Business Commons^™

Strategic Sourcing For A Competitive Advantage In The Hotel Industry, Debbie J. Pattni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In order to remain competitive in an intensely competitive business environment, many companies have resorted to cost-cutting, lay-offs, restructuring, and increased productivity measures to manage expenses and to increase profits. Senior executives in organizations have realized that on average, 50% or more of an organization’s operating budget is spent on purchased goods and services. Therefore, the decisions made by purchasing professionals can help to determine the financial viability of the organization (Ball, 2005). Firms can increase the so-called “bottom line” by either increasing revenues or by decreasing costs. Under economic conditions of strong competition and uncertainty, it is often difficult …

Hotel Employee Morale During Periods Of Low Occupancy, Nicholas J. Thomas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the Monterey County Chamber of Commerce, each year an estimated 3 million tourists, who spend nearly $2 billion and create 36,600 jobs, visit the Monterey Peninsula in California (Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, 2000). Unfortunately, this area suffers from hospitality industry-wide low occupancy from late fall until early spring, mainly due to the cooler, rainy weather (Boerner, 2004). During these periods of low occupancy, I believe that there is a challenge in maintaining employee morale. The impetus of this research is my belief that there is a correlation between an increase or decrease in employee morale and the …

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong Training Academy: Achieving Business Results, Vida W. Chow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to identify the essential elements, both tangible and intangible, of establishing a training academy at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong in order to achieve business objectives in a rapidly changing and competitive global environment in the hospitality industry. With the phenomenal growth of the tourism industry in Hong Kong, Macau, and the neighboring area in China, there is a growing competition in acquiring, retaining, and developing talents in the labor market. Having a well-established training academy is not only critical in consistently delivering the brand promises to the external customers, it is also fundamental …

A Day In The Life Of A Casino Host, Chu-Huan Liu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Casinos usually hire junket representatives and casino hosts to act as a liaison between casino marketing departments and proven high-end guests. Junket representatives are usually independent agents who bring players into a particular casino; in return, they are compensated with commission by that casino. If these players do not spend enough time and money in playing, the casino simply loses interest in that representative. Casino hosts are in-house marketing employees who are fully responsible for retaining the existing good patrons and to bring in potential new guests (Makens & Bowen, 1994).

The Hiring Of Wynn Las Vegas, Robert E. Murray Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to examine the various human resource processes and systems that were established by Wynn Las Vegas. With a hiring of this magnitude the human resource team at Wynn faced many unique challenges. This study records these difficulties and also the decisions that were made that allowed Wynn to overcome these obstacles. Through the examination of the Wynn Las Vegas process this study will also give other employers who are considering doing a large scale mass hiring some ideas on what they should expect regarding on line hiring. It will also show how other executives …

Determinants Of Repeat Visitation For Las Vegas “Locals” Casinos, David D. Ross

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The proliferation of gaming is unprecedented. As many states look to gaming as a source of revenue for a poor fiscal policy, this research becomes more valuable. Many people fail to make the correlation between these new jurisdictions, Tribal or Indian gaming opportunities, and the “locals” market. The argument is, not many people are traveling to Barona or Harrah’s Rincon outside of San Diego, California for their vacation from New York City. Therefore, these primary markets are considered to be more localized. Localized markets could be referred to as geographic segmentation as opposed to other segmentation strategies. The strengths of …

Charitable Gambling In Nevada, J. Thomas Rainwater

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is an exploratory study about charitable gambling in Nevada. In the 1990 General Election, the voters of Nevada passed Question 2, which amended the Nevada State Constitution to allow lotteries to be operated by charitable organizations for fundraising purposes.1 Up to this point in time, lotteries of all kinds were banned by the Nevada Constitution since its passage in 1864, during Nevada’s first legislative session. Following the 1990 General Election, the Nevada Legislature approved Assembly Bill (A.B.) 449 in 1991 which enacted by statute the parameters for operating a charitable lottery. The primary forms of charitable gambling in Nevada …

Use Of Call Monitoring To Enhance Hotel Service Quality, Jae-Yoon Rim

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Call monitoring has been employed by both the manufacturing and service industries for the purpose of improving their service quality (Dilauro & Lubowsky, 1998; Fleischer, 2003; Fleischer & O’Herron, 2004; Miciak & Desmarais, 2001; Spencer, 2005). The ultimate goal behind the efforts to improve service quality is to enhance the firm’s business practices by increasing customer satisfaction (Fleischer, 2003; Fleischer & O’Herron, 2004; Miciak & Desmarais, 2001). A positive relationship between customer satisfaction and business performance has been supported by many researchers (Bitner & Zeithaml, 2003; Bou-Llusar, Camison-Zornoza, & Escrig-Tena, 2001; Dubrovski, 2001; Row & Barnes, 1998). Those researchers similarly …

The Professional Career Paths Of Members Of The Nevada State Gaming Control Board, Jason Woywod

