Identifying VIPs and Bad Actors: Modern Measures for Enhanced Security & Customer Experience
Customer safety and satisfaction can shape your business’s success and impact its reputation. Gaining a competitive edge in the hospitality, events or entertainment industry means using cutting-edge solutions to ensure positive experiences and enhance security.
So, what’s the best way to do all of this? By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify VIPs and known bad actors before they walk through the door.
Common Security Tactics
The reality is that, historically, “tried-and-true” methods have been manual. Hotels and casinos — plus other major venues — usually have either a physical book of photos or a digital database of perpetrators who have previously caused problems. Pairing that with person-to-person recognition, you have to depend on human beings — such as security personnel on your team — to see these individuals come back. And they usually will because these venues are static, and perpetrators live in the area.
This is what creates an opportunity for security and surveillance technologies. In today’s fast-paced and technology-driven society, manual tactics don’t cut it. We can only accurately identify a fraction of what technologies such as AI and facial recognition can — with some technologies equipped to match against a database of millions in an instant and send out an alert in seconds — so the right tools help your operation do more to identify, approach, eject and even arrest bad actors.
How AI Can Improve Security for Guests and Staff
Old-school techniques of having a book or an old database of pixelated photos do your operation a disservice. Instead, technology can assist in building a new database of high-quality photos.
Facial recognition technology uses data available from the current security case management incident tracking tool to build its initial database and then grows that database as it identifies people returning regularly, such as employees and loyalty members. When a particular individual returns, AI and facial recognition algorithms work in concert to alert relevant parties across devices, noting who they are, what they look like and where they've just reentered your property.
Controlling the perimeter and entrances is often a top priority. License plate recognition enables you to catch them earlier by correlating vehicles to banned patrons. Using cameras mounted strategically to capture details, record license plate information for everyone coming and going from your venue. During repeat visits, AI generates system alerts when a bad actor’s vehicle enters your parking lot or garage, sending push notifications to the right team members to take action before they enter the property.
How AI Provides Opportunities To Improve Customer Experience
One measure that’s central to customer experience is ID scanning. This two-pronged approach is designed to keep out bad actors and help you focus on the most important people. As they enter, ask patrons for their ID and scan it into the system. By doing so, you can match the ID photo to the cardholder in front of you to make sure it's the same person or even integrate with VIP records and alert marketing and player development departments.
With measures in place to identify patrons at the door, your operation can be better positioned to run smoothly and grow its profits. Whether this means streamlining patron traffic or going the extra mile to do more for VIPs, AI enhances the customer experience.
The Importance of Safety and Customer Experience
Whether your business is a casino, hotel or combination resort, your primary objective is to please customers. However, if something goes wrong in your venue — from theft to money laundering and everything in between — your reputation could take a hit.
Think about the casino floor: Retirees spend their leisure time and extra income at the casino, but they don't want to go somewhere that's dangerous. If a patron has their purse stolen or a hostile worker disrupts the business, these customers will likely leave and spread negative reviews about your venue.
Reputational harm can be detrimental to the business. It's imperative to leverage technology to foster a secure, safe and open environment that deters violence, crime and theft.
Technology Expands Security Capabilities
When manual methods aren’t doing enough to protect your customers or your venue, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. AI and facial recognition technologies can lend a hand in hotels, casinos and major venues where human recognition is inadequate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Swanger is currently the chief safety & security officer at eConnect. After starting in the casino industry at Barona Valley Ranch in 2001, he has helped hundreds of gaming properties deploy technology solutions that helped the operation automate processes, become more efficient and increase profitability. Before eConnect, Chris worked with Agilysys, Shooter Detection Systems and OfferCraft. Chris is an entrepreneur and has successfully started and sold multiple technology companies. Prior to his gaming career, Chris was a decorated chef with a multitude of awards for culinary excellence. He currently resides in Florida with his wife and two kids.