Cash In! is a series of concise communiqués that offer our perspective on topics that challenge marketing professionals in the gaming industry.
Casinos are fun, exciting places to be. The floor is buzzing with happy sounds. The hotel occupancy is up, and guests love the accommodations. Restaurants are serving magnificent cuisine to hundreds of folks with appreciative appetites. The cash register in the gift shop is ringing. A sell-out crowd is enjoying the concert in the entertainment venue. The list of "picture perfect" scenarios goes on, and this is the way it should be at your property. In fact, despite size and number of amenities, this is the way it usually is at the growing number of tribal casinos and resorts.
But what if something bad happens? Stop and think about the thousands of individuals that walk through your doors everyday. It is impossible to predict everything that might happen to each and every one of them. What if a guest has a heart attack and dies in your hotel room? What if a gunman accused of shooting two people in your parking lot kills himself? What if a construction worker falls 20 feet from a tower where your expansion project is underway? What if a woman is arrested on charges of prostitution and selling drugs on the casino floor? What if food poisoning impacted hundreds of guests? These are just a few incidents that have happened at tribal casinos, and made local if not regional and/or national headlines. While they pale in comparison to two enormous, historical tragedies that occurred in Las Vegas casinos (the fire that erupted at Bally's in 1980 killed 87 guests and employees; and the unemployed, clinically-depressed Hungarian refugee shot and wounded four people from a balcony over- looking the casino at New York-New York last year), it is important to know when a grim situation crosses the line into a full-blown crisis. Knowing how to identify this moment in time is the crux of taking the appropriate next steps.
Remember, not every issue or challenge is a crisis, but it may have the potential to become one. You hope that nobody will notice and you will be able to just deal with the issues quietly and fix the problem. Sometimes that happens. Other times, someone notices and tells a reporter or posts it on the Internet and suddenly it seems like the whole world is calling you or knocking on your door or sending you an email. You must be prepared to respond. And because these potential crises can happen anywhere, at any time, and usually when they are least expected, it is important to act quickly. These unexpected events usually unfold rapidly, leaving little time for planning. That is why advance preparation is essential.
Contact Info: Kurt Gross - Vice President/Customer Services 800.950.7333