Academics
Gary Loveman: The Las Vegas Perspective
If you missed Gary Loveman: The Las Vegas Perspective, please click here to see the entire presentation in full. For this presentation, we recommend that you put your sound on its highest setting.
Gary Loveman, Chairman, President, and CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment, delivered an engaging, realistic, and highly pragmatic speech on hospitality operations during a “down” economy. He stressed that companies must not simply assume that their present operational philosophy will function at a lower scale; rather, they must reformulate their strategy altogether by operating with a new set of tools that stress efficiency and practicality while retaining a high value for guests. Efficiency is of the essence: in the past, efficiency could (and often was) sacrificed for the sake of growth; now, this is no longer possible. Loveman noted that those companies who were the most successful during good economic times will have the most trouble staying afloat as times get tough, as they often must make the most drastic changes to their operational strategy.
Loveman acknowledged the fact that changing the entire way a company thinks and operates is no small task. Managers often become defensive when told that they need to change their philosophy or undo what they had spent years trying to create. However, such changes are imperative. The company’s problems start with those at the top, who often have an unrealistic view of the condition of their company. He suggested that CEOs (“Chief Eternal Optimists”) live in an “extraordinary realm of nonsense,” as they hope to only convey how good conditions are, even if it is not the case. Instead, executives must acknowledge the need to make tough decisions by laying off employees, cutting managers’ salaries, undoing their own previous work, and changing the company’s focus. These sacrifices must, however, be balanced with the need to maintain a high level of guest satisfaction—the company should never cut back on the things that guests value the most. Guests’ money is dearer now than ever, and they expect to get more of an experience for their dollar.