Booking Enhancements - Identity Online

I don’t have too many complaints, overall it works pretty well in my opinion.

It would be nice to be able to book your tier based comp nights or companion nights online. Ability to modify a comp reservation. The email confirmation delivery needs improvement also, they often do not arrive (sometimes days later) or you may receive several duplicate emails at once.

 

Being able to get the rate for and upgrade comp offers would be great. I'd love to be able to book my platinum airport transportation on the website also.
I don't think anyone out there has a very good booking system and most are downright bad, so kudos for looking to improve.

 

Upgrade rate on comp nights would be useful. Sometimes I'm looking for something more than my standard One Bedroom terrace room and I'm willing to pay the difference knowing I probably don't earn anything more than I already get.

 

This... all available paid upgraded room options for comp nights.

 

For those of us that don't really receive comp nights, but do qualify for casino rate rooms, the ability to see the casino rate and book it would be very helpful.

 

I agree that being able to submit flight info for Platinum transportation online would be awesome. Though my sweet host is always happy to book it for me, I think that freeing her up from that would shift some of the busywork to the website and allow her to spend her time dealing with issues needing a personal touch. Perhaps being able to book invited events online could result in similar time savings. A live chat feature online (beyond Rose) would be ground breaking (I think) and really great too. Lastly, some kind of referral mechanism similar to what affinity credit cards offer could open lots of doors, with proper privacy consideration, of course. Hats off to Kevin for always being on the front lines of innovation and improvement! And I'm always available to beta test again if needed : ).

 

When the tier points drop off.

 

I agree with fixing the tier points page. The recent activity has always kinda sucked even when it works. It really needs to be streamlined. I actually like the booking part and have never had any issues. I am actually happy when I find other hotel sites that use whatever you are using. It's my favourite. I'm sure other things can be included, but it is very easy to use and I have yet to screw up on one, which is impressive. For the most part I would like to be able to book everything from the website and not talk to anyone. I'm platinum, so that's companion nights, transportation, whatever it takes to be able to use my resort credit, blah blah.
Being able to book casino rates would be really nice too.

 

My only request is for the website to contain clarification of the $250 annual folio credit. I have asked several different Identity reps and none of them agree.

Otherwise, I love the historical information because I had no idea when our trips were over the past few years. I like being able to look at win/loss statement for the year before the year is over.

I don't think I have ever booked a room online because Kristy is just too darn helpful!

 

Yeah... I have the Platinum $250 folio credit as well. I called before my last stay and told them to make it "active." It never came off my final bill (which was more than $250).

No biggie... I'll use it next time... but would have been nice if it was clear on how to use it.

 

They supposedly used mine last year then put the charges back on without telling me what was going on, I wasn't back that year so I lost mine. I have a new one this year and have no expectations of being able to use it.

 

Sometimes I email my host for booking, but often times I just call in. The phone reps are incredibly efficient, and I just find the process to be quick and easy. I'll still provide some ideas for the website.

Site must be mobile (phone) browser friendly.

Think of all the manual "touch points" required after booking--events that require emailing a host, additional calls, or standing in line at the identity desk.

I suggest an integration for paying the entry fee for tournaments as part of booking. The current site for paying slot tournament fees is very clunky and outdated.

 

Don't actually know if it is there or if it is missing, but ability to add tier free room night(s) to comp offer nights.
It is allowed, right?

 

I think the current booking engine works well. As far as comments limited to that, I agree with
@Goldenknight @undathesea on upgrades

If I'm booking under a casino offer:

• Show me ALL the room types
• For room types I can't get comped, price them out at the upgrade price for any nights I can't get comped
• Examples:
  • 4 night offer, I qualify for a Studio for all 4 nights but I want a Wraparound - price out the upgrade amount for each night and let me book it
  • 4 night offer, I qualify for a Wraparound for 3 of the 4 nights, but there's a price spike on one of them so I can't get it comped. I think the way it works now, you wouldn't show me the Wraparound at all. Show me the Wraparound, comp me the 3 compable nights, price out the other night for me as an upgrade and let me book the whole thing.
    
