Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Harrah’s launches program to focus on small group travel

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas today said it launched a program called Total Experiences to boost sales in the small group travel segment, a market of increasing importance to the hotel industry.

Saying people are more interested than ever in reconnecting with family and friends, and seeing growing guest demand for help with group trip planning, Harrah’s said the complimentary program "eases the stress of planning group getaways by offering high-touch service every step of the way."

Each group will be connected with a Total Experiences specialist who will handle all details of the group’s itinerary both before and during the stay.

Services include a custom itinerary based on the group’s interests and budget, upgrades and perks based on group spending, booking all reservations, offering insider recommendations and arranging VIP privileges that Harrah's said were never before available to leisure guests.

Total Experiences is available to groups of six or more that book at any U.S. Harrah's resort in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere.

Benefits and upgrades include VIP check-in, access to private lounges, VIP club entry, celebrity meet-and-greets, private gaming lessons and behind the scenes tours, Harrah's said.

“Understanding how important it is for our guests to easily reconnect with friends and family was the inspiration for Total Experiences,” David Norton, chief marketing officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, said in a statement. “Anyone who’s planned one of these trips knows it takes a lot of effort to please and accommodate everyone. Our Total Experiences Specialists handle all the logistics and planning for you—and also serve as that ‘in-the-know friend’ who has the inside scoop and access to all the best things to do.”

Typical group travel events promoted by the Total Experiences program include girlfriend getaways, bachelor parties, reunions, golf trips and destination weddings. The program has its own Web site, www.totalexperiences.com.

The program comes at a time when Las Vegas hotel-casinos -- such as the Harrah's-owned Caesars Palace and the Rio -- are facing intense competition for leisure visitors who have become more important to the gaming destination.

With U.S. businesses curtailing travel because of the recession, convention attendance in Las Vegas through August this year was down 30.2 percent vs. the same period of 2008, to 3.2 million people. That compares to an overall decline in the Las Vegas visitor count of 5.8 percent to 24.5 million people, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

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