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Franchise restaurants may not be the perfect fit for every casino, but gaming venues that buy into the franchise model find it a highly effective way to leverage the power of national brands, differentiate their F&B, and engage with a greater variety of customers.

Just ask Wendy Carter, marketing director for Oklahoma’s Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant.

Fresh off a $255 million expansion that added a second hotel tower, luxury spa, 3,000-seat arena, 100,000 square feet of meeting space and a lively entertainment and recreational quarter called the District, Choctaw Durant also boasts as varied a food offering as any you’ll find in Las Vegas: 12 casual and fine dining outlets that blend casino-owned-and-operated restaurants with well-known franchises like Gilley’s, Subway, Papa John’s Pizza and Smashburger.

It’s a model the Choctaw Nation replicates across its eight principal gaming venues in the southeastern part of the Sooner State. The goal: maximum appeal.

“When you think of resort food and beverage, the mix is very important,” Carter says. “You want your own brands, but that isn’t enough. You need the recognition factor of these national brands. We look at our demographics, and with a mix, we’re attractive to all our players.”

The brands, for their part, love pitching their wares to hungry, willing consumers concentrated indoors in large numbers.

“If you look at it pragmatically, you have a captive audience,” says Gregg Koffler, senior vice president of franchise development for Smashburger. “These are high-density, high-traffic areas, and if you’re offering them a good food choice, they’re not going to leave. They’re going to eat there.”

Grab & Go
Smashburger has outlets at Caesars Palace and the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, where they serve a custom burger called the “Sin City,” and a location in southern Nevada at Harrah’s Laughlin. Sales average “well above” the company’s as a whole, says Koffler—and that’s across 380 corporate and franchise restaurants in 37 states and eight countries.

Smashburger likes the casino partnerships so much, the company currently is talking with gaming venues in no less than eight states about possible openings.

As Subway’s Donna Curry describes it, it’s a match made in fast-food heaven.

“One of the important things is we’re open 24 hours,” says Curry, development agent for Subway in southern Nevada, where the chain has 22 casino locations. “A lot of the restaurants and nightclubs shut down, so we’re able to serve their guests who want something to eat in the wee hours. Our line moves very fast; if a guest wants to grab a sandwich and go to a concert or get something to eat after the show, or if they’re at the tables and want to grab a bite and go back to gaming, we’re there.

“A national brand is what people are attracted to, because they know the product. And we’re healthy, too, so people say, ‘There’s a Subway—let’s grab that.’”

It helps that the chains are experienced in adapting their product to the demands of the physical environment. As Koffler recalls, “We did a little bit of marketing in the trades and got the word out on the street: We were ready to roll out a prototype tailored for casinos, by that meaning locations that are a little smaller than our usual 2,500 square feet.”

Curry’s Subway locations can be as large as 1,200 square feet or as compact as 450. “I work on identifying unused space and work with casinos to create an income-producing area where there may be dead spots,” she says.

Not to be discounted either: the confidence factor that comes with working with nationally known brands. “Casinos look for someone who’s seasoned,” Curry says. “They like experienced operators to make sure their guests are taken care of.”

Carter says the recognition associated with the big brands drives patronage, for effective cross-marketing. “I think it’s a win-win for both of us,” she says. “It’s a great opportunity for any retail or F&B operation.”

The Vision Board
But surviving in what is obviously an increasingly crowded franchise field makes it more important than ever to differentiate your offering. Entrepreneur magazine picked up on this more than a year ago, writing in the January 2015 issue, “Companies that have been franchising for decades have high speed and low prices locked up, so newcomers are looking to compete on food quality and atmosphere instead.”

This has resulted in a noticeable trend toward food choices that are more “personalized,” exemplified in the “build-your-own” model that’s increasingly popular for everything from burgers and subs to pizza and sushi.

Dallas-based Pie Five Pizza, an up-and-comer in this new “fast-casual” space, opened at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi, its first gaming location, just over a year ago. “The feedback we’re getting is over-the-top—great stuff,” says Kurt Guttshall, the franchise partner who brought Pie Five to the popular casino on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.

Pie Five’s hook: every pizza is custom-made from a menu that offers a choice of four crusts, seven sauces and 28 different toppings. Your pizza is dressed in front of you, then baked at very high heat in a special conveyor oven so that it’s yours in two and a half minutes. And every pie is the same price.

Smashburger, not quite 10 years old, is another young company that’s evolving fast. It recently branched out into alcohol service, teaming up with a Cincinnati-based boutique brewery, Christian Moerlain, to serve craft beers and ales tailored to different regional styles and tastes. The chain also works hard to counter the industrial image associated with fast food. Its diverse menu includes chicken sandwiches and salads, sweet potato fries, a vegetarian black bean burger and “Veggie Frites.”

The Rio location came about, says Koffler, precisely because the resort was looking to rebrand its quick-service offering away from the traditional image of “fast food.”

