Las Vegas Sun

November 22, 2009

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Visitor numbers see largest fall since 2003

By Liz Benston (contact)

Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008 | 4:36 p.m.

Beyond the Sun

Las Vegas in July experienced its largest monthly decline in visitor traffic since the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported today.

Visitor traffic fell 5 percent versus the same month a year ago -- the latest indication of a deepening economic downturn that has yet to hit bottom.

Average room rates, which were down 10 percent across Las Vegas in July, a time when room rates are typically low, also have lowered over time.

Weekend and midweek occupancy rates, 91 percent and 86 percent, respectively, were each down 5 percentage points in July. Passenger traffic through McCarran International Airport was down 9 percent and average daily auto traffic on Interstate 15 at the California border fell 7 percent.

Conventions, which bolster business midweek, have been hit along with tourism business. The number of conventions held in July rose 9 percent from a year ago and attendance was up 1 percent but total room nights occupied by convention-goers, a sign travelers are cutting stays short, fell 9 percent, the visitors authority said.

Like the dismal gaming revenue figures released by the Gaming Control Board today, the tourism figures, to some extent, reflect a time when many Americans were paying more than $4 per gallon for gasoline. It’s unclear whether visitation numbers are going up again now that gas is cheaper.

Discussion: 12 comments so far…

  1. By neiman1
    9/10/08 at 6:21 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    harry reid. Can you read these numbers? Will you please let us drill for oil. Not just in some place where there isn't any oil, but everywhere they can find it. We are going broke. The layoffs are going to come behind these numbers. Drill Baby Drill.

    email link
    http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm...

    Las Vegas
    Lloyd D. George Building
    333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Suite 8016
    Las Vegas, NV 89101
    Phone: 702-388-5020 / Fax: 702-388-5030

  2. By morgen
    9/10/08 at 9:34 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    Neiman: the Republican campaign has done it to you as well: they are trying to wash the brains of the American people. Drilling is NOT the solution. Even if they started drilling a year ago the results will not be soon enough to avoid the energy crisis. You know the real reason behind their "Drill , Drill" impetous? They get money from the oil companies, OK? The oil companies are seeing opportunity for even greater profits. The future of our planet lies in developping ET (energy technology). Solar and wind. America is a country where everything is possible. We have the minds. Let's develop clean energy technology and sell it to the rest of the world before the rest of the world gets it first and then sells it to us.

  3. By RPJ
    9/10/08 at 11:46 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    How about drilling AND building 100 new nuclear plants AND developing new energy technologies? Any other position is politically motivated.

  4. By mikeg
    9/11/08 at 12:36 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    The blame for people not coming to Vegas lies squarely on Exxon. With these oil prices people don't drive here and they don't fly here. Meanwhile Exxon makes records profits of $50 billion this year. Pretty clear what's going on - they're screwing over the rest of the country with their greed.

  5. By 72maverick
    9/11/08 at 5:14 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Its not just the oil prices...

    Take it from someone that has made 3-4 trips to Vegas each year for the past 25 years or so... the whole culture has changed on Las Vegas Blvd.

    I blame the City, just as much as the corporations. I used to love to visit... It was almost like going to a spa or something. Clean, crisp desert air with a view of the mountains (BTW, is there a planning and zoning dept. in Las Vegas?) I could stand on my balcony and get a terrific view.

    Now, its traffic congestion, construction noise, people hastling you on the street, 6:5 Black Jack, tight slots, poor drink service, the poor pit boss has no authority (can't even give you a pack of cigarettes).

    You don't feel like a king anymore in Vegas, you feel like you've been fleeced. The common man feels that. Before, he could rationalize his losses based on service and treatment. Now he feels like a sucker. The Vegas Experience has turned into a "Hustle".

    You lose a couple of grand and go home with another grand on your Visa card to cover your hotel bill. And then the corporate SOBs insult you and tell you have $18 in Comps or something like that... LOL, what a joke!

    The problem is that the Casinos have driven their overhead sky high and are trying to get the gamblers to pay the tab when the gamblers weren't really interested in all the extravagance to begin with.

    If you don't believe me, ask a dealer. Those are the ones taking it on the chin. People don't tip like they used to because comps go down and their costs go up (hotel, food, drinks) so they try to make it up on the tips.

    Vegas better wake up. The goose that laid the golden egss is on its death bed.

  6. By OG
    9/11/08 at 12:25 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    72maverick is on the money. Too bad the rest of Vegas is not listening to folks like him.

    If I was a casino CEO (and I'm not, thank God), here is what I would do:

    1. Aggressive COMP programs - modeled after the Cortez, but with the ease of functionality of the Station's boarding pass.

