The amount of data being generated by everything from smart phones and smart watches to clever clothes, connected cars, intelligent toasters and more is astronomical. Yet IBM CEO Ginni Rometty estimates 80% of the data inside of computers is dark. Computers hold all of these bits and bytes, but computers don’t understand what’s in them, or what to do with them. Companies have been good at collecting data, but still playing catch-up when it comes to mining useful, actionable information out of it.
But all of that is changing in the gaming and resort industries, where engaging customers is more than a marketing strategy – it’s a business imperative. The hyper connectivity that exists in a world where everybody carries a personal computer in their pocket or purse is allowing innovators to create “wow moments” – offerings that drive sales and cultivate customer loyalty in imaginative new ways.
Here are a few examples of the way technology is transforming the G&L industry. Maybe these will inspire some light bulb moments for you and how you’re engaging customers as well?
Tap-Tap Booking
Companies like Booking.com (the giant online travel agent for hotels) and Stayful.com (which offers below-market room rates at over 1,200 boutique hotels) have taken a page out of Amazon.com’s playbook by making it super simple to reserve rooms using a finger tap or two on your mobile device. Travelers wanting to wade through fewer choices with more personalization are drawn to sites that can make intelligent inferences based on their profiles and past buying/browsing habits.
Easy Breezy In-N-Out
Reno’s Peppermill Resort Spa Casino has created an automated system that lets registered guests check in online one day prior to their arrival, then bypass the front desk and snag their room keys from an express check-in kiosk. The resort’s valet and bell desk systems have also been streamlined using automated tech that not only makes things easier for guests, but tracks the performance of employees as well.
Furniture That Thinks
Leggett & Platt, an S&P 500 company that pioneered sleep innovation 125 years ago with the introduction of its bedspring, created a Smart Products division last year to parlay connected furniture technologies that can respond to certain actions. For instance, their anti-snore bed can detect respiration and adjust automatically when someone is snoring (if Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded for saving marriages, this might be a contender). It can also tell when you’ve gotten out of bed, and responds by turning on a soft night light that illuminates your path without fumbling for a light switch.
Looking for a way to set your hotel room’s temperature from your smart phone prior to your arrival? There’s an app for that, courtesy of smart device maker, CentralLite. The company’s sensors are also used by hotel managers to automatically adjust temperature and lighting when a room is unoccupied, resulting in energy savings of up to 30%, CentralLite claims. Housekeeping can also detect when the room is unoccupied, sparing everyone from those familiar Bed Sheet Special Ops invasions while you’re sudsing in the shower.
Personalizing Casino Play
Ever since the Reel ‘em In started luring gamblers by upping the entertainment factor on video slots, casinos have been angling for ways to make gaming more engaging. The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno developed a new program last year called Pick Your Wins, which allows you to choose a machine based on your preferred style of play.
If chasing The Big One is your style, make like Ahab and look for a machine with a Big Hit sign. Big Hit machines are programmed to pay less frequently with higher payouts. Prefer to maximize your playtime instead? Look for a Lots of Hits machine that pays out smaller jackpots at greater frequencies. Atlantis also tracks how long you play in the casino using a Personal Casino Rate program that ties room rate discounts to your duration of play. The more you play, the less you pay to stay. Guests can view their personal casino rate using a mobile app.
Mad Skillz Game Changers
The introduction of arcade-style slots involving skill, where players have even more influence over their gaming outcomes, is a literal game changer that’s been given the green light by Nevada’s governor this past year. The Nevada Gaming Commission is currently drafting regulations for slot machine technologies that involve skill factors, a move that could make loyalists out of the Xbox crowd.
Turning Loyalty Into Royalty
The gaming and hospitality industry has been at the cutting edge of personalization and customization technologies that put the “extra” in extraordinary guest services, making VIPs of us all. MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming have both been pioneers in this area, personalizing the way customers are rewarded for their use of social media and mobile technology.
Mlife, MGM Resorts International’s loyalty program, rewards members for sharing their activities at an MGM property on social media networks (check-ins with Facebook Places, location- tagged tweets on Twitter, etc.). Enlisting guests as social media evangelists helps MGM amplify its marketing in a highly credible way that cuts through the advertising clutter.
MGM has also integrated social sharing into its website design. Travelers planning a trip to Las Vegas can visit mlife.com and create an itinerary that bundles dining, entertainment and special interest experiences across all of MGM Resorts’ properties. The itinerary can be booked all at once with a couple of clicks and shared with friends and family, allowing them to book the same trip or offer suggestions for additional activities.
Boyd Gaming’s “B Connected Mobile” was the first multi-property loyalty program app of its kind in the gaming industry. Like Mlife, it rewards members for promoting their activities in social media. Boyd has also built push technology into its website with a My Alerts feature that uses instant messaging to keep members informed of new offers based on their profile preferences. Are you a classic rock fan? B Connected will notify you if the Eagles schedule a gig in town. Love playing new slot games? You’ll receive a text message when new machines come online. Access to the latest event and promotional calendars is also at your fingertips.
The ability of the “connected casino” to attract and engage customers is almost limitless. If you can dream it, there’s probably an app for it. And if there isn’t…you might have a million-dollar idea (billion, maybe?) at your fingertips. Dare to dream.
Op/ed column submitted by Ann Nygren, President of Key Consulting Software. KCS is an IT consulting company focused on gaming and hospitality applications ranging from Agilysys (LMS/Stratton Warren/Infogenesis), Infinium (AM, AR, FA, GL, GT, HR, IR, PA, PL, PY, TR), Bally’s (CMS, CMP, ACSC & SDS), and interfaces with Aristocrat, IGT and Micros to Transitioning properties during purchase, sales, or merging of properties. KCS provides IT Departments with assistance in installation & upgrades, customization, interfacing and creation of unique client specific software. Ann can be reached at ann@kcsoft.com.