A Casino Host
Antony Nguyen Executive Host. Antony “Tony” was born in Vietnam. He lived in Hong Kong and Canada prior to moving to Florida in 2004. He holds degrees from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Electronic Engineering and is also a graduate of the Casino Career Institute. A: To pursue a career as a casino host, you must start with an entry-level casino job to gain experience. You can attend dealer’s school to earn the qualifications you need to work as a table dealer at a casino in your state. Gambling laws vary by state and sometimes by city, so if you move you may need to re-up your qualifications. As a table dealer, you can gain the customer service.
“Being explained what to say in situations while you have a guest live. I learned so many tips on what to say and what not to say when attempting to drive business. Gaining confidence. It was a great experience. Nick really makes you feel comfortable while teaching everything he can to improve your selling techniques.” – Casino Host, Mystic Lake Casino
Casino Host Training:
Casino Players are looking to be interacted with. Inspired. Encouraged. Challenged and Heard. Meeting, interacting, and managing a casino guest and building relationships is vital to sustaining and growing your market, promoting brand loyalty. Maintaining current player account information to ensure database integrity and creating incremental revenue. Knowing a casino gaming guest gaming propensity is crucial in knowing your player. Your players gaming budget, gaming history, loyalty, and a trained casino host team will be made up of individuals who excel in building relationships. They will be acute on human interaction and the opportunity it affords them to better position themselves to increase business. It’s not about, “my players love me”
- Incentive Program
- Standard Operating Procedures
- Floor Responsibilities
- Table Games Protocol
- Host Department Structure
- Commission
- Comping
CASINO FLOOR VISIBILITY
- Topics include: Delivering the VIP experience
- Table & Slot Opportunities and Protocols
- Players Club Interaction
- Responding to Calls
- Comp Decisions
- Acquisition of New Players
- Cutting into New Players
- Obtaining Contact Information
- Interdepartmental Skills
- Qualifying Guests, Casino Sales Tactics
- Maintaining Database
- and all aspects of Casino Player Development
Casino Host Boot Camp:
I spend a certain amount of days on the casino floor observing hosts behavior and floor opportunities. I discuss my results with casino management and my plan of action for the following days. Once approved I spend time on the casino floor shadowing the casino hosts through their everyday duties. We know a trained casino host team will be skilled at anticipating your casino guest’s wants and needs during high visibility times on the casino floor. A trained casino host team will understand the importance and opportunity in accepting phone calls, walk-ups to the Rewards Center, and casino table games pit and floor calls. Not only in providing service for all guests in the casino but understanding the importance and opportunity to qualify all guests. They are responsible for all player segments: Active, Inactive, Declining, fostering lower level players, and any Outer Market. A trained casino host team is thorough and detailed in preparations made for VIP guests and follow ups. They understand that every guest interaction and request is an opportunity to create retention. Players are looking to be interacted with. Inspired, encouraged, challenged and Heard. Casino host boot camp covers all aspects of player development and casino host training. It instills casino hosts with the core values of casino player development.
Contents
- 3 Benefits of Having a Host
What is a Casino Host?
A casino host is a personal casino representative. Instead of calling reservations to book a room, or calling restaurants to book a reservation, your host will be able to take care of everything for you. If you are in a casino, there will usually be a designated host on duty that can help you at any hour, even if you don’t have one assigned to you.
Hosts are not usually on the casino floor like dealers or floor people. They will greet you and stop by if you are playing, but they do not have any other job beyond making sure their players are taken care of. At some casino properties, there will be different tiers of hosts, where higher value players are assigned to more experienced hosts.
Have a Host Assigned
If you only play low limit blackjack or slots a few times per year, the odds are that you won’t have a host assigned. If you ask for one, the casino may find a host for you, but it will largely defeat the purpose as they won’t have a lot to offer you. Look at it this way, the host if your own butler when you are planning a trip to, or are currently at a casino. If your play is valuable enough to the casino, they will assign you said butler. If you are an infrequent, low limit player, this is not an expense they are looking to spare.
Casinos handle their host programs differently depending on the property. Some will meet you face to face while you are playing. Others will give you a call or email to establish a line of contact. If you have put in a decent amount of gambling volume at a casino but still don’t have a host (or one that you know of), the next step is to reach out.
If you are at a casino, visiting the host office is your best play for obtaining a host. Sometimes you will already have on your account, but they simply didn’t contact you. Other times a host will need to be located for you. Most casinos have dozens of hosts (depending on their size), so one should be available for your immediate assistance. Once you finally have a casino host, the next step is understanding what benefits you will now be able to realize.
Benefits of Having a Host
The tricky part about having a host is that there is a lot of give and take. Do the hosts want to see you play a lot at their casino? Yes, of course. Do they want to see you lose? No, though some incorrectly believe this to be the case. The ultimate goal of any host is to ensure that you are kept happy during your visit.
Try to be reasonable about what you should expect as a player. If you are playing $100/spin high limit slots for hours on end, your host will likely offer you unlimited room charges, but if you are playing smaller games, they will draw the line at a lower limit.
Convenience
Convenience is what a host is all about. They will arrange a ride for you, book show tickets, book your rooms, arrange restaurant reservations, and cater to just about every need you have. Within reason, a host will do anything (non monetary) that improves your stay, even if you aren’t a high limit player. This measure of convenience is why players of almost any limit will benefit from having their own host
A Casino Host
Casino Offers
If you have a host, they will generally be able to cater specific offers to your play. For example, they can make sure you are the first to know about a gift card and free play giveaway. Perhaps the casino you are playing at is going to be sold out for New Years. If you are a consistent player, your host will reach out to make sure you have a room available if you are looking for one. Offers come in the mail all the time, but a good host will make sure you are always able to book the ones that you want before they fill up.
Comped Rooms
Duties Of A Casino Host
Comped rooms are much, much easier to obtain if you have a host. Calling the reservations line will not usually net you a free room, especially without an explicit offer. A host, however, can bypass this and book a room on your behalf. Plus, this is less likely to impact your future offers than if you book via the marketing department. The host should be your friend, so always try to book a room with them first before you call the hotel itself.
Comped Meals
As is the case with rooms, a host will be able to offer you more in the way of free food than the casino will give you by default. Sure, the casino may allow you to use your comps to pay for any room or dining charges, but a host can comp an amount above and beyond this. Ask ahead and your host should be able to tell you how much comp money they can allocate for meals.
What Is A Casino Host
Extra Benefits
How Much Does A Casino Host Make
A quality host will get to know you personally. As a result, they will have the ability to give you some extra perks where they see fit. For example, you may receive a free play offer or a bottle of wine on your birthday. They may even surprise you with a gift on Christmas. These are the sort of added benefits that only a host can deliver.