“They wanted a better offering,” he says.

It’s about knowing your customers, something casinos are very good at, says Wendy Carter, a veteran marketer with 13 years in the industry. “It comes from surveys, from monitoring every aspect of your resort activity over 20-plus years of operations in the area,” she attests. “So we feel we can make very solid decisions about what our guests are looking for.”

Easy as Pie
Guttshall is a believer. A longtime franchisee whose Birmingham, Alabama-based investment group runs 60 Applebee’s restaurants, he never considered opening a Pie Five in a casino before the Hard Rock contacted him.

“We were a little skeptical,” he says. “We asked Pie Five, and they weren’t sure either, and they didn’t want us to fail. But then we thought, let’s try it, let’s go for it. We looked at the site, the traffic was great.”

He got a strong location, along a route where guests have to pass to get from the parking garage to the casino and the hotel front desk. It’s also near the theater and the pool area. The outlet stays open extra late on weekends (until 1 a.m.). If there’s a show, it stays open until the last customer is served. And it accept casino comps, a nice cost-saver for Hard Rock, which also gets a percentage of the outlet’s sales.

“But I think the best thing is, people really like the concept, and they like the product,” Guttshall says. “It’s been a great partnership.”

So great, in fact, that his group has returned its allotted territory, encompassing all of Mississippi, Alabama and eastern Tennessee, to Pie Five in exchange for an exclusive right to develop Pie Five restaurants in casinos anywhere in the United States. Gutshall has an agreement with Pie Five that calls for his group to develop 18 more outlets, 25 in all—“But they’re not going to be in that territory,” he says, “they’re going to be where the best casino opportunity lies.”

Smashburger’s gaming expansion is part of a “non-traditional venues program” that’s working well for the company and continues as a strategic priority. To aid in its nationwide casino search, Koffler says the company is working with Compass Group, a food services conglomerate that manages outsourcing for companies worldwide.

Guttshall says his group is “excited” about the potential in gaming. “We know the model works well. People like it. There are several casinos we’ve talked to that have no outside or external brand, and we’re saying, ‘Let’s try it. Let’s see if it works for both of us.’ We know there’s interest out there. The question now is finding the right location and the right property. The site has to make sense to us too.”

Curry works with the same persistence. She says her “vision board” is what got Subway into Las Vegas Strip giants like MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and the Venetian.

“I’ve been targeting these properties for years,” she says. “It’s about building relationships.”

Appearances are everything. Because employees are the public face of casinos, what they wear—their uniforms—is as much a part of the overall resort experience as how they greet and interact with guests.

Casinos are constantly changing to meet increasing competition and the challenge of attracting new customers. As decor has evolved, so have uniforms. Many styles of the past seem gaudy or even costume-like by today’s standards. Nowadays, casinos are opting for a simpler, more elegant look—though a touch of glam remains.  
Staying on trend is essential, says Joanna Cordero, manager of design at Cintas Corp., one of the country’s leading casino uniform outfitters.
    
“I see a new generation, a new customer in these casinos. I see a lot of properties changing that image of the shimmery, Old Vegas look. Now it’s simpler. It still has a lot of luster, but it’s not as flashy,” she says. “It’s more sophisticated.”  

Keeping Up Appearances
Because employees bring the brand image to life, operators often involve them in the uniform design process.
    
“The employees of a casino are walking, talking guest-service specialists,” says Chuck Campbell, president and co-founder of At Work Uniforms, based in Orange Beach, Alabama, which been outfitting casino employees across the U.S. since 1991. “The employee’s role is conveying the hospitality and looking the part—playing a role—in the casino’s overall theme.
    
“In the past, management said, ‘It’s a uniform; just wear it,’” he says. “Now, most uniform decision committees on the property have participants who are actually going to be the ones wearing the uniforms.”
    
At Work Uniforms serves as both a wholesale distributor of stock uniform brands, such as Carhartt and Dickies, and a custom uniform designer.
    
Uniform outfitters’ knowledge of the industry is vital in creating uniforms that fit the job. If an operator wants a specific uniform style, but it’s one that may not work well for someone of a larger size, there’s always an alternative, Cordero says.  
    
“We have ample options to work with, but we have to understand who’s on the floor. You gather all the team members in each department and cohesively design something that works for everybody,” she says.
    
“Uniforms contribute to the integrity of the staff,” agrees Elana Gallant, director of sales and development at Uniforms by Class Act, based in Pompano Beach, Florida, which has served the casino industry since the early 1990s. “Combining style and comfort can really give them the confidence to feel and look good. The staff must look comfortable and confident. That’s why many of our designs are made to fit all shapes and sizes.”
    
Wear testing is important to ensure that garments work for specific jobs. For example, Campbell says, if the maintenance department switches to a new brand of work pants, “You’d better put one or two of them in it to make sure everyone likes them.”  
    
