In 2012, the casino market continued to see the effects of domestic expansion as states with casino gambling sought growth by adding more properties and new gaming options. Global gaming markets also continued to expand and attract international players.
The competition for players has never been more fierce, as more states explore augmenting current gambling offerings with retail gaming (e.g. slots in bars or taverns) and expanded lotteries, more Native American casinos clamor to open up the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act for Internet gaming purposes, and more international markets promote new gaming complexes. Given that maintaining and growing market share requires a base of repeat customers and loyal advocates, the impact of guest satisfaction is more critical than ever for casino brands.
Here are some key findings from our 2012 Casino Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI). The results are drawn from over 176,000 reviews from 580 casino hotels listed in Trip Advisor. Regions include North America, Latin America, Europe Middle East Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC).
Worldwide Casino Satisfaction 2012
Global markets continue to invest heavily in gaming and entertainment complexes. As you can see in the table above, EMEA leads all regions with a CSI score of 80.07. North American brands lead in room scores and number of online reviews per property and narrowly trail in nearly all other key metrics. All regions score well in cleanliness and location, but struggle to maintain similar results with service, value, and overall scores.
North American Gaming Markets 2012
Las Vegas leads North American gaming markets with a CSI score of 81.04 and leads all markets in overall, service, and value. Regional and Indian Gaming brands score well with cleanliness, location, and rooms, but can show improvement with service and value. Atlantic City enjoys the best location score, but like Reno/Tahoe, rooms, cleanliness, service, and value all need additional attention.
Top Indian Gaming Brands 2012
Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort tops the Indian Gaming list in 2012.
Top Regional Gaming Brands 2012
Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort tops the Regional Gaming list in 2012.
Key Take Aways
Gaming brands are facing more competitive challenges than ever before. Service and value scores are strongly correlated to overall satisfaction and all casinos have room for improvement with these important aspects of the guest's experience. As always, casino executives should bear in mind that online review scores are merely one indicator of brand reputation. To impact scores online, brands need to focus on customer experience on-property to generate repeat business and build loyal advocates.
Bob Fitzpatrick is a senior business consultant with Market Metrix.
Source: Market Metrix
