service options; in-house marketing and promotions; and the ever-necessary wake-up call.
   
On top of that not-so-basic platform, you should consider adding internet access, online entertainment gaming, tie-in to your wagering to the extent allowed, and easy accommodation and integration of end-user devices like iPods and iPads.
   
As you look into the state of the art of these systems, you will discover that vendors differentiate themselves primarily by the interfaces used, and system pricing changes accordingly. Low-cost, entry-level systems based on a TV screen and remote interface will run $500-$600 per key, exclusive of wiring, maintenance and shared revenue costs. Moving up to a keyboard interface will add about $200 per room. A full-blown dedicated touch-screen interface can easily add an additional $1,200 to the per-room cost.
   
You need to run a financial model to see if the payback is there based upon the services you can sell through an advanced interface, and then also consider if the more intangible “wow factor” is important to your market base. Some hotels’ entire marketing angle is based on high-tech features.
   
Entertainment does not live by electrons alone, though. Food for the body is as important as food for the brain. The options you’ll be able to offer for in-room dining will be largely dependent on the nature and capabilities of your general food-and-beverage operation. But as concerns the guest room itself, you are in control.
   
Once the food gets there, where does it go? Have you made a portion of the entertainment zone suitable for comfortable dining? In a small room, nested tables can do wonders. In a suite, the sky is the limit. The point is to plan it in. Don’t let dining be an afterthought with your guests balancing plates on their laps.
   
Having tricked out your room with the latest and greatest, give a thought to our tired business fellow who wants to sleep while his wife watches the Final Four. You want them to leave from their stay as happy as when they arrived. Arrange the room, and the elements in the room, so that two or more things can happen at once without conflicting. It’s not easy, and it will depend on the particulars of your physical constraints, but a good architect or interior designer can walk you through several tricks of their trade to get the job done.

The Work Zone

The line between work tools and play toys gets fuzzier every day. I’m writing this on my laptop, but tonight I’ll use the same laptop to grab a movie from Netflix, and I’ll patch into my plasma screen to watch it. My wife’s iPad runs spreadsheets on the flight north, and cool jazz on the flight south. It is both simpler and more complicated to accommodate work and productivity functions in the guest room than it used to be. I really don’t need a fax machine in my room, and I want to have to visit the business center only as a last resort when I’m at a resort for any reason.
   
What the room needs to provide is a convenient, comfortable and ergonomically correct workspace. And it needs to provide connections. Your guest will appreciate the capability to send a file to a remote printer and pick it up at the front desk on their way to a meeting much more than they will having to call the front desk because the printer in their room is hopelessly jammed. A fast connection to the internet will be a business person’s measure of quality, at least for that first hour each day catching up on emails.
   
The same infrastructure that services the information and entertainment needs will service the electronic needs of the business guest if adequate capacity is built into your network. You can do it with wired ethernet or adequate coverage of wireless access points. You need to make sure, though, that your pipe to the outside is big enough. A single T1 line is just not going to cut it anymore.
   
Once the connections are taken care of, the place to connect needs to be considered. A wireless network lets your guests work from anywhere in their room without having to worry about a cable reaching. And anywhere may be OK for a quick look at a file. But your business client will also have times where concentrated periods of work in their room are called for.
   
A comfortable chair and adequate desk space are essential. In smaller rooms, with built-in items along one wall, consider bowing out the built-in to make a deeper worktop. Provide outlets and task lighting. Try to keep this area free of the main traffic aisle in the room. And a stack table stowed under the worktop can do double duty as additional work area—and then a smart dining table for the great steak and a good wine as reward for a hard afternoon’s work.
   
And in case the Final Four has an afternoon game, you’d better be sure she can watch without disturbing him while he works.

The Wet Zone

Probably we should call the last area the “comfort zone,” because it is all about making your guest feel relaxed, comfortable and pampered.
   
Whether you go compact with a stall shower or opulent with a soaking tub complete with glass-walled city views, the most important characteristic is that they provide a satisfying experience. That means a small shower still has to be large enough to fully extend your arms while you wash. That means a single large sink cabinet allowing for generous counter space is probably better than crowding in a second sink at the expense of a good work area. That means an all-in-one bathroom still wants to offer some degree of internal privacy when a couple is in together preparing for a night out. “More stuff” isn’t necessarily the best stuff.
   
Lighting and linens are obvious measures of comfort. Guests really do appreciate thick, absorbent towels. Lighting needs to let him see well enough to shave while also dimming to a level where she can get her makeup just perfect for the club.
   
