Analyst: Las Vegas Resort and Parking Fees Negatively Impacting Tourism
Posted on: May 3, 2018, 09:00h.
Last updated on: May 3, 2018, 11:43h.
Las Vegas resort and parking fees are hurting Sin City. That’s according to Las Vegas Advisor publisher Anthony Curtis, who believes the new costs are turning otherwise would-be tourists away.
Casinos up and down the Strip have recently increased daily resort fees, and many have also done away with free parking, an amenity that had been afforded to all in Las Vegas for decades.
“Everyone hates resort fees, but the parking fee is even worse,” Curtis told the Los Angeles Times this week. “Everyone wants some kind of comp. The most basic comp is free parking. That was the one comp that everyone got.”
Curtis’ media outlet provides tourists with information on all things Las Vegas, from parking and resort fees, to new entertainment and restaurants.
“The customers hate it. They get madder and madder,” Curtis further explained. “I really do think that these fees are starting to cause people to second-think a trip here.”
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), visitor volume was down 1.7 percent in 2017, with 42.2 million guests traveling to the area. Officials cited the October 1 mass shooting for the annual decline. Visitor volume in October, November, and December respectively dropped 4.2 percent, 3.7 percent, and 2.5 percent.
Fees Parking Visitation
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority denied Curtis’ claim that resort and parking fees are indeed hurting tourism. “We have no information that ties any reaction to various fees to a reduction in visitation,” LVCVA Communications Director Jeremy Handel told the LA Times.
Curtis said the October 1 shooting, along with room inventory reductions due to several casino renovations, should be attributed for the visitor decline, not parking and resort fees. But while the final quarter of 2017 indeed saw fewer guests come to Las Vegas, the LVCVA data reveals that the city was struggling before the shooting.
Las Vegas saw visitor growth in just three months last year (January 1.1 percent, March 1.4 percent, May 0.3 percent).
In 2016, MGM Resorts, which owns the most casinos in Las Vegas, announced it was implementing parking fees at its hotels. Caesars and Wynn Resorts soon followed. Parking and valet service remains free at Las Vegas Sands’ Venetian and Palazzo resorts.
Fees Add Up
An online hotel search for a Las Vegas stay leads one to believe that an overnight jaunt to America’s gambling hub can be had at a reasonable cost. But sneaky resort fees, which often aren’t included in an advertised rate, can greatly increase the total charge.
Resort fees typically include basic amenities such as in-room Wi-Fi, local calls, and fitness center access.
A recent search at The Venetian quoted a room for $149.00. But with taxes, the cost came to $168.94. Add on the property’s $45/night resort fee, and the actual nightly charge is $213.94, or about 44 percent higher than the advertised fare.
The Venetian and Palazzo have the highest resort fees at $45 a day. But MGM, Wynn, and Caesars aren’t far behind, with properties such as the Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Aria, and Caesars Palace all charging $39 daily.
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Last Comments ( 13 )
Good lord! All the people who bark about resort fees are the same people who bitch and moan about not getting a $.99 breakfast at a 4 or 5-star hotel while they are putting a few hundred dollars in a penny slot machine. Face it, you are on vacation in a gambling town so just budget for the fees and enjoy yourself and quit complaining! Sure, every property and everybody in the hospitality business in Vegas has their hand out. I get it, its almost to the point that if the Bellman says "Bless You" when you sneeze, they expect a tip. If you don't like it, go somewhere else.
I am frequent tourist from LA to Vegas. After parking fees and resort fees, I am going to California casinos, ex Morango and Pechanga.
I can name four people off the top of my head that don't go to vegas anymore. I know a lady that said she will never ever go again. She stayed at the Luxor for $110 than she got hit with a Parking, Resort and some other Hotel fee for a grand total of $174 on top of her room which was only $110 which = $384 for three days. I will never go back again. I have places just as nice here in Scottsdale if not better and they pay out too.
