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The Fountains of the Bellagio erupt in this Jan. 1, 2000 photo. Upon its opening, the Bellagio became the largest and most expensive hotel in the world, once again upping the ante for Las Vegas casinos.
Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 | 2:31 a.m.
Sun coverage
For decades, gamblers could count on a free drink at the slot machine or, after an evening of gambling, dinner or a hotel room on the house.
This is how the joints kept their customers: Seduce them with perks.
But the recession has forced Las Vegas’ largest casinos to be more imaginative. Customers are harder to get, so the seduction has to be more potent.
MGM Resorts International is hoping this will cement their customers’ loyalty: Depending on how much you spend — not just gambling, but shopping, nightclubbing, dining and on shows — you might leverage a chance to mingle with celebrity chefs and world-class boxers, appear in a Cirque du Soleil production, swim in the shark tank at Mandalay Bay or dine alongside the Bellagio fountains choreographed to the song of your choice. (Cue the marriage proposal.)
Such are the rewards that will be offered in coming months by MGM’s revamped loyalty program, called M Life and which has nothing to do with life insurance.
“People won’t be redeeming points for toasters,” said Bill Hornbuckle, who oversees the program as MGM chief marketing officer. “Loyalty programs that work involve emotion.”
Las Vegas casinos pioneered the concept of comps — freebies, discounts or special treatment for gamblers to soften the blow of gambling losses and make regular folk feel like VIPs. As loyalty programs spread to nearly every corner of the consumer products landscape, Las Vegas and the gaming industry have been behind the curve in including all forms of spending in the reward equation, however.
And today, with 60 percent of Strip revenue derived from nongambling activities, tracking a customer’s spending off the casino floor has become vital to a rewards program.
“Shame on us for not doing this 10 years ago. But we’re finally doing it,” said Hornbuckle, a 30-year industry veteran who was charged with revamping the company’s outdated loyalty program after running Mandalay Bay.
MGM’s chief competitor, Caesars Entertainment, has been tracking nongambling spending for more than a year and nongaming businesses have long rewarded people for buying many products under one roof.
Playing catch-up was difficult for MGM Resorts, which had operated each hotel like a separate company. Rather than cross-marketing or pursuing companywide marketing initiatives, staffs at each hotel worked independently from one another, answering to the goals and directives of their individual property presidents.
The gambling component of the program launches Tuesday, although rewards for nongambling spending will be initiated later this year.
Like other programs that reward customers for spending more, M Life has “tiers” with increasingly rich offers such as hotel discounts, upgrades, presale access to show tickets and nightclub access. As customers qualify for higher tiers, they will earn rewards more rapidly, the company says.
And there is no waiting for a pit boss or a rewards clerk to tell you what you qualify for or hand you a comp; loyal gamblers can swipe their cards for free entry at participating restaurants, showrooms and the like, at any one of 15 MGM-owned resorts in the United States. Eventually, rewards will be earned and redeemed at company-owned or managed resorts worldwide.
Customers will receive rewards two ways — via personalized offers viewed by logging onto the program’s website and in the form of comps members can select for themselves.
By tracking what customers spend over many years the company will offer customers perks that will come closest to matching their tastes.
Your slot-playing grandma, for instance, isn’t likely to be offered an Ultimate Fighting Championship ticket.
By monitoring the M Life card, the company will know which slot machine you played, how much you spent, what you drank while you sat there, what you were doing before and after and what you’d like to do on your next visit — or even tomorrow night. If you spent more money nightclubbing or at a show, the company will catch on that an entertainment coupon, rather than the obligatory gambling offer, is more up your alley.
“Consumers like to have choices as opposed to being told ‘this is your reward,’ ” said Michael McCall, a research fellow at Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research who has studied the effectiveness of loyalty programs. Rewarding customers for what they spend rather than how they spend it also makes business sense. By contrast, airlines that pioneered loyalty programs long rewarded their best customers based on the number of miles flown rather than how much money they spent, a better indicator of their value to a company, he said. (Some airlines are shifting their loyalty programs to acknowledge money spent on tickets versus the number of flights purchased or miles flown.)
As the company gets better at targeting offers, MGM Resorts runs the risk of giving away things customers might have purchased anyway, such as a free room night, or attracting hordes of bargain-hunters that could turn off well-heeled customers at its upscale hotels, he said.
Handling decreased spending tactfully is key, as many programs demote otherwise profitable customers if they don’t spend enough within a designated time period and “people don’t like it when things are taken away from them.”
