What Makes a Great Casino VIP Host?

I’d like to start off by saying that to be a great Host you need to understand the commercial value of a player without forgetting the human being behind the value!

Being a great Host is not a role or occupation that anyone can do. It requires a personality type: someone who is naturally comfortable being around people — generally they’ll be strangers initially; someone who can fit into every environment and every occasion; someone who can articulate well in various different situations; someone who has a certain dedication to building and establishing relationships, without being choosy!

I’ve worked with a number of different hosts over the years and many of them had different qualities or traits. Some were naturally good at dealing with people. Some were only really focused on the commercial side of a relationship. Some could talk the hind legs off a donkey! Some appeared to always be incredibly busy — on the phone, sending emails, adding bonuses and players being contacted from morning to night!

But — none of the things I’ve mentioned in isolation only makes somebody a great VIP Host. What is important to understand is that the role isn’t simply to “manage” the player’s account. A good VIP Host understands that they are managing a RELATIONSHIP. That in itself requires a very different set of skills.

The role isn’t simply to manage the player’s account. A good VIP Host understands that they are managing a relationship.

Master the art of listening

In my opinion a truly great VIP Host needs to master the art of knowing how to listen. Lots of people hear but there aren’t too many who genuinely listen. A player might mention something during an interaction or conversation that has absolutely nothing to do with gambling. The average host hears it and moves on. A truly great host pays attention and might make a note to follow up, or based on what was said, they might change the way they communicate with the player; they might recognise an opportunity to do something thoughtful for that player.

Those examples might just lead a player to think: this person actually remembers what I said, they’ve listened, paid attention and now they’re acting on what I’ve said.

An enquiring mind — not a sales script

A great Host needs to have an enquiring mind. You cannot understand someone if you’re doing all the talking — dominating every interaction. I’ve seen this so often in Host interactions with players: they start off already knowing what it is they want from the interaction. They’ll launch straight into an offer, a campaign message, expecting the player to do what the Host wants them to do. To me — that’s selling. The Host hasn’t had a meaningful conversation.

Read the situation

A great Host must have the ability to read a situation. Not every interaction needs to be the same, but I’ve often seen that VIP programmes behave as though they do. One player might want and enjoy regular conversation — about anything. Another player might hate unnecessary calls. Another might not want to chat at all — and would rather the Host just gets to the point and leaves them alone. A player might want to be invited to every event you hold, whereas another couldn’t think of anything worse.

Some players want constant recognition. Some want efficiency. Some want both — maybe not in equal measure. A great Host learns how to read and interpret these signals or subtle signs and adjust accordingly. A great host cannot use exactly the same personality, tone and communication style with every player. Having a warm, friendly and outgoing approach is a great quality and is important, but not every player wants that. There are times where a long conversation or call might be appropriate; sometimes a three-line WhatsApp message might be more appropriate. Knowing the difference is part of the skill.

I recall the seven-hour-long call to one of our massive whales back in the day. That was a true test of what I’ve referred to here. That player just wanted to vent and wanted someone to listen.

Take note — then use what you noted

A great Host should take note and remember. It’s all well and good taking notes and capturing certain information, but it’s how you use that detail that’s important. There’s absolutely no value in noting a player supports Liverpool, enjoys mountain biking and only prefers WhatsApp contact if the Host does absolutely nothing with that information. A good host knows how to take appropriate action with the information that’s been captured.

What’s equally important is knowing how and when to obtain information without overstepping the mark or being too intrusive. Respect boundaries and maintain professionalism.

Do what you say you’re going to do

A great Host does what he says he’s going to do. It sounds simple, but I often see a message being delivered to a player and then hardly ever being followed through — or only partially followed through — with the player having to follow up, sometimes on a frequent basis. What the Host is doing is either passing the buck or avoiding an uncomfortable discussion with the player. That does more damage than good. The end result becomes a trust problem.

The relationship is often built through very small promises that are kept consistently over time.

A great Host understands that the relationship is often built through very small promises that are kept consistently over time.

Handle the difficult conversation

A great Host knows how to handle a difficult conversation. Naturally it’s really great when everything is going well — the player is winning, no withdrawal or technical issues, no complaints, and everyone is happy. But the real test comes when something goes wrong and the Host has to at some point say no. This is where a truly great host sets themselves apart.

