Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/49393
STEVE WYNN about to undergo its own transformation, the baccarat rooms recently underwent a redesign, adding elements to imbue a feeling of both light and luxury. Located near Wynn's south side, which is "Our employees are the front lines of our customer experiences, and without a positive customer experience—no matter what condition the economy is in—our future would be in question." breaking success of his pair of Macau resorts allowed him to inject funds into another area vital to his Las Vegas properties. "We also gave our non-union employees cost-of-living increases," Wynn notes. "That was equally important to me, because our employees are the front lines of our customer experiences, and without a positive customer experience— no matter what condition the economy is in—our future would be in question. My job as a CEO is to ensure that my capital structure is such that I can keep investing in Las Vegas, and make no mistake: Investing and believing in Las Vegas is fundamental to this company." THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT Of course, those bearish Las Vegas days of 2009 seem to be a distant and ideally forgettable memory, with tourism numbers expected to hit 38.3 million visitors in 2011 (a steady increase from 36.4 and 37.3 million 26 WYNN in 2009 and 2010, respectively, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority). Emerging unscathed at the other end of that bumpy road, Wynn says, only reinforced the philosophy he believes is key to any successful brand. "Every member of the company accepts the responsibility of deciding who we are," he says. "We've got one speed: We're on or we're off. We don't get low, medium, or high; we don't have common or ritzy, plain or VIP. The whole place has to run at VIP standards. And that's expensive. It starts with the place being immaculately clean, because before we get fancy, let's stay clean. No matter how bad the economy gets, Wynn still has to look amazing. So I've always known that you don't mess around with aspects like porters or housekeeping, because there's a staffing level below which we sur- render our identity. And in my opinion, when you do that, I'm not sure you get to come back from that. After all, it's hard to get the brand, but it's very easy to lose it."