How AI can be used to enhance loyalty programs

Since the Cosmopolitan at Las Vegas introduced its virtual concierge chatbot in January 2017, more than 20,000 guests have interacted with her sassy persona dubbed “Rose” for everything from requests for more towels or restaurant recommendations to more playful interactions such as a game of “Would You Rather.”

The hotel says the interactions are driving greater satisfaction for guests – those who have used the chatbot rank their stay at least an 8.8, while those who do not give an average ranking of 7.

Now the Cosmopolitan is making Rose even smarter by updating it with an artificial intelligence-powered platform that uses natural language processing to understand the user’s context and sentiment.

“Now Rose can understand the difference between ‘bring my bag’ and ‘store my bags,’ whereas before all Rose would notice is ‘bags’ and then she would serve the customer back up options,” says Mamie Peers, the Cosmopolitan’s vice president of digital marketing. 

But what Peers is most excited about are the opportunities the AI now creates to provide an enhanced, personalized experience that goes beyond transactional interactions, especially for members of its Identity loyalty program.

“What we are able to do now which is unique to us and new to the casino industry is she’ll be the first bot to individually serve casino customers and loyalty customers,” Peers says.

A new API will link the chatbot’s “brains” to all of the property’s systems – those that run the casino, the spa, the property management, the loyalty program and more.

By accessing data via that API, Rose will be able to interact with guests on a more personal level, such as telling them how many loyalty points they have or to prioritize a platinum member’s request for reservations at the popular STK restaurant. The chatbot will “know” the guest much better and get smarter with each interaction.

“It’s a really frictionless way to get the personalized service that a lot of travelers are used to getting from an app, and now you have it from SMS,” she says.

The AI is also enabling sentiment-analysis for guests’ queries in the chatbot. If a guest seems upset, the system can immediately route them to the proper department.

“For a hotel with 5,000 employees, you can imagine there are many different departments that serve very specific needs, so it’s important you route to the right team and that there’s an immediate response to that guest that needs our attention,” Peers says.

Additional updates to the system include the integration of the chatbot into a new web-based interface.

One thing that is not changing about Rose is her quick-witted, slightly mischievous personality. Peers says it was carefully crafted to align with the property’s persona and is spurring user engagement - 69% of the guests that use Rose text her three or more times during their stay.

“As we move into a voice-based world, and as we are moving into channels that are more conversational, I think we need to ensure the digital channels are not just personal to the customer, but they are reflective of the brand and who you aim to be as a company … and that you spend time on your tone of voice and your style of interaction,” she says.

“Any AI-based tech can get you your information, more towels, your toothbrush, but only the Cosmopolitan can have Rose.”