Vegas Decembers warming up

Liz Benston and Richard N. Velotta

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005 | 8:02 a.m.

While hordes of tourists and convention-goers keep Strip properties at near-capacity the rest of the year, December -- still the slowest month for tourism in Las Vegas -- is a time for remodeling and regrouping.

It's a time when most potential tourists are visiting their families or preparing for the holidays rather than booking vacations to Las Vegas. Some entertainment venues and restaurants will go dark next month, using the business slowdown as an opportunity to remodel or give workers a break.

MGM Mirage, the Strip's largest employer, expects to reduce hours for some of its on-call employees in December as it has in previous years, officials say.

Even so, there are plenty of signs that the red-hot Strip economy has warmed up December's chilled business climate -- making the lull more of a blip on the financial calendar.

"This is just one of the last remaining remnants of seasonality," MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said. "Where Las Vegas a decade ago was highly seasonal, that's almost all gone now."

In the early 1990s, it wasn't unusual for Mirage Resorts-owned properties on the Strip to hover at 65 percent to 70 percent occupancy in December, he said.

"Today we'll be down, but we'll be down to, say, 90 percent," Feldman said.

Operators say they have become more skillful in attracting business during slow weeks and marketing to specialized groups such as bargain-hunters and National Finals Rodeo -- a major attraction that begins Friday and ends Dec. 11.

National Finals Rodeo is expected to attract 37,000 to 40,000 visitors. Last year the rodeo resulted in an estimated $39 million nongaming economic boost for the area.

Terry Jicinsky, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority senior vice president of marketing, said special events such as the rodeo and the Las Vegas Bowl have grown over the past decade to help offset the seasonal lull that occurred in the past.

"On the leisure side, there's a smaller degree of seasonality than with the convention and trade show market," Jicinsky said.

John Piet, LVCVA senior research analyst, said he is developing a report on the potential economic effect of this December's special events. But experience from previous years give an indication of what's on the horizon.

The 10-day rodeo draws 176,000 fans annually. Piet said it's difficult to gauge exactly how many people come from out of town, since many locals buy tickets and some fans attend more than one session.

Jicinsky said the event has been a sell-out for years, so it's difficult for it to expand. However, some resorts have marketed "the NFR Experience" with closed-circuit broadcasts of the rodeo at their properties and country entertainers in their showrooms.

Another event in conjunction with the rodeo is the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Jicinsky said vendors nationwide come to Las Vegas to sell Christmas gifts with a Western theme.

The Las Vegas Bowl had one of its best turnouts in 2004 when more than 29,000 people saw Wyoming come from behind to defeat UCLA. Piet said more than 18,000 people came from out of town to see the game, resulting in a $12.1 million economic effect.

This year, the game is expected to get an even larger attendance boost with the commitment of Brigham Young University as a participant. Because BYU is operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it has a vast fan base that consistently follows the team. The Dec. 22 game is expected to be no different, regardless of the opponent.

Two other sporting events are expected to improve the area's fortunes this December.

Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins will battle for the world middleweight boxing title at Mandalay Bay on Saturday.

Piet said title fights generate an average $7.5 million to $8.5 million nongaming revenue, based on the capacity of the fight venue.

This year's Las Vegas Marathon -- expected to attract more than 10,000 runners -- also is on the December calendar, on Sunday.

Piet said that event is a wild card since it's expected to be larger than in the past. However, he said the marathon is more of a participant event than a spectator event and may not be a huge financial boon to the area.

While special events have helped keep Las Vegas busy during the holidays, the convention and trade show market is dark much of the month, and that isn't likely to change.

"For the convention and trade show market, it's a difficult sell," Jicinsky said. "It's not reflective of the (Las Vegas) market. Trade show producers just don't want to compete with holiday activities."

There are 69 conventions, trade shows and meetings on the LVCVA December calendar, less than 1 percent of the total number hosted all year. The largest shows for the month are the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, Sunday through Dec. 8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center; and the Power-Gen International trade show Dec. 6-8 at the Sands Expo Center. Each expect attendance of 20,000 people.