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Nevada State Gaming Control Board’s main duty is to regulate Nevada’s gaming industry. The gaming industry in Nevada had seen a rapid growth in gaming revenue within the last fifty years which resulted in the casino industry being taken over by large corporations and becoming very powerful. When private industries become very powerful, they can easily persuade their regulating committees to create policies that benefit the industry and not the general public. The Capture Theory, which was originated by George Stigler, explains that regulators commonly become captured by the industry which they regulate. Moreover, once the individual regulators leave …

Consumptive Water Use At The Mirage Hotel And The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino In Las Vegas, Nevada, Johann A. Feller

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas Valley is one of the driest regions in the southwest United States. Due to limited water supplies from the Colorado River, rainfall, and groundwater sources, the water requirements of the valley’s growing population is slated to surpass the current available water supply. The purpose of this comparative study is to quantify the amount of consumptive water used at a major Las Vegas resort/casino in one year. This, being of importance, because of the resort/casino industry’s role as one of the largest, most visible, and most resource intensive industries in the Las Vegas valley. The goal of this …

College Sports Wagering: A Case Study About Gambling On College Athletics And The Motivations And Consequences Surrounding Legislation Wanting To Ban Wagering On College Sports, Neil H. Huffey

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sports wagering is the largest form of gambling in the world. In the United States, the practice is largely illegal. Nonetheless, it has sustained incredible growth both legally and illegally throughout the twentieth century. Current legislation in Congress would revise a 1992 federal law that banned legal sports wagering in this country with the exemption of four particular states, Nevada included. The state of Nevada is the only place in which wagering on college sports is legally practiced. The State of Oregon runs a small sports betting game out if its lottery. Proponents of the legislation suggest that passage is …

An Analysis Of The Socio-Economic Impact Of Casino Gambling In Mesquite, Nevada, And Its Implications For Public Policy, Janice K. Herfeld

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a preliminary analysis of the socio-economic impact of casino gaming in Mesquite, Nevada. Mesquite is being studied from this perspective in order to provide policymakers with information that will aid in the determination of public policy relevant to and in conjunction with casino gaming activity. A combination of site visits to the area and interviews with casino executive personnel and relevant law enforcement was conducted for the purposes of gathering information for this study. Three police departments (Mesquite, Nevada, Cedar City, Utah and St. George, Utah) were interviewed to determine the crime rate in jurisdiction. Relevant data …

The Legislative History Of Gambling, 1861 - 1915, Ben Hetfeld

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nevada’s way of regulating gambling has been of such interest over the past years that it has been given a name, the “Nevada Model”. Interested parties usually are seeking to learn if this model of gambling regulation will work in other political units of this country. The point of this paper is to give some background to the “Nevada Model” by looking at how the acts of the legislature of the state evolved through time. Of equal importance is the understanding of the role the miners played in the formation of Nevada’s culture and lifestyle. The miners brought Nevada its …

An Analysis Of The Socio-Economic Impact Of Casino Gaming In Mesquite, Nevada, And Its Implications For Public Policy, Janice K. Hetfeld

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study is a preliminary analysis of the socio-economic impact of casino gaming in Mesquite, Nevada. Mesquite is being studied from this perspective in order to provide policymakers with information that will aid in the determination of public policy relevant to and in conjunction with casino gaming activity. A combination of site visits to the area and interviews with casino executive personnel and relevant law enforcement was conducted for the purposes of gathering information for this study. Three police departments (Mesquite, Nevada, Cedar City, Utah and St. George, Utah) were interviewed to determine the crime rate in jurisdiction. Relevant data …

Recycling At Work: Waste Reduction And Recycling In The Las Vegas Hospitality Industry, Darlene M. Cartier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Las Vegas hotel and restaurant industries generate 27% of the total waste for Clark County, Nevada. In an effort to study and increase recycling participation in the hospitality industry, Las Vegas hotels and restaurants were contacted to participate in a collaborative project between UNLV's Department of Environmental Studies and the Clark County Health District's Environmental Health Division, The project involved interviewing establishments with recycling programs currently in place. Information gathered from interviews and program tours was used to develop programs for hotels and restaurants who were not yet recycling. This thesis contains case studies of restaurants and hotels who …

Las Vegas Flamigo Hilton/Unlv Environmental Studies Program Environmental Resource Analysis & Optimization Plan, Dennis Nowlin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

From 1987 through 1992 the Las Vegas Flamingo Hilton instituted resource efficiency improvements in electrical, natural gas, water and materials consumption. In 1992, the Flamingo Hilton commissioned the University of Nevada Las Vegas Environmental Studies Department to analyze and quantify the improvements made by The Flamingo Hilton and investigate the potential for further improvements.

Historical billing data from the periods 1987 - 1992 were used to analyze past and present (1992) electric, natural gas and water consumption. Materials disposal data was only available for a ten month period in 1992. Pollutant emissions data were supplied by Nevada Power Company.

The …