  • MLife's booking engine does this now.
• Let me book additional nights beyond the offer length at casino rate if that's how it would work if I called.
  • MLife's booking engine does this now (the discount for the paid nights is way more than I'd expect for casino rate, I don't know how they're calculating it. It's almost the inverse of casino rate).
  • 

I agree with @SamIAm on casino rate. If I'm not at a level where I get fully-comped nights, if I'm logged in, and I'm at a level where you would give me casino rate if I called, then incorporate that into the engine. Nobody else really does this, although CET does in certain situations (if you put in a date range, and you can't get ANY night fully comped, their engine has logic that will apply a casino discount, with some exceptions for high-occupancy nights). If you put in dates and you can get AT LEAST one night comped, you get that night(s) comped and have to pay full boat for the rest).

Also let me book my Tier nights (non-companion) online, with the same logic above (as far as upgrades). Flag Tier nights as being an entitlement, not an offer, so the engine doesn't block me from booking them back-to-back with (or in close proximity to) a regular offer.

I understand why you might not want to let people book companion nights online, but I think you should allow it. I went to book companion nights on the phone once but the agent wanted too much personal data info on the companion - I believe she said it was basically for purposes of pre-enrolling them in the players club and I didn't feel right about that, so I bailed. Joining (or 99% pre-joining) the players club shouldn't be a prerequisite for a companion.

The companion nights should be booked under the existing player's name and he should have all responsibility for the room just like a regular reservation, including checking in personally. Just add the companion's name to the room. Devise and enforce penalty(s) on the existing player for misuse.

 

I booked two companion nights for a friend and although he was the registered guest the room somehow showed as under my name. He stayed 4 nights longer than me which he paid for but a week later I see my identity points were redeemed to cover some of his room charges at identity desk when he asked if he was able to get any back end comps. What a nightmare trying to sort it out and it never really got fully resolved. Trust me it is much better that the companion deals with their own bills/ room.

 

I think that Cosmo's booking page, even as it exists now, is far and away superior to a majority of the other strip properties. As some have already mentioned, it would be nice for qualified players to also have access to a casino rate calendar. When I book my comp offers, I frequently tack on an extra night or two at casino rate. While I've booked my last couple of visits through my host, it would be nice to have access to a calendar that displays casino rate so that I can get an idea of casino rate for non-comped nights, and determine which nights to book on the comp offer and which nights to book at casino rate to maximize the value of my offers.

On a somewhat unrelated note, are there any plans for Cosmo to release an iOS and/or Android app? I frequently access my Identity account on my iPhone, and while the mobile browser interface works relatively well for checking my Identity account and status, an iOS or Android optimized app would be great! Anyone else remember the original Cosmo app from back in the day?

 

I agree I like the site overall so far. Even though I use my host now for booking I like that I can go and look at when my offers work, or rates, etc. That way I can pick dates to go or know that it might be a date/time my host can't comp me, etc.

I will say there's one function though I would like to see. CET is a good example of this, and it's been more/less mentioned above. It would be to see the prices on upgrades above and beyond what I qualify for, with pricing for various dates based on my theo.
Sometimes with CET I'll pick random dates and see what kind of room I qualify for. I have been surprised to find on slow times I could get an awesome suite comped off the website.
I would do the same with Cosmo. For example, if there's a really slow midweek time in the off season, where room prices are well below where they should be, maybe my theo would qualify me for a room type comped above and beyond what I usually get. I would likely specifically book a trip during those days that I might not have anyway, because of the upgrade.

 

As far as I can tell, Cosmo currently does the last part of what you mentioned. They will show you whatever room types you qualify for for the dates you put in. I don't normally qualify for a Terrace Suite fully comped, but I was able to book one online for January under an offer because it was bargain priced for a couple of those nights.

You do have to kind of hunt and peck using the base rate on the calendar as a guide to cheap nights. Sometimes the base rate will be low on a given night but the higher suites aren't.