Color, fabric and print may tell most of the story, but it’s comfort that completes it, boosting employee morale and adding to the customer experience.
    
“Uniforms pull together the look of the staff to coordinate with the much-thought-about interior design of the casino,” says Gallant. “If an employee is uncomfortable in a uniform, it can be apparent. When the staff is comfortable and confident wearing their uniforms, the casino’s desired image will be clearly realized in the positive and proud attitude of their staff.”
    
Most of Class Act’s business consists of custom-made uniforms in an array of pattern designs that can be tweaked with changes to color, fabric or other features, Gallant says. The company is also a reseller of familiar brands like Edwards Garment, SanMar Corp., Uncommon Threads, Chef Works and others.
 
The ‘Wow’ Factor
While today’s casino uniform styles may not be as glittery as in years past, they remain on trend. Outfitters and suppliers attend design, technology and fabric trade shows to stay on top of what’s new.
    
Eco-friendly and washable fabrics, with clean lines and simple styles, are trending these days. It’s mainstays like color, design and fit that make a memorable first impression—and details matter.  Buttons, trim, lapels and texture: “It’s those details in a garment that you see when you’re out shopping,” Cordero says.
    
“Everyone is trying to outdo each other, especially in Las Vegas. We’re in such close proximity here. The customer is changing. We have a new generation—the millennials—that they’re trying to attain.”
    
Today’s uniform trends may not be “the glitz of the famous ladies of Caesars Palace from the 1980s, but they’re still fashionable with newer colors and fabrics,” Campbell says. For example, he says, “Charcoal gray is the new black.”
    
The pressure casino operators feel to tell a new and different story via a refreshed design scheme exists in Vegas and beyond. Many markets now include multiple properties and new competition.
    
“You do see those individual properties outside Las Vegas feeling the heat a little bit,” Cordero says. “You’re coming for an experience, and the last thing you need to see is an old, dated uniform. People want the experience of seeing something new and different.”
    
Casino operators tend to bring in new uniform designs about every three to five years, Campbell says, usually coinciding with carpet and wall covering changes.
    
“If you come in and put all new carpet down, the first thing you notice is the carpet had orange; the shirts have orange,” he says. “Now, we’ve got blue. We need blue shirts.”
    
Styles change, but they are also likely to resurface. The tuxedo halter top and women’s tails coat have been in the lineup for more than 20 years, says Gallant.
    
“We evolve our designs and keep everything fresh, but you can always choose a classic if needed,” she says.
    
“Casinos have always been regarded as the place to go for the highest entertainment value providing a truly unique experience for their customers. Today we’re using fabrics that require less maintenance but still offer enough flash to maintain the ‘wow’ factor.”
    
The “wow” factor is an essential part of the story, with the employees wearing them as the storytellers. A well-designed uniform conveys a clear message to customers, Campbell says: “We’re glad you’re here, enjoy the entertainment, and please come back.”

As non-gaming revenue continues to drive Las Vegas tourism, casino operators are generating more revenues from dayclubs, nightclubs and pool parties.
    
The season has changed, too, from a three-month summer campaign to a year-round battle for the dollar.
    
“Return on investment is measured completely differently now than 10 years ago,” says Evan Hunt, director of VIP services for the Foundation Room Las Vegas. “Back then, there were only a handful of non-gaming venues, primarily focused on the summer season. Now, there are so many new venues, you have to draw guests year-round if you want to hit your desired return on investment.”
    
Since 2011, more than 20 new, renovated or rebranded dayclubs, nightclubs and pools have been introduced in Las Vegas. The season has been extended from St. Patrick’s Day in March to Labor Day in September, and marketing to millennials and locals has skyrocketed. Successful dayclubs achieve ROI by charging top dollar for admission on holiday weekends, when popular DJs play or celebrities host the parties.
    
The price of admission during these events often increases throughout the day—entry fees of $75 for men and $50 for women at 11 a.m. can jump to $100 and $75 respectively by 2 p.m. At the height of the party at 4 p.m., admission can soar to $150 and $100. To maximize a dayclub’s profit, there are no comps for high-profile events, so everyone has to pay. With capacities that can exceed 500 and even 1,000 people, it’s clearly easier to clean up.
    
“Before, you could just throw a pool party during the day and expect a decent turnout because the competition was so limited,” says Jerome Davis, president of Urban Professionals, host of the longtime “Urban Hangover” summer party series in Las Vegas. “Now you have to review the programming at other dayclubs and pools before you schedule anything, just to make sure you can maximize your return on investment.
    
“However, the increased competition has given tourists a better entertainment experience, which is great for the Las Vegas brand.”

Pooling Resources
For pool venues that stay away from massive parties, maximizing ROI is not nearly as straightforward. It involves more marketing to hotel guests and other distinct demographics.
    