The practical details are what count in making this zone comfortable. A TV built into the mirror is nice, but a heated, fog-free mirror is nicer. A low-flow showerhead that leaves the feeling of shampoo in your hair is as bad as a high-pressure head that throws stinging darts of water at your back. Don’t trust the marketing hype. Find out where the fixtures you are considering are in use and then go try them yourself.
   
Fine-tuning is they key to the bathroom in a typical room. In a suite, you need that also, but then you want to add luxury. The mantra could very well be “a special place for everything.” Now we have room for multiple sinks, and we can differentiate them. A large basin for washing. A small one for shaving. A dressing mirror, a make-up mirror, a shaving mirror. A multi-head shower for a refreshing wash, that soaking tub with the killer view for winding down, and a couple-sized hot tub with music, soft lights and a champagne bucket for something else. Shelves belong within easy reach of each fixture—everything in its place and a place for everything.
   
Bathrooms are also a great marketing tie-in if you operate a spa on your property. Put out thick terry robes prominently displaying the spa logo. Select toiletries from items for sale at the spa, and present them in such a way that your guests are aware of it.
   
And don’t forget a heated floor. Talk about luxury.

The Green Zone

We used to say that guests are becoming more environmentally conscious. Now we say they are environmentally conscious. Particularly in a setting where it doesn’t directly impact their perceived cost to “do the right thing,” it is an important quality to them, and green features are something that conference planners actively seek out.
   
This green zone runs through the heart of our other four activity zones, and it is an area where unobtrusive technology is the answer. We’ll look at just a few areas that are both environmentally friendly and provide end-user comforts.
   
Environmental control systems save energy and can add features. Room lighting wired back to a central point allows for the use of small control panels that are programmed for different “scenes” or “moods.” Your guests can simply adjust the room lighting for their particular needs during the course of the day from a four- or five-button control.
   
It is the same technology you’ve been using in meeting rooms, but on a smaller scale.
And below the full levels, the settings all save energy. The same system can be tied into sensors that turn off all lights when the room is empty and turn them back on as soon as the door is opened.
   
The same type of occupied/unoccupied sensors can be used to conserve a little mechanical system energy and operating costs. In this instance, the temperature set point for the room can be moved up or down a few degrees when the room is empty so less energy is wasted providing comfort to an empty room. The typical HVAC system can bring the temperature back to the set level within a few minutes of return occupancy. And remote administration features allow even higher/lower set points when a room is not rented.
   
Heating and air conditioning systems in hotels historically have been largely recirculating systems. Indoor air quality is improved by using systems that instead introduce significant amounts of outside fresh air into the mix. Depending on the project location and the main mechanical systems, this can often allow a cost savings through the use of economizer cycles, waste heat recovery and heat exchange units. The key here is to tell your engineers early on that these are important features for them to consider.
   
In our wet zone, we already discussed low-volume shower heads. A well-designed one will use much less water without diminishing the end-user experience. Low-volume toilets have had a mixed record, but the newer dual-flush models are seeing wider guest acceptance.
   
The key to successful use of green technologies is to make them as transparent to the guest as possible, and to focus on those that have value-added features in addition to their being environmentally friendly. Everyone wants to do their part, but always keep in mind that most of your guests appreciate comfort more than sacrifice.

The End Zone

We hope we’ve given you a number of tools to analyze your existing and proposed facilities, as well as a few good specific ideas to investigate further. But before closing, one more item: thinking through how to put all these pieces together.
   
In a large suite, it is relatively easy to make each zone really great, because of the space available. As the room size gets smaller, this becomes more and more of a challenge. With smaller rooms, you need to have an overall marketing strategy to show you the best path. This is done successfully in two different ways: hotels that offer a variety of room types to please a variety of guests, and hotels that come up with a marketing hook to focus on a particular guest experience. Think of an “aloft” type of hotel guest room as the latter. Compact, high-tech, efficient. That vibe and aesthetic takes the pressure off, making each individual zone great. The selling point is the small-footprint ensemble.
   
The other successful model is to offer variety. We’ll see a stacked bay of rooms with killer bathrooms that are in fact the center of the room experience. Next to it will be a stacked bay of suites that have a larger work area and a wet bar for entertaining. The business crowd gobbles these up. Next along is a two-room suite that is laid out for families. The idea here is to do a number of things well, and to use different room configurations to accomplish it. The extreme version of this model will even go as far as theming each large suite, so the luxury guests can find a suite to suit each time they come to visit.
   
