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StumbleMore tourists, less spending projected for big weekend
Travelers ranked Las Vegas as the top destination for Memorial Day travel on various websites, but those who make the trip will be stingy.
Friday, May 28, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.
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By the numbers
3.8% — Expected increase in visitors this Memorial Day weekend compared with last year. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is projecting 304,000 visitors.
5.4% — Expected drop in economic impact this holiday weekend versus last year. More tourists will come, but they’ll likely spend less.
Sun archives
- LV Chamber CEO: ‘Prosperity is going to happen again’ (5-19-2010)
- Las Vegas tops convention list for 16th straight year (5-19-2010)
- New ad campaign brings optimistic outlook for tourism (5-12-2010)
- Visitor numbers, room rates increase in March (5-11-2010)
Las Vegas may rank as the top destination among Memorial Day travelers, and should see more visitors than it did this time last year — but it’s not going to have the kind of economic impact worth memorializing.
If the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is correct, the valley will see 3.8 percent more tourists this three-day weekend than it did in 2009, but the economic impact is expected to be 5.4 percent less than it was a year ago.
It’s the problem tourism executives have been struggling with since the recession hit. People are still coming to Las Vegas, but they either don’t have as much money to spend or are more tightfisted with it — and it looks like it will be no different this holiday weekend.
The visitors authority is projecting about 304,000 visitors will be in town for the holiday weekend that serves as the unofficial start of summer.
But the authority may be underestimating the crowd.
Travelers ranked Las Vegas as the top destination for Memorial Day on vacation booking websites Priceline, Orbitz and Southwest Vacations, primarily because of Strip hotels’ deeply discounted room rates.
The travel and ticketing website VEGAS.com, a sister company of the Las Vegas Sun, is estimating that based on bookings and inquiries, the number of visitors this weekend will be 15 percent greater than last year.
The bump might be attributed to the fact that this year, Memorial Day weekend coincides with UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans and the UFC Fan Expo, which is expected to have 50,000 in attendance.
The problem is that even with an increase in visitor volume this year, hotel occupancy will actually dip to 93.5 percent from 94.7 percent in 2009, according to the authority. Kris Tibbs, its research manager, says the decline is a combination of the current economic climate and the increase of 8,000 hotel rooms in the valley during the last year.
VEGAS.com said the average daily room rate for this Memorial Day weekend has increased 3 percent. Memorial Day weekend room rates in 2009 were down 23 percent from 2008, according to VEGAS.com data.
MGM Mirage spokeswoman Yvette Monet said its rooms are going for slightly higher rates than last Memorial Day weekend. Last-minute rates at MGM Mirage properties range from $107 a night at the Excalibur to $379 a night at the Bellagio.
For Harrah’s Entertainment, the average daily room rate ranges from $142 at Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall to $400 at Ceasars Palace .
Other popular Las Vegas hotels’ room rates are $359 at Palazzo, $265 at Hard Rock and $322 at Palms.
Some good news for the gaming industry: AAA reported 28 percent of people in the Pacific region say they plan to gamble on their vacation and 16 percent in the Mountain region say they plan to do the same.
Nationally, AAA is predicting an increase in the number of people traveling for the Memorial Day holiday this year, the first increase since 2005.
In the Mountain region, which includes Nevada, 2.5 million people are expected to travel, a 7.6 percent increase from last year. The Pacific region, which includes Californians who drive to Las Vegas, will see a similar increase in travel this year, with about 5.13 million people traveling this weekend.
Sun reporter Kyle Hansen contributed to this story.
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After watching the oil disaster in the golf of Mexico and the constant lies of BP, nobody's really in the mood to go gambling in Las Vegas. The oil keeps flowing off the well, poisonning the sea and all efforts seem to be without help to stop the craze. It's normal that the Vegas visitors will not go gamble much. Slash-and-burn attitute has brought the country where it is now. Nobody knows what happens in the future, but 2 more of such disastrous accidents and the seafood chain will totally cut off. Think about the thousands of jobs being eliminated, not even mentioning all the aminals being killed for nothing. And the greedy BP managers giving stupid interviews but not knowing how to solve the problem.
