From Data to Decision

One Task at A Time, data is igniting change at Marina Bay Sands

At an integrated resort as large as Marina Bay Sands, a seemingly straightforward task of preparing a guest room can morph into a highly complex operation, once it is multiplied by 1,850 rooms.

And with occupancy at almost 100 per cent, teams usually have fewer than a couple of hours to clean and turn over nearly all the rooms, which means the job needs to be highly coordinated.

Today, each of these tasks – from regular cleaning to a scheduled deep cleaning, say, for high-level dusting – are tracked closely on a live dashboard, with team members assigned across the three hotel towers optimally to avoid delays and repeated errands.

The system, which went live in late 2025, offers situational awareness from the data on the ground.

Supervisors now know which rooms need to be cleaned at any time, so they work with more than 100 housekeepers to make sure the rooms are ready for guests quickly.

“Because we have different categories of rooms, the innovation here is not just in collecting data, but how we structure and operationalise it. By turning them into clear, actionable insights, our teams can work more efficiently and free team members’ time to focus on personalising service and engaging more deeply with luxury travellers,” says Alok Atri, Vice-President of financial planning and analysis at Marina Bay Sands and a founding member of IGNITE.

Making data useful is a challenge

As any company that has tried to digitalise in recent years will know, one of the toughest tasks is collecting and analysing the data from everyday operations. At Marina Bay Sands, this is no different.

Christopher Toh, Executive Director for customer experience (CX) analytics and process improvement, recalled how he tried to convince different departments to not only collect data in real time for the live dashboards but also make sure the data is accurate.

Coaching of operational staff therefore ensures that they record information accurately, to provide a clear picture of on-the-ground situations.

What Toh and his team of process innovators do is collaborate with colleagues across Marina Bay Sands to improve their operations to utilise raw data and make it useful.

The initiative, known as IGNITE (or Identify, Generate, Navigate, Initiate, Transform and Evaluate), has been key to the ground-up innovation in recent years. Key to success is an understanding of the business – after all, data has little meaning without context.

For that, a team of data analysts help clean up the raw information from Marina Bay Sands’ various systems, while a keen eye from managers on the ground is crucial in ensuring the data is “real”, says Toh. “With data, quality is all-important – otherwise, it’s garbage in, garbage out.”

Crucially, to make use of data for innovation means Marina Bay Sands has to invest in a “data lake” – a central, secure repository of the integrated resort’s in-house data.

This can then be tapped for deep data analytics to bring the kind of insights that help managers make better decisions every day. First mooted more than a decade ago, the data repository is instrumental today in spurring new innovations by giving managers a clear picture of their operations.

The results of this data-driven culture are clear today, says Toh. Once teams understand the benefits of data analytics, for example, in smoothening everyday processes or cutting down time spent on a task, they often come back and ask for more improvements, he notes.

Moving beyond productivity

Beyond process and productivity, data can offer a lot more too. The insights from operational data can help teams better plan ahead, say, for the number and type of fruit baskets to be delivered to rooms based on consumption and preferences. It helps managers plan for the manpower needed, such as during peak periods.

The improvements are important to Marina Bay Sands, where the concept of continuous innovation is more than a slogan. They are key to impressing guests and delivering a world-class experience at one of the world’s most iconic destinations.

“This never-ending improvement means that teams are always looking ahead for what’s next,” says Atri.

“We have to evolve as customers change, age groups change and seasonality changes,” he says. “How do we make Marina Bay Sands a highly customised, exciting journey always? The answer lies in constantly innovating, always evolving, and never thinking that we already have all the answers for tomorrow’s challenges,” he adds.