Communicating among ourselves effectively and efficiently at a moment’s notice with the touch of a button transformed the worlds of business and finance forever. Yet as technologically cutting edge as the casino industry is, communication among the many divisions at properties is woefully obsolete.
Relay, a company that transformed communication within the hospitality world and has over 100,000 users to show for it, is prepared to bring the same solutions to the casino industry, as evidenced by its presence at the WGPC security and surveillance conference in Las Vegas in March and most recently at IGA in Anaheim in April.
“Over the past two years, we’ve seen a lot of organic interest and customer success within casinos as a subsegment of hospitality,” said Derek Pando, director of product marketing for Relay. “While we’ve had a presence in casinos for a while, this year, we’ve really started to proactively market, engage, and adapt our products to fit their unique needs. We’re absolutely committed to and focused on the casino industry.”
Relay technology is tailor-made for the casino industry. It enables nationwide talk using multiple 4G LTE networks and wifi, the ability to utilize GPS and Bluetooth for indoor-outdoor location-tracking capabilities, to make phone calls and communicate with other Relay + devices, the Relay App, and Dashboard, plus the most recent development, live translation of 26 languages.
According to Pando, at the base level, casinos have intense needs when it comes to communication, security, and the dynamic environment in which they exist in general.
“When you think about the legacy radio systems in use, it’s obvious they’re not changing,” he observed. “Relay offers the unique solution of taking an area that is critical for casinos, yet has been allowed to become a little stagnant from a technology perspective.”
The Relay + Relay app puts casino managers and team leaders at the forefront of situational awareness through communication with other Relay + devices by receiving emergency alerts. It makes it possible to see real-time indoor and outdoor locations for other Relay + users, in addition to alerts when a Relay + user enters or leaves an area.
Casino system administration and alert management are the domain of the Relay + Dashboard. It facilitates communication with associates, as well as the ability to configure users and groups and set up wifi access and other communication tasks. Visualizing the current location of associates on a map, a building floor plan, and receiving alerts when Relay + has triggered, add to the Relay solution.
Pando explained that the end-user device is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand: simply push the button to talk. He said that it’s so user-friendly that it’s much simpler than using a TV remote. Furthermore, Relay is ideally suited for all the different components that comprise operations within a casino property.
“Any groups that communicate actively over radios or other devices will benefit,” Pando said. “Especially so for an area such as security where communication is key for them to perform their job effectively.
“The amount of additional data and capabilities that Relay has are very attractive to security, of course, but also a pure operation such as housekeeping. It doesn’t have the same needs as security, but there is a lot of communication. Operationally, their demands are very high. Relay applies to every aspect of casino operations that require communication.”
Relay, which is 100 percent U.S.-based, provides a dedicated account manager for its clients. Pando emphasized that the company prides itself on being very hands-on and customer-focused during the installation process and on-going support.
An exciting new release for Relay is Team Translate, designed to solve the language barrier challenges among employees.
“Team Translate will translate in real time whatever is communicated over Relay,” Pando explained. “You’ll hear it in the language that was spoken, then you’ll hear it in the language that you have set. For example, if I speak Spanish, but my supervisor or teammate only speaks English, I will hear their messages come through in English, followed by automatic translation into Spanish.”
Relay’s Team Translate technology eliminates guest-experience encounters revolving around miscommunication. Early feedback from the use of this seamless capability among current customers reveals that they have been able to promote people who were unable to promote before because the language barrier was just too strong.
“Thanks to Team Translate,” Pando added, “our customers have told us that instead of concentrating on language, they can now focus on the ways in which employees are contributing to operations and paving the way for promoting good employees into positions of greater responsibility.”
Underscoring the ability of managers and supervisors to monitor floor transmissions from remote locations is a tremendous perk, according to Pando, who illustrated by saying, “Because of the app, they’re able to jump in immediately and communicate when an emergency arises. There’s no communication delay, which is a huge advantage and another aspect of how Relay is different. Because we can connect over cell and wifi, we have nationwide coverage.”
Pando revealed that Relay technology has proven to be a significant paradigm shift for customers who were in a comfort zone with what radio communication had done for them in the past.
“We explain that when we bring in our devices, yes, you can communicate in a way very similar to a radio. But if you’re located back of the house or on the other side of the country and you have no radio signal, you’re able to communicate seamlessly with Relay over wifi. All conversations can be monitored through the dashboard in the security operations center. Conversations can also be automatically recorded and transcribed for compliance purposes.
“The fun part and the challenge for us are that Relay is such a giant leap forward, but ultimately it creates a lot of exciting opportunities that hopefully will make things easier for everybody.”
Indoor and GPS-based tracking are built into every Relay device. This means that when someone initiates an emergency, you will know precisely where they are on property and which team is closest. Pre-defined security rounds and patrols can also be established.
“Relay brings new-age capabilities that are really the future of what a communication device should be and what casino operations need from it, which in reality is so much more than ‘just’ a communication device.”
Relay’s dedication to the casino industry is apparent in its presence at every major casino show and event. Relay teams specifically dedicated to the needs of casinos will demonstrate the many new enhancements developed specifically with casinos in mind.
