Evolution of Efficiency

Casinos and resorts view video as a critical tool

• By Scott Brothers
• Mar 01, 2017

The casino and hospitality sectors are changing, brimming with numerous opportunities to use technology to enhance business and significantly improve the guest experience. Today’s customers have changed, as well, and require a more personalized customer service approach, which means casino and resort management teams must work together in leveraging updated tools and intelligence-gathering technology to deliver on guest expectations.

It’s important to note, however, that these organizations don’t need to invest in all-new technology to achieve more advanced levels of personalization and customer service. Video data gathered from intelligent surveillance cameras, coupled with advanced, yet affordable analytics software, can deliver added benefits from capital investment that can be seen across departments.

Mobile-centric, Interactive Experiences

Fewer guests of casinos and resorts are seeking out travel information from agents or by calling for more information. Today’s guests are internet-savvy, armed with smartphones and often booking online. As a result, hotels and casinos are beginning to incorporate guest profiles that can present an advantage when personalizing a guest’s stay or offering added services through quick and easy request portals. Through a digitally driven smartphone app or Web interactions hoteliers can be notified when a VIP guest arrives and ensure their staff is ready to greet them – by name or even by using personalized information about these guests gathered from previous visits. Gathering business intelligence with personalized info allows hoteliers insight into the services that will have the greatest impact on their guest’s experience.

Casinos can also use the information gathered to personalize guest experiences – and this is already in practice in many casinos today. Player’s loyalty cards are used in a number of ways – at slot machines, table games, in retail stores and restaurants – and aim to provide marketing departments with information on the shopping and gambling habits of regular patrons. But there is significant opportunity to couple the information being gathered from these cards on how guests navigate the casino floor and actual video of guests that can be analyzed to determine how marketing and advertising can best engage with each and every guest.

The video data, which is being gathered by security surveillance cameras, can have additional uses, which span several departments including business operations and marketing. The capital investment in video capture technology then becomes more widely distributed as more departments use the information, going from a required “grudge purchase” to a Swiss Army Knife of operational benefits.

Streamlined Processes

Video data gathered from both a hotel lobby and a casino floor plays an increasingly important role in the ability of these businesses to gather intelligence that will help management streamline operations. For example, resort management can be notified when the lobby becomes crowded with an influx of guests waiting to be checked in. The security footage, while scanning the crowd for possible threats, can also be analyzed in real time to gather a wealth of information about staffing levels to floor managers. In the event of a growing line, managers are immediately alerted and can easily alleviate the situation by pulling additional staff to help with the influx of guests. Not only does the information allow management to streamline operations, it also provides exceptional customer service, which can increase the resort’s bottom line.

The video data gathered also has a significant effect on the casino floor in much the same way. For example, on particularly busy nights, many table games can become crowded with people waiting to play. Using video analytics and people-counting software, managers can be alerted when tables reach capacity so that they may direct dealers to vacant tables and eliminate a “wait” to play. Not only does this improve guest perceptions, it also increases the casino’s revenue by allowing more guests the ability to participate in table play.

Going even further, marketing departments can use video analytics to observe how in-person campaigns are performing. For example, determining whether guests are lingering at a large-scale advertisement for a long period of time (for example, a shiny new corvette that slot players have the chance to win). Marketing departments also can use video data to determine where large crowds tend to gather and use that information to strategically place advertisements for retail specials, dinner locations or special events.

Integration and Collaboration

The critical component to making “smart” casinos and resorts a reality is the willingness of manufacturers to produce hardware and software that can integrate seamlessly to create this kind of user experience. This kind of technology is can add significant value, but many organizations still do not have the commitment to make this a reality.

As more and more companies work together to integrate security video data with analytics capabilities and software that will work with numerous solutions, casinos and resorts can use this technology to better serve guests in an effort to deliver the kind of personalized service that customers will come to expect from their visit in the future, building on continued relationships and returning visits from these guests, leading to increased revenue streams and realizing the potential of these technology offerings to see true benefit.

This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Security Today.