Las Vegas becomes impossibly crowded during huge events. That used to only happen during a few major conventions, on New Year's Eve, and perhaps during March Madness.
When there's a massive event in Las Vegas, prices go up on the Las Vegas Strip, and not just for hotel rooms. Shows can charge more, minimum bets go up on gaming tables night and day clubs charge more for access, and prices for pretty much everything get adjusted higher.
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That's generally not the case with restaurants (since printing new menus is impractical) but reservations become hard to come by and being seated as a walk-in becomes nearly impossible.
Those huge events were relatively rare and people either wanted to experience the peak Las Vegas Strip crowds or had to be there to attend a conference like CES or World of Concrete. Now, however, as Las Vegas has become the sports capital of the United States (if not the world) peak crowds are happening more often.
More importantly, the two biggest operators on the Strip — Caesars Entertainment CZR and MGM Resorts International MGM — have reported occupancy rates that are trending toward sold out. That's not just for major events, but the overall trend in general which means higher room rates for anyone looking to stay at one of their properties.
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How booked are Caesars and MGM's Las Vegas Strip resorts?
Caesars shared some very impressive Las Vegas numbers during its October 31 third-quarter earnings call.
"Starting with our Las Vegas segment. Demand trends remained healthy during the third quarter with occupancy increasing to 96.6% versus 93.6% in the prior year," Caesars President Anthony Caranon shared.
The high occupancy rates led to people paying more to stay at the company's Strip resorts.
"Total Las Vegas segment revenues were up 4%, driven by higher occupancy and higher ADRs (average daily rates), which drove record cash hotel revenues, record gaming revenues, and record food and beverage revenues," he added.
The third quarter contained no massive special events. Caesar's rival, which last reported results in August, shared similar numbers.
"Second-quarter occupancy was 96% and ADR was $234, an increase of 4% year-over-year," MGM CFO Jonathan Halkyard shared during his company's second-quarter earnings call.
Those numbers are expected to grow given that Las Vegas will host a Formula 1 race in November, CES in January, and the Super Bowl in February, which leads into the March Madness college basketball season.
"For Formula 1, while still early, we already have twice the occupancy on the books, and at four times the average rate," he shared.
CEO Bill Hornbuckle commented on the huge numbers the company expects to do during the Super Bowl period.
"We're already seeing stronger rates in a typical Super Bowl weekend, with exceptional early business from sponsors and media that has led to three to four times higher room rates on the books," he added.
Las Vegas visitors have options
While Caesars and MGM dominate the lively south and central parts of the Strip and rivals in those areas including Wynn Resorts and The Venetian tend to be priced at the higher end of the scale, travelers do have options. North Strip resorts, including the brand new Resorts World Las Vegas, may have lower rates than their south and central Strip rivals.
Older north Strip properties including The Strat and Circus Circus will also generally have rooms available at higher-than-usual but lower-than Caesars, MGM, and Wynn prices. In addition, Las Vegas visitors can opt to stay downtown where prices are generally lower and one resort casino operator has made affordability part of its brand.
Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino is leaning into that pricing advantage with its new “Welcome Back to the Downtown Deal” program. It's a series of deals across the property "aimed to bring back the nostalgia and value that Downtown Las Vegas offers," the company said in a news release.
That program does not just include lower room rates, a spokesperson for the casino shared with TheStreet.
"Prices have gone crazy on the Las Vegas Strip. We’re introducing the 'Welcome Back to the Downtown Deal' to bring value back to downtown Las Vegas. We have the best gaming value in Las Vegas with $1 Blackjack and a bonus progressive reaching $30k for just $1 as well as $5 Craps, and Roulette," the company shared.
