SEARCH NEWS:

 

Harrah's Re-Launches Consumer Web Site

The addition of the online component -- E-Total Rewards -- makes Total Rewards the first player-loyalty program to offer customers comprehensive account information about their benefits and comps in real time via the Internet.

``E-Total Rewards is the newest communications channel for strengthening our relationship with loyal customers and showing them the benefits of consolidating their play at our casinos,'' said Rich Mirman, Harrah's Senior Vice President of Marketing.

``Our Total Rewards members now have convenient access to their account information from anywhere and can easily determine their status in the program and the rewards they can expect to receive. It continues our efforts to take the mystery out of the comping process.''

Total Rewards, available at Gold, Platinum and Diamond levels, tracks customers' play and offers them powerful incentives to consolidate their gaming activities at the company's 21 Harrah's, Rio and Showboat casinos across the United States. In 2000, the program helped generate an increase of more than $165 million in revenues from guests who played at Platinum and Diamond levels. Since the first phase of E-Total Rewards was soft-launched in late June, traffic to the Harrah's Web site has increased 39 percent.

Currently, E-Total Rewards operates similarly to airline Web sites for frequent flyers, but includes enhanced customer components. Harrah's Total Rewards members can:

Edit their personal profile,

Gain real-time access to their tiered score total,

Determine the number of reward credits needed to attain a higher level of membership with premium benefits,

View casino offers and comps sorted by casino property and offer type, and

Link to available partner privileges, including savings on Hertz car rentals and the opportunity to earn cash purchases on a Harrah's MBNA Visa card.

Harrah's is also working on additional features to further enhance E-Total Rewards, which will expand customers' online options in the future.

Harrah's teamed with business and technology consultant Sapient (Nasdaq:SAPE) to integrate the Total Rewards program into its customer relationship management infrastructure.

``By offering its customers a fully integrated Total Rewards program across multiple channels, Harrah's has taken customer service to a new level,'' said Jon Frey, Vice President of Travel and Transportation for Sapient. ``Harrah's has successfully tackled the business strategy and complex technology infrastructure that is fundamental to a consistent personalized customer experience. We are excited to partner with a recognized CRM innovator.''

``Our relationship with Sapient has helped facilitate knowledge transfer and accelerated our ability to be a Web-enabled IT organization,'' said John Boushy, Harrah's Senior Vice President of Operations, Products and Services and Chief Information Officer. ``They have been an invaluable partner in allowing us to stay years ahead of our competition in the development of CRM technology.''

Online Hotel Reservations:

Customers can now check for availability and make secure online reservations at any Harrah's casino hotel with a credit card, as well as view or change an existing reservation.

By clicking on a photo of their favorite casino, players also can explore last-minute ``hot deals'' and scan for rates available on any date in the year. Included is a special section for casino packages at Harrah's Nevada casinos through America West Vacations' hotel and air packages.

``Through our online reservations center, we've made it easy for players to determine the range of offers at all our casinos,'' said Mirman. ``We want our customers to know that there are great deals available in Las Vegas, New Orleans and other Harrah's casino destinations.''

For customer ease, reservations are pre-populated with data from the Total Rewards profile, including credit card information. The site uses VeriSign to secure all credit card transactions.

Promotions & Casino Games:

Players can view on the revamped Web site various brand-wide casino promotions, including a sweepstakes giveaway for trips to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and other prizes in conjunction with Harrah's exclusive launch of the new The Price is Right(TM) video slot machines. Event calendars listing upcoming concerts, shows and appearances are also available for all Harrah's casino properties.

For Total Rewards members' entertainment, the Web site offers an extensive selection of ``play for fun'' casino games complete with casino sound effects and dealer voices. The non-wager games include blackjack, Caribbean poker, baccarat, pai gow poker, craps, roulette, sic bo, slots and video poker. Because Total Rewards members must be 21 years of age, the ``play for fun'' site is restricted to adults only.

About Sapient:

Sapient, a leading business and technology consultancy, helps its clients successfully deploy technology that results in high value, explicit business outcomes. Founded in 1991, Sapient employs approximately 2,300 people in offices in Atlanta, Austin, Cambridge (Mass.), Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Dusseldorf, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Munich, New Delhi, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington, D.C. Sapient is included in the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index. More information can be found at the Sapient web site.

< Gaming News