    2. Slashing HOTEL rates - nothing downtown should be more than $50 during the week, $75 on the weekend. For the strip $100 during the week, and $150 during the weekend (might vary somewhat due to seasonal peak demand).

    3. Quit fleecing your customers at your RESTAURANTS - high-end food should be available for that one special dinner, but by and large gamblers want efficient service and value-oriented menus.

    4. Don't be afraid of devoting some floor space to keno lounges, bingo parlors, etc. Slots machines can not crowd out the entire floor - and your customers want a break from the machines.

    5. Quit abusing your cocktail waitresses. They work so hard, but the demands on them are absurd. If a customer can not get a drink in the time it takes to lose $40 at the slots, they are going to leave very disgruntled...and may never come back.

    6. Make your customers feel safe. Violent crime is on the rise in vegas, so please make sure your security staff has a sufficient number of well-trained personnel.

    7. Loosen the slot machines! Penny slots should NEVER have a vig greater than 10%. 88.9% is simply unacceptable - especially with many regional gambling markets (such as Colorado) offering a fixed vig (by regulatory authority) of between 6-9%.

    8. 6/5 blackjack is a crime against humanity. Please stop it.

    9. Valet service is clutch. Don't have your customers waiting outside in the heat for 20 minutes to get their car. Valet service is basically the casino's "first impression" on a customer - and if it is negative one, they may never come back...or worse...just drive away.

    10. STOP building more casinos. The market is flooded and the congestion is getting out of control. If demand drops, freeze supply (i.e. new casinos) until the market reaches a point of balance.

    And of course, one last freebee...

    Somebody, Anybody, PLEASE fix the TERRIBLE customer service at the rental car complex at McCarren! After sitting on a plane for hours, fighting to get your bags, waiting in line for the shuttle, the last things want to deal with is a LOONNNGGG line to pick up their rental car.

    I love Las Vegas. Somebody please save it.

  7. By ncreader
    9/11/08 at 6:13 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    I have never commented here but I so agree with what 72maverick and OG have to say.
    My last trip I felt the same way. I don't really mind losing, or feeling like the odds are against me when I gamble; I know the odds and I can make a decision on that for myself, but when coffee, water a hamburger and just regular items cost three and fours times what they are in the real world then I really feel like I am being taken advantage of.

  8. By gold1020
    9/11/08 at 10:53 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    72 Maverick & OG are both 100% right. 10 years ago the hotel & food were both loss leaders to get people into the Casino. This is what vegas seems to have forgotten. I'm not gonna fly to vegas & pay top dollar for both the room & food for the privilege of losing more in the casino. Hotel rates should be minimal. Give the rooms away-the heck with making money off the rooms. 6/5 blackjack is an insult to the intelligence of all gamblers. The Casinos that have 6/5 blackjack tables should not be frequented by any gambler. If you see a 6/5 blackjack table- just walk out & don't ever go back into that casino. That casino is greedy and is treating you as though you are an idiot. DON'T EVER PLAY 6/5 BLACKJACK & STAY OUT OF CASINO'S THAT OFFER IT. Food should be less expensive. Everybody has a local casino within an hour from their home in most every part of america. Vegas has to make people feel welcome by offering low cost rooms & food-which they're not doing. That being said-i'll just drive to my local casino to gamble. My local casino is smart enough to not have 6/5 blackjack tables.

  9. By azsk8fan
    9/12/08 at 7:43 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    And how about catering to women a little more - like how bout some hot GUYS serving me drinks instead of some chick with her boobs hanging in my face - I could care less about seeing that -
    why does Vegas still persist in only catering to the men? Perhaps they think it absurd to have some hot looking guy serving drinks to the men who are gambling but why then does Vegas not see that it's equally as absurd to have the (fake)top-heavy cocktail waitresses serving drinks to the women who are gambling... Vegas needs to read what 72Mav and OG have to say and then act on it because they both make some very valid points.

  10. By Lenny_V
    9/12/08 at 3:48 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    F the casinos. They've been robbing people for way too long. Personally, I hope every last one of them goes under.

  11. By maitrut
    9/15/08 at 1:07 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    You go 72Maverick! We have made 1-3 trips annually since 1994 and feel like things have lost their charm. Everything is on steroids and all facets of Casino/Hotel operations must now make money. We liked it better with loss leader departments and cheap eats, etc. even though we gambled more then. We spend more money overall now, but enjoy Vegas less and will likely go less in the future. Too much cheap Wall Street financing and ownership greed has led to these huge developments. Now both are paying dearly.

  12. By TWOMOONS
    9/19/08 at 10 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    Just got back from vegas and was the worst vacation ever.I uesed to go 5 times a year now down to three and i wont go back. I uesed to average about 16000 points per visit at the MGM properties and now about 3000 points thats how bad it has got.The casinos must have paid off the gaming commission to tighten the slots

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