As the largest casino operator and among the largest hotel operators in North America, Caesars Entertainment has built an empire on customer experience.
This CX has become a signature of Caesars properties, and the brand only continues to improve over time. Its dedication to customer experience, in all stages and forms, earned the company finalist nods in three Loyalty360 Customer Loyalty Award categories: Technology & Trends, CX & Engagement, and Customer Insights.
And at the Loyalty360 Customer Loyalty Awards held Wednesday night at the 10th annual Loyalty Expo, Caesars Entertainment recorded the most impressive haul of the night: It earned the Platinum award in the Technology & Trends category; and Gold awards in the Customer Insights and CX & Engagement categories.
What’s more, Caesars Entertainment received Platinum honors in the 360-Degree Award category. The 360-Degree award is the most comprehensive overall category. To qualify for the 360-Degree Award, brands must enter three or more of the categories and be nominated as a finalist in at least one of those categories.
Michael Marino, chief experience officer at Caesars Entertainment, praised the Loyalty Expo conference after he accepted the Platinum award in the 360-Degree Award category.
“We love coming to this conference,” Marino said. “There are so many industries here and we all learn so much from them.”
Caesars was faced with the challenge of mastering both high-touch CX strategies and automated self-service options.
At the forefront of this effort is Ivy, the company’s real-time guest text messaging platform. The Ivy chatbot uses machine learning to understand and respond to guest commands, including suggestions on things to do, amenity information, and housekeeping requests. The Caesars brand also looks to create memorable experiences for guests, even those that had never stepped foot on one of the company’s properties. For one lucky group of about 350 customers of an online casino game partner, Caesars tailored a VIP experience that was aimed at turning first-time guests into loyal advocates. Through exclusive experiences and gifts, these customers were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the event was successful in creating a loyal group of guests that had, before then, never engaged with the brand in person.
All of this was made possible through leveraging a partnered online social casino game, allowing the Caesars brand to target a segment that otherwise may not have deliberately connected with the brand. Additionally, the event gave Caesars the opportunity to gather crucial feedback from these guests about both the Caesars brand and the partnered online game.
The Caesars loyalty initiative is focused on creating entanglement and engaging guests even when not directly engaging with the brand. Through these non-traditional touch points, the company uses this entanglement to build advocacy with customers.
For example, Caesars found that things like signing people up for its Total Rewards loyalty program, getting them to download the Caesars app, enrolling people in its branded credit card, dining at high-end restaurants, and attending shows are all massive loyalty builders. By driving these actions, Caesars continues to position itself as a brand with which customers are looking to engage, even outside the traditional window of a hotel stay.
To even a greater extent than many other players in the hospitality space, Caesars guests demand an exceptional level of customer experience from their resorts and casinos. The Caesars name has come to be synonymous with tailored experiences and unforgettable moments, and the brand must continue to exceed and build upon these expectations to grow. Through its CX initiatives and thorough monitoring of customer insights, Caesars Entertainment appears primed to do just that.
Caesars, which recorded net revenue of $8.4 billion last year, has increased customer satisfaction through mobile engagement.
Marino said that play by TR app markets Caesars’ assets in real time and delivers a personalized guest experience; play by TR app is designed to engage loyalty members and provide utility for hospitality customers. Mobile ordering has driven customer satisfaction and 52 percent increase in F&B revenue where utilized.
What’s more, he said Ivy (which has received phenomenal reviews on TripAdvisor) has an automation rate of more than 70 percent due to AI integration and created operational efficiencies
“Technology advances have greatly enhanced the guest experience and delivered additional revenue,” Marino said.
Presented by Loyalty360 – Association for Customer Loyalty, Loyalty Expo has earned the reputation of being one of the industry’s premier events.