A:
[Editor's Note: An executive host who works at a casino in the Pacific Time Zone, but not in Las Vegas, and obviously wishes to remain anonymous sent the following in response to our Question of the Day last month about how and when to divorce your casino host.)
I'm an executive host at a property that dominates its market, but is not located in Las Vegas. That said, I deal with a lot of hosts there and am more than familiar with the complaint brought forth in the QoD. I'd like to offer a couple of tips on going about finding a new host.
First, as Jean said, know the structure. LinkedIn is a fabulous resource for this. All hosts work in marketing under the arm of player development. Find someone with a player-development title at your casino and you've likely found your host's direct supervisor.
Second, build a relationship with your preferred host. Make sure the feeling is mutual. At the same time, don't overplay your hand. Hosts talk to one another incessantly. If you've overplayed your hand, you might find your efforts to gain a new host sabotaged, because maybe your preferred host doesn't want anything to do with you either!
In short, don't tell a host who's not coded to you that you would like him/her to be your host. Anytime someone makes that request of me, I tell them I'm flattered by the request, but I give them the name and number of my boss. That's a request that needs to be made through him, not me. Remember, you may think your host is aloof and irresponsible, but he might also be the most popular member of the host team. Don't ever publicly undercut your current host, regardless of how inept s/he is.
If you're a random addition to your host's roster of coded players, the process should be seamless. Address the responsible party, either in person or via email, list your grievances with as much honesty and specificity as possible, and suggest a replacement. That last part is key. You just can't say, "My host stinks. Please get me a new one."
And contrary to what Jean said, your action probably isn't worth that much to the host's compensation package. You're likely just responsible for a few thousand dollars of a quarterly financial goal that's in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. If your impact to the goal is much greater than that, it's even more likely that your request for a new host will be granted, and you'll be assigned the top dog on property.
Worried about future encounters with your previous host? A host who's a true pro won't hold it against you. The best hosts know that player development isn't a one-size-fits-all model, and that some people are just better matches with certain hosts. The bitter ones who are also bad at their job probably won't be around much longer anyway. Wait 'em out!
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