In Downtown Las Vegas, the pool at the Golden Nugget has done it several ways—first, by keeping the venue (and the bar) open as late as midnight during summer non-swimming hours. A “trickle-down” effect of the pool’s elaborate waterfall and aquarium is that they draw locals. With ongoing promotions for its food and beverage outlets, the Golden Nugget has created a blueprint for the successful pool venue.  
    
“The Golden Nugget pool developed a buzz among us locals because it’s so accessible,” says longtime Las Vegas resident Karl Anderson. “Locals are always looking for a unique experience where we don’t feel like an outsider in our own city. The pool has great nighttime reverse-happy hours to complete the experience.”
    
In the middle of the Strip, two pools at neighboring properties use two different marketing and pricing techniques to maximize ROI. The Pool at the Linq, now in its second season, has already earned a reputation as a “come-as-you-are” party pad, often with minimal to no admission fee and a variety of DJs for all musical tastes, from EDM to hip-hop and even classic rock.
    
The Pool’s objective is to drive longer stays, attracting guests who arrive between 9 a.m. and noon and stay until 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Many dayclub guests stay between two and four hours maximum; longer stays mean more food and beverage revenue to offset the low admission fees and lower prices on daybeds and cabanas.
    
A short walk from the Linq is the ever-popular Flamingo pool, one of the largest in Vegas. Because of its size, it’s maximized return on investment via unique programming, including an ongoing series of concerts by hip-hop and dance music artists of the 1990s, from Tone Loc to Rob Base to Freedom Williams of C&C Music Factory.
    
The concerts draw a lot of fans from the Southern California market as well as the 35-to-50 age demographic—often overlooked in Vegas advertising, even though these people have more disposable income than their younger, hipper millennial counterparts.
    
Another on-site marketing technique adopted by the Flamingo: ongoing interactive contests that are heavy on audience participation. These contests, revolving around F&B sponsors, a holiday or sporting event or other entertainment, encourage guests to stick around for another 30 minutes or an hour until the next contest, where they have a chance to be selected. That adds more revenue to the food-and-beverage bottom line, and a dynamic energy to the pool programming overall.
    
“The interactive part of my fashion show at the Flamingo pool really made it stand out and got the audience involved,” says Natalie Yaru, Beverly Hills-based designer of the Manam fashion line. “It’s rare to see that at a fashion show, but since you’re in the middle of Las Vegas and everybody wants to be involved, it’s a perfect fit.”

Programming Profit
In the nightlife industry, the buzzword du jour is “programming,” drawing talent that ensures high turnout and solid food and beverage revenue results.
    
“We measure return on investment very analytically,” says Anthony Olheiser, executive director of brand activation at Luxor, which operates the LAX nightclub. “Our booking decisions are largely driven by pro forma scenarios to determine the financial viability of the evening. This allows us to keep our prices lower than most of the competition, which positions LAX to a broader consumer base.”
    
One of the most enduring nightlife venues in Las Vegas, LAX also made the decision to operate one day less each week in 2016 compared to 2015, a decision that has “paid large dividends to date this year,” says Olheiser. “We’re experiencing record revenue and profit months this year, and the momentum continues to climb.”
    
On the opposite end of the spectrum, many industry insiders believe the premium nightclub trend may have reached its apex, and the days of high-priced DJs, quarter-mile-long admission lines and expensive bottle service are limited.
    
Omnia, Hakkasan and XS are the only nightclubs left on the Strip that routinely pay large amounts ($25,000 and above per night) for DJs and celebrity guest hosts. While they have cornered the market among the millennial and 35-to-45 age demographics, maximizing return on investment for these pricy nightclubs is truly a 24-hour-a-day, all-season job.
    
So, those nightclubs proactively market to corporations. They typically see a spike in venue buyouts during the busy convention and trade show season, from October 1 to April 30. Because many corporate nightclub events end between 10 p.m. and midnight instead of 4 a.m., the shortened staff schedule means less overhead for the nightclub. Meanwhile, the older crowds generate substantial amounts of revenue.
    
“Before, the nightlife industry was scared of the winter time, especially after Halloween. It was like being in hibernation for four months a year,” says Jamel Mitchell, o
wner and operator of In Ya Entertainment, which hosts large corporate and social groups at all the major nightclubs on the Strip. “Now, both the nightclubs and promoters are embracing it, because the convention season gives everyone a new opportunity to drive revenue and brand the venue to an entirely different demographic.”

Making it Work
For Evan Hunt, the Foundation Room’s location at Mandalay Bay has made him an expert on convention-goer outreach, strategy and tactics. A prime example of the Foundation Room’s innovative programming approach occurred on a Saturday night in July, when the popular CosmoProf cosmetology trade show was at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center the same night superstar comedian Steve Harvey hosted his annual Neighbor-hood Awards at the property.
   
To maximize his return on investment, Hunt had to identify a celebrity guest host for the Foundation Room who would be marketable to both the cosmetology convention attendees and the predominantly African-American guests at the award show.
   
