Positive six months of operation for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana

How do you evaluate Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana’s first months of operation?
Frank Maduro: The first months of operation for the brand were evaluated in terms of the success of our occupancy and overall bookings, the guest experience, feedback from travel partners and other variables that help us gauge our operations.
 
Do you already have the operating results for the first half of the year?
FM: The first half of the year has proven to be very positive for the resort.  We’ve experienced a strong demand as evident by our high occupancy and bookings.  We’ve also welcomed many large groups and hosted a number of successful events, all of which has been beneficial for the property.

Recently, the property has received the AAA Four Diamond Award. What does this honor represent for the company?
FM: We are honored to be the first large scale resort in the Dominican Republic to receive this recognition.  One that comes directly as a result of maintaining the constant level of superior service that we set as a standard throughout all of our properties.   Service is always our number one priority.  No stone is left-unturned in terms of operations in order to provide the highest quality resort experience for guests. This award is a testament to our dedication to the guest experience and we look forward to continuing to provide visitors with a premier setting for their vacations.

What are your coming plans for this casino?
Michael Shindler: We have a very aggressive marketing campaign to attract casino players from around the world with specific attention this summer on the South American market. We have developed strategic alliances with South American casino player representatives in Argentina and Brazil; they have a very large network of other representatives working with them who cover other South American countries. Building relationships with quality junket and player representatives for the long term success of the casino and, as a result, the hotel, is not completed overnight, and we continue to build for the future while growing credibility and appeal now.  
The casino is already hosting South American casino players and other groups – from Latin America, the United States and Canada -- are scheduled throughout the rest of the year.  We have large scheduled poker tournaments at the casino in August and November, with a potential Baccarat tournament in October. Other casino groups – for example, golf tournaments with casino players – and sponsored poker, blackjack and Baccarat tournaments are being planned.

What does the Latin American market mean for the firm?
MS: Strategically, this is a great opportunity for the Resort and Hard Rock to develop a strong presence in this affluent market. Our growing success at Hard Rock Casino in Punta Cana has begun to show itself in our transaction pipeline in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, for both hotel and hotel-casino projects. 
With the convenience of non-stop air flights directly into Punta Cana and the efforts of Palace Resorts (the owner of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana) in promoting additional tour and travel and wholesale packages, we see this as an increasingly improving opportunity to capture market share throughout Latin America. 
Our player development team and Palace’s sales and marketing efforts combine to market the Resort in the heart of South America. The Resort’s offerings are generally not currently available in the South American gaming market. In particular, we see this as a tremendous attraction to casino players traveling on vacation with their families.

In your opinion, what is the potencial of Latin American gaming industry?
MS: The gaming industry in South America has great potential as there is already a mature casino player market in most South American countries, measurable in large part by the influx of South American players into the North American casino market.

Are you planning to open new casinos in Latin America? What can you disclose about it?
MS: We are pursuing a variety of opportunities to open hotel-casino properties in Latin America.  Our pipeline has taken us to Curacao and Aruba in the Dutch Caribbean, as well as Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama so far.  Our soon-to-open Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis in Panama City will not contain a casino, but we are still committed to a resort project in Panama that likely would when it is developed.

What can you tell us about the performances of your US properties?
MS: We cannot comment on individual property performance.  As a whole, every one of our US properties is ahead of its budget this year and well ahead of last year’s performance.

What are your main objectives for United States?
MS: We are in active pursuit of more than several US opportunities, for both hotels and hotel-casino properties.  Our flexible approach, by which we are prepared to consider management, franchise and hybrid structures, and our unique brand are differentiators that we present to hotel and hotel-casino developers and owners.  Over the long-term, we can easily envision another 20 to 30 urban and resort hotels and hotel-casinos under the Hard Rock brand.