• Never become defensive or make promises to a player just to make them happy
• Never blame someone else or another department
• Never disappear because the conversation becomes too difficult or uncomfortable
• Stay involved, keep the communication going and manage the expectation

There will be times when you’ve got to admit you’ve done something wrong or failed to follow up. This is where being honest with your player plays a crucial role. Being honest doesn’t make you weak. In fact it often has the opposite effect — it can build trust. If you try and wriggle your way out of a situation by shifting blame or inventing a story, that’s where things can go wrong.

A great host must be prepared to take ownership. A player doesn’t care about who owns the issue. They care about the experience and the result.

Be commercially savvy

To be a great Host you need to be commercially savvy. It’s important to be very clear that VIP is a commercial function. A host needs to understand the numbers and they need to recognise and understand the value of a player. A great host needs to understand the definition of turnover, deposits, bonus spend, margin, the difference between GGR and NGR, bonus spend to GGR/NGR, player days and any other metrics used by the business.

I’ve conducted many interviews with prospective VIP Hosts who have great personalities and are confident but don’t have a clue about the metrics and definitions. If you don’t understand the metrics — how are you going to understand your KPIs, and how are you going to recognise subtle changes in player activity and behaviour? A great Host needs to have commercial instinct.

Loud is not the same as trusted

Big personalities, or being the loudest person in the room, don’t necessarily make the best communicator. The Host with the biggest portfolio value in a particular month isn’t automatically the person building the strongest relationships. Sometimes quieter people are really good listeners. Sometimes the Host who doesn’t dominate every conversation is the person a player trusts most.

This doesn’t mean activity pressure with every conversation or interaction. Avoid upselling with every single interaction. A VIP player will see through this — and it comes across as desperation. Your interactions are no longer genuine or authentic. If every interaction contains pressure to deposit — that’s a problem.

I’ve seen instances where the VIP teams are under so much pressure to deliver, where Senior Management expects consistent activity from every player, all the time. What happens then is that the Hosts become fixated on targets and they start losing the relationship with the player. I understand that targets are important, but one of the biggest mistakes operators make is pushing so hard for the short-term commercial result that the Host starts damaging the relationship they’re supposed to be nurturing and protecting.

A great Host can see the commercial opportunity with a player without making the player feel like the commercial opportunity.

Know the boundaries — including responsible gaming

There’s another vitally important aspect that a great Host must be aware of, and that’s knowing their boundaries. Being close to a player doesn’t mean becoming unprofessional. It’s important to be warm, to be genuine and caring. Laugh with your players, build considerable trust — but understand that there’s a fine line that must never be crossed.

This moves into another area of vital importance — the Responsible Gaming obligation. Doing the right thing commercially and professionally means NOT to push. It might mean having to make a tough decision, move away from the immediate target, and potentially involve the Responsible Gaming team.

A VIP host’s responsibility is not to encourage maximum play. It is to manage the customer relationship professionally, responsibly and sustainably — including when the professional response is to stop pushing.

Great hosts need coaching, not only bigger targets

To build a team of great Hosts requires strong leadership, guidance and coaching. I’ve seen Hosts who needed help becoming less transactional. I’ve seen people who were brilliant communicators but poor at administration and follow-through. I’ve seen Hosts who knew the numbers exceptionally well but struggled with empathy. I’ve seen very personable people who avoided difficult conversations. I’ve seen Account Managers become too dependent on bonuses because bonuses were the easiest tool available to them. I’ve also seen Hosts improve enormously when somebody actually coached them instead of simply telling them to hit a bigger number next month. And that’s an important point.

Operators expect a team of exceptional hosts delivering consistently high results — but at the same time create an environment that makes exceptional hosting incredibly difficult. I’ve seen this where Host portfolios become unmanageable; KPIs are unrealistic and only about immediate revenue; CRM campaigns are misguided or badly timed; one-to-one management discussions are only about “the numbers” and not the relationships. As a result, Hosts are often not given enough authority or autonomy to make or solve reasonable problems and everything then becomes an escalation. What happens then is the quality of the relationship is affected and becomes secondary.

The test

At the end of the day, if you removed the bonus from player interactions and conversations, would the player still have a reason to stay and to want to hear from their VIP Host? If the answer is yes — then maybe you’ve got a great Host.