The weakest model we see, and the one to avoid, is the hotel that was not planned. The hotel with no narrative—a hotel that is not marketed to a defined group of guests. Do that and you end up being nothing to anybody rather than something for everyone.
   
The state of the art is a mix of high-tech features and old-fashioned comforts and service. Always check that you use technology in the service of comfort. A thermostat with a green “up” arrow and a red “down” arrow and nothing else is going to win you more return guests than one that has a flip-open cover with a page of instructions. A great place to wash your face is more valuable to your guest than three so-so places. The ability to use different parts of the guest room for different functions during the course of the day and not have them intrude on each other is key.
   
As you evaluate options and make decisions, put yourself in your guest’s place. Imagine walking into your room, putting away your clothes, washing up, and having a snack. A design and amenities that satisfy you will likely do the same for your guests.
   
On the way home from their stay, you want him to think to himself how well he slept, and her to remember that great quarter-final game. You planned carefully to make it happen, but all they need to know is that they loved their stay. Something about it was just right. They’ll be back.

Peter Yucupicio and Robert Valencia can remember as children when electricity was brought to their village. The leaders of the Pascua Yaqui tribe near Tucson, Arizona, tell a story that many Native Americans understand. The climb out of poverty to prosperity has meant a pride in the past and a vision for the future.
   
Yucupicio, the current chairman of the tribe, says it was the most amazing thing to see the trucks stringing the electrical wires.
   
“We didn’t realize how our lives would change,” he says. “But when you have nothing, you can’t really envision what having something means.”
   
Valencia, a former chairman and current vice chairman, says the struggles of their childhoods make the tribe’s two leaders more appreciative of the present.
   
“Not only do we have an appreciation of electricity, but also of running water and even pavement,” he laughs. “All the things that everyone else takes for granted, we remember the absence of them at the beginning. We consider ourselves to be strong individuals; we persevered and we completely appreciate what we have now.”
   
Yucupicio deflects credit, however, and says it’s the cohesiveness of the community that has made the difference.
   
“Pascua Yaquis are not like most other tribes,” he says. “We all participate in the discussions about what our tribal government should do. We are given all the facts and, while the discussions sometimes get heated, we usually come to the right decision. The tribal council is very involved, and we take our direction from them.
   
Valencia believes it is that struggle that has made the Pascua Yaqui tribal council so deliberative when it comes to expansion of their main enterprise, gaming. He credits those who came before the present leaders for putting them in this enviable position.
   
“There was always a dream of acquiring additional land for our reservation,” he says. “Our leaders bought this land many years ago. And although they couldn’t develop it at the time, they knew it was important. Today, that land is where Casino Del Sol sits, the main economic generator for the tribe.”
   
Valencia says he, Yucupicio and the rest of the tribal council are only trying to duplicate what previous leaders have done.
   
“We built what we have now upon the groundwork that was laid by our elders and what they left us,” he says. “We are trying to do the right thing for the future generations to make sure they have the tools to live a good life for their children and grandchildren.”
   
Wendell Long, the CEO of Pascua Yaqui Gaming Enterprises, says he’s witnessed a very savvy council that weighs every decision.
   
“The tribal council has always worked well together,” he says. “Like every government body, there is always some disagreement and discussion along the way, but when the time comes to make a decision, they are all on the same page. It’s the will of the council, not any one person.”

Gaming Ventures

The Pascua Yaquis entered the gaming business when the state of Arizona negotiated compacts with the tribes as required by legislative action in 1992. Unlike the Phoenix metropolitan area, where more than a dozen casinos are operating, Tucson has only two major tribes, the Pascua Yaquis and the Tohono O’odham Nation.
   
After operating a small casino with several hundred slot machines, the Pascua Yaquis decided to consider a larger venture. It wasn’t a slam dunk, however, by any means.
   
Long, a member of Oklahoma’s Grand Choctaw tribe, says there was much discussion among the tribal members and the council.
   
“Before committing to building Casino Del Sol,” he explains, “the tribe had never been in debt. They had financed the small casino and any other tribal enterprise through cash flow. It was quite a risk to build the large property that was Casino Del Sol.”
   
Valencia was tribal chairman at the time, and says it was a difficult decision.
   
“That was the only time I ever lost sleep while mulling over a decision,” he says. “Our people were behind the project, but it was a very hard decision to make because of the scale of the project.”
   
