Case Study: Hospitality

Overview

Wynn Resorts uses SaaSafras M2M and Web Content Management expertise to create an interactive "guest portal" through the IP phones in each of its guest rooms. This portal enable guests to explore Wynn's restaurants, nightclubs, and shows, and provides instant access to reservations. Wynn staff can quickly create new pages, add new venues and make daily changes through easy-to-use templates. The application consolidates changes across organizations and routes them through a review/approval process where they are viewed on a pre-stage server before updating to a production web server. And with SaaSafras M2M push capabilities, Wynn can selectively push announcements (both text and audio), offers, and advertisements to specific guests or groups - guests can even respond by pressing a button on the phone that is automatically mapped to a menu option.

Situation

Wynn Las Vegas is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort complex, which covers 215 acres, includes over 2700 guest rooms, a casino, convention center, 18-hole golf course, five-star rated spa, two major live venues, and over 76,000 sq ft of retail space. The resort has earned AAA five diamond, Mobil five-star, and Forbes five-star ratings, and is considered to be one of the finest hotels in the world.

The Wynn Las Vegas also has the largest installation of Voice Over IP technology for hotel in the world, with over 4,000 Avaya color screen phones - including one in each guest room. Reflecting the fact that the primary revenue source for Las Vegas resorts has shifted from gambling to guest services such as entertainment, dining, and recreation, Wynn sought to create the ultimate visitor experience by turning the Avaya 4626 Hospitality IP Phones in each room into a guest portal that would link them to Wynn Restaurants, nightclubs, multiple entertainment venues, and Wynn's 10,000 strong staff.

With over 22 restaurants, 2 major live venues, 4 nightclubs, and 15 unique shops, Wynn needed their Customer Portal to be as dynamic as the resort to create the ultimate visitor experience. But their original guest portal application was not designed to accommodate change. Wynn staff could not modify any aspect of the application or add/update content without programming help. Changes, even as minor as a new menu update, required a custom request that could take as long as 4-6 weeks to program, test, and implement. As a result, instead of reflecting the exciting and dynamic nature of Wynn's desired guest experience, the guest portal simply displayed static information that Wynn staff knew would not need to be changed. Moreover, since the application did not monitor usage, Wynn management had no idea how the portal was being used, or how effective it was in driving business to their guest services.

Solution

Using the open source Web Content Management application, SaaSafras replaced the existing web application with a content management system utilizing a template-based site designer. Now, Wynn staff can make changes to existing web pages with a simple mouse click to add or change content. New pages can also be created by simply selecting a template, creating menu items and identifying links, and adding content. The application converts all content into WML pages that can then be displayed on the IP Phones. The application can also map phone buttons to pre-determined actions such as calling a restaurant or room service - added by simply providing the phone number or extension to be dialed when a menu item is pressed. The application consolidates changes across organizations and routes them through a review/approval process where they are viewed and tested on a pre-stage server before updating to a production web server.

Wynn has also identified the ability to customize content to each guest as a highly desirable capability. With our M2M expertise, SaaSafras was able to add "Push" capabilities that allows Wynn to create and selectively send pro-active announcements (both text and audio), offers, and advertisements to specific guests or groups. This "Push" content is interactive, giving guests the option to respond by simply pressing a button on the phone. With this new level of interactivity, Wynn can now measure the effectiveness of their guest portal in driving business to their guest services.

Benefits

Wynn Las Vegas now has a truly interactive guest portal that creates the ultimate guest experience, one that is as dynamic as the resort itself. Free from the constraints of the previous static application, Wynn designers and staff can now reach out to their guests with information that can be updated daily. And, with the ability to reach out to each guest with customized content, the guest portal has become a measurable channel for driving revenue to Wynn's guest services, and a competitive differentiator for attracting group events and conventions.