For this answer, Jean Scott went to the source. Here's her report.
Over the 21 years I've been gambling in casinos, I've gathered a lot of information on this subject. Still, I needed to do some research to be sure I was up to date, especially after all the recent casino mergers. Thanks to some help from several of my host friends, here's a summary of what I now know.
A few independent hosts, such as Steve Cyr, the main character in Deke Castleman's book Whale Hunt, freelance, steering mostly (but not always) high rollers to one or more casinos with which they have a contract or a working arrangement. They’re not paid a salary but earn a commission from the casino, usually based on the losses of the players they bring in, but sometimes based on their overall play (this is known as the "theoretical").
However, most casino hosts are salaried employees. Some companies don't pay hosts any bonuses, commissions, percentages, or incentives above their regular salary. However, many do, usually quarterly or annually. Where there are bonuses paid, what they’re based on can vary considerably. Usually, they're given out individually and are dependent on the amount of play and/or the number of room nights of the customers who are "coded" to one host. Sometimes, the host bonuses are based on the losses of their customers. A few companies work more on the team concept, and host bonuses are based on the success of the whole player-representative department in reaching corporate goals.
As for a host's customer playing at different casinos owned by the same company, you probably get a little tired of me answering questions about casinos with, "Well, it varies." The truth is, there's so little that's the same in every casino! And if you think, given all the mergers in the last few years, that policies at all the casinos under one company umbrella should be fairly standardized, this is definitely not the case. Many of the practices and policies of individual casinos before the mergers remain in place and the hosts I spoke to say it might be many years before any sort of standardization is achieved. Furthermore, they all agree that there will always be a place for some individualized programs in each casino within a group.
That being the case, I can tell you some of the policies on crediting hosts for play at different properties. Within any one company, and even in any one casino, some hosts can only book you into their particular casino, while other hosts can book you into any property owned by their company. Who gets the credit for the booking depends. Sometimes it's the host doing the booking, wherever it is. Sometimes hosts at both casinos get credit. But I have one host who gets no credit for booking me into another property within the same company. She has to refer me to a host in that casino, who then gets the credit. My host only gets credit for my play in her casino.
And to complicate the issue, some casino companies have branch offices, with hosts there who can book and get credit for any player he or she steers to any property in the district or perhaps to anywhere in their company.
Frankly, these days I'm having difficulty knowing how to best show my loyalty to a host. It's like playing a game where I often don't know the rules and, even if I do at any given time, they keep changing. But I never forget the magic word: "ask."
I merely question a host as to how I can be sure he or she gets credit for my visits and my play. Even when I get a mailed invitation from another department, such as marketing, I always contact my host at that property to find out if there's some way for him or her to get credit if I accept the offer. I find that it's almost always to your host's advantage if you reserve a room or accept an offer through him or her. And even if it isn’t, just the thought that you’re trying to be loyal to your host can go a long way toward showing your appreciation.