Valencia and the tribal council needn’t have worried. In an underserved market, Casino del Sol was an immediate hit, and competed evenly with the Desert Diamond Casino owned by the Tohono O’odham Nation.
   
Because of the success of Casino del Sol’s first phase, an expansion was a decision that didn’t cause Valencia to lose sleep. But that decision had some different ramifications, and the bottom line was that the tribe not only wanted to compete with Desert Diamond, but also with the selection of high-quality resorts that dot the Tucson area.
   
Long says economic diversity was a part of the rationale behind the decision.
   
“We were originally going with a three-star hotel, but we’ve moved that up to a four-star variety on the direction of tribal council,” he says. “We have one of the nicest casinos in Arizona, so we believed the hotel had to be of the same quality. And we truly wanted it to be a resort, so the spa, the meeting space and the upgraded features were necessary.”

Beyond Gaming

Mark Birtha, a casino industry veteran who most recently was developing the now-stalled project of a Marriot resort in Las Vegas, was hired to take the reins at the Casino del Sol.
Birtha says expansion made sense in both gaming and non-gaming amenities.
   
“In Tucson, we have one major gaming competitor,” he explains. “We believe that by creating this resort experience, we’ll have an edge over that casino. But by creating this resort, we’re also competing with the high-end resorts that are located in the hotel corridor in the Tucson area. It’s a very strong attraction for the city. Golf and spa are very important in all these facilities. Not only is the U.S. a major market, but Mexico is, as well. We’re the first stop when they cross the border. So we can compete as a casino resort, but we will also compete with all the non-gaming resorts as well.”
   
The expansion of Casino del Sol, slated to cost $130 million, will provide a 215-room, 10-story hotel. The upper floors offer panoramic views of the valley, as well as being a beacon to attract new customers. A glowing dome at the peak of the property, created by Las Vegas-based sign-maker Yesco, will shine from dusk till dawn, while extensive meeting space, new restaurants and a high-style pool area offer visitors relaxation and diversions whether or not they are gamblers.
   
Birtha says high-rise visibility was a change from the original concept of a lower-rise property, which can be justified in the goals of the project.
   
“We wanted to determine what was the right amount of amenities not only for our existing clientele but to grow our clientele,” says Birtha. “And when tribal council considered the Mediterranean feel that we’ve given the property, the beautiful domes and the very elegant high-ceiling space, it was only natural that they build a tower that rose above the natural landscape and became an icon and beacon for residents and visitors to the valley.”
   
In a well-designed master plan, however, the Pascua Yaquis are aiming at the region’s most complete destination. Plans for construction of a first-class golf course for the resort are now being finalized by tribal council.
   
Long says the tribe realizes that all the elements of the master plan are necessary.
   
“They understand that a world-class resort needs all these features,” he says. “And by having these features they can maximize the gaming and non-gaming revenues. So once the golf course deal is completed, I’m certain the council will approve it.”
   
Birtha says the master plan was one of the reasons he decided to take the job.
   
“I have been very impressed with the vision for the overall master plan that the tribal council has for this project and the property that they’ve acquired,” he says. “It was one of the reasons I decided to accept this opportunity.
   
“They never bite off more than they can chew. I’ve seen many developers around the country take too many chances, and the projects get put on hold or they get overleveraged. This group have been very diligent in building in phases. They have a structure, a perspective and a long-term view that is unique to Tucson.”
   
Construction Specialties

Putting together a team to develop the Casino del Sol expansion was important, says Long, because the tribe isn’t large enough to have one person or a department dedicated to design and construction. After an extensive search, the tribe hired Innovation Project Development, a subsidiary of the Innovation Group of Companies, to develop the expansion plans.
   
Innovation brought in architects Leo A. Daly, which designed the original Casino del Sol, and McCarthy Construction as partners in building the hotel and other amenities.
   
Birtha says IPD has the experience and expertise that the project needed from the start.
   
“They have a great reputation and experienced executives who have built dozens of casino projects around the country,” says Birtha. “They work with our engineering and facilities people to make sure the project is designed and built correctly. They oversee everything from the construction budget and design specs to interior design work, programming and spacing.”
   
For Long, having IPD in charge minimizes the problems that could and do arise.
   
“When you’ve been given responsibility to build a development like that by a tribal council, you don’t want anything to go wrong,” he says. “And even though things do go wrong, you want to keep them to a minimum. That’s the value of bringing in a company like IPD. IPD has earned the salary we’ve paid them at least five or six times over.”
   
