Interview with Barry Clemo Strategic Marketing Director Genting UK. Peter White reports back from the opening night of Resorts World Birmingham
Genting International Casino at Resorts World Birmingham is the first new-build resort casino to open in Europe for a generation. What amenities do you think set it apart from other European casino properties?
The fact that the Genting International Casino is located within a large scale resort destination. This means that guests are able to enjoy a wide range of other leisure activities beyond gaming. All under one roof you can explore the fifty outlet shops, enjoy a drink or something to eat in one of the 18 bars and restaurants, see a film in the eleven screen cinema, relax in the SANTAI Spa and make your visit an overnight experience by booking into the Genting Hotel. This is an exciting proposition for the UK and one that is unique as our belief is the combination of offers we have are not replicated anywhere else in Europe at the present time.
Casino Life was the only trade media who attended the opening--thank you for inviting us. We saw a varied mix of people at the opening party, from VIPs through to the Average Joe. What customer cohorts are being targeted by the Genting International Casino?
We were delighted you could join us- it was a great night. There will certainly be a different mix of guests enjoying the offer at the Genting International Casino. Because of what we have on offer within the resort clearly some visitors will enjoy the casino as part of a wider leisure experience- for example they have come for a day visit or a leisure break. There is also a significant conference offer within Resorts World Birmingham and that will also attract a casual gaming visitor to the casino. Of course the casino will also attract and build up its own loyal customer base who use the casino regularly and that will be a very important part of our business.
The casino is a small part of the overall entertainment and lifestyle mix offered by Resorts World Birmingham. What customer cohorts are being targeted by the overall Resorts World Birmingham property?
Because of the diversity of the overall offer at Resorts World Birmingham there is a wide range of target audiences for us to attract. Because we have the West Midlands first large scale outlet shopping offer there will be a large and significant market of regular visitors within a one hour drive time that will be generated because of that. The bars and restaurants and cinema will generate a regular local market too. The hotel and conferencing will mean we have guests in the resort from all over the UK and internationally given our close proximity to Birmingham Airport. In addition we are excited that we can also provide a new and wide ranging leisure offer to the 3m visitors that come to the NEC campus each year.
Resorts World Birmingham is the first property using the Resorts World brand to open in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). What elements of Resorts World Birmingham are consistent with other Resorts World properties around the world?
Resorts World Birmingham is the fifth to open around the world. Of course the success and learning from operating the other Resorts World locations has influenced how we approached this development. We are the smallest in size of the five Resorts World complexes but we have replicated the highly successful combination used in Asia of combining a wide ranging leisure offer, with accommodation, gaming and retail. And both the design flow and customer journey around the resort has used the experience of our other venues but we have been careful to ensure that we reflect the way the UK consumes their leisure time particularly around the type of food and beverage and retail offers we have. Here’s one example of the synergy between resorts on a visit to Asia you will see the Sports Bar as part of the casino and we have done the same here in the UK.
What benefits does Resorts World Birmingham hope to bring to the surrounding communities?
When we opened the doors on October 21st we became one of the local area’s largest employers with a total of 1150 jobs being created. In May this year we held a recruitment fair and over 3000 local people attended - so we have had positive impact on the local employment marketplace. We are clearly going to be a major factor in the continued prosperity of the NEC campus and the more successful they are the more local jobs that are secured. PwC undertook an analysis of Resorts World Birmingham’s contribution to the local economy when it opened and that revealed it will generate in added value £38.2m per annum. So we are having a very positive effect to local communities.
If you were able to go forward in time by 10 years, what would your ideal future Resorts World Birmingham look like and be achieving?
We are still now just taking breath from our launch and in the earliest phase of our journey so of course we will see how the next year pans out. But in ten years time we are confident that we will have created a resort destination that provides a wonderful experience to a wide set of audiences providing a range of mini leisure adventures for all tastes. That we will have transformed the way leisure and gaming is consumed in the UK and by doing so created a sustainable market and also played our part in the continuing development and success of the NEC and supported their ambition to remain as the leading conference and entertainment campus in the UK.
