Macau resorts are placing their bets on butlers in a bid to keep guests coming back
Butlers from Macau's resorts are being sent to special training academies to help improve service standards
It’s hard to stand out these days in Macau, especially if you’re one of an ever-increasing number of resorts staging grand openings every other month. Billions have been spent trying to lure visitors to choose one glittering resort over the next. But is it working? What is it that will keep visitors returning time and again?
Opinion is shifting on how to best win customers. Now it’s not so much about how many gaming tables or opulent hotel suites you can offer, but the standard of service you can provide.
“With all these new resorts they need to separate themselves from the herd,” says Christopher Noble, director of training at The International Butler Academy in China. “Good service will ultimately set them apart from others. I can play baccarat anywhere I want, it doesn’t matter where I go, but if the service is really good then that’s the clincher.”
Founded in The Netherlands, The International Butler Academy trains potential butlers at the academy’s Chinese school in Chengdu, Sichuan province. It opened in July 2014 to cater to the “huge increase” in the super-rich on the mainland, many of whom yearn for royalty-standard service.