Luxuria Lifestyle Spain talks to Paula Veiga Ortiz
Paula is a professional with 15 years of experience on the venue side, goal- and brand-awareness oriented, who coordinates different channels and business units. In charge of PR and relations, she leads all communication for the casino, both external and internal.
Paula is the Sales, Marketing and PR Manager of Casino Marbella.
LL: Welcome Paula, what’s it like to work for a casino? What does a typical day look like?
Working in a casino is something very special. There are no typical days; from our department, every day is different. We cover a variety of completely disparate tasks, from market analysis and trends to the organisation of cultural events or gastronomic days.
There is the analytical side, but we also have a great creative part in terms of creating campaigns and promotions for members, own and external events, attention to the needs of VIP clients, collaborations with other brands, and endless crazy ideas that go through our heads every day, which we adapt to our target to put into practice.
LL: How did you tackle COVID-19 restrictions in the past year? Did you go online with the casino?
The restrictions suffered during the pandemic affected us all, especially any night-time business, since for many months we had limited hours of activity. In this sense, the casino had to reinvent its ludic proposal, offering alternatives in the early hours of the afternoon to encourage client visits before the room closed.
Another part that was really affected was the closure of the restaurant during this period, since the service is only offered at night.
At the same time, we took this time as a moment of reflection to evaluate possible changes or improvements, and from there came new concepts such as our new Gastrobar.
In our case, we do not have an online game, nor is it one of the future projects of the brand.
However, we transferred all our communications to clients digitally, created entertainment campaigns on social networks, and tried to keep them informed and entertained during all this time.
LL: Is there a typical persona/avatar of a casino visitor?
Casino Marbella welcomes more than 120 nationalities a year. Talking about a specific “type” of visitor would be very complicated.
We receive visitors from all over the world, mainly from Northern Europe but also from the Middle East.
The casino’s client can have several profiles: of course, the player who decides to enjoy free time at the casino, but also the visitor looking for an exquisite restaurant and unique attention, or leisure alternatives (without gambling) by visiting our exhibitions, theme parties, workshops, or as the seasonal visitor for vacation time.
Within the variety of profiles, everyone comes together looking for an exclusive, elegant entertainment space with the best service.
LL: What is your Cirsa Winner Club about?
Cirsa Winner Club is our loyalty club: a club created by and for our most loyal customers. In it, you will find not only benefits and advantages of the game but also the chance to taste first-hand the novelties in restoration, invitations to external events, benefits in different hotels, or even the possibility of sharing these benefits when visiting any casino of the Cirsa Group at a national level.
We create unique experiences for our club members, collaborating with other brands on the Costa del Sol such as polo tournaments, golf tournaments, yacht rentals from Puerto Banús, concerts, or visiting the Ascari Circuit.
LL: You’ve started again with the Croupiers School of Marbella – please tell us more.
We have been carrying out these training cycles for more than 15 years. Each season, we alternate the theme, offering courses in Blackjack, American Roulette, or Poker. The course is free after passing an access test; after three months of training, they are gradually incorporated into the gaming tables of Casino Marbella.
This gives us the possibility, on one hand, to help training and the quality of employment in our locality, as well as creating a base of professionals ad hoc to our sector.
LL: Tell us more about your new Gastrobar and the chef.
With a long professional career since he was young, our Chef Augustín Román has been part of the team of great restaurants awarded Michelin Stars. He has continued his training, expanding his knowledge with nutrition and dietetics, signature pastries, chocolate, and even at El Celler de Can Roca, awarded as the best restaurant in the world in 2015.
Not only at the national level but also internationally, he has left his mark, taking part in the United Nations Catering in New York, Winzerstube Restaurant in Germany, or the Palacio de Vizcaya in Miami.
For more than 10 years, he has been in charge of the Casino Marbella Restaurant, where every year he surprises at the highest gastronomic level with the latest culinary trends.
Gone are the days of endless dinners. The pandemic showed us that now time takes on value; we look for immediacy while maintaining the best service with the best quality.
This is what the new concept of the Casino Marbella Restaurant proposes with its Gastrobar: same space and same team, which once again renews its offer, adapting to current trends.
The new Gastrobar menu offers you the opportunity to dine in a more casual way, but with the same quality and service as before: fresh and Mediterranean tapas, combining classics of our Spanish cuisine with a fusion of Hawaiian, Japanese, and Moroccan trends.
An offer designed to please all kinds of visitors, as Casino Marbella welcomes more than 120 different nationalities every year. And it is one of the few restaurants that offer “late dinner”, open every night until the early hours of the morning.
LL: How do you train your staff to engage with discerning and affluent VIPs and visitors?
In order to always offer exquisite service, all employees attend regular training in the field of customer service, team leadership, empathy, etc.
In addition, the staff is in continuous recycling with the new techniques of the sector, game novelties, and technological advances. Through different training courses, we give the entire team the opportunity to maintain an active professional progression.
LL: Are there new trends or developments you see for the near future?
Indeed, I am convinced that 2022 will bring us many surprises. After two years of lethargy, I think that in a certain way we have already learned to act and live with this new situation. From the casino, we are delighted that Hard Rock Hotel Marbella will open its doors very soon, as it is an international reference brand, and we hope to be able to collaborate by developing joint actions that add to the tourist offer in the area.
In addition, we are renovating part of our gaming room to offer a technological and avant-garde space with state-of-the-art products.
We are also working on the renovation of the Gastrobar dishes to introduce fresh novelties for this season and starting preparations to host the National Poker Championship of Spain, which one more year will make a stop in Marbella.
LL: How do you measure and improve the user experience of a casino?
This is one of the differentiating points of Casino Marbella compared to the competition. Not only do we offer a current and well-cared-for space, but the ratings and comments from users confirm that the main reason for visiting us is attention and service.
For our team, it is essential to have these values as the basis of any relationship with a client.
LL: What are your personal goals for 2022?
On a personal level, I always have in mind the goal of travelling more. Knowing and sharing cultures is, in addition to enriching at a particular level, essential for the development and evolution of a good marketing strategy, experiencing new trends first-hand and evaluating which of them could be transferred or adapted to our space.
LL: What’s your definition of luxury?
In my opinion, the concept of luxury has been transformed. Before, it had a positive connotation related to quality and comfort, something within the reach of few people, but also negative, since it was linked to exaggeration and ostentatiousness.
Today, the meaning of “luxury” is no longer necessarily something expensive destined only for an exclusive group of society. Society has changed the perception people have of luxury.
It is no longer exclusive to some social classes. Today, access to clean water or having the privilege of being with family can be considered more luxurious than owning a signature product.
For me, luxury is being the owner of your time: being able to enjoy your hobbies and free time whenever you want, beyond social status or renowned brands and services.
Time is what happens when you don’t realise it, and it is such a precious commodity that it cannot be recovered.
Contact
Edificio Hotel Andalucía Plaza, km 174, 29600 Puerto Banús, Málaga, Spain
T: +34 952 814 000
E: Information
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