CES, adult conventions send Las Vegas hotel room rates soaring

By Amanda Finnegan

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011 | 1:50 a.m.

Two of Las Vegas’ largest annual conventions — the Consumer Electronics Show and Adult Entertainment Expo — are scheduled to open today and have given Strip room rates a major boost for the weekend.

That is, if guests can even find an open hotel room this weekend. Most of the major hotels, including Palms, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Wynn Las Vegas, are sold out for most days this weekend.

Guests trying to book last-minute rooms will find average daily rates like $600 at Palazzo, $566 at Bellagio and $525 at Aria and the Venetian. They’ll find less expensive room rates at second-tier hotels such as $448 at MGM Grand and $420 at Mandalay Bay.

Even Las Vegas’ budget hotels, which advertise room rates as low as $30 for some weekends, are boasting triple-digit room rates. Guests will find an average daily rate of $327 at Imperial Palace, $222 at Hooters and $179 at Sahara.

With its proximity to the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Riviera's room rates are rivaling those of luxury Strip hotels with an average daily rate of $621 this weekend. Next weekend, the hotel’s rates will return to $51.

The 2011 CES, the world’s largest technology show, will run today through Sunday and is expecting about 126,000 attendees this year. The show spans more than 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas Hilton and Venetian.

The adult entertainment industry is expecting 30,000 attendees at its annual convention at the Sands Expo. The convention will end Saturday night with the AVN awards at the Palms.