Friday, Oct. 26, 2007 | 7:29 a.m.
As plans to open nearly a dozen new Strip properties move forward, existing megaresorts are rolling out the red carpet for smaller conventions they once ignored.
A story in Tuesday's Las Vegas Sun notes that Strip properties have historically shunned trade shows that draw fewer than 1,000 people, favoring instead huge conventions such as the Consumer Electronics Show and the MAGIC apparel convention, each of which brings 100,000 or more participants.
Not anymore. Event planners across the country told Sun reporter Liz Benston that Las Vegas luxury resorts are promptly returning phone calls and being quite accommodating to smaller shows in an effort to build long-term loyalties. "Hotels now realize this is where the money is, and they're trying to get as much as they can on their books," one planner told the Sun.
It is an interesting development in a metropolitan area that, in the not-so-distant past, was famous for its modestly priced rooms and low-cost buffets. Las Vegas wanted visitors to spend their money at gaming tables, not on hotels and food.
During the past 25 years resorts upped the ante - and the room rates - as they sought a more sophisticated and wealth ier clientele. Blocks of rooms were reserved for high rollers and travel companies, the Sun reports. As a result, convention space was at a premium.
But with 30,000 rooms coming online through Strip expansions and new resorts, existing properties are seeking to secure return customers through smaller trade shows. It has created what Chris Meyer, vice president of convention sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, describes as "a process of discovery for the hotels."
It's an overdue discovery, considering that gatherings of 500 or fewer people make up about 80 percent of the meetings held in Las Vegas. It is nice to see that the Strip resorts are embracing an old adage by recognizing that good things do come in small packages.
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