The COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumer behavior and created revenue opportunities for casino resorts as business travelers extend their stays and leisure guests demand to pre-plan more of the properties’ experiences with the click of their keyboard, according to a group of casino industry experts.
Travelers are also seeking out more musical entertainment. Younger generations are more socially conscious than ever and want resort properties and their partners to espouse equality, social justice, and inclusion to get their money.
The discussion on the newest consumer trends in the casino industry kicked off a two-day virtual career conference Monday hosted by the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel.
Tim Riester, the founder of Riester Ad Agency, said that one of the greatest changes within the gaming and hospitality industry is the emergence of leisure travel among business travelers.
“For so many years, we looked at business travelers as a key target and leisure travelers as a separate target,” Reister said. “I have visited countless cities and casinos and resorts where you fly in, do the meeting and race back out. Maybe you spend one night and race back out. You think about how many places around the world you visited but really never seen. As a result of the pandemic, consumers are changing the way they perceive their time and the way they are approaching business. When they’re doing a business trip now, they plan on incorporating some personal exploration as a part of that.”
Riester said a recent study showed that 89% of business travelers expect to combine some sort of personal excursion in the business destination they are visiting on their next trip.
“I think for casino and hospitality marketers and sales executives, it’s important to think about that target audience differently than in the past and how you can merchandise them,” Riester said. “What we are seeing in our research data is that people have a new sense of self as a result of the pandemic. For many people, for the first time in their careers, the pandemic helped them achieve a balance that they felt they were lacking between business time and personal time. Many people are emerging out of the pandemic unwilling to give up that balance they achieved.”
There’s also opportunities with traditional leisure travelers as well, the panelists said.
Tracee Nalewak, former vice president of global hospitality marketing for Caesars Entertainment and current chief growth officer at UrVenue (which handles technology solutions for the hospitality industry), said guests want access to more experiences but don’t have the Amazon-like experience they desire. The technology is emerging for that and can be a gamechanger for the resort industry, she said.
“Amazon has completely shifted the way consumers behave and what they want in that purchase path,” Nalewak said. “We know how easy it is to layer in the things that you want, and you know it’s done, and off you go. You’re not picking up the phone or having to call a spa or concierge. We in the hospitality industry have to really focus to bring that all to the keyboard for our customers.”
Nalewak said the integrated resort and hospitality industry is notorious for making it difficult for people to seamlessly add experiences into one single transaction. Resorts are learning about changing consumer behaviors, and they are also starting to add a day pass that includes access to the spa, lunch and a poolside cabana.
“If I go to an integrated resort website, I would love to be able to book my room and add my show tickets and make my restaurant reservation and make my spa appointment,” Nalewak said. “We know the consumers want this, and Amazon has changed all of our online behavior where you want that instant gratification. Right now, we’re sending our customers to different places to book for each individual experience. What we’re hyperfocused on is we know customers want these experiences, and what we’re trying to do is bridge that gap so there’s this holistic, frictionless booking journey for all the experiences in one shopping cart and one checkout.”
That ability to do so makes a big difference for consumers because resorts have so much to offer, Nalewak said. Her company’s research of luxury leisure travelers shows 85% said if they had a mechanism to book in a singular journey, they would book one to five more experiences.
“That’s a massive revenue lift if you think about it,” Nalewak said. “COVID has made them have to plan in advance. At times, we’ve had occupancy restrictions so they don’t know if something is open or not so they are used to doing more pre-planning than spontaneity so let’s make it easy for them.”
Drew Dixon, vice president of Entertainment at Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, said entertainment has become a larger part of that demand from guests as the country emerges from the latest wave of COVID-19.
“There’s an enormous amount of pent-up demand that’s starting to release through the engagement of what entertainment has been providing,” Dixon said. “I’m seeing record concert numbers and larger fan revenue, which is equaling double-digit growth at this point. It’s also an elevated experience. The pandemic has created a lot of direct access to artists that we never had before. Seeing the consumers much more engaged with that artist, either through a virtual concert on a world-wide basis or direct access into their personal lives through shows conducted in their homes, has created an access level we haven’t seen.”
However, consumers these days want more than just entertainment options and an easy way to book them on their computers. What a company and its partners stand for is essential.
Riester said the national movement promoting equality, social justice and inclusion “isn’t a fad, but it’s here to stay and “just scratching the surface” of where this is going to go. According to Riester, partnerships create opportunities for brands and organizations and employees’ volunteerism that can impact surrounding communities shows itself to customers.
“The Academy Awards and the Grammy’s showed more diversity than ever has been represented,” Riester said. “The easiest step is to put more people of color in advertising, and it’s easy to make sure presenters represent more diversity of culture and of race. What’s important is to begin digging more deeply into communities and change inequities.”
“It will dramatically affect who chooses to come to your hotel and who chooses to participate and enjoy the amenities you are providing,” Riester said. “We are seeing in all our data that the newest generation of consumers – that 43% will switch brands simply to find a brand that believes in equality and justice and inclusion. They won’t accept the cheesy answers. They’re not going to believe the fluff. They’re going to do their research. This is something that for the next 20 to 30 years will be really important to business.”
