The two companies signed the agreement in December.
Silver Legacy Resort Casino is a joint venture partnership between Eldorado Resorts LLC and MGM Resorts International. The Reno, Nevada-based hotel casino features more than 1,700 guest rooms, an approximately 87,300 square-foot casino, six dining venues and 50,000 square feet of meeting space.
“We looked at and entertained several revenue management systems over the years,” said Stephanie Lepori, chief financial officer of Silver Legacy Resort Casino. “Rainmaker is one of the frontrunners on the Vegas strip in terms of revenue management systems and so that certainly played a part in our selection.”
Lepori, who joined Silver Legacy in July 1995 and has served as its CFO for the past eight years, said there were other considerations that factored in to their decision.
“Another thing we believe sets Rainmaker apart is the best practices approach it takes," said Lepori. "They analyze, for example, how we are yielding today, how we’re doing our revenue management process, and then offer recommendations on ways we can improve that process.”
In recent years, an increasingly dynamic gaming environment, more competition, and the lingering recession have combined to hit the Nevada tourism and gaming industry hard, forcing operators to be smarter and operate more efficiently than yesteryear, when casino gaming rarely reached beyond Nevada and Atlantic City.
“Now, you bring in the Internet, and with technology continually evolving, everything today is just so fast-paced,” said Lepori. “The old ways of doing business are no longer sufficient. You really need a system; you need to utilize technology to stay on top of it all. And recognizing this business reality also was a factor in our decision. Between wholesalers and analyzing each guest’s value – and all the different variables that can impact what you’re yielding – unfortunately, you can’t do it with people power only.”
“We did some preliminary work a few years back, but with this new agreement, we open a new and exciting chapter in our business relationship with Silver Legacy," said John Wallace, president of gaming and hospitality for Rainmaker. “We know that one of Silver Legacy’s primary objectives is to be much smarter in yielding its hotel and, of course, to make more money. At the top of our list of goals – and I know it’s at the top of theirs as well – is to help them generate incremental revenue to justify their investment in GuestREV and the staff to run and manage the system. We look forward to providing them with a healthy return on investment and doing so in short order.”