A multi-sensory experience
Casinos have been the pioneers in the multi-sensory experience, the lights, sounds and food is perfectly designed to create an exciting atmosphere. However, there has been one underestimated sense: olfaction.
Pleasant aromas cause guests to linger longer in the casino, thereby spending more money. If guests feel comfortable enough, they will not to move and therefore enjoy the different services offered by the casino. The scent should be universally agreeable and encourage guests to spend time gambling because they feel relaxed and pleased.
This is not only common sense, research backs these claims. Dr. Alan Hirsch has published often on the subject of scent marketing and his 1995 study was specifically about scenting in the casino industry.
The Experiment
For one weekend, two slot-machine areas in a Las Vegas casino were odorized, each with a different aroma. A third slot-machine area served as an un-odorized control. The amounts of money gambled in slot machines located in the three areas were measured and compared for the scented weekend and for the weekends before and after as well, to control for extraneous variables.
The results? Gamblers there spent 45 percent more money than on other weekends, while the results for unscented areas of the casino remained unchanged.
As good as perfume
We know it, smoke and beer are a lovely combination for a fun night out but their smell is not the most appealing.
This is why it is important to have devices that do not only diffuse generic scent trying to hide these odours but high-end fragrances that will dissolve the molecules responsible of the bad smell and replace it with a sublime scent. The fragrances used in casinos should be equally good as the perfume you wear every day. Scent marketing campaigns aren't flawless; in some industries, they can be downright disastrous if done poorly.
As a casino patron you should only offer the best scent targeted for your industry and the best systems in order to add the scent as part of the heating/air-conditioning system. Finally, guests will only have to follow their nose and they'll love it.