Las Vegas resorts add poolside mobile ordering

The pool area of resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are massive. The MGM Grand, for instance, has a 6.5-acre pool complex, while the newly opened Resorts World Las Vegas is not far behind with five acres of space for its nine pools. For guests and servers alike, traditional food service is an arduous task. Guests first have to wait for a server to reach their section and notice the frantic hand-waving coming from their chairs. Servers have to weave their way through the maze of loungers and people to get to the correct customer—all with a tray of drinks and/or food in their hands.

MGM Resorts International, the parent company of MGM Grand and 12 other resorts along the Strip, and Resorts World Las Vegas have made it easier to order food and beverage by digitizing the experience.

MGM was the first company to launch an in-seat poolside mobile ordering system in Vegas, where guests scan a QR code, which opens a mobile ordering platform.

Dominique Bertolone, MGM Resorts’ SVP of food & beverage strategy, explained that mobile ordering started at the pool area because “we felt that there was a big opportunity,” adding, “Pools in Las Vegas are pretty big; sometimes more than 1,000 chairs. In order to provide the right guest experience, we wanted to give our guests the choice to order from a server or to mobile order. We wanted to put the power in their hands so they can choose to order as they see fit.”

The platform is powered by Agilysys, he noted, since all of MGM’s properties used Agilysys’ point-of-sale (POS) system. “The mobile ordering platform is fully integrated with our POS system,” he added. “When an order is placed, it prints automatically back-of-house.”

Once the QR code is scanned, ordering F&B is easy. “The menu will come up and on the screen will be pictures of all the food and beverages that we are offering,” said Bertolone. “You just click on the food or beverage and place your order directly. It will prompt you to input your chair number, and either use your credit card or charge it to your room.”

Each chair now has a colorful numbered tag so that the server can bring the order to the correct guest. “Each server also has a map of the pool area, and we like to break it down into six to eight different quadrants,” said the MGM executive. “We put all the chairs in numbered order, so as soon as the servers receive an order and bring it to the location, they know exactly where to go.”

The program was first piloted at The Mirage Hotel & Casino, and was integrated at the rest of the Strip properties in waves. So far, the feedback has been positive from guests and employees alike.

“We get a lot of good feedback because some guests would like to see the server first to get a description of what they are ordering, but then order more via mobile ordering,” said Bertolone. “Also, the timeliness of execution has been something that has been really well received by our guests—you don’t have to wait for anyone; you can place your order as you sit down. What has been good for the employees is that, since everything is delivered much faster, they will get rewarded [with a better tip]. It ends up being a win-win for both parties.”

He added that the company is planning on implementing mobile ordering outside of Las Vegas at Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS, and Borgata in Atlantic City, NJ.

Resorts World Las Vegas has also implemented mobile ordering through a first-ever partnership with online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform Grubhub. Through On the Fly at Resorts World powered by Grubhub, hotel guests can order and charge the cost to their room or credit card from the resort’s 40 F&B concepts and select retail shops for pickup or delivery to either the pool complex or to their guestrooms.

“At Resorts World Las Vegas, we’re always trying to provide guests with first-of-its-kind experiences at the resort,” said Scott Sibella, president, Resorts World Las Vegas. “Grubhub has mastered the third-party delivery service and, with their new technology, we believe they are the perfect partner. We are proud to be the first resort to integrate this technology and offer our guests a convenient mobile-ordering solution for a variety of food, beverage and retail items across the entire property.”

Guests can either access the platform through the Grubhub app or by scanning Grubhub QR codes throughout the property, Sibella noted, adding, “The app will display a list of the venues with imagery, and the menu is a dish list with descriptions.”

For those guests who plan on ordering food to their guestroom, upon check-in, a text message will be sent with a link to connect their guest folio to their Grubhub account to allow room charging. For pool deliveries, “guests will be able to pick up their order from a secure QR code-activated restaurant locker, which features touchless opening,” Sibella said.