Hospitality seating in casino conference rooms, banquet halls, bars and restaurants is known to be notoriously uncomfortable.
Gary Platt’s Sierra Nevada Hospitality division is changing that reality with hundreds of models using its proprietary foam that in the past was limited to chairs on the gaming floor. Now, all chairs in the resort can have the same feeling of luxurious comfort.
“Our concept is to take that wonderful, fantastic foam that we have in our casino side and put it into the hospitality world where it’s never really been applied before,” said Eric Segal, President of the Hospitality division of Gary Platt Manufacturing. “Rarely, if ever, have I seen anyone specify the comfort. Now, we have the ability by using this cold-pressed exclusive luxury Platt-foam to specify the comfort and take it up a notch. Even better, our Platt-foam doesn’t bottom out, even after 15-20 years of continuous use on the gaming floor. Gary Platt Hospitality customers will now get the best of both worlds, luxurious comfort and longevity.”
In the hospitality segment, customers usually looked at the style, the dimensions, the finish, and the upholstery, Segal said. They didn’t think about making them as comfortable as they did for their players on the casino floor.
“You have the problem in which people are sitting on conference chairs and after a couple of hours they’re fidgeting and trying to figure out a way to get comfortable while paying attention,” Segal explained. “People are looking for something better. Casinos are seeking to meet that trend by differentiating themselves and adding value to the customer experience at conferences, banquets and weddings. The casino banquet experience should be special, better than what customers can find elsewhere.”
Its Forum model was initially created by Gary Platt’s design team alongside Caesars Entertainment’s design team and for the Caesars Forum convention center. A new version of that Forum chair was created for Resorts World Las Vegas.
The debut of that chair at the National Indian Gaming Association trade show at Caesars Forum last July was a big success, with customers sitting on them at the conference center and wanting it for their own properties, Segal said.
“That has been our biggest calling card, much more so than even trying the sales rep approach with a chair,” Segal shared. “That experience in that chair was enough for them to think about changing over to purchase the Forum chair.” The overwhelming calls for the Platt Forum chair bears that out.
Hospitality areas outside of the gaming floor are known for two types of dining chairs – metal and wood – that have been in use for buffets, restaurants and food courts for years.
“We focused on the chairs that we thought would be successful in the restaurants and dining areas, with an added twist,” Segal said. “We offer sturdy aluminum chairs that will never wobble, adding a wood-grain finish, providing the longevity and stability of metal with diners never knowing it’s not a wood chair. We’ve duplicated hundreds of models, highlighting the ones that our customers have told us are the best. Yet, we continue to expand our styles. All we need is a picture of a wood chair and we can provide our long-lasting AlumWood version. And now we add our exclusive luxury Platt-foam. We are still trying to winnow down the list, and we still get to go over a hundred different styles.”
What’s unique about what they’re doing at Gary Platt Hospitality is that it’s taking the exclusive Platt luxury foam that wins most if not all of the sit tests, Segal said.
“Most, if not all of the time, we win that sit test on our gaming chairs with our exclusive cold-pressed Platt-foam,” he explained. “It’s the most comfortable seat in the casino world and also has a longevity that it doesn’t break down. Which is critical in a world that demands environmentally friendly furniture.”
The old concept of restaurants is wanting to get people in and out as quickly as possible, he noted. Now, restaurants are looking at the experiential – customers having a nice experience in which they stay longer and spend more.
“You go to the casino floor to play slots and table games and get some of those wonderful sits, but you go to the same casino in the bar area or their restaurant and you are not going to get that same comfort,” Segal said. “We want to change that. We want the entire casino experience to be luxuriously comfortable, whether it’s on the gaming floor or in the restaurants and bar areas in the hospitality areas. If you are going to go into a dining area, whether you’ve won or lost or simply are enjoying fine food, you want to sit in something that’s nicer so you can enjoy the ambiance and experience.”
Equally important, he added, is availability of these chairs. Gary Platt has developed a Quick Ship program that can have delivery within two weeks to two months. “In today’s environment,” Segal said, “having immediate stock is paramount to our customers.”
That concept has even expanded to bringing that same comfort to office chairs in hotel rooms. Those chairs are made at Gary Platt’s Reno facility and ship just as quickly. “The comfort level that we bring to our office chairs is a new alternative to room chairs,” he said. “A person can sit there and not only get some work done but now have a wonderful experience and a more enjoyable one as compared to what they had before.”
Gary Platt is taking the same concept beyond casino resorts to hotels, restaurants, country clubs, convention centers, entertainment venues and senior living facilities. “It can be taken a lot further to hospitals and medical clinics as well,” said Segal. “We have something that is so special it could be brought out to other markets and bring the same value and comfort to many segments beyond hospitality.”