Giving customers meaningful rewards year-round will be challenging because the company probably has limited opportunity to offer in-demand perks such as tickets to must-see events on busy weekends, said Barry Shier, a former casino executive and marketing consultant in Las Vegas. Instead, the company might try to steer members toward shows it can’t fill midweek or other comps it can dole out in greater quantities.
MGM’s program is an aggressive move to leapfrog competitors in attracting new customers and grab a bigger share of what existing customers spend while they’re in town, casino consultant and “Comp City” author Max Rubin said.
It’s also a necessity.
“It’s good that casinos are starting to focus on customers and not just building new things,” Rubin said. “For years it was ‘build it and they will come’ and that doesn’t work anymore.”
The company has come a long way from the days of mass marketing, and expects to significantly cut down on the mailings typically sent to gamblers who qualify for a certain level of reward.
Under the old system, “the 68-year-old woman who could care less about UFC, or frankly might be offended by it, might have been offered a free ticket” just for spending enough on the slots, Hornbuckle said.
It’s enough to make the marketing executive cringe, and then smile wide.
“This isn’t easy to do for a company of our size. But there’s a lot of money at stake.”
The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. In another article in this very paper, we see how the suits work at cross purposes. One side (hotel) is gouging conventioneers while the other (marketing) is trying to instill loyalty in patrons. What a bunch of screwballs! And resorts actually laid off the frontline employees to keep morons such as these?
Here's a thought MGM, you want to give me a 'meaningful reward', how about you stop with the nickle and diming me when I stay with you for stuff I don't use, or stuff that I do use and have to seperatly pay for (the gym for example). I'm looking at you "resort fees"! Charging me $15/20 bucks a day for wifi/free local calls etc that I never use isn't simply annoying, it's frankly sneaky.
I see this rewards program putting MGM over the top! Hello!
If you look at the "benefits" at the 3 casinos they've already rolled out the program, i don't think i'll be rushing over to play.
MGM casinos only want losers. They un-invite you if you win.
Swimming with sharks is a perk? No thanks.
Another cheap marketing stunt that will fall short. Has all the executives lost the formula to attract and keep customers happy? This is business 101 kind of stuff. People don't come here to rub elbows with some chef. The snake oil marketing isn't going to work.
It just go's to show just how dumb these execs are.They can have all the FREE advertisment by their guest's going back home and stateing how their trip was.They go home with a favorable story of just how they were treated and they got the bang for their buck,it will drive more people back!Keep the bean counters and Vegas will continue to die a bit more everyday!!!
MGM and Caesars are whats wrong with Las Vegas. The suits just don't get it.
This idea is about as good as the "jump to conclusions" mat from the movie Office Space. A really horrible idea. Horrible.
Hello McFly anybody home? Please go back to the basics. These guys (suits/bean counters) keep on killing this town a little more each day.
I agree with Karina 100%!!!
I would consider no resort fees a perk.
Ah, the good old days of Wilbur Clark, Moe Dalitz and Benny Binion.
MGM is going all out for this...uh has anybody told them its like what ever local casino ie stations green valley ranch coast casinos have offered since day one ? its head scratching really to think of the suits that are running this town...totally clueless...really
nothing new ...done by every other local joint ... basically just shows how behind the times they really are ... out of touch
How about stop gouging the visitors to our city on various hotel room rates...tell me the difference to a room on Monday - Thurs and then Thurs - Sun...going from $89 a night to $450 ? Did you redecorate the room for the weekend? And you wonder why visitors don't spend what they used to ..and don't give me the "supply and demand" excuse..we have more rooms than visitors now...so to "jack" these people on room rates is nuts...try standardising room rates for 2 months and watch what your occupancy ratings change to..you'll see profits AND loyalty increase....
Wilber Clark's Desert Inn is actually a casino that is not suppose to be remembered any more because of the fact these casinos suck.
Too bad the posters on this board don't run the strip joints, it sounds like you all know everything.
Easy to sit back and criticize. For those of you that think "corporate suits ruined Vegas"...do you know what this town would be if we just had the old school Binions types of places? Especially now that almost everyone in the US is within driving distance to local gambling halls?
Retiredyoungster, I don't think that's a good idea at all. Yield management exists for a reason. There are certainly mistakes made, but flat rates across week days, weekends, convention days, etc. just doesn't get allow them to take advantage of opportunities. If they charged $89 for a room right now, with CES going on, there would be a lot of missed opportunity.