His answer? Legendary model and celebrity Tyson Beckford, who was a smash hit.
   
Beckford “tweeted about it weeks in advance, and we were able to use that as the basis of our promotions,” says Hunt. “We did our job, got a lot of press out of it and felt the residual income and buzz until a week after the event.
   
“That’s how you use targeted nightclub programming to maximize return on investment and publicity at the same time.”

It’s a numbers-crunching dream.

Blend revenue forecasts, previous spend performance, projected room availability and perceived customer value into one company snapshot. Roll that into a lucrative convention proposal. Analyze, interpret and bid.

Welcome to the world of Big Data, the revered next driver of casino-hotel revenue. Its numbers, codes and spreadsheets span several gaming eras.

Casino data began as volume displays that delivered reams of information to operators. Sorted properly, the content was priceless. Somewhere in the color-coded, software-driven technology were trends on customer spending, resort vacancies and effective marketing campaigns. But operators climbed a mountain of information for a small edge.

Data later looked at property teamwork; as more casinos united hotel and gaming areas, they reversed the former approach that insisted each be self-sustaining. According to some estimates, non-gaming spend accounts for two-thirds of overall revenue. Restaurants, bars and spa business now impact casino room rates.

Finally, there’s speed. Data allows properties to make split-second decisions if they can align their market position with the right group of patrons.

Big Data = Big Money
Unlike some technological innovations, data does not have to threaten the workforce; it can create revenue, rather than eliminate jobs. A host can hike a patron’s reward beyond what numbers dictate, issuing an unscheduled upgrade. The practice often works. Players, like anyone spending money, want to feel exclusive. Roaming the floors, schmoozing, and determining player value with informal “eyeball-a-sis” hasn’t changed, it’s been enhanced.

Analyzing data is like a statistical treasure hunt.

Gaming and hospitality converge in Atlanta, headquarters of Agilysys. Gaming is its largest market and accounts for about half the company’s revenue, according to President and CEO Jim Dennedy. The company has several worldwide locations, including Nevada and Hong Kong, and has thrived by anticipating market needs.

“The contemporary technology trends remain on mobility and guest self-service enablement,” Dennedy says. “It’s not that every guest wants self-service, but self-enabled services must be available. Guest preferences have become quite finicky—for the same service, the same demographic and the exact same guest, the guest may choose to self-serve or want to be highly served. And they expect the desired nature of service on-demand.

“We offer mobility and kiosk-based solutions for our property management and point-of-sale products,” says Dennedy. “It enables our customers’ properties and venues to serve guests across the entire spectrum of high-touch to self-service in the same venue with the same business system.”

More than any other industry, gaming must create intrigue in order to capture its guests’ attention.

One of this company’s tools is rGuest Analyze, an innovative business analytics tool designed specifically for hospitality operators. It meets the evolving needs of hospitality professionals, Dennedy says.

“There’s a growing need for more information and more data about guest preferences, their spending and other patterns. Understanding the value of each guest type is critical: the gaming, non-gaming, non-staying, or low-intensity gaming guest. To understand each guest persona, operators need to segment their consumption data across all activities at the property.

“The casino has little chance of accessing the gaming spend if the non-gaming offer is not attractive to the demographic the property desires. Tools like rGuest Analyze provide the precise information operators need to make more informed business decisions. That empowers employees and better aligns their day-to-day activities with guest trends.”

Dennedy says Agilysys has listened closely to its customer base and provided game-changing solutions, even using an advisory board to launch the rGuest platform.

“Customers told us they need their solutions to work better together to drive operational efficiency and realize more value,” he says. “We responded to these demands with the Agilysys rGuest hospitality platform—a standards-based solution on an open architecture with public APIs to enable richly integrated applications delivered from Agilysys, its partners and customers.

“Rather than silos of disparate guest data, the result is a single repository of guest profile and consumption data across the enterprise. Customers are benefiting from the efficiency and insights that this platform integration offers.”

Agilysys continues to build an integrated business view to help operators. That includes improving recruitment through promotion to the most valuable demographic for a given business, increasing wallet share through contextually relevant offers, and strengthening an operator’s connection with guests by knowing their preferences across various traveling personas, from business to leisure with or without accompaniment.

This approach combines with the company’s strategy of flexible solution deployment including SaaS, hybrid and on-premise, Dennedy says.

The Price is Right
Rainmaker Group is a market-leading provider of automated revenue management and profit optimization software solutions for the gaming, hospitality and multifamily housing industries. A world leader in automated forecasting and profit optimization software and services, the Atlanta-based company has offices in Las Vegas and Singapore, and deals with powerhouses like Mohegan Sun and the Cherokee Nation.

“Distribution seems to get more and more complicated, but revenue management doesn’t have to,” says Angie Dobney, vice president of pricing and revenue management for Rainmaker. “We have better tools to help people master their data and make better, fast decisions that drive profitability, which is what we specialize in. Hotels are leaving money on the table by not putting the data to work.”
   
