Atlantic City tops Vegas in hospitality, satisfaction service
By KEVIN POST
Business Editor, 609-272-7250
Published: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Atlantic City has won a stunning upset over longtime rival Las Vegas in a competition crucial to each.Under the headline "Atlantic City trumps Las Vegas for customer satisfaction and value," Market Metrix last week announced the results of its latest Hospitality Index survey.In every category - from value for price to sophistication and pampering - New Jersey's nearly 30-year-old gaming market outperformed its 77-year-old rival in Nevada. "Compared to the Las Vegas Strip, Atlantic City guests are more satisfied with their hotel and casino experience," said the survey, published in Hotel & Motel Management magazine.A convincing 78 percent of Atlantic City visitors were "very likely to recommend" the resort to others, compared to just 59 percent of Las Vegas visitors, according to San Rafael, Calif.-based Market Metrix.
Jonathan Barsky, CEO of Market Metrix, had one word to describe that difference: "Wow.""It was really surprising to us to see the performance ... to see Las Vegas, the king of gambling and entertainment, get beaten by Atlantic City," he said.Market Metrix surveys 35,000 travelers per quarter, and about 10,000 of those were in the two gaming markets, Barsky said, a huge sample size.This was the first time the company pulled out figures for a separate Casino Index of customer satisfaction, he said. "Going forward, we're developing a much more detailed and more frequent index for casinos, so we'll be able to monitor these scores over time."Reaction to the survey depended on location."It's a coup for Atlantic City," said Larry Mullin, president of the Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa. "The town should be proud.""This is great news," said Robert McDevitt, president of Local 54 of UNITE-HERE, the largest casino union."It's gratifying to be recognized for providing a quality customer experience," Jeffrey Vasser, executive director of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, said in a statement.Erika Pope, senior manager with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said its researchers weren't familiar enough with Market Metrix and its survey methods to comment on the results."We produce our own annual visitor profile study, and in two decades, our results, such as they are, continue to indicate year after year that our visitors are overwhelmingly happy with their experience here and would, if asked, recommend Las Vegas to friends, neighbors, relatives and such," Pope said.Mullin - whose company, Boyd Gaming, operates in both markets and uses Market Metrix research to optimize its operations - said the relative ease of traveling to Atlantic City is an advantage that might be showing up in the survey.More importantly, he said, new development is transforming the city and the experience for visitors."It's part of a story that will get much clearer as we develop our second hotel, the Water Club, and as MGM Mirage and others come into this market," Mullin said. "As the town matures, I think the future looks bright."McDevitt, who started out as a casino waiter and bartender, said he has always been resentful of people saying, "It's so much better somewhere else."The survey made him "really happy."Barsky said the independent survey is the largest of its kind "as far as we know."To e-mail Kevin Post at The Press:KPost@pressofac.com
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