Here’s the scoop on Ben & Jerry’s helping out at St. Jude’s

By Richard N. Velotta

Monday, Jan. 24, 2011 | 3 a.m.

One of the unseen benefits of being the host to more than 20,000 conventions, trade shows and corporate meetings every year is that Southern Nevada often is on the receiving end of an organization’s philanthropy.

That was the case when the Red Rock Resort welcomed 400 people for the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc. Global Franchise meeting.

On one day of the conference, two teams of franchisees spent five hours helping the residents of St. Jude’s Ranch in Boulder City overlooking Lake Mead.

The crews arrived in the morning and built furniture, cleaned, took down Christmas decorations and sorted Christmas cards. At the 10 homes at the ranch, workers installed dressers, desks, night stands and curtains.

As work was winding down, a Ben & Jerry’s truck rolled onto the campus to prepare for the arrival of the children, who were at school while the volunteers spruced up their rooms.

Just before a school bus arrived with children anxious to see their “new” rooms, two more guests arrived: company co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.

“We’re here to help with the homework,” Cohen said as the dazzled residents walked through the sea of Ben & Jerry’s franchisees.

Cohen and Greenfield mingled with residents, telling stories about how they opened their first ice cream parlor in Burlington, Vt., in 1978 and how the company grew into a Vermonter with environmentally responsible and socially progressive policies, a give-back-to-the-community philosophy and Green Mountain charm.

They also gave honest answers to questions. Asked how they selected St. Jude’s Ranch to be the recipient of their good will, Greenfield shrugged and said it was Southern Nevada’s franchisees who came up with the plan.

“We just showed up to take credit for it,” he said.

Cohen shared that he has a limited sense of smell, a potential problem when you’re trying to develop ice cream flavors. He solved the problem by mixing large chunks of goodies into the ice cream.

“That way, I could at least experience the mouth flavor,” he said.

Told by one resident that she didn’t realize that Ben & Jerry are live people, Greenfield quipped, “We have some dead flavors, but we’re still pretty much alive.”

At the Ben & Jerry’s headquarters outside Burlington, there’s a mock graveyard filled with headstones of all the flavors that are no longer served at the Ben & Jerry’s “scoop shops.”

Visitor statistics

Although Southern Nevada’s November’s visitor volume was just 1 percent higher than in November 2009, there were more positives than negatives to take away from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s monthly statistical report.

There were 2.93 million visitors compared with 2.90 million a year earlier despite a double-digit percentage drop in convention attendance — 372,480 compared with 437,864, a 14.9 percent dip.

The reason for attendance being off: Several shows were out of the Las Vegas rotation in 2010 and some shows that normally appear in November were in October this year. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions was in Orlando, Fla., in 2010 and will be there this year. That show brought 23,700 people to Las Vegas in 2008.

The SupplySide West show and the International Autobody Congress gatherings were in Las Vegas in October instead of November, accounting for a shift of about 19,000 people in October (which had a 19.9 percent increase in conventioneers over October 2009).

Citywide hotel and motel occupancy was down 1.3 percentage points in November — about the level it has been all year. Occupancy is down because the number of rooms is up 2.6 percent to 145,694. That total will climb even higher with the release of December’s statistics, with the opening of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Like visitor volume, for the ninth straight month the average daily room rate went up in November. For the month, the rate was $94.73, 2.3 percent higher than in November 2009. For the year to date, it’s up 2 percent to $95.16.

The trend of people coming to Las Vegas by car in increasing numbers while the number of people coming by plane in decreasing numbers continued. The average daily auto traffic on Southern Nevada’s major highways was up 3 percent in November over same month the previous year, the 20th consecutive month of increases. But the number of passengers at McCarran was down just as it has been in 21 of the last 23 months. In November, traffic was off by 1.2 percent compared with a year ago.

Clark County also saw a reversal in gaming revenue after three straight months of improvements. Gaming revenue was at $715.8 million in November, a 4.7 percent decline from November 2009. The state Gaming Control Board said a large part of the downturn was a result of a tough comparison to last year when casinos had higher-than-usual baccarat win for the month.

Six get Gold

Conde Nast’s annual “Gold List” of hotels and cruise lines includes six Strip properties in 2011.

The criteria for attaining Gold List status are a score based on the percentage of reader respondents who rated a property’s rooms, service, food, location, design and activities as “excellent” or “very good.”

Topping the list from Las Vegas was Wynn Las Vegas, 91.3, which received the highest marks for its rooms (95.9) and the lowest for its service (88.7). The 2,716-room property has been on the Gold List annually since 2007.

Others on the list: Bellagio (91.0), which scored high on location (95.3) and low on service (88.1) and has been on the list annually since 2005; Four Seasons (90.8), scored high on service (95.7) and low on location (83.5) on the list annually since 2005; Encore at Wynn Las Vegas (90.5), scored high on rooms (95.7) and low on location (85.3) on the list annually since 2007; Palazzo (89.7), scored high on rooms (94.6) and low on service (83.0) and was on the list for the first time in 2010; and, Venetian (89.2), scored high on rooms (93.1) and low on service (83.5) on the list annually since 2005.

More than 500 hotels and cruise lines made this year’s Gold List, including 148 in 32 U.S. states and Washington.

American, VEGAS.com sign deal

Although Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines has squabbled with Internet travel companies Orbitz and Expedia, it has signed a deal with a sister company to In Business Las Vegas.

American announced that it has signed a deal with VEGAS.com and its technology division, Cyllenius, to use American’s direct-connect technology to access fares and customized travel products and services.

Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

VEGAS.com has been selling American tickets through the link for the past five months and recently finalized a long-term deal.

Representatives of Orbitz and Expedia have been critical of the direct-connect technology, calling anti-consumer because it makes it more difficult for customers to compare prices among its rivals.

American has more than 3,400 flights a day between 250 cities in 40 countries and has an average 23 daily flights in and out of McCarran International Airport, a 5.5 percent market share, to hub airports in Dallas, Chicago (O’Hare) and Miami as well as Los Angeles and New York’s Kennedy International.

Delta bidding

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that Delta Air Lines will begin asking passengers on oversold flights to bid for vouchers and award them to the lowest bidder instead of sorting out who gets what at the gate.

The practice is believed to be a first in the industry and could forever change how airlines compensate passengers who are voluntarily bumped from their flights.

Under most airlines’ existing policies, an announcement is made at the gate seeking volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for vouchers or credits for future flights in addition to a seat on the next flight out. If there aren’t enough volunteers to accommodate all travelers, airlines often up the ante on compensation.

Under Delta’s planned system, passengers would be notified of an oversold flight when they check in online or when they arrive at the airport. Passengers checking in would see a screen on their computers or on airport kiosks asking how much they want to bid for compensation. Airline personnel would sort through the bids and award compensation to the lowest bidders.

The new system should reduce costs for the airline since it won’t have to overcompensate customers and save time at the gate as agents can find their best bidders in advance of boarding.

The system also will create a scenario in which savvy fliers won’t be able to hold out for higher compensation while less experienced travelers get compensated less than they used to because they underbid.