Putting on the Ritz for Asia’s gamblers

Roger Marris, Chief Executive Officer of The Ritz Club, sited within the legendary Ritz Hotel in London’s Mayfair district, has overseen a radical change in the casino’s focus and outlook to attract customers from Asia. Judging by the results, it’s a strategy that has achieved significant success.

The Ritz Club doesn’t cater for the mass-market grind action-style players. What he and his team have carefully engineered is a mixture of games, services and other offerings to meet the needs of select, and very high-end, Chinese and other Asian players.

For years the club was an important destination for clients from the Middle East. It still is, but since 2013 in particular, it has instituted changes to meet the needs of Asia-based clients.

Marris breaks down the numbers of people now playing in the VIP area to show how the balance has shifted geographically: “In terms of volume I would say that 60 percent are Asian, 30 percent - 35 percent are from the Middle East, and the remaining 5-10 percent from the rest of world.

“In terms of the Asian clients, 40 percent are from China, 40 percent from Malaysia and the rest of the region, notably Indonesia make up the remainder,” he adds.

Asia’s economic boom, and China’s in particular, provides the rationale for why players from the region started to visit The Ritz Club. But Marris has overseen a savvy and well-thought-out plan to ensure that those at the high end keep coming back to Mayfair.

“I started my second spell at The Ritz Club in 2011 when I was appointed chief executive. At that time I think the business had come to a crossroads. It had come to a point where we had to really understand what the strategy was, and where we were going, as we moved forward.

“We quickly identified what was happening in the global gaming industry, then looked at what was happening at the other Mayfair clubs in London. We realized two things. Firstly, it was very important to keep our current base of VIPs from the Middle East - and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that, We started as a Middle East club and we’re still a Middle East club.

Roger Marris, Chief Executive Officer of The Ritz Club

“But we felt that our VIPs should reflect the wealth that was coming to the UK, and in particular into London, and at that time - this was Asian.”

Marris has been a Hong Kong resident and his time in the SAR not only polished his people skills, but gave him a front-row seat to witness the changes in the region and the impact on the gaming business internationally.

“It’s interesting when you visit all these countries today, and see how the level of sophistication and wealth has increased. When I lived in Hong Kong some ten years ago, it was a very different place.

Coming back to his theme about what attracts Chinese gamers to the U.K.’s capital Marris explains: “First of all London is a key destination. It’s still probably the most interesting city in the world and it’s certainly the most diverse. I’ve lived in New York and in Hong Kong and I love both those cities. But I think London itself is a destination that’s exciting. It has some of the best restaurants in the world that cater for every possible taste and first class museums and attractions.  Crucially the Asian players visit London to taste the culture, savour the history and of course indulge in the fabulous shopping!

“Secondly, the education system that is available in the UK is an important factor.  Parents send their children here to attend the country’s most elite schools and universities. And I would say the third reason is Premier League football.”

He says that the Premier League has become a global must-see for visitors to the U.K. in the same way as tourist attractions like the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and shopping in London’s West End. The Ritz Club offers exclusive access to these attractions as part of its unique concierge offering to VIP players.

 But of course, world-class attractions on their own aren’t going to bring VIP gamers into The Ritz Club. For Marris, that’s down to a multi-layered strategy that enhances the customer experience in terms of service and quality and superb efforts from the staff as well as the Club’s unique relationship with the iconic Ritz Hotel.  

“In my mind the most impressive part about this business, are the people. The staff in the club and hotel are brilliant. The current owners have owned the casino for 18 years and when we marked that anniversary, I found out 30-40 percent of my staff had been there the whole time.

One of Marris’ innovations to attract Asian players was to make The Ritz Club a 24-hour operation from 2013. The style of games has also changed.  While roulette is the first choice for Middle Eastern players, baccarat is the favoured game for the Chinese, so the club added more baccarat tables, introduced new games, services and offerings that Asian players prefer.  Now 60 percent of the game play at the club is baccarat.

“The Club is home away from home for our members, somewhere where they can relax and avail of the familiar facilities, with people who are attuned to their preferences.  We are a Ritz family and all of our members know all our staff and we are on first name basis with them.  They call us – they might want us to go and pick up their kids from school, they might want to be met and picked up from their private jets – it’s that sort of relationship.”

Discretion abounds at The Ritz Club and there is a even a secret door that connects the iconic hotel with the facilities of the Club.

“It means that our players don’t have to leave the building. Many people don’t know there is a casino downstairs, so the high-end VIPs don’t get bothered.  They are left alone.  We understand the comfort and surroundings that our top VIP customers want to be in and we want to give them that environment,” concludes Roger.