Since January, Rainmaker has welcomed more than 200 hospitality companies representing more than 300 properties worldwide. Its solutions run the gamut, from transient and group market pricing and forecasting (with proprietary programs like guestrev and grouprev) to the competitive positioning and performance benchmark capabilities of revintel and revcaster.

Grouprev is the vehicle driving new leads. Perhaps the “rev” also refers to speed, a big factor in leads conversion. Dobney estimates that 70 percent of first-time responders land the lucrative convention business.

The company recently introduced a partnership with Cvent, ensuring that hospitality and gaming clients using grouprev can seamlessly respond to group business leads from Cvent’s event management platform. That platform eliminates the duplication of RFPs (requests for proposal) that have long plagued the group lead process. Cvent scores the lead based on relevance. An operator can interpret the value of a lead and a suggested price point at one glance.

Grouprev helps an operator quickly decide its price point for marketing offers. The solution enables hotels to price group bids optimally. Each bid is analyzed based on market conditions, potential displacement and booking behavior. The results are presented through a user-friendly interface, making the process faster.

According to Dobney, a recent Rainmaker study showed that when hotels customize group bids rather than use the pre-defined rules most hotels do, they increase rate capture significantly with no effect on conversions.

“It’s time group business stopped being treated as the ‘poor relation’ in revenue management,” Dobney maintains. “It can represent 40 percent of a hotel’s business, but most of the analytics are still focused on transient guests. When you stop using MARs (minimum acceptable rates) and start optimizing, you capture additional revenue without impacting conversions.”

Guestrev, meanw
hile, is cloud-based, enabling operators to view suggested room rates produced by their own player database and by probabilities incorporated into the software. Mathematical algorithms, price suggestions and an updated view as to what types of players have been booked in which types of rooms are constantly available to an operator. Each guest’s past spending history is available for those in charge of deciding what room to offer.

Revcaster lets operators know what their competitors are doing, and will soon tell companies what to do in response. Dobney says a major new release of revcaster will arrive in September with enhanced functionality.   

Revintel identifies an advanced level of information, Dobney says. “This makes it easy to mine the data to identify the trends behind the trends. It deepens the user’s understanding and is one of the fastest-growing products Rainmaker has ever taken to the market.”

Instant Gratification
Duetto, based in San Francisco and Las Vegas, unveiled what it considers the future of loyalty pricing at G2E.

The company hails its new My Rate app, connected with Game Changer, the company’s cloud-based revenue strategy solution. Game Changer is Duetto’s predictive analytics platform for hotels and casinos, providing insights into demand and the ability to leverage it through a pricing engine. Duetto delivers revenue strategy solutions to hotels and casinos.

My Rate was unveiled this summer as a tool for hosts, according to Marco Benvenuti, co-founder of Duetto and its chief analytics product officer. It provides property-wide capability for operators who want to provide “personalized” room rates to individual loyalty members based on their worth to the property.

“Many casinos don’t have a way to get someone a quote right away—say, for example, if their host is somewhere else on the property like a golf course,” Benvenuti says. “This feature goes right inside your tablet or iPhone. You can put a player’s loyalty number in and right away you have the rate or decide an appropriate comp for that person.”

Game Changer integrates with casinos’ customer relationship management tools to track on-property spending and calculate total customer value beyond average daily theoretical.

The system segments guests into as many different casino rates as a property wants for filling rooms with high-value customers. Reinvestment rates can be flexed dynamically across tiers, giving a casino more control over its pace and pickup, and letting resorts move away from restrictive casino blocks.

Besides replacing casino blocks with a better yielding strategy, properties can also add value to guests by offering free-play bonuses, food and beverage offers or other perks, based on the reinvestment they’ve earned, Benvenuti contends.

One loyalty-pricing product illustration pictures three customers, with a room rate on top and spending value placed underneath the individual’s face. As the gaming level increases, room rates decrease. The tool is at the fingertips of anyone making a room-rate decision. It removes the layered process of marketing departments haggling with executive staff to obtain discounted rates or comps for individual players.

All that input is already in the numbers.

Player development decisions can be made in real time, as casino personnel can also access a player’s information with the Find My Rate app on any device.

Benvenuti says Duetto is working on a new product to help large casino chains monitor the performance of each property in real time. Duetto has also unveiled a white paper urging properties to think outside standard evaluation patterns. Among other topics, it encourages them to think of intangibles.

“The paper is tied in with the concept of changing loyalty programs,” he says. “In the past, you would stay at a property several times, obtain points and then redeem them after you’ve reached a certain amount. We encourage an instant-gratification relationship.”

Instead of waiting to redeem points, they can be rewarded on total spend throughout the property. Even if someone does not qualify for a suite, for example, that person might be able to upgrade fairly quickly and easily at the time of booking.

