In this video, Melco Resorts & Entertainment CEO Lawrence Ho explains how shaking up their business in Macau is beneficial to the casino operator’s future venture in Japan.
After some delay, Melco Resorts & Entertainment finally rolled out the red carpet for its new flagship luxury hotel in Macau.
The Zada Hadid-designed Morpheus Hotel is indeed one of a kind and perhaps one of the icon structures not only in Macau, but also across Asia. It is considered the world’s first free-form high-rise exoskeleton, which reflects Hadid’s penchant for sweeping curves, strong lines, and sensuous aesthetics. Melco Resorts CEO Lawrence Ho said Morpheus was conceptualized in order to introduce the premium mass to amazing new experiences.
“I can see that Asian customers have Asian tastes—particular Asian taste. So, once the novelty of Vegas has worn off, they’ll be looking something unique that exceeded the experience. Something that landed them fairly and squarely to the future. An Asian future,” Ho said in a keynote speech he delivered at G2E Asia. “Philosophy is that we don’t want only to simply serve the people of what they like right now. We want to introduce them to awesome and amazing new experiences. And we exceeded them in our newest venture. It beats everything we’ve done before and that’s Morpheus.”
Ho also shared the casino operator’s plan to upgrade its flagship Macau integrated resort City of Dreams. Like Morpheus, Ho envisioned City of Dreams to be a go-to place of not only the VIPs but also the premium mass guests.
To do that, Ho said they plan to reinvent retail by curating their own shopping environment for the first time. The reinvention of City of Dreams include the construction of “pop-up” retail space where some of the coolest retail brands will rotate, according to the executive.
“A totally different take on the current retail proposition. That’s why we are designing and running our own hotels and creating our own five star brands. Pushing differentiation, giving everyone a five-star experience but offering distinctly different personalities and owning it,” Ho said.
All these changes in Melco properties are being made in preparation for the casino operator’s bid for a casino license in Japan, according to Ho. Just last week, the Japanese Diet has passed the much anticipated Integrated Resorts (IR) Implementation Bill to the delight of many casino operators like Melco Resorts.
While waiting for Japan to bid out its casino license, Ho believes that it is in the best interest of the company to be able to attract premium mass Chinese in their gaming and entertainment facilities in Macau.
Ho noted that Japan welcomed at least 29 million visitors in 2017, a far-cry from the 33 million visitors to Macau alone. With Japan tourism figures down 6.7 percent, Ho believes that Japan, a country where necessary communications and infrastructure are ready in place, remains to be underutilized.
“And which tourists are knocking on Japan’s door? Yup, our premium mass Chinese—the curious and culture seekers,” he said. “China contributed almost 60 percent of Japan’s in-bound tourism growth over the last five years. And the number of Chinese outbound premium travelers, are forecast to go from 64 million today to 120 million by 2025. Just in time, hopefully, for the opening of our first integrated resort in Japan.”
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