Bob Kelly, the president of IPD who previously served as director of construction for Grand Casinos, Bally Entertain-ment and Caesars Entertainment, says his role is to make his clients comfortable by keeping them in the loop at all times.
   
“We like to work closely with our clients because they are the owners, and we’re their link to the architects, builders and other contractors,” he says. “They bring us in because they generally aren’t very familiar with large construction projects and trust us to make sure that everything goes according to plan.”
   
But it’s often the owners who want to make changes in the middle of the process, says Kelly, and it’s also his job to explain the ramifications of such changes.
   
“When the owners want to move a wall or add an amenity somewhere that wasn’t in the original plans,” he says, “we have to tell them the impact it will have on the budget, on other elements of the project and on the timeline for completion. Sometimes it’s not an easy thing to do, because there are often multiple people involved on the owners’ side. But we have to make them see reality so there are no surprises as we come to the end of the project.”
   
A new element that has recently come up is the increased involvement of the lenders. In
some cases, IPD is also responsible to the lenders, says Kelly.
   
“The new angle to this is the bank that is lending the money has to be a full-time partner in those decisions,” he explains. “So we often get in the middle between the bank and the owners, making sure their decisions are good ones and the bank will support them.”

Setting the Bar

For Birtha, installing non-gaming amenities was the key to success for Casino del Sol. But at the same time, the right non-gaming amenities must be installed that will fit the level of the customer.
   
“The non-gaming amenities we are building are not only designed to be strategic differentiators, but also high-quality revenue centers,” he explains. “In a market like this, it’s a little bit of both. We want to create amenities above and beyond the gaming experience that will impress our loyal customers but also allow us to evolve into a true resort destination that goes above and beyond just the casino experience. It also allows us to evolve the property into a non-gaming property. We’ll focus on meetings and conventions during the Monday-Thursday time period. We’ll also host the tour-and-travel customer on the weekend. Hopefully, they’ll also play in the casino, but it’s not necessary for them to be a profitable customer. Overall, we’ll better diversify our revenue base.”
   
Understanding what the customers want—and more importantly, what the return on investment will be—drove the decisions about the quality of the amenities. For example, there are no 10,000-square-foot suites.
   
“Knowing we have limitations on our maximum gaming bets; knowing who our customers are and what they expect; knowing that there is some kind of thirst for non-gaming amenities; all these things go into making the right decisions and fit and function of the product,” he says. “A four- or five-bedroom suite like you might find in Las Vegas or Macau doesn’t make sense here because they have a different set of expectations. Our biggest suite is a two-bedroom suite at about 1,400 square feet. That will clearly be a favorite with our players.”
   
The decision made by the tribe to keep the casino open during construction can be good or bad, says IPD’s Kelly.
    
“Doing a construction project while keeping the casino open is a double-edged sword,” he explains. “There’s a good chance that it will hurt your bottom line because of the business disruptions. But at the same time, the players who are putting their dollars and quarters into the slot machines like to see the construction. They feel like they are investing in an entirely new casino and that they’re getting something back for their money. There’s more sidewalk superintendents than you can shake a stick at, but that’s a good thing because it ramps up excitement as you get closer to the end of the project.”
    
With a target date for opening of November 11, 2011 (11-11-11), Yucupicio says the tribe is going to be very proud of the results.
   
“We’ve been working very hard to provide jobs for our tribal members, and this will give us another chance to do that,” he says.
   
Indeed, Pascua Yaquis account for a huge percentage of the executives and employees in Casino del Sol. Long believes that contributes to the excellence of service at the property.
   
“Sixty percent of our employees are tribal members,” he says. “Because they are the owners of the property, I think they are truly hard-working, friendly and conscientious. That sense of entitlement that you might see with other tribes isn’t evident here. It’s probably the way the Pascua Yaquis have been brought up. They just don’t have that in their DNA.”
   
Birtha agrees. “The success of the expansion project is not just financial for the tribe,” he explains. “The large contingent of tribal members that make up our staff depend upon expansion for their jobs and careers. So community success is just as important as financial success.”
   
Valencia says that even outside the tribal boundaries, a successful Casino del Sol has an impact.
   
“We’re proud that our economic development has helped not only our tribe but our community,” he says. “By producing jobs for our tribal members and for our neighbors, we’re helping raise everyone’s standard of living and making our community better.”