Case Study: MGM Resorts Cuts Call Center Search Times by 50%, Achieving 3x ROI with Knowledge Management Overhaul
Nowhere is the business mantra “the customer is king” more true than in the hospitality sector—and the customer experience continues to reign supreme for leaders across the industry. How staff interact with guests directly influences satisfaction, loyalty, and reviews, ultimately defining the establishment’s overall reputation –– the key defining factor in the competitive hospitality industry. Not only are guests who enjoy their experience more likely to return and make the venue their go-to choice, but satisfied guests also typically spend on upgrades, amenities, and additional services, increasing revenue per guest, among other key business metrics.
Hotels must attract, delight, and retain guests, and every staff member’s ability to deliver a positive experience underlines how a brand drives long-term success and revenue. But, international hospitality chains face a real challenge, as knowledge and resources can become disparate and siloed. This lack of a cohesive knowledge management (KM) strategy has proven detrimental to a hotel’s customer service teams, causing the guest experience to suffer significantly.
MGM Resorts––the internationally renowned hospitality brand––faced these challenges. With its proprietary knowledge spread across its properties without a single source of truth, customer service (CS) teams battled a lack of consistency every day, creating inefficiencies that impacted guest satisfaction—and not in the plus column.
MGM operates 12 distinct properties with diverse experiences in dining, entertainment, and guest services. While each property’s CS team strives to uphold the brand’s commitment to excellence, the complexity in offerings and varying policies across locations created substantial challenges for call center agents to deliver accurate information in every interaction. Frequent delays and multiple calls to answer or resolve queries not only added pressure on staff, but customers did not receive the top-notch experience MGM prides itself on delivering.
Given the scale of MGM’s operations and the breadth of resources across properties, only a digital transformation could unify and streamline its knowledge assets. The brand’s existing SharePoint system limited MGM’s ability to manage and leverage knowledge effectively and efficiently. They struggled with a system that had restricted search capabilities, lacked robust integrations outside the platform, was challenging for workflow management, and the limited user analytics went unused. As a result, call center agents could not access and apply the correct information quickly, impacting their ability to deliver consistent, high-quality service.
MGM’s leadership recognized that to provide a consistently exceptional guest experience across its global portfolio, they needed a transformative solution to unify and streamline their knowledge assets. By adopting Bloomfire, MGM introduced a centralized, accessible platform that is the cornerstone of their strategy to elevate service quality and efficiency.
Bloomfire’s powerful search functionality and intuitive navigation system enabled agents to find information fast. By centralizing their vast trove of data into one accessible knowledge base, MGM created an on-demand, instant information operation allowing the agents to relay accurate info in real time–– without ever needing to place a caller on hold––ultimately reducing situations and escalations that required a supervisor. This strategic overhaul streamlined communications while enhancing the operational efficiency of the call centers.
MGM’s leadership team recognized the need for a comprehensive knowledge management solution capable of delivering exceptional service and scaling growth. The integration completely transformed the company’s approach to customer service, energized its agents, and reaped financial rewards in less than a year, including:
- 55% of MGM call center employees reported that accessing information in Bloomfire was effortless and significantly increased their efficiency.
- Frontline employees cut their average search time by 50%, reducing it from over an hour to under 30 minutes per shift.
- Efficiency gains achieved through this integration lightened employee workload and boosted morale, but also helped to increase engagement, ultimately protecting revenue streams and increasing customer lifetime value (a metric conveying the total net profit generated throughout a business’ relationship with a particular customer).
- After implementation, service quality saw a 55% improvement, with a 90% boost in the ability to share best practices and an 80% increase in consistency across teams.
- From a financial perspective, MGM achieved a 3x return on investment (ROI) within 12 months of adopting Bloomfire.
Overall, MGM’s improved productivity across their 800+ customer support agents marked a substantial enhancement in both customer satisfaction and operational performance.
“Bloomfire has become an essential tool that our entire team relies on and values—it’s absolutely vital to our workflow,” MGM Operations Manager Barry Keane said. “We’ve significantly smoothed our daily operations and boosted overall efficiency.”
MGM’s success underscores the importance of a scalable, AI-driven knowledge management platform for executives looking to elevate their customer service operations- especially those in the increasingly competitive hospitality space. When agents and staff have the correct information at their fingertips, they can focus their efforts on creating meaningful experiences that drive continued guest loyalty.