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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 | 3:30 p.m.
The owner of the 2,950-room Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino on Paradise Road today disclosed it lost money during the fourth quarter as conventions attracted fewer business people to Las Vegas.
The Hilton, controlled by investment company Colony Capital of Los Angeles and other investors, said in its annual report today it lost $8.223 million in the fourth quarter vs. $4.288 million lost in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Fourth quarter net revenue fell from $60.9 million in 2008 to $50.234 million.
With the Hilton dependent to some extent on the convention trade – it’s located next to the Las Vegas Convention Center – the property has seen quarterly revenue tumble 37 percent from a three-year high of $80.6 million in the first quarter of 2008.
The hotel reported an average daily room rate of $86 in 2009, down from $125 in 2008. Room revenue during 2009 was down 37 percent to $73.2 million.
The Hilton said that besides weaker room rates, occupancy was down too, especially in the convention segment.
but, i thought vegas was "recession proof"?
remember when all the suits were saying that?
arrogance don't pay the bills, kids.
wow....those revenues are horrible. I would think a hotel this size should be able to be more creative and generate double the income. Time for new management.
Cut the room rates in half for a year and see the people flood in, giving up their money in the process!
I was a credit manager in the Finance office at a Hilton Resort, so I had to approve credit and billing on the standard Hilton group sales contracts... and based on my experience most Hilton contracts already give away the house... with free this and free that if you bring your group here... the Hotels and Resorts hope they will recover their lose with guest/customers spending in their outlets and casinos, however since the recession most guest only eat at the convention buffets and sneak doggy bags back to their rooms for later, they do not buy gifts and spend very little in the casinos. Afterwards seasoned guests find something to complain about (most Hiltons will give you whatever you want if you complain) and wind up getting one night or all of their room charges comp'd... as the credit manager I had to do most of the comp's and credit card refunds, it was sad to see how dishonest people could be... but with group sales so desperate for their repeat business we had no choice. Until the economy gets better this will all remain the same in fact the last 3 years has been the worst I have every seen in my 15 years in the hospitality industry.
The corporate idiots have been told time and time again and again by us the players, by consultants, but they will never give in. They just are not conditioned from their early management 101 days to the positions they hold today, to the PROVEN ages old gambling value formula which the original founding Mob or whomever established which drives profits via the CASINO. Cheap room rent, Cheap to giveaway food, Free drinks, Generous comps, Cheap quality entertainment, all are the key to filling your casino, thus filling the drop boxes and machines with cash. WISE UP CORPORATE OWNER FOOLS!!!!
This really isn't so unexpected for Hilton. They always knew that being tied at the hip to the convention center would generally be a very good thing and they know for the most part it probably has been over the years. So now they take a hit when things are down. I think the execs always knew from the outset that if times were tough at the convention center that times would be tough for them and as a whole thought it to be sound business strategy. And It still is sound business strategy. It's an astounding location for them - not just for getting convention business - but as a way to be a flagship property showing off the Hilton brand to world wide travelers. It doesn't sound like they're complaining.
I was in Las Vegas for a convention in fourth quarter 2009.
I would have stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton, but when I tried to log into my Hilton HHonors account to book the room I discovered my account of 10+ years had been closed. Half of those years I had been HHonors diamond elite. I lost all my points too.
Great pool party at the Las Vegas Hilton though (free booze and food) for the last night of BlogWorld Expo 2009.
they also should hang their heads. for they have recently integrated 6/5 blackjack like harrahs.onlt two 3/2 pay tables left. shame on you.
Nice property but the casino sucks - and they have a very poor security-posture. I've seen thugs in there that would make Terrible's seem like the Bellagio. Rooms are cheap - avoid the 6/5 and slots - no one gets paid. It's classic bean-counter incompetence holding their own heads under-water.
This all started downhill when the Prez picked Northern Iowa over the Rebels. Why does he hate Las Vegas?
The decline started when they brought in a Senior Exec. from Back East and a President from Stardust who were clueless about gaming. These two brains would walk around the casino floor, see open blackjack and other table games with no one playing, and get them closed to save on wages. Problem is when people come to play blackjack the few tables they have left open are full, so customers go to another property to gamble. Then these two Senior Exec's wonder why profits in Table Games are down. The idiots see the extra $$$ saved on wages in their accounting books, but they cannot see the millions of dollars lost from customers going to other properties to gamble.
I always felt the Hilton was run poorly. If you were hungry after going to see a show there, nothing was open past 10:00-11:00 at night except the coffee shop. The better restaurants were already closed. So what do you do? You leave the property and go somewhere else to eat AND then gamble. Restaurants at the Strip hotels do not close at 10:00 at night. There is always late seatings for those who went to a show.
Closing the Star Trek experience was a stupid idea.
They deserve to be losing money for this stupid decision. So much for the dollars per square foot analysis for closing Star Trek. It was all wrong.
They could have made money at the Star Trek convention.
They could have made even more money with the new Star Trek movie.
But wait, there's more, A new Star Trek movie is coming in June 2012. Even more lost income!
Maybe someone else with some brains and a long term loyalty view should take over.
Star Trek was an icon
Yes--star trek experience!!! I wish I could see it again. I have seen a lot more episodes of DS9 and Voyager and I'm familiar with more of the props and gadgets. How would Quark run the Hilton? Right now it looks like the Borg have assimilated half of the strip with lousy properties that are losing money or have gone bankrupt--CC, Fountainebleau, and Echelon. CC looks like a Borg hive.