A 'Cold' in Vegas
No, not the temperature (year-round it's still warmer than most of the country). We're talking the equivalent of the 'common cold', uncomfortable, but short-lived.
For many Vegas influencers, calling Vegas 'dead' has become a means to get hits (be aware, influencers, this shall pass and many among us will remember how you 'influenced' our city).
Despite fewer visitors, casinos have actually seen a significant increase in gaming revenue - the Strip more profitable by about 6% and downtown over 8%.
What is the impact on number of tourists though? About 3.5 million fewer in 2025 - a 12% reduction.
That's a lot of people but it still leaves a lot of people - over 38 million will visit Las Vegas this year - over 730,000 every week!
To put it in context...
Manhattan is experiencing a 5% reduction from projections, Florida an 18% reduction and Hawaii, 17% fewer visitors. Michigan is tracking at a 24% fewer, illustrating the impact Canada has on the USA.
Contributing factors include a strong U.S. dollar, a slashing of the international promotion budget by 80%, and of course, the air travel disruptions caused by the government shutdown of 2025.
Is Las Vegas simply a victim of circumstances?
Not entirely.
The wisdom of the Corporate approach is to combat all that by adding egregious 'nickel and dime' fees (ok, if it really were only nickels and dimes the impact might not be as noticeable).
So let's review those nickels and dimes. There are:
• Parking fees - some charge every time you enter the garage
• Resort fees - that can exceed the room charge (covering such amenities as use of the phone that simply takes up room on the night stand these days).
• In-room beverages and snacks - can easily double the room cost if you're not careful.
There are the acronym fees:
• RFT (resort fee tax): the tax you pay on top of paying the resort fee - 13.38%.
• LET (live entertainment tax): the charge for buying a ticket to any live performance - 9%.
• CNF (concession & franchise) the charge to buy food - 3% to 5%.
• CCU (credit card usage) - 2.5% to 3% for using a credit card.
And let's not forget the...
• 'On the Rocks' and Neat Pour fee: for a shot pour larger than the 'Strip standard' of 1-1.25 ounces.
• Mandatory Gratuity: 18% to 20% (be careful to subtract this from the tip you want to leave).
• Restaurant Operation Fee: 3% to 5% fee (because the restaurant exists?)
Premium view fees: For rooms or restaurants with specific views - typically $25 to $75.
• Operation Fee - such as for room service ($25 at some resorts).
• Booking Fees: such as the 'Contact Center Fee' - for speaking with a human agent during the booking process.
OK, maybe all that isn't going to influence vacationers to change their travel destination from Vegas to Tucson, but it isn't going to help (apologies to Tucson - it's actually a very nice city).
There's also this new promotion video that's also not going to help.