While most of the convention centers will be dark from the middle of the month through New Year's Day, convention suppliers have a steady stream of work. That's because the International Consumer Electronics Show -- consistently North America's largest trade show by square footage -- opens its doors in Las Vegas Jan. 5 for a four-day run.

Detra Page, a GES Exposition Services spokeswoman, said her company has been working on the show's logistics since September. The staging of exhibits begins in the third week of December.

"December is not a quiet time for GES," Page said. "That show brings in more than 100,000 people and requires a lot of planning and preparation."

CES opens on the heels of New Year's Eve, which traditionally draws massive crowds to the Strip. Piet said this year's New Year's Eve bash may top 300,000 attendees, with thousands of hotel rooms available this year that weren't open yet when people were putting up their 2005 calendars.

One sign of improved business in December is room rates, which have increased steadily over the past several years.

Last December the average hotel and motel room rate was $82.24 per night, at 78 percent occupancy, according to the LVCVA. That's in line with December's occupancy in 2000 -- a peak year for Las Vegas. The authority began measuring monthly room rates in 2001. In 2003, when the area was still recovering from the 9/11 attacks, the average rate was $74.54 and occupancy was 77 percent.

Las Vegas hotels became known for offering deals in December -- offers that have diminished somewhat in recent years as more people have taken advantage of the offers.

"For people who are really into the bargain aspect of travel to Las Vegas, this is their travel nirvana," said Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor consumer newsletter and Web site. "They wait for this time of year."

Some Strip casinos are offering discounts for locals to boost business at entertainment venues such as live performances and magic shows.

While there are still deals on rooms to be found, they aren't the rock bottom prices for which Las Vegas was once known.

"They don't have to discount the way they did 10 years ago or even five years ago," Curtis said.

In a recent survey of room rates using a computer tracking service and making phone calls, the Las Vegas Advisor found 30 resorts with their lowest December room rates at $40 or less compared with 41 hotels a year ago. Of the 90 casinos analyzed, the lowest end of the spectrum experienced the highest increases, while the best values were found at the middle to lower high end.

The first week of December is big business for Boyd Gaming Corp., a national sponsor of the rodeo's organizer, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Besides hosting riders and their entourage at official host hotels, Boyd also has a marketing partnership with whiskey maker Jack Daniel's that includes a "saloon" at the rodeo and customized bottles featuring Boyd properties.

"It's a good relationship for us because we're after the same crowd," Boyd Gaming Director of Marketing Dan Stark said.

Now in its 21st year in Las Vegas, the National Finals Rodeo has become one of the area's hottest tickets. The event sells out months in advance, giving Boyd and other hotels the opportunity to hand out tickets to choice customers.

Customers from other Boyd properties in the South and Midwest will be invited to stay in Las Vegas for the rodeo.

"It's a good opportunity for destination properties like the Stardust to incrementally increase their business," Stark said.

For Station Casinos, the National Finals Rodeo and a busy week between the Christmas and New Year's holidays will make what would have otherwise been the slowest month of the year a "pretty typical" month for business, on average, Chief Financial Officer Glenn Christenson said.

Other than booking country music acts around the rodeo, Station's marketing strategy won't change much next month. Nor does the company anticipate reducing work hours or staff, Christenson said.

The dead of summer is typically slower for locals properties than December, on average, as many Las Vegans escape town to beat the heat, he said.

At MGM Mirage, a smaller percentage of workers face reduced hours this time of year than in years past, Feldman said.

As much as a quarter of the housekeeping staff were put on hiatus in December in 1990, the first full year the Mirage was open, he said.

"Nothing that dramatic happens now," he said. "In the greater scheme of things it's a small number."

For workers trying to earn as much as they can this time of year, reduced hours can feel like a layoff.

Feldman said the reduced hours are designed to make properties run more efficiently and to use full-time workers when possible.

"The objective is to use as many full-time employees as possible and to use the on-call folks as little as possible," he said. December is a time when some casino venues can regroup and determine how to run the operation more efficiently, which may result in reduced hours for some workers, he added.

Officials at Harrah's Entertainment, the No. 2 Strip operator with six major casinos, could not be reached for comment.

Liz Benston can be reached at 259-4077 or at benston@lasvegassun.com.

Richard N. Velotta can be reached at 259-4061 or at velotta@lasvegassun.com.

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