Harrah’s launches program to focus on small group travel

Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 | 11:10 a.m.

Headlines from the Vegas gaming industry

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas today said it launched a program called Total Experiences to boost sales in the small group travel segment, a market of increasing importance to the hotel industry.

Saying people are more interested than ever in reconnecting with family and friends, and seeing growing guest demand for help with group trip planning, Harrah’s said the complimentary program "eases the stress of planning group getaways by offering high-touch service every step of the way."

Each group will be connected with a Total Experiences specialist who will handle all details of the group’s itinerary both before and during the stay.

Services include a custom itinerary based on the group’s interests and budget, upgrades and perks based on group spending, booking all reservations, offering insider recommendations and arranging VIP privileges that Harrah's said were never before available to leisure guests.

Total Experiences is available to groups of six or more that book at any U.S. Harrah's resort in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere.

Benefits and upgrades include VIP check-in, access to private lounges, VIP club entry, celebrity meet-and-greets, private gaming lessons and behind the scenes tours, Harrah's said.

“Understanding how important it is for our guests to easily reconnect with friends and family was the inspiration for Total Experiences,” David Norton, chief marketing officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, said in a statement. “Anyone who’s planned one of these trips knows it takes a lot of effort to please and accommodate everyone. Our Total Experiences Specialists handle all the logistics and planning for you—and also serve as that ‘in-the-know friend’ who has the inside scoop and access to all the best things to do.”

Typical group travel events promoted by the Total Experiences program include girlfriend getaways, bachelor parties, reunions, golf trips and destination weddings. The program has its own Web site, www.totalexperiences.com.

The program comes at a time when Las Vegas hotel-casinos -- such as the Harrah's-owned Caesars Palace and the Rio -- are facing intense competition for leisure visitors who have become more important to the gaming destination.

With U.S. businesses curtailing travel because of the recession, convention attendance in Las Vegas through August this year was down 30.2 percent vs. the same period of 2008, to 3.2 million people. That compares to an overall decline in the Las Vegas visitor count of 5.8 percent to 24.5 million people, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Discussion: 8 comments so far…

By David001

11/10/09 at 11:56 a.m.

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Smart! I don't particularly care for how Harrah's actually operates their properties (if anyone can delineate the luster of a brand it's Harrah's) but I do admire their leadership in the industry -beginning with their understanding the value of customer relationship marketing and their creation of Total Rewards, their prominence in industry studies, support of responsible gaming, and community citizenship to name a few. This new initiative is their response to Americans resigned to sacrifice luxury for price but still feel smart about value. Good companies meet needs but great companies create markets and this is precisely what Harrah's is attempting to do here. I don't like how they maintain their physical plants and clutter their themes but they do know business and consumer behavior. If Harrah;s is successful the entire city of Las Vegas will benefit, including of course Harrah's competitors.
By SMB

11/10/09 at 1:19 p.m.

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Good move. Definitely creating a service to a market once neglected and deemed less valuable to formally market too compared to say high end gamblers (who have executive casino hosts to take care of their needs) or big corporate groups (who have meeting planners to take care of them). Harrah's is adapting to the new age in this economy and in essence creating a "host" for the non-gaming specific, leisure traveler that may not be looking for high end luxury, but is still seeking value and quality during their "group" trip.
By lvcomments

11/10/09 at 2 p.m.

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David and SMB... Very well said.
By serious

11/11/09 at 12:36 a.m.

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This is so basic...and I mean really basic. Very amateur as this is what every hotel in America should be doing every single day...Harrahs was never into group business, and now they are making it sound like they just uncovered a 'secret marketing' tool. From the mid 80s to the mid 90s, a foundation of group business is what made Ballys, The Las Vegas Hilton, The Riviera, and to some degree Caesar's so successful. Harrahs needs to add up the number of rooms, meeting rooms, square feet of its meeting and banquet spaces, number of restaurants and entertainment venues...and when the Board sees this document, they might be shocked that they have not gone after group business...large or small...until now. They should take a lesson from one of their properties...Ballys (which used to be the MGM)and learn how they always went after groups and were successful. The management and sales staffs might be gone but the memory is still there, and the p/l statements as well.
By kirkland

11/11/09 at 4:40 p.m.

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Nothing more than a bunch of smoke here to make it look like something special. People who book through Expedia dont get these deals I guess?

I dont know how you get this message out to the masses to make this super spectacular. Hotels should be providing this service anyway, it is purely selling all of your assets at the point of reservations.

They may need to get back into the charter business with so many flights being lost by McCarron at the moment. Where are the hotels in jumping up and down about the loss of flights into the market. Create all of these guest service programs. It wont matter much when people cant get here like they used to.
By Vegasvampire

11/12/09 at 1:29 a.m.

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Great, Harrah's is doing something that Bob Stupak use to do to sell the old Vegas World! I'll give them an "A" for effort, But I'll also give them a "D" for turning in their homework too late.
By Babyboomer

11/12/09 at 8:20 a.m.

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Las Vegas has to start thinking outside the box...it's long overdo
By Gumble

11/12/09 at 9:49 a.m.

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"Girlfriend getaways?" Presumably it is not a witness relocation program. Sounds fun.