Vegas convention business picking up

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001 | 10:43 a.m.

Las Vegas' tourism and convention business is rebounding from the terrorist attacks -- but slower than for rivals that are less dependent on the airline industry.

The leaders of the convention bureaus for three gaming destinations, Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, compared notes on using meetings to fill hotel rooms Wednesday at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas.

Speros Batistatos, president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority, said 98 percent of that city's visitors arrive by car or bus, so the impact of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington hasn't been as dramatic as it has been on other cities more dependent on airlines.

"We actually came out of it better than most places and, thankfully, we're not having the layoffs that some cities are having," Batistatos said.

Atlantic City did lose air service from Continental Airlines, one of the first air carriers in the nation to announce service cuts and layoffs.

Meanwhile, discussions for increasing air service at Biloxi, Miss., were put on hold as a result of the terrorist attacks, said Stephen Richer, executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Richer said less than 10 percent of Biloxi's customer base arrives by air, with the New Orleans drive market supplying most of the economic punch for the region.

By comparison, about 43 percent of Las Vegas' visitors arrive by air, so the public's reluctance to fly has had a big impact on the city, said Manny Cortez, president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Cortez said of about 67,000 seats on planes destined for Las Vegas every day before the Sept. 11 attacks, 7,000 are now gone due to service reductions.

Still, occupancy rates have rebounded in the city since the terrorist attacks, Cortez said. Last weekend, occupancy was at 93 percent in the city, up 18 points from the previous weekend, he said.

But resort executives have cautioned that many of those rooms were filled by customers taking advantage of deep discounts, so revenue is still down. Also, midweek occupancy is still off, thanks to dozens of meeting cancellations.

On that front, LVCVA convention sales representatives have some good news -- the list of cancellations hasn't grown since Friday and new business is starting to pour in.

Terry Jicinsky, who heads the LVCVA's research department, said there have been 249 cancellations that would have brought 78,700 people to the city and produced a nongaming economic impact of $98.7 million for the city. Jicinsky also said there were 13 events that were postponed to later dates.

By comparison, Atlantic City had one major convention of 800 people cancel and the Mississippi Gulf Coast lost four shows, with 10 postponements. Convention authority executives from those cities did not have a number of small meeting cancellations from individual resort properties. Most of Las Vegas' cancellations were small gatherings of 50 or fewer people.

Another comparison: Charles Ahlers of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau in Southern California said two shows were canceled and two were rescheduled following the terrorist attacks. Ahlers said those shows would have brought 28,000 people to Anaheim and produced an economic impact of $18 million for the city.

Nancy Murphy, director of meeting sales for the LVCVA, said requests for dates for upcoming events have been as strong as ever.

"I would have thought there would have been a temporary slowdown after the tragedy, but I didn't even see that," Murphy said.

Since Sept. 11 attacks, 31 new meetings have been booked by the LVCVA and some of the largest shows on the calendar have affirmed that they plan to be here on schedule.

One of the largest shows to announce a commitment to Las Vegas was the World of Concrete show, a fixture in Las Vegas in even-numbered years 11 times since 1980. Beginning in 2005, the show, which had been rotated in odd-numbered years between Orlando, Fla., and New Orleans, will meet every year at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

"In each of the past three years, World of Concrete has experienced double-digit growth in exhibiting companies," said show director Beth Gassen in explaining the commitment to Las Vegas. "Exhibit space in the hall is at a premium and our Outdoor Action Area continues to grow."

Gassen also said in 10 out of the 11 years in which the event has been conducted in Las Vegas, it has drawn record-breaking crowds. In February, about 77,000 people attended the show. Surveys conducted by show organizers said restaurants and after-hour activities in Las Vegas played a role in the success of the event.

Other major shows have affirmed plans to meet in Las Vegas. Organizers for the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo and the Specialty Equipment Market Association -- two giant auto products shows scheduled concurrently in late October and early November -- said they plan to be here on schedule.

Comdex, a giant computer exposition that has grown into the city's largest convention with more than 200,000 people attending the mid-November show, plans to press ahead. So will the Super Show, a large sporting goods exhibition in late January that made its Las Vegas debut earlier this year.

Representatives of Comdex and local resorts say it's too early to determine how much hotel room rates would fluctuate during the show. While Comdex officials are bullish on the number of people who will attend the show, some industry experts say they think attendance will be off, particularly from overseas.

Because rates are dependent on supply and demand, the cost to stay in a hotel during Comdex has been high in recent years. With the show about six weeks away, a spokeswoman for MGM MIRAGE said it's too early to tell how many people are planning to be here and whether the rates will be as high as they've been.

A survey of hotel rates listed on Expedia.com, an Internet travel website, indicates local resorts have differing plans for their rates.

Most hotels will raise rates -- some more than doubling them -- for the week of Comdex, Nov. 12-16. Expedia said all hotels had rooms available every day.

A sampling of hotel rates listed by Expedia: The average rate for the Monday through Thursday the week before Comdex, Aladdin offered rooms for $79, Mirage $89, MGM Grand $65, Bellagio $129 (two-night minimum), Caesars Palace $175, Luxor $89, Palace Station $45, Stratosphere $45 and the Rio $59.

The week of Comdex, the average Monday-through-Thursday rates: Aladdin $205, Mirage $89, MGM Grand $179, Bellagio $135 (two-night minimum), Caesars Palace $349, Luxor $229, Palace Station $199, Stratosphere $129 and the Rio $59.

Last year, hotel rates during Comdex were considerably higher. Just prior to the 2000 show, the Rio offered rooms for $219 during the show, MGM Grand offered them for $270, Caesars Palace $397, Bellagio $389 and Stratosphere $399.

Murphy said the LVCVA has launched an unprecedented bid to book meetings and conferences in the next three months. As part of a $13 million advertising and marketing campaign announced Tuesday, the sales staff is preparing a direct mailing to 13,000 customers promoting meeting space in October, November and December. Murphy said the bureau distributes similar direct mailings twice a year to generate enthusiasm for Las Vegas.

Murphy said one hotel property has requested a mailing list of West Coast associations that it plans to contact directly to drum up business.

The city's other major convention center operator, Sheldon Adelson's Sands Expo Center and his attached Venetian megaresort, has had mixed results with shows after the terrorist attacks.

The Sands this week hosted Interbike, a trade show for bicycle manufacturers and retail shops that was expected to attract 21,000 people, 1,045 brands and 3,000 booths.

"I've heard enough talk that business in Las Vegas is off," said Sands President Richard Heller. "You just can't ignore the fact that these are major trade shows and corporate meetings. It's time for Las Vegas to tell the world that we are open for business as usual."

But Dion Entertainment said it and the Venetian agreed to postpone the World Championship of Bingo scheduled in November to a date in November 2002. Venetian officials referred questions to Dion Entertainment and officials for the Canadian company could not be reached for comment on how many people were expected at the event.

archive