Like many of us, Justine Channing began her career as a casual hospitality worker in the Club industry. After completing her Bachelor (Hons) in Archaeology and Fine Arts, a twist in the political landscape meant that upon graduating her university degree, the ‘recession we had to have’ was well underway. The lack of jobs available meant there wasn’t a huge demand for Archaeology and Fine Arts graduates fresh out of university, the pathway Justine was about to undertake would lead to an unveiling of her hidden talents in Gaming and Data Analysis.
Not one to let this derail her professional plans, Justine made the decision right then and there to turn her casual hospitality role into a future career pathway.
Justine’s first foray into the gaming industry was as a member of Aristocrat’s Export Department, where she played a key role in supporting the international sales team to acquire machines, spare parts and export documentation to ship machines all across the world. Not only did Justine have access to a range of fantastic mentors to help develop her skills, such as the brilliant Alan Thomas, Justine was a part of the industry at a time when everything was done in-house. How times have changed since, Justine recalls a period where the team would place a sheet of metal into a machine on one side of the factory, and a few days later…a gaming machine would pop out the other side!
To continue her growth within the industry, Justine’s determination to further develop her knowledge of the sector revealed her natural flair for gaming analysis and customer segmentation. Her skillset was then implemented across a range of industry roles, such as being a part of the Product Management teams at IGT and Aristocrat for many years, in addition to working in Gaming Management for Clubs of all shapes and sizes such as the Panthers Group, Lantern Hotel Group and many more. Amongst this diverse range of roles, Justine’s talent for effectively matching game types with player preferences was well established.
In other words…knowing what makes a great gaming floor tick!
These days, Justine utilises her strategic gaming knowledge to help Clubs and other hospitality venues boost their floor performance as a Consultant for DWS Hospitality Specialists (in Queensland) and Cream Gaming. Staying true to the promise she made herself as a university graduate, Justine has well and truly cemented herself as one of the country’s leading Gaming Experts. Further, Justine continues to share her knowledge with the wider industry through Australia’s leading online hospitality publication: The Drop! Alongside fellow entrepreneur and Fintech Expert, Danielle Rayner, Justine shares the latest news and industry trends with a key group of Hospitality Managers across Australia.
Employing her enviable scientific skillset in Archaeology, and since earning her Masters in Science (Palaeontology), Justine regularly participates in digs to continually further her understanding and interpretation of large datasets. Justine’s foundational scientific skills allow her to use findings from datasets to tell a story and improve a venue’s performance. With the incoming opening date of the Brisbane Casino casting a shadow of uncertainty over hospitality venues throughout SEQ, Justine believes it is imperative for Clubs to ensure their Gaming and wider operations have been optimised prior, to reduce the potential impact.
“Many Senior Managers believe that if they are far enough away from the Casino, it won’t make a difference to their bottom line. However, Casino’s remain a big competitor for these venues. They have the resources to transport your biggest players into the city, provide hospitality and overnight stays, and keep them playing for two days. No points for guessing which types of players the Casino are searching for, and they are very aggressive about finding those players!”
Justine shares her top tips to help Clubs reduce the impact the Casino will have on your bottom line:
- Personalised and friendly service will always win!
It’s the social outlet that is important to your customers, and it’s imperative we don’t lose our point of difference! - Take a risk and do something different!
Stop copying your competition. Ensure you are using your data and applying different ideas from your management team to focus on something fresh for your players. - Embrace Change!
As we all know, the early bird gets the worm! Early adopters of new technology have a point of difference amongst their competitors. - Make your Floor a Standout!
We all have similar machines, so find a way to make yours seem different! Segment your floor based on player types, look at the value of different links and place similar machines in dedicated spaces on your gaming floor.
If you would like to learn more about how you can boost your Gaming Floor’s performance, reach out to DWS Hospitality Specialists’ Strategic Gaming Consultant, Justine Channing, to learn more.