To me it is clear that "normal thinking" Americans are not in the mood to fire up their money in Vegas these days.
From Switzerland
the poor exchange rate will stop europeans coming into vegas
That's correc, too, markp. The dollar has become relatively "strong" versus the Euro and the Swiss Franc. This makes it a bit cheaper for Americans visiting Europe, but approx 10-15% more expensive for Europeans visiting Vegas, as of 1 year ago.
If you think that the casinos only apparently have low room rates but then add these nasty hidden "tourist-idiot" resort amenity fees plus all sorts of taxes, then all over sudden a weekend room at any hotel in Vegas all over sudden becomes quite an expensive thing...
From Switzerland
gambling stinks in vegas, control rooms for slots, bad blackjack rules, why go- most of us have seen your cirque shows, your volcano's, just bring gambling back to a fair return and you'll see gamblers back.
We need to realize THIS is the new normal. The boom days and free spending are not returning to America for a long time and thus America's playground will suffer the most. Thanks harry, your time in the Senate have destroyed an entire country.
I wasn't aware that the reason tourists were to come to Las Vegas was to give all their money to the casinos.
Did I miss something ?
It's the problem tourism executives have been struggling with since the recession hit. People are still coming to Las Vegas, but they either don't have as much money to spend or are more tightfisted with it "
"gambling stinks in vegas, control rooms for slots, bad blackjack rules, why go- most of us have seen your cirque shows, your volcano's, just bring gambling back to a fair return and you'll see gamblers back."
formervegas76 has said it all here..
Less spending will be the new norm, not just for Vegas but throughout North America. Thanks to corporate greed, the erosion of the manufacturing base in the last few decades in both the US and Canada has created a big divide between the haves and the have nots. The middle class is disappearing. Consumerism and the purchase of the McMansions and flashy SUVs has floated the economy for many years, but the gigs up. Hard times are ahead for many people for many years. Visiting Vegas for some people is becoming a low priority and will only occur when prices for hotels/buffets are deeply discounted.....which is not a successful business model for the mega casinos of today. Greed - you reap what you sow!
None of the numbers mentioned should be a surprise to anyone. Until the country feels good about the future in their own lives as well as their community Vegas will suffer. It's the playground to have fun and spend money and if you have very little money and you're not sure about the future, you're not going to come to Vegas on a bender. With Europe about to financially implode and the ripple effect it will have in this country it's going to be 3-5 years before Vegas rebounds. Sad but true.
Good job UFC! Way to bring in some extra tourists. I'm sure they'll make their way into the sportsbooks to bet on the fights and possibly the NBA playoffs. Hopefully, by then, they are drunk and trying their luck at Megabucks. Any other big conventions trying to take advantage of the Memorial Day weekend travelers?
If I were a contrarian, based on the negative comments so far on this article (about 100%), the LV economy has probably hit bottom. Can't get worse than 100% bears, and that's probably the reason why the casino stocks have jumped 50% on avg just this year.
Less money per person spent means increase the volume of visitors. Sounds like that's what is happening. Bring back the cheap buffets and add a water park. The negative nancy's should all move to switzerland with Boris
I was in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago. The room rates were reasonable, the city was as fun as ever. However, It seems once there it is extremely expensive. I had a vodka crandberrry at Caesars Palace (Cleopatras Barge) $12.75 at Paris $10.
All over the strip and downtown Blackjacks pay 6 to 5. The Golden Nugget has a single deck Blackjack game that on most Blackjacks only pays even money.
My point is if you want more people to come to Vegas and spend money, stop choking people by the wallet once there. Let word get out that this is a reasonable place to go to. Once the economy gets better then let the market decide the prices.
JerryWayne, I read your comment with high interest. Through the lines I interpret some negativity towards my person. To give you an better picture about my person: I was in Vegas from March 10 till April 11, so that's 4 weeks in a row. I don't know if you ever had the opportunity to make a 4 weeks' gambling vacation anywhere on the planet, but if you did, you will understand that you simply can't throw your money out of the window just like somebody visiting Vegas for 48 hours. Things such as travel expenses (taxi or rental car?) or whether you pay 50 or 150 usd per night for your hotel room make a big difference if you stay 4 weeks.