“There are many ways to look at all of this. You’ll find speculation about whether or not you’re diluting your price for no reason if you give something to someone. One argument says not to, because the person would have come anyway.

“Another says that giving the person a discount presents a strong emotional connection between the customer and the property. That player will come back and book right with you rather than either of you paying Expedia. It makes them more connected to you.”

One of Benvenuti’s favorite conversion cases concerns El Cortez, a Downtown Las Vegas property and the longest continuously open casino and hotel in Las Vegas.

“Three years ago, it would have seemed like something out of the 1960s, right out of the Casino movie,” says Benvenuti. “That was all great, but they were leaving money on the table. Now they’re walking around, checking the rates on tablets. They’re making more money, and it’s fascinating to see. It shows me that technology does not have to be scary.

“If you have the right technology and it’s implemented properly,” he says, “it’s a winner.”

When the Gordon Group developed the Pier Shops at Caesars in Atlantic City in 2006, the company used the successful model of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
    
Naysayers said the Pier Shops wouldn’t work, for two reasons: Atlantic City visitors were unlikely to park in a casino garage and hike across a casino to get to the shops. And they wouldn’t spend money at high-end retailers like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Though the nearby Walk outlet district had succeeded selling brand names at reduced prices, the Pier Shops failed.
    
But in Las Vegas, the explosion of retail shows no signs of abating.
    
“Las Vegas is a globally known and internationally visited destination, known not only for its casinos, resorts and gaming but also for entertainment, culinary options and as a shopping destination,” says Maureen Crampton, director of marketing and business development for the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.
    
Today, there’s retail everywhere: the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood; the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian; the Linq; the Park; the Shops at Crystals; Wynn Esplanade; Encore Esplanade; and the soon-to-be Wynn Plaza.
    
“Shopping here beats shopping anywhere in the world,” says Courtney Fitzgerald, communications manager for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “Stores range from affordable mid-price brands to luxury designer wear not unlike those found in New York, London and Paris.”

Shopaholic Central
“Shopping, for many, has become the reason for the visit,” says Don Thrasher, president of Park District Holdings, which operates the Park, a new locale in a neighborhood that includes the Monte Carlo, New York-New York, the outdoor Toshiba Plaza and the T-Mobile Arena. Much of the retail is connected to New York-New York, such as Hershey’s Chocolate World, Stupidiotic and Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity Boutique.
    
“We found that the Las Vegas visitor of today wants to get outside, explore, and collect experiences during their stay,” Thrasher says. “The Park and surrounding resorts provide opportunities to discover unique culinary offerings, inspiring art, live entertainment and interesting retail.”
    
The company declined to reveal financial figures about the Park or its adjoining attractions. “But we haven’t had any turnover in New York-New York’s Strip-facing retail spaces, nor have we had any at the Park’s food and beverage venues,” Thrasher says.
    
Another marriage of outdoor retail, dining and entertainment is the Linq Promenade, at the heart of the Strip between the Linq Hotel & Casino and the Flamingo.
    
“The entire space is unique, from new-to-market tenants to nightly live entertainment and signature attractions” like the High Roller, says Bob Morse, president of hospitality for Caesars Entertainment. The High Roller—at 550 feet, it’s the tallest observation wheel in the world—offers 360-degree views of the Las Vegas Valley.
    
“It’s the attraction that draws guests from the Strip onto the promenade,” Morse explains. “We recently launched yoga sessions on the High Roller, a one-hour experience that allows guests to find their Zen while taking in the views. We’re getting ready to launch a chocolate-tasting experience for guests. And we also have the very popular Happy Half Hour, an open bar for those 21 and older.”
    
Morse sees a direct correlation between High Roller visitors and those who spend time and money at the promenade. The marketplace offers approximately 40 shops and restaurants in a 200,000-square-foot area including Pier 30, Bella Scarpa and Ruby Blue.
    
“We encourage visitors to bar-hop, see a show, ride the wheel, dine the flavors of the world,” Morse says. “There’s no other location on the Strip that offers all of this, plus the added ambience of an open-air promenade.”
    
It works. The Linq Promenade attracts as many as 85,000 visitors a day. Leasing is brisk and the demand from retailers and restaurants is strong. “We’ll see the opening of eight new tenants by the end of 2016,” says Morse.
    
“We have multiple ongoing conversations with potential tenants, but we’re very strategic about who we sign leases with. We want to ensure that no two brands or experiences are the same.”
    
The Linq Promenade is the only retail center in Las Vegas owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The Forum Shops, owned by retail giant the Simon Property Group, also remains a major force for Caesars, attracting up to 30 million visitors a year to some 160 specialty stores, restaurants and attractions, from ANGL to Versace to Zadig & Voltaire.
    
“We were the first in the industry to set new trends and raise the retail bar,” Crampton says. The ancient Roman-themed building was home to many Vegas firsts: the first thematic shopping environment and the first celebrity-chef restaurant (Wolfgang Puck’s Spago). It was also the first shopping district to bring in celebrated designers like Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo and John Varvatos.
    
