Snowbirds favor Las Vegas over Arizona

Jace Radke

Thursday, May 20, 1999 | 12:29 p.m.

The retirement-age nomads known as "snowbirds" have been a fixture in Arizona for decades, but a new, more active breed of bird is starting to flock to Las Vegas -- baby boomers.

Arizona State University researchers estimate that more than 325,000 snowbirds ages 65 and older make their winter homes in Arizona. But Las Vegas RV Resort manager Steve Smith says Arizona will have a fight on its hands for the new wave of younger birds.

"Las Vegas is becoming the entertainment capital of the world and that's a draw that can't be matched," Smith said. "Las Vegas will absolutely be challenging Arizona in the next decade for the snowbird dollar."

Cherie and Ed Brown arrived at Smith's Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort six months ago from Eugene, Ore., and say they enjoy the constant entertainment choices the city provides. "Some snowbirds like to be out in the boonies, but we like to be where the action is, so Las Vegas is perfect for us," Cherie Brown said. "We love Las Vegas because there's lots to do, but the only problem is I don't know if I'll be able to talk my husband into leaving."

At age 47, Cherie Brown, who runs a marketing business, is one of the baby boomers just starting to get involved with the snowbird lifestyle. Ed Brown, 62, is a retired vice president of a publishing house, and both say they will come back to Las Vegas and pass on Arizona.

The average age of most Arizona snowbirds is a little older than the Browns, according to Tim Hogan, director of the center for business research at Arizona State University.

"Here in Arizona we still have a snowbird population that doesn't include many people under 64 or 65 years old, but we are starting to see some that are in their 50s," Hogan said. "As the baby boomers get older, the snowbird phenomenon will likely grow."

People like the Browns are the ones Las Vegas should concentrate on, Smith said.

"In the last few years we've seen people starting to retire at a younger age and buying into the snowbird lifestyle," Smith said while working at the Oasis, 2711 W. Windmill Lane. "This new group of baby boomer snowbirds are retiring earlier, have money to spend and have not found a permanent place to winter yet.

"In Phoenix you have a lot of winter residents who have become ingrained in the area, and when they leave they tell their snowbird friends, 'see you next year,' because they are all coming back. It's hard to pull that ingrained group away, so we're looking at people that are just starting to take up this lifestyle."

Snowbirds are typically between the ages of 65 and 80 years old and maintain summer and fall homes in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada, Hogan said.

Florida is the acknowledged nest for East Coast snowbirds, while Arizona serves the same purpose for retirees in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest.

Snowbirds move to warmer southern climates from October to April or May while waiting for their summer homes to thaw out. Many of them travel in motor homes while others maintain second homes or choose to stay in furnished apartments when they travel.

The Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority and UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research have not tracked or researched snowbirds, but they do have a presence in Nevada, local apartment manager Jim Walker said.

"We get at least 10 couples a year that come and stay with us for three to six months in the winter," Walker, who manages the La Mesa apartment complex, 560 Sierra Vista Drive, said.

La Mesa, located between the Strip and the Boulevard Mall, features furnished apartments that have been housing some of the same snowbirds for years.

"They can come here and gamble, eat for cheap and take advantage of senior discounts," Walker said. "They also enjoy the 24-hour lifestyle.

"We had a couple from Michigan this year that would get up and go have breakfast at Sam's Town at 4 a.m. Then they'd gamble, meet a group of couples for doughnuts and coffee at 10 a.m. and they were in bed by 6 p.m."

Smith estimates about 70 percent of his 700 RV spaces are filled with snowbirds for four to six months every winter.

"Las Vegas already has a tremendous snowbird market but everyone associates snowbirds with Arizona, so it's kind of an unintentional secret," Smith said. "We have people who have been coming for decades but now we're seeing a 20 percent growth in sales of RVs over the last five years and that's the baby boomers."

The Browns are seasoned travelers but are on their first winter motor home trip. The couple, along with their Pomeranian, Foxie, will be heading back to the northwest in the first week of June.

"We just bought our RV, so we're pretty new at this," Cherie Brown said. "We've always traveled, but we thought it would be fun to try this, and we love it.

"Traveling this way gives us the chance to spend enough time in a city to really discover all the culture and activities it offers. The RV also lets you sleep in your own bed and have your own creature comforts at hand."

A snowbird is able to enjoy both the comforts of their own RV, and also the amenities of the RV park, Ed Brown said.

"A lot of people are surprised by how nice some of these parks are," Ed Brown said. "We enjoy the pool, the restaurant and the other things provided here."

RV park and apartment complex amenities are key to drawing snowbird clientele, Arizona State geography professor Kevin McHugh said.

"These people are coming looking for places that offer resort style amenities," McHugh said. "They want pools, golf, fitness centers and restaurants. If Las Vegas develops places for these people to go then they will come."

Snowbirds are often creatures of habit, finding a place they like and then returning every year, McHugh added.

"Our studies have shown that communities are very important to these people and that social ties are also extremely important to them if they are going to return," McHugh said.

The distances that some of Walker's clientele travel to stay at La Mesa illustrates McHugh's point.

"We have couples from Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Canada, and they're the best clients we have," Walker said. "They watch out for the building and take care of the apartments. They're fancy free and enjoy talking and being sociable."

Oasis assistant manager Cesar Guerrero believes customer service is the key to retaining repeat snowbird business.

"In the winter we are packed with snowbirds and many are repeat business because of our focus on customer service," Guerrero said. "You could say that we have some very loyal birds."

Many parks and apartment complexes offer discounts to residents who stay for long periods of time. For example, the Oasis normally charges $25-$50 a night, but offers packages to snowbirds for around $15 a night with paid utilities.

Hogan is taking a wait-and-see attitude about old and new snowbirds choosing Las Vegas over Arizona as a winter home, but still sees Las Vegas benefiting from the growing industry.

"Many of the snowbirds who travel in motor homes and are spending six months in Arizona will stop for a couple of weeks in Las Vegas on both ends of their trips," Hogan said.

Walt and Gloria Jennings make the trip from Nanaimo, Canada, to Arizona every winter, but this year was the first time they made the trip in a motor home, and they made two stops at the Oasis in Las Vegas.

"We've been coming to Las Vegas since 1968, but never in a motor home," Walt Jennings said. "Next year we plan on spending six months in Arizona, and we'll be stopping in Las Vegas on the way down and the way back.

"We like Arizona, but there is no place like Las Vegas."

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