A $1 billion investment by Mandalay Resort Group in their new Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino is the ultimate high stakes gamble in Las Vegas, a city focused on delivering extremes in entertainment. The tropical-themed resort incorporates 3,700 rooms on more than 60 acres, with two hotels and an abundance of gaming, dining, and entertainment options.

Situation

Mandalay Resort Group committed to setting a new standard for guest experience in the highly competitive Las Vegas casino/resort industry. To guarantee the best in accommodations, fine dining, and entertainment for their guests, Mandalay Resort Group teamed with an impressive group of partners who added their expertise and established track records to the mix.

Mandalay Bay brought Four Seasons Resorts & Hotels to Las Vegas � the recognized leader in luxury hotel operations. They added the leader in eclectic dining and musical entertainment, House of Blues, to the joint undertaking. Aureole complimented the distinguished mix with a fine-dining experience akin to the famous New York operation ruled by culinary genius, Charlie Palmer.

Allied with perfect partners, Mandalay Bay turned to technology as the vehicle to deliver unparalleled service and convenience to its guests. Management also understood that ongoing success would require a keen awareness of performance by staff and product throughout the diverse mix of food, beverage, and retail outlets.

Finding the Right POS Solution

The requirements for a point-of-sale (POS) system at Mandalay Bay were complex. The POS system had to address the entire spectrum of food, beverage, and retail requirements throughout the property. This includes the two hotels, banquet and room service operations, four major lounges, six distinctive restaurants, a 12,000-seat Events Center, and numerous quick service coffee/beverage outlets.

"Mandalay Resort Group needed not only a POS system that offered incredible depth of functionality," said Scott Martiny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for InfoGenesis, "but they also required a technology partner that could respond to the diverse management styles, operational processes, and reporting requirements of each entity within the project."

A key requirement for the POS system was driven by Mandalay Resort Group's drive to enhance guest experience. They wanted guests associated with any project partner as well as patrons of sister properties Excalibur, Luxor, and Circus Circus to be able to charge directly to their rooms and have full electronic access to their folio. This was not easy, given the existence of two separate property management systems (LMS at Mandalay Bay and Fidelio at Four Seasons) and the diversity of tendering options each partner utilized in their business.

The Business Solution

Heading into the Mandalay Bay project, Mandalay Resort Group polled their partners and learned that each had a different POS vendor preference, but all were Windows-based. It seemed obvious to Robert Galvin, CIO of Mandalay Resort Group that whatever POS solution was employed had to be a Windows NT solution, but to date, no Microsoft-based system was installed in an operation the size and scope of Mandalay Bay.

In late 1997, InfoGenesis introduced Galvin to Revelation, a Microsoft Windows NT and SQL server-based POS application. Galvin liked what he saw and decided to try the system in an established and stable environment.

In June of 1998, Mandalay Resort Group and InfoGenesis struck a deal to install Revelation in the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. The installation included ninety-five IBM 4695 touch screen POS terminals managing all food and beverage operations at Excalibur's eight restaurants, twelve lounges, and four snack bars. The installation was a success.

Under the rigors of Excalibur's 24-hour operations, Revelation was proven as a scalable Windows NT/SQL Server POS solution. And by the time Mandalay Bay's grand opening night approached, several other high-profile properties such as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Rio Suites had jumped on the Revelation bandwagon. "We've eliminated significant peak period system performance problems with the installation of Revelation," said Stew Sayles of Rio Suites Resort & Casino. And with each new installation, Revelation piled up more evidence of its reliability, flexibility, scalability, and ease-of-use characteristics.

In the summer of 1998, months before the grand opening, Mandalay Bay began introducing Revelation to its partners Four Seasons Hotels, Aureole, and House of Blues. For each partner, InfoGenesis was a new alternative to evaluate against an existing POS platform preference.

A key challenge involved integration between Revelation and the unique technology environment of each partner. Revelation's claim to "best of breed" integration flexibility was tested by each customer's solution profile, including property management, food/retail inventory, credit card processing, player tracking and frequent customer applications. Revelation passed each test successfully. Four Seasons, House of Blues, and Aureole all conducted competitive comparisons, and each selected Revelation for POS at Mandalay Bay.

When the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino held its grand opening gala Revelation by InfoGenesis responded on cue, powering up one of the largest Microsoft-based point-of-sale systems in the world.

After months of planning and preparation, Revelation delivered success. "As with any grand opening night, there are bound to be a few glitches here and there and some fine-tuning," said Richard Femenella, General Manager of Aureole, "InfoGenesis had a great team on hand to solve problems quickly and help users. We were pleased with the result."

Looking to the Future

For Mandalay Bay, the key to maximizing business opportunity is to understand where and when guests have food & beverage desires and then deliver an opportunity for them to satisfy their desires conveniently. Expanding menus and adding impulse retail opportunities are all being explored. Wireless POS terminals and handhelds are planned for use throughout the water park. Four Seasons plans to expand F&B operations into their luxurious outdoor patio area.