Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa's success with Guestrev

In 2006, Borgata was among the majority group of casino hotels that offered two types of rates: comps for highly rated players, and rack rates for all other guests.

From the very moment John Forelli was named Vice President Information Technology at Borgata in June 2006, the University of Rhode Island MBA alumnus recalls “wanting something different, something more powerful, more sophisticated, more scientific.

“I came to Borgata to innovate our data-use processes and create a system that would honor the unique needs of each customer segment and that could offer a spectrum of rates based on the ‘total guest value’ of our numerous visitor segments across our 2,800-room properties.”

The Borgata’s objectives were to:

• Create a more scientific approach to revenue management strategies
• Increase casino revenue from hotel customers by booking higher value guests

Once Borgata’s long-range goal and strategic vision were set, Forelli and other members of the executive team went to work on execution. Among the first orders of business: contact Cendyn.

“Crunching numbers at the level of sophistication we needed required complex algorithms and extensive calculations that you simply cannot do by hand or with semiautomated technology,” said Forelli, a 20-year gaming and hospitality industry veteran. “We turned to Cendyn because we knew it was the market leader in casino hotel optimization and that its system was state-of-the-art.”

Today known as Guestrev, the Cendyn system continuously performs more than 75 equations, scientifically analyzing Borgata’s widely segmented clientele to help ensure the properties reward the right customers with the right rates at the right time. Guestrev also forecasts demand to help balance customer needs with the shifting sands of market forces.

The result is a balanced pricing structure that optimizes Borgata’s customer segments. Every minute of every day, relevant data must flow from Borgata’s multiple property systems into Guestrev, which falls to Forelli and his internal team. While the system works hand-in-glove with Borgata’s PMS system to recommend rates, the company’s revenue management team oversees and reviews them. Aside from setting rate minimums and maximums, the team otherwise allows Guestrev to perform its mathematical magic.

“We looked at a lot of other companies and a lot of factors before making our decision,” says Forelli. “The tight integration of Cendyn’s system with our property management system was certainly a key factor.”

“It’s also important that our call center operators and our website are efficient and cost effective. Cendyn’s system not only ensures we offer the right rates and comps based on a guest’s total value, it also makes this information readily available to all distribution channels. For our call center operators, little to no training is involved and they spend much less time on each call.”