Theme and authenticity: experiencing heritage at The Venetian

Abstract

PurposeThis article analyzes the concepts of experience economy and promotion of authenticity at The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas by exploring the resort's tangible and intangible heritage use in design and marketing strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study conducts a content analysis of marketing material, historical documents, and site observations.FindingsVisitors' active involvement, combined with The Venetian's use of tangible and intangible heritage, is used in creating an authentic themed experience. In addition, our study suggests that authenticity constitutes a key concept for today's hospitality industry.Research limitations/implicationsThis study centers on a single case study, and requires adjustments in order to be replicated. However, The Venetian represents one of the most prominent models followed by the hospitality industry worldwide.Practical implicationsThis analysis provides a baseline for comparison among resorts that have theming but do not integrate it in the same way, or in general, to other professionals and academics considering themed experiences.Social implicationsThe manuscript centers on several aspects that are being debated in numerous fields, from business to sociology, such as customers' desire for authentic experiences through the creation of themed attractions.Originality/valueThis research fills a gap in hospitality marketing research into authenticity and themed experience by investigating how The Venetian Hotel and Casino uses the heritage of another, tourism-focused city (Venice) to promote itself. The investigation uncovers how themed attractions in hospitality create an experience-based involvement that centers on the authenticity of the theme (in our case cultural heritage) they replicate.

An Exploratory Study of Electronic Word-of-Mouth Focused on Casino Hotels in Las Vegas and Macao

“…Entertainment, leisure, and recreational activities are sharing the same value of providing casino-hotel visitors with hedonic experience; thus, they are all part of casino hotels [30]. The hospitality industry increasingly offers theme-based experiences that follow the Disneyland model [14,31]. The Venetian Hotel, an ideal example, is a mega casino resort brand owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.…”

“…It uses one world-renowned tourist destination as a consistent theme by replicating its perceptible form on a one-to-one scale. In this way, it embraces a range of miscellaneous functions that no longer rely solely on gambling [14]. With the theme of Venetian Water Town, it elaborately recreates the main landmarks of Venice, Italy.…”

“…This building complex represents a turning point in the development of Macao. More importantly, The Venetian Macao not only changes the urban ecology of Macao, but also promotes Macao's development and determines its future development direction [14,32].…”

“…Both Las Vegas and Macao are world-famous for their pillar industries of gaming and are in the process of diversified economic development [8,9]. Numerous studies have taken Las Vegas and Macao as objects to conduct comparative studies from different perspectives, which mainly focus on the gaming industry, including the gaming market [8,10], casino hotel business model [11], hotel staff management [12,13] and the theme of casino hotel [14]. In terms of eWOM, these studies are aimed to compare the development characteristics and status quo of the gaming industry in the two places and put forward feasible suggestions.…”

An investigation into the use of textual references to sunshine and fresh air in farm holiday advertising

“…Because one's motivation to visit a farm holiday venue is typically to experience a natural setting, such congruence exists with the use of a textual reference to sunshine. Along these lines, consumers are increasingly concerned with authenticity (Soligo and Abarbanel, 2020) and such natural elements are woven into the basic fabric of the farm holiday experience.…”