“The Forum Shops exemplifies how the perfect tenant mixture combined with the best brands and an immersive thematic shopping experience is the formula for year-over-year success,” Crampton says.
    
“We’re consistently among the top-performing retail centers worldwide based on sales per square foot. Numerous shops and restaurants declare their Forum Shops location as being the top in their portfolio.”

Browse, Eat, Repeat
The 875,000-square-foot Italian-themed Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and Palazzo feature cobblestone walkways and illuminated painted ceilings along a quarter-mile-long canal.
    
The venue adds the first West Coast location of Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill later this year, marking the James Beard Award-nominated Miami eatery’s inaugural expansion, encompassing more than 6,500 square feet on Restaurant Row.
    
The Grand Canal Shoppes recently welcomed the first-to-market location of Mercato della Pescheria, an Italian seafood concept. Royce Chocolate, the notable Japanese brand, also made its Las Vegas debut here. And in September, Louis Vuitton opened a new store prototype and design based on the Atelier at Vuitton’s SoHo boutique in New York.  
    
According to John Zilliken, senior general manager for Grand Canal Shoppes, “These additions and notable brands and dining establishments continue to position the destination for success.”
    
By contrast, Atlantic City’s retail and dining success consists of the Quarter at Tropicana Casino and Resort and the Walk, as well as more traditional shopping areas at resorts like Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.
    
The former Pier Shops—named for their location on the site of the Million Dollar Pier on the city’s famed Boardwalk—is now the Playground, which so far has struggled to find its footing under its new owner, Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein.
    
The Quarter plays off its Cuban-themed walkways and architecture and its Havana Nights ambience, which plays well especially as the U.S. and Cuba renew old ties.
    < br />“Tropicana reminds people of a Las Vegas casino hotel,” General Manager Steve Callender says. “When I first decided to come here, the Quarter was a big reason. It’s a critical part of the property. Everyone has gaming. Non-gaming amenities are the most important thing we have. They’re a major part of our success.”
    
The Tropicana doesn’t have access to sales per square foot and other measures, Callender says. “We do not own the space; we rent the shops. But we try and have a balance. Not everything is high-end. You can make a mistake and go too much in one direction. There’s more value when you offer variety.”
    
At Borgata, retail was part of the package from the beginning. But it wasn’t a priority, says Vice President of Operations Joe Lupo.
    
“Retail simply is not a large focus considering the short stay of the Atlantic City consumer,” Lupo notes. The availability of shopping elsewhere in the region makes retail in Atlantic City less important than spas, entertainment and dining. “We provide a small selection of nice products, most notably due to the value it brings to the comp dollars earned through My Borgata Rewards,” Lupo adds.
    
The Walk has proven a profitable venture, expanding twice. Tanger Outlets declined comment for this article, but Rummy Pandit, executive director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, calls it a “tremendous success, because it has a good mix of brand names. It caters to a lot of segments of the market.” Unlike the Pier Shops.
    
“Atlantic City doesn’t have the volume for that level of market. Las Vegas has 125,000 hotel rooms, 60,000 on the Strip. Atlantic City has 13,000 rooms,” Pandit says. In a visitor profile a few years ago, the organization found that 60 percent of respondents had an income less than $100,000. Only 16 percent had an income greater than $150,000.

Talking Shop
Could Las Vegas reach a saturation point with too much competition for retail dollars? Possibly, says David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “Casinos would have to repurpose existing retail spaces or build something that was more in demand.”
    
The Linq’s Morse has a different spin. “It’s never been a competition between retail centers, as we strive to make each experience different than the last.”
    
Vegas wouldn’t be Vegas without consistent additions and reinventions, Fitzgerald says. “It’s the nature of the destination to offer new and interesting venues, attractions, entertainment, etc., to its visitors.”
    
The same can be said about Atlantic City. “We always look to add new experiences to Borgata, and as of late, we’ve spent some time speaking about retail,” Lupo says.
    
Callender says more retail will help everyone. “If someone else builds something and more people come to Atlantic City, we’re confident some of these people will come to Tropicana.”
    
Other resorts outside Las Vegas have shown that the right mix of retail can be a positive amenity as well.   

Foxwoods has added a Tanger Outlets as part of its retail. Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York is also building a Tanger Outlets. Foxwoods also created its own boutiques with retailers like Bulgari, Chopard, Pandora, Michael Simon, Jared Lang and Hugo Boss.
    
“If you live to hunt for that perfect outfit, accessory or piece of jewelry, there’s no better place to be than Foxwoods,” says spokesman Adam Jalbert. The tribal resort, which welcomes 30,000 to 40,000 guests per day, reports $1,200 per square foot in daily sales by retailers.
    
“We’re a study in the importance of presentation and transition,” says Jalbert. “Always have something new for guests to explore.”