You may have noticed I’ve been absent. I took my first full on vacation in two years this last week and went to Las Vegas. I spent a total of 3 hours online the whole time I was there, mostly keeping ahead of email. The rest of the time, I just took it all in.
The Fountains at The Bellagio are always a good sight... and a free way to draw visitors to the casino.
The casinos had over-the-top Christmas decorations... but doing good (rather than just looking good) is really what gives people the warm fuzzies.
It’s amazing what casinos do to market to consumers. Everything from walkways and escalators that always work going in (but not going out) to guys on corners handing out free night club passes, everything is designed to make you stay longer, and spend more money.
A few things I thought about while I was out there:
There is still a need for print…
Of the countless people handing out nightclub (and other) cards on the street, it begs the question: How is this affordable?
The answer is of course companies wouldn’t pass out these cards if they didn’t work on some level. Casinos might be able to afford to lose some money but they wouldn’t do something that was a constant drain on resources.
I did see a lot of tourists like me with their smartphones but many people still don’t have the easily accessed information. Hence the need to have something to give those tourists to hold in their hand and make their decision about a club, restaurant, or other destination choice.
… but good reviews will fill the room.
We went to Lotus of Siam, one of the best Thai restaurants in the country located off the Strip in a downtown strip mall. The restaurant has won numerous awards and always has diners, even at a ‘early bird special’ hour on a Tuesday night (when we went). They didn’t do any advertising that I saw but clearly, the reviews alone kept them busy enough.
Do some good, especially around the holidays.
Looking for a club to go to, we found out Tabu at MGM Grand was doing a food drive, letting club goers in for free (and giving a free drink) for showing up with canned goods.
So I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a can of soup and headed over. The servers were dressed in ridiculous Santa suits but smiled at our small offering as they ushered us in. This made this slightly pretentious seeming club give me the warm fuzzies. And if a night club can do that, imagine what your business could do in terms of reaching out to charities around the holidays!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed last week. I sure did! Nice and rested and ready to be back on the internet…