I know some of you old schoolers liked it back in the day (as many old schoolers did before you), but Vegas needed to differentiate itself from everywhere else that was going to legalize gambling. Of course these guys bit off more than they could chew and made some MAJOR mistakes and overleveraged themselves, but leaving it as is would have turned Vegas into a ghost town. A few people might have come for the novelty of seeing old Vegas, but that's not going to bring in the business necessary to support the town.
The goal for the town now is to really diversify the economy and build a community. Good education, good medical community, cultural events, etc. These are things that will attract businesses, and encourage their employees to move with them.
My two cents.
Absolutely ignoring what is right in front of their faces. Instead of being part of a Cirq show, I would rather have you deduct the resort fees from my bill.It's such a con.
This program has been hindered by setbacks and is still as ambiguous as its previous Players Club program. The idea of a good loyalty program is that it is transparent, which this program is not. At least with Harrahs/Caesars properties, you know what you get and can use it with the swipe of a card where it's accepted. With MGM properties, earning rates vary by region so X dollars here does not mean the same rewards in Detroit as they do in Vegas. Also, their archaic comping system is still in place where you have to goto the players club desk or call for someone to issue a comp. You can't just go swipe your card and get the rewards. Then there's the 5 tier system and their funny linked play strategy that makes no sense. If they would stop nickel and diming customers, treat the company truly as one and not many, they would have a good program on their hands. It's easy, just make earnings set across the board and the comps redeemable for anything that is company owned/operated, at the venue.
Nice idea on revamping their players card.
I just go to the tried and true places that I know I will get perks. Some MGM casinos' cocktail waitresses working the gaming floor scoff at my tip when they hand me a drink and never come back. Guess what, I leave that casino and go elsewhere and you lose any chance of continuing to get tips from me. Other MGM casinos don't mind getting $1.00 for two drinks. I notice some places have a problem with handing a customer a bottle of water that comes from a municipal source. That's irresponsible as there are no drinking fountains in Vegas where it counts. If you are having cocktails, you need some water to flush the system. I guess places want you to pass out at their slot machines. Hopefully we can get more for our gambling dollar very soon and stop building carcasses that are supposed to be casinos.
I have an idea for the strip casinos and hotels.
Stop screwing the people who call this town our home. Locals are always shafted in this town and nothing seems to get done about it, we pay high taxes and fees on just about everything so your heavenly "tourists" can save for a year and spend it all gambling and getting free comps that the local will never see. I saw it the other day at Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville, I had a friend who wanted to see the strip at New Year so I took him there only to find that the part of the deck I was on last year was only open to Virgin Airline customers and was told tough, move! If this town died tomorrow I would not shed a tear.
Myself and a bunch of friends stayed in the MGM Grand for 9 nights in 2008, 2009, and 2010. I booked online, didn't call them and haggle. I spent a lot on booze, gambled a bit, ate there, saw ACDC & Dita Von Teese last year. Generally spent a fair amount of dollars (for me) in the hotel - its my yearly holiday after all. I even wrote them last year to compliment them on the staff, service etc which have always been genuinely fantastic.
This year however my flights are dearer, costing 800 (approx $1000) so I thought I'd call them and ask if they can do anything better than their online rates (9 nights at the end of April = $1200 + taxes). I also inquired using the online chat service that they have. I was advised to book via their website both times. Aargh!
Ironically we were supposed to stay in the Monte Carlo the very weekend it caught fire and we switched to the MGM. Staying at the MC this year will cost me approx 500 ($650) for the same 9 nights. That $350 saved will very likely go into a Monte Carlo cash register I think.
Nice idea to reward loyalty MGM, but it works both ways. I'll pop over for a drink though!
Better customer service or better loyalty rewards?? Hmmm.. which one should we work on?? Hmmmm... Which one would get us more returning customers?? Hmmm... Glad I went to Harvard to learn about running a major customer intense business....
I also find it interesting that they make it impossible to give feedback to MGM by email. They have a nice page that gives the address, marketing people and phone numbers but no contact/email for feedback.Guess they don't like the flack about resort fees maybe....
They are soooo out of touch. Their web page sucks. Try to book a room by entering in your players club card. Try to see all the properties at one time. I couldn't even log in to the myplayersclub.com page tonight because it kept failing. Get people to come once and alienate them with resort fees so that they never want to come back to Vegas. Watching MGM is like watching The Office. How in the world do the leaders get into the positions they are in? It's not rocket science to get this right. And when they alienate people the entire city and state suffer. It's no longer the economy folks. It's the new business model.
How about free hookers?