I did my homework and made sure to play the right games and play well against the tough poker crowd. And I even won money. I hit a couple of royals on the quarter full pay machines and can't complain. I always tipped the room maid and also made sure not to stiff the buffet waitress and the poker dealer. However, once again, I did not throw my money out of the window. By that I mean that I didn't overtip. Perhaps you Vegas locals expect all tourists to be stupid and therefore have them to permanently overtip. Fine with me, but I just don't do that. In total, I still tipped way over 650 dollars, altogether. And that's quite an amount compared to my total bankroll I had for gaming and leisure. I think there is not much room left to save on tipping as I honor service and know that these bottom feeder jobs in the casinos are not well-paid unless the customers leave a tip. I still disagree with the situation and think the corporations should pay a bit more than simply minimum wage as long as they can keep million dollar bonusses for the fat cats. But my opinion doesn't count. And my money is my money. So I don't fly to Vegas to burn my money tipping each and everybody that's reaching out his hand on me. And I still disagree with the silly "tourist-idiot" resort amenity fee, implemented as a "smart marketing" strategy by the hotel corporations. As a consequence, I will stay where there is no Resort Fee and there are places that respect the tourists. Station Casinos still believes it has to semi-cheat their patrons by constantly hide the total rate. So I simply book elsewhere. But one thing is sure: When I ever happen to visit a Station Casino, I know how to give them my "warm hello".
From Switzerland
"Once the economy gets better then let the market decide the prices."
Isn't the market deciding it already? Last time I went to Caesars for a drink it was about $16.00. Seems like they are already saving some money.
If you want a $5.00 cocktail, go to a bar. If you want to stimulate this economy, GIVE US YOUR MONEY! ALL OF IT! ;)
Get the people there first, then worry about fleecing them. It's going to be years before the demand gets to the level where the room capacity gets absorbed.
I don't believe Europe's economy will hurt the US. The US economy is still the dog, Europe and Asia are the tail. The euro was way overpriced at $1.50, it should probably trade between $1.05 and $1.35.
Golden Gate Casino on Fremont Street gets it. A newly renovated hotel, all BJ pays 3-2, ten times odds on dice and drinks are all $3-$4. The place is usually packed every night.
BorisR
Have you been downtown,good drinks,food,free bands outside,light show,odds at gambling are better and no hidden charges on hotel rooms.It does'nt get any better than downtown.(tip well and you will get great service)
Afew shady looking people downtown but thats part of Vegas.
wolf85023
I usually stay a few nights at the El Cortez or the newly remodelled Gold Spike, whenever I come to Vegas. It's cheap and great there. I can walk to the Nugget for the Poker games and that's ok. But more than 3-4 days would be too much and then I get my rental car and check out the other locals casinos. Southpoint No 1, and the M, I think these two casinos fit my expectations. Sure, they're a bit off the blocks, but it's ok. Driving is still affordable in the US.
Greetings from Switzerland
@abc
Golden Gate is now trying to attract the younger crowd and it seems to be working for them, best of luck to Golden Gate.
I don't like these "pseudo-party" pits that are found everywhere in the Vegas casinos these days. Even in good old downtown they can be found, but I have serious doubt that it will work out for the casinos as they only cost extra money and pay poorly with reduced odds to the players. It makes it somewhat ridiculous to me. If I want "action", I go to a massage parlor or call up room service. If I want to go gambling, I go to a casino. I have never heard that I can get a "full service" at the partybits, although some girls look really sexy and perhaps willing to do some extra in their time off....... :)
From Switzerland
traveler are not going to sit in front of machine or card table. they not goin to win like our great mayor. not. u can come here and loose your money something like that. i really don't listen to potatoe nose anymore.
hasn't hit bottom yet if they passed the "immigration law like arizona" there will be boycott and cancelation of convention like what happening in arizona they loosing money everyday. convention will moved to florida were it family friendly
@ Boris
There is a reason why hotels are putting up fancy pools, stylish restaurants and clubs.It is making money for them. Authorities are marketing Vegas with its day and nightclubs with the current Camp Vegas ad campaign. It has a set clientele and obviously it is not you. It is a way of reaching out to different markets diversifying its customer base.