Articles
Five Observations from Five States in Five Months
I did a similar article years ago and felt it was time to revisit the topics and see if anything has changed, especially with the “excitement” of the last few years. I still love […]
Articles by Janet Hawk
Articles
An Open Letter to Management
Dear Bosses, We, your dedicated team members, feel it is far past time for us to share with you some of the ways that we feel let down and unsupported. This letter goes out to […]
Articles
Player Development Is a Team Sport – Why Our Biggest Obstacle is Something We Face Internally
During our Host Player Development Conference, hosted in Vegas this past July, we asked our attendees, “What is the hardest part of being a host or being in player development?” We received quite a few […]
Articles
How to Deal With Stress and Difficult Guests
I had an interesting conversation a few weeks ago. I was having coffee with a couple of friends and we were discussing all the different ways our jobs have gotten harder, as well as how […]
Articles
How to Plan Using the 4 Ws and 1 H
As the saying goes, if you fail to plan, then you’re planning to fail. So many times, I see hosts who just go where the wind blows them every day. This is a huge mistake! […]
Articles
The Importance of Setting Boundaries for Hosts
Hosts are dealing with so many different types of people, both internally and externally, every minute of every day and they must have excellent communication skills. Many times, hosts feel like their job is to […]
Articles
How Your Players Club Can Become Your Secret Sales Weapon
Often, the first meaningful point of contact in any casino is at your players/loyalty club. These team members continually have more interaction with your players than anyone else in the casino. Yet, these team members […]
Articles
The Importance of Ethics and Confidentiality in Hosting
No matter where we look these days, the news feeds are filled with what seems like a never-ending lack of morals and principles. And in today’s world of social media, what happens behind closed doors, […]
Host & Player Development
Three Areas of Marketing Influence that Can Help Your Organization
Reinvestment, communication and promotions What are some things marketing can do to help begin the long process of returning to profitability and production? Let’s look at the three areas of reinvestment, communication and promotions. Reinvestment […]
Host & Player Development
Selling in Sensitive Times
Hey, your hosts (should) know all about this! If you are a supplier to the casino industry, sending out “sales messages” can ruin your business and destroy relationships rather than generate new business if not […]
Host & Player Development
What PD Teams Can Be Doing During the Shutdown
Lessons from Katrina How many of us have thought, “If only I had the time, I would (insert list here)”? Well, looks like we have some time on our hands. This isn’t the first time […]
Guest Service
When Gamblers Design a Hotel
How creature comforts and consistent service can drive revenue Why is it that casinos spend millions of dollars on their new hotel or addition, but miss the mark? I don’t know how many times I’ve […]
Host & Player Development
Can’t Buy Me Love
Four ways to build personal relationships with our guests Let’s be honest, relationships are hard! Whether it’s personal or in business, in order to build (and keep building) a relationship, you must be willing to […]
Host & Player Development
Life In Player Development
Life In Player Development After decades in player development, it never ceases to amaze me that we are still having to fight the perception that hosts don’t do anything except hand out freebies, get (or […]
Marketing & Loyalty
Building Better Promotions
Pre and post-steps to build into your process Marketing has a well-earned reputation for being the “fun” department. Many don’t realize how much work goes into planning all the fun that our guests and fellow […]
Guest Service
Why “Hire for Attitude – Train for Skill” Fails – Part II of II
How your department trainers can set the stage for success In Part I of this series, we went over four suggestions to improve your basic foundational training, including Casino 101 basics, interdepartmental teamwork, guest service […]
Guest Service
Why “Hire for Attitude – Train for Skill” Fails – Part I of II
Why does “hire for attitude – train for skill” often fail? Because we, as employers, fall short on the “training” part of the equation We are constantly told to “hire for attitude – train for […]
Host & Player Development
Janet’s Ten Host Rules
Finding success by using a code of conduct I’m a big fan of NCIS. I love how they are able to add funny moments to such serious ones – like life, really. Every character is […]
Guest Service
Client Spotlight: Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino Hotel
What an Idea. A Crazy, Mad, Wonderful Idea! A little background on this property: Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino Hotel, located in Eagle Pass, Texas, is proudly owned by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas. It […]
Guest Service
Raving Client Profile
The WeKoPa Way! From my very first job working in a casino up to today, I have been lucky enough to work with a wide variety of people who truly believe in giving the guest […]