Very good comments, 'improveLV'. I am one of those "old schoolers" when it comes to vacationing in Vegas. But since Vegas has to show progress and generate profit like any other business, I gladly accept the upscale changes... as I yet seek out the not-so-upscale venues.
During my last 6-day vacation in November, I stayed at the Monte Carlo and didn't like the resort fees (even for the 2 nights room comp). I had a very good time at the Monte Carlo but I will go back to Ceasar's Entertainment hotels (no fees) for subsequent visits. I think if visitors will look upon Vegas as a VACATION destination (and quite an incomparable one) with many, many avenues of wining, dining, shopping, show-attending and gaming, you will find there is something for everyone (including close-by, off-strip eateries), regardless of their budget.
The M-Life Rewards program may appear rather lousy at the outset, but I bet it will be tweeked to the satisfaction of the corporation's customers. Otherwise... what's the point!
Nice!
Station casinos, supposedly our local casinos, also add on the extras when checking in. It's a scam to jusitfy the jobs of many of the overpaid execs.
"As the company gets better at targeting offers, MGM Resorts runs the risk of giving away things customers might have purchased anyway, ... or attracting hordes of bargain-hunters that could turn off well-heeled customers at its upscale hotels, he (McCall) said."
Should this read, "reduces the risk" instead of "runs the risk?" Wouldn't better targeting be matched with a cost/benefit analysis that could determine that "Yes, Mr. and Mrs. X would have paid for that free room, but our records show that the X's typically drop $500 to $1000 per day into slots, so the free room is a net winner for us."
And again with the sentiment that the well-heeled get turned off by mingling with the great unwashed. If MGM wants to be the first choice of the well-heeled, then they should direct all marketing in that direction. Unfortunately, MGM is overleveraged, and focusing on a single demographic isn't going to pay the bills. This sentiment seems to always show up somewhere in articles about MGM. If it truly represents what the bigwigs are thinking, then BK is in the immediate future for MGM.
here in detroit our local MGM is still terrible at letting you know what you have available in 'comps' & they rolled out MLIFE months ago. if i dont go there for 2-3 months when i return they tell me i dont have any comps for the buffet (which isnt that good to begin with) because i 'havent played in awhile'. i go to vegas every year for march madness & when i return, if i stop by MGM here, they wont comp me a buffet with the excuse that "we gave you free room in vegas already."
i go to another local casino (non-indian, privately owned casino) where i can swipe my players card & it tells me EXACTLY how much money in comps, free play & point play i have available. when i didnt go there for 7-8 months i swiped my card thinking i would of lost those comps but they were still there!!! over $500 worth of comps at that. though the MGM casino is a little nicer looking im more loyal to the 'motor city' casino that doesnt keep me in the dark re: my comps. why is this so difficult for MGM & others to understand.
this march im deciding between 3 free nights at bellagio with 150 bucks in free play or a ceasars property with no free play (or resort fee) but 3-5 free nights, 2 free show tickets, a couple of free drinks & some minor food comps. when i call the bellagio i will ask if i have to pay a 'resort fee' on the 'free' rooms. if so....CEASARS HERE I COME!!!!!!
P.S. if the suits at MGM would like to hire a 'consultant' who actually visits LV & gambles give me a call. i give the sun permission to release my phone # to you.
Sadly for MGM the "sucker born every minute" is a shareholder rather than a customer.
With their debt load they need MULTIPLE suckers to be born per minute.
MGM would do better poking holes in degenerate gamblers condoms then they are doing with this milf debacle.
MGM Resorts primary issue seems to be a poorly handled corporate integration. Undoubtably there are people within the company who are aware of the generally accepted effective customer loyalty methodologies. Those people just aren't able to consolidate enough power to get it done.
Mlife seems like a bad compromise between fractured stakeholders protecting fiefdoms of influence carried over from the legacy corporate entities.
The execution indicates to me even bigger problems with cashflow and an inability to pay for the necessary infrastructure required to implement a new system.
The combination of poor planning and poor execution is yielding the expected poor result.
Big business here in Chile! They all charge you money to get in, you know like it going to the movie and on top of that if you are gambling and want a Coke, they charge you 14 hundred pesos in another word 3 Dollars, yes, a COKE in a can.
And they re all happy.
So I move my left foot forward an inch because my right hip tends to be late and causes a slice, I widen my stance to stop my hips from sliding forward, I turn my right hand into a strong grip b/c I swing flat b/c my shoulders are wide and I have shorter arms which causes me to be late at impact. Instead of going back to a correct golf swing I like to use a fix to fix a fix. Sound familiar? Just do it the right way ie the best customer service possible and everyone wins.