Casino design has long been based on the concept of using psychology to encourage patrons to gamble. Everything from colors to certain smells are carefully orchestrated. It's no coincidence that the hours seem to fly by when hitting the slot machines or craps table (ever notice how most casinos do not have a clock in sight?).
Many of these features can be applied to meetings. "Casinos are doing a great job of maximizing participation, and we can learn a lot from them," says St. Paul, MN-based Shawna Suckow, founder of SPIN: Senior Planners Industry Network and The Hive Network, SPIN's sister community for suppliers. "It doesn't have to be expensive, it just requires a little creativity when it comes to engaging our participants."
A room's decor, lighting, color, sound, temperature, and architecture affect indoor environments, as does the spatial layout that touches upon the way that seats, entrances, and exits are arranged. These are lessons that are taken to heart by designers of casinos, and which offer some strategic value to meeting planners. Here we offer a few pointers about creating an alluring, engaging space for attendees from those who understand the art and science better than most: the designers behind the casinos, hotels, and restaurants at gaming destinations.
Experiential Design
As casino designers strive to create the ultimate environment for visitors, they work to activate every one of a person's five senses. This means selecting the right colors and patterns to attract people's eyes and playing lively music, for example. "The understanding and focus on human behavior has taken over as the key driver for casino design. It is all about experiential design," says Las Vegas-based Beth Campbell, principal and managing director at Gensler, a leading global design firm. Among Gensler's recent Las Vegas-area projects are the SLS Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and The Axis at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. She adds that thinking through the psychological benefits of this experiential design in casinos is directly applicable to other lifestyle projects - including meeting spaces.
"Whether in retail, entertainment, hospitality, or convention centers, the goal of creating an environment that provides comfort and awareness with the right level of stimulation would spell success for any venue," says Campbell.
There are many parallels between the environment that is created in a casino and that of a meeting room, adds Pat McBride, CEO and founder of the Manchester Center, VT-based McBride Company, a strategic planning and design firm that specializes in innovative design concepts for hospitality, leisure, and entertainment-driven destinations. The company has designed Margaritaville casinos and restaurants in Las Vegas; Atlantic City; Bossier City, LA; and Pigeon Forge, TN.
McBride is leading the interior and overall design team for the new Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort that is being built along 450 feet of beachfront in Hollywood, FL, and is expected to open next year. The resort will have 350 rooms and suites, multiple food and beverage outlets, a world-class spa and fitness center, and more than 30,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.
"It's interesting that some of the factors we think of when considering the mood of a gamer, we are thinking of in the meeting environment," explains McBride. "It has to be technologically friendly, the air conditioning has to be right, the air has to be heavily filtered, lighting levels have to be easy to change."
These design strategies aim to give anyone walking into a Margaritaville a "change in attitude." One contributing factor is the coconut-scented air delivered by scent canons, says McBride, and the property's use of aromas is something meeting planners can learn from. "It's proven that scents affect behavior, alertness, and relaxation as much as, or more so, than color," says Suckow. At last year's SPINCon, held at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, Suckow and her team took steps to activate participants' olfactory senses during the opening general session (see sidebar). But she maintains that the industry could be doing more in this regard. "It's interesting how our industry hasn't done a lot of experimentation with engaging all five senses during our meetings," says Suckow. "In that sense, we're lagging behind casinos in truly engaging adults to keep them alert, happy, and ready to participate."
Gimme a Break
Studies have shown how important it is to include breaks during meetings to help attendees stay focused, and the design of the event space can assist in this goal. "It's sort of the thesis of what you are doing with gaming: You want to make it convenient for the person who is there gaming to get a drink or something to eat," says McBride. "The same goes for coffee breaks as there must be a setup where it's easy for the attendees to grab something."
Planners may want to consider tapping into elements used by casino designers when laying out pre-function spaces to offer something fun and energizing to attendees. Like casinos, meeting and pre-meeting areas should have high-definition A/V systems, "not roll-down screens from the 70s," and should be destination appropriate, according to McBride. "If it is being held in the Rocky Mountains, create that environment in the room. If it's in South Florida, create the tropics in the meeting room," says McBride. "This is exactly what Margaritaville does. While delivering a comfortable, functional space, it also provides an environment that 'hints' at the tropical atmosphere of the islands."
Research shows that color can influence one's behavior - red is exciting, blue is soothing, and so on. Casino designers certainly know this, and meeting planners should capitalize on the power of light and color to influence the energy of a meeting room as well.
One feature of many casinos that not not find its way into meeting rooms is its psychedelic patterned carpets. "The carpets are so strange looking because in addition to hiding stains, they attempt to create energy," says McBride. "Meeting room carpets will probably stay safe and comfortable." But planners can consider other room-design elements, such as artwork on the walls or centerpieces on the tables that can offer visuals that offer some of the energizing power of casino carpets. And even the carpets can probably use a little added design excitement.
"Introducing a hipper carpet scheme to a conference certainly adds a punch in the arm to the meeting," says Matthew Goodman, a certified interior designer based in the New York area, who has worked in many casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
Music to Attendees' Ears
Music has the capacity to affect individuals' perceptions of a particular environment as well, says Dr. Mark Griffiths, a chartered psychologist, professor of gambling studies at the Nottingham Trent University, and director of the International Gaming Research Unit, based in Nottingham, England. Take slot machines: Many now have musical interludes.
Likewise, sound can be an effective tool for meetings. Music can relax, enliven, or inspire. "Playing music before a meeting during the initial gathering can set a great tone," says Goodman. For example, before lectures on visual merchandising and store design at the New York Now trade show, Chicago Gift Show, and California Gift Show, Goodman pumped in invigorating music like Michael Jackson or ethereal tunes like Enya, depending on the mood he was trying to create. "At the huge trade shows in Europe, the exhibition halls play music in their corridors throughout the day, generated from a live DJ. This inspired me to play music in the lobbies of our U.S. meetings and trade shows during show hours as well."
Adding music to a meeting is a simple but often-forgotten tactic, according to Suckow. "How many industry events have we all gone to where there's not even music playing?" she says. "We arrive and depart to the sounds of people chatting, we stretch after a long session, and quietly shuffle to the coffee station, bleary-eyed and full-brained."
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