Coming from a background that merges statistics with manufacturing (before entering gaming and hospitality), the Property President of Altira Macau and Mocha Clubs, Andy Choy, reveals a pragmatic approach to the future evolution of the ‘boutique’ hotel and the more mass market slot club, sharing with Business Daily how the group will weather the “transition from pure gaming to more diversified offerings”.
In particular, noting that the MSAR is “moving away from the VIP more towards the mass market,” Choy points out that Melco’s forte is in “accentuating the differences” between properties and “not the similarities”.
“We’re trying to make each property as different from the other as possible so that we can actually segment the market and so, as a customer, you’ve got your canonical property, the one you feel most at home in”.
Changes on the horizon
In particular, two areas of the property will be undergoing changes, some of which are already underway: food and beverage offerings and Mocha.
“We’re trying to dial stuff in […] we want to get back to some of our roots here at Altira with the F&B, with really trying to provide unique experiences,” he says, reflecting that the Altira itself “is Lawrence’s vision […] the original baby”.
“We talk about Tenmasa– it was his favourite restaurant,” notes Choy, explaining that the Japanese restaurant is the “only Tenmasa outside of Tokyo,” and how the group “have to […] tell that message to the marketplace” – that Tenmasa was the originator of Tempura – “which we haven’t [yet] done”.
To add to the property’s renown on the F&B side, Choy says he’s anxious to see another award join the property’s list.
“I hear we’re hopeful that next year [Aurora] will be awarded a Michelin star. We’re told secretly we would have gotten it this year but for a technicality with how long the chef has been here,” points out the property president.
This renewed focus on promoting its food and beverage offerings comes after last year saw a near-13 per cent drop in non-gaming revenues, year-on-year.
To turn this around, Choy aims to switch up campaigns from a past in which “we got a little bit too promotional based. We got a little bit too much of the buy-one-get-one, or couponing and so on, in an effort to try and get volume over uniqueness”.
However, within the group, certain promotional campaigns will be available to customers from other non-“boutique” properties, explaining that a month of “special culinary offerings” happening at Altira now will be open to the group’s Mocha Slots Club clients.
Hot Mocha
Additional changes coming on the slot side include Mocha moving back in to Altira, after rebranding for “a few years”.
However, a separate entrance will allow for customers seeking different experiences to access their desired zones without needing to interact.
“The idea is to have it on Level 2,” explains the president, “that will be directly accessible from a separate elevator bank, the restaurant elevators. At the same time, the area will also be accessible within the casino, so that if you’re in the casino and want to have a slot experience you can go in there. If you’re a slot experience and want to go at table games, you can pass through”. Choy points out that the location of the elevators will also play off the group’s F&B offerings.
Future plans
Although diversifying the gaming offering is part of the property’s strategy, the looming renewal of concessions does not play much part in the group’s plans, notes the president.
“Honestly, I don’t believe it does factor into our planning whatsoever. We try focusing on what’s right for the customer and do accordingly . . . [trusting] . . . that the Macau Government, in their wisdom, will appreciate that the company (Melco) has lived up to our commitments, that we’ve been a great partner with them, that we have brought a level of economic development that is appropriate, or not just appropriate but exceeds what they were looking for”.
In addition to the offerings of Altira, the other non-gaming offerings and corporate social responsibility that Melco itself has so far displayed lead Choy to opine that “we’re pretty confident that the government will see that and that we’ll get renewed”.
Whether the Altira, given its VIP focus to date, would be less exposed to a potential non-renewal of the concession, also does not factor in, believes Choy, stating that the group sticks to its mission.
“We’re just focusing on the customers, trying to super-service the customers, and provide good product for our customers. And be a good employer for the team members that are here,” he states.
Things to look forward to? The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and its opening up of the Hong Kong International Airport to the MSAR is a “potential game changer” and the Greater Bay Area and Hengqin Island as part of the merging Pearl River Delta, says the property president.
“The ability to connect everything together has the ability to dramatically increase the market,” he believes, noting: “I’m reminded at all times that . . . we are extremely lucky and privileged to be in this industry”.
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Background
Property President of Altira and Mocha Slots since January of this year, Andy Choy previously worked with Melco International Development Ltd. as Chief Gaming Officer since August 2014 on projects in China, the Philippines and Russia. His background includes time with Riviera Holdings Corporation as CEO and President, as well as with Las Vegas Sands Corp in both Las Vegas and Macau as Director and Senior Vice President, respectively. Mr. Choy is a graduate of Stanford University Graduate School of Business and the University of California, Berkeley.
