LAS VEGAS—Partnerships were a key component in the creation of The Cromwell, one of Caesars Entertainment Corporation’s newest boutique hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, said Eileen Moore, a Caesars regional president and GM of the 188-room property.
During an on-stage interview last month at the Boutique Lifestyle Leadership Symposium sponsored by the Boutique & Lifestyle Lodging Association, Moore credited several partnerships with F&B entrepreneurs for the hotel’s success since it opened earlier this year.
The company worked with Las Vegas nightlife impresario Victor Drai to create three entertainment venues in the hotel: a 65,000-square-foot indoor nightclub, a rooftop pool club and a below-ground after-hours club.
“I credit him with some of the most important elements in the design of the property,” Moore said. “The hotel was designed around his vision for a world-class club. His vision for the club was really the start of the project and helped us maximize the spectacular views of the Strip available in the hotel.”
The Cromwell was previously Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon and the Barbary Coast Hotel & Casino before that.
“The idea was to take this value-oriented hotel and not tear it down but change it and tweak into something that is one of a kind at arguably the best location on the Las Vegas Strip at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo (Road),” she said.
The other key partnership is with food celebrity Giada De Laurentiis, who opened her first restaurant, Giada’s, in The Cromwell. The 10,000-square-foot facility is on the second floor of the hotel overlooking the Strip.
Moore said since its opening, the Italian-themed restaurant has had a two-month-or-longer wait list for reservations, although hotel guests are guaranteed a table.
“The Cromwell has received 83 billion (media) impressions since Giada joined our team,” Moore said. “She even brought The Today Show to the hotel on her opening day. Her brand has helped The Cromwell because her celebrity goes beyond any set demographic.”
While the hotel is small compared to other Strip properties, the nightclubs and restaurant generate a lot of foot traffic, which had an effect on its design, Moore said.
“Our partners played a huge design role with us in how the hotel looks and is laid out,” she said. “Our casino has about 400 slot machines, whereas a mega-casino would have 4,000. And while our casino has only 400 slots and 60 (gaming) tables, the casino had to be designed in a manner that supports the nightclubs, which can have as many as 4,000 people in them in any given night.”
Targeting millennials
The Cromwell is one of two boutique hotels Caesars operates in the city (Nobu inside Caesars Palace is the other), but it is the company’s only standalone lifestyle property.
“The customer demographic in Las Vegas is changing and skewing younger and more international,” Moore said. “About 20% of our visitors are international. They spend more money and stay a longer time. They also appreciate all the facets of what we offer—not just the casino gaming.”
Moore said the hotel caters to its expanding millennial clientele by offering unique experiences not available in other Las Vegas properties.
“Service must also be at a high level,” she said. “And service must be personal, and the experiences must be curated.”
In another partnership, celebrity mixologist Salvatore Calabrese created a special drink menu for the hotel. On Friday and Saturday evenings from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. the hotel hosts a champagne reception for hotel guests.
Moore said more than 50% of the hotel’s guests are women.
“In designing the project, we added some distinct feminine touches,” she said. “The mirrors in the guestrooms are located near natural light so you can apply your makeup near a window. The rooms also have showgirl-style mirrors that are separate from the restroom. And in the minibar we stock some beauty items.”
Technology at work
Moore said that while the hotel staff stresses service, the property uses technology to enhance the guest experience.
“Technology is one way to cut down on waiting,” she said. “When you arrive in Las Vegas, you wait for your bag. Then you wait in a taxi line and then you wait at the hotel to check in. After all that, your room key had better work.”
The Cromwell offers pre-arrival check-in and lobby kiosks for check-in and key retrieval. The hotel also is testing a system that will allow guests to check in through their smartphones.
“We’ll always roll-out technology is a very humanistic way. We’ll always have ambassadors in the lobby because there still are guests that even if the line is 45 minutes long they don’t want to use kiosks,” Moore said. “But demographics will change and people will become more comfortable with all kinds of technology.”