Since 2016, Caesars Entertainment Inc. has brought Ivy, the 24-hour virtual concierge from Go Moment, to its resorts in Las Vegas and other locations across the country. This year, the company’s Atlantic City, NJ, properties—Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City and Tropicana Atlantic City—have implemented the service for guests to make requests via their handheld devices.
“Ivy is a powerful tool that is ingrained into the empire to drive revenue, enhance the guest experience and create operational efficiencies,” said John Koster, Eastern regional president, Caesars Entertainment, of the platform powered by IBM Watson. “It has been a home run for the properties and well-received by guests. We think of Ivy as a brand differentiator since it makes it so easy for guests to get whatever they need during their stay. Caesars Entertainment is the first in the Atlantic City market to introduce Ivy.”
For guests, after they opt-in to messaging, Ivy appears as any other text contact on their smartphone. The service can be enabled from pre-arrival through checkout, and even after their stay.
Ivy allows guests to text any of their questions or requests.
“There is no app to download and, therefore, no learning curve to begin texting with Ivy,” said Koster. “Guests can opt-in to text with Ivy when either booking a reservation on the Caesars website, checking in at the front desk with an agent or checking in using the kiosks in the hotel lobby. Once a guest opts in, Ivy immediately introduces herself and lets guests know how she can help. Ivy is available via text 24/7. Guests can continue to text Ivy after their stay for common things like folio requests, billing questions and lost and found inquiries.”
Anything guests would have requested via their guestroom phone in the past can be handled through texting with Ivy. “They can ask for hotel information, restaurant reservations, housekeeping requests, maintenance requests, suggestions on things to do and checkout, just to name a few,” noted Koster.
The Ivy platform also enables hotels to query their guests during their stay, allowing the property to gain insights on what is being done correctly, as well as what needs to be fixed.
“We survey guests the day after check-in to get a pulse check on how everything is going so far,” said Koster. “Surveying guests in-stay allows us to fix issues in real-time and offer service recovery that is much more meaningful when guests are still on the property vs. completing a post-stay survey and receiving feedback when a guest has already returned home. The surveys also provide operators with a goldmine of operational information since we make it so easy for our guests to provide feedback.”
In March, Tropicana Atlantic City was the last of the three New Jersey properties to implement the Ivy platform and the 31st in the Caesars Entertainment portfolio. The Cromwell and Nobu hotels in Las Vegas were the first to try the service, and the rollout to the rest of the Las Vegas resorts took place over the next few years. Ivy is also used outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City in properties such as Harrah’s Resort SoCal in Valley Center, CA; Horseshoe Bossier City in Bossier City, LA; and Harveys Lake Tahoe in Stateline, NV.
While he didn’t provide any guest feedback from the Atlantic City properties, Koster said that the Ivy reviews at other Caesars properties have been positive from guests and associates alike.
“Ivy has been a home run for guests and the operators,” said the Caesars executive. “Guests love Ivy and how easy she makes it to get whatever they need during their stay instead of having to call or walk to the front desk. Ivy regularly shows up by name in online reviews as well as our post-stay surveys. Guests consistently go to the front desk asking to meet her to say thank you for the excellent service. She even received a hand-written thank you note from a guest that stayed at one of our Lake Tahoe properties. The operators appreciate the operational efficiencies Ivy creates by reducing phone calls, decreasing lines at the front desk, promoting kiosk usage and increasing service scores.”