I am from the UK and have visited last Vegas about a dozen times, usually once every two years for two weeks every time I visit. Anyone who knew me and was interested in visiting Vegas would ask me about it as I knew the best places to stay, what times of year were good, and the good places for buffets. However now I tell people not to visit due to resort fees and parking - yes some smaller hotels do still offer free parking, but when places like the Gold Coast are charging a resort fee and lots of downtown hotels too, it just becomes a waste of time especially if you have a car and are vistiting multiple casinos each day. I think this year so far I have discouraged about 4 couples from visiting Las Vegas, and I know I will never come back until the parking fees are removed... I do think very very soon, some hotels will start to offer as special offers, 'resort fee' free prices. Once one hotel is brave enough to do it and see their bookings rise, others may follow. I really did love visiting Las Vegas, but never again for me, or any of my friends who I will do my utmost to discourage from visiting while the strip hotels are being so greedy. If everyone else did the same and told people not to go there, then maybe this greed could be reversed.
Jonathan, suggested looking off the strip. I looked into Ellis Island, one of my favorite places to eat but Motel there also has resort fees. Koval is only about two streets away from the strip. I really wouldn't want to go much further away then that. I guess I'm SOL. I will just have to make fewer trips.
The Wynn will never understand this but I won't step one foot into their Casino while they charge for parking. They don't make enough charging $22.00 cocktails. Resort fees and parking fees are Nothing more than a gaff. And what a gaff is used for is to Kill the fish. I hope all the casinos lose earnings and customers from their greed.
I recently went to the Palazzo and was shocked by the increased resort fee. Adding insult to injury, they tack sales tax on to the fee itself, bringing it close to $50 a night! I make it a point not to spend an extra penny in any hotel charging resort or parking fees. I do all my fine dining at some great restaurants off strip, and patronize those properties that don't charge extra. My visits to Vegas have certainly been less frequent as a result of these fees.
One day, the greed will catch up to them. Resort fees and parking fees are akin to baggage and seat reservations. It’s all disgusting. I used to drive to LV at least once a month and stay at the Wynn. Due to my physical disability, I would need to drive to other hotels just due to the strip hotels footprints being so large and being forced to walk extra to cross a fricking bridge instead of just crossing a street, then on the way back being forced up/down stairs when the escalators were broken. The parking fee was the last straw. After 30 years, I’ve stopped staying or even visiting the strip anymore. I’ll stay in a time share and gamble off the strip just on principle. They can keep their ‘comp’ rooms. Pathetic displays of greed. At least the hotels didn’t take tax payer dollars as a bailout, then add fees for EVERYTHING, turn over the highest profits ever, and never even remove the 9/11 increase for the fuel, They shud be forced, just lik the banks should be forced, to pay back every penny of bail out dollars, including the outrageous golden parachutes the executives received. Wynn/Encore state one reason for the fees is to stop ‘overflow’ from other hotels. Hmmm. I’m staying at the Wynn, why am I being charged?
Lord knows the locals are spreading the word to their friends and family about looking offstrip.
Greed is Evil, MAKE A PENNY LOSE A DOLLAR...SAVE A PENNY LOSE A DOLLAR. THE HOTEL MANAGEMENTS BEEN DOING THIS SINCE THE RECESSION. Certainly hope they lose millions of customers. They won't even hire full time qualified workers, only on-call and part time., and hotel won't spend enough to keep properties clean, new, and in good working order. SHAME !!! Now casino managements is trying to figure out how to charge for free drinks with monitoring devices.
We live in Los Angeles and would travel to Vegas pretty frequently until the parking fees came into effect. Since then, we travel to other places...
The reason resort & parking fees are added to your bill is so the hotel will not have to add those fees to the room price. So, the can still advertise room for $99/night and when they add taxes, resort fees, & parking fees to your bill, the room charge totals $175/night. I would rather see the resorts have one charge per night, plus taxes. We all know how they are dinging your pocketbook. When making plans to visit Vegas, you have to check room rate comparisons for different weeks to find the best value. For example, one week your rate may be $89/night and the next week the rate may be $179; so that difference impacts your travel plans. What are they going to charge you for next? I am just waiting for the day that someone has the guts to open a new hotel that has: 1) absolutely NO SMOKING, and, 2) no extra "funny" fees, just $100 per night, or whatever, plus 13% tax rate. That hotel will be overrun before it opens.
It's ridiculous to get comped a free night and then pay a 35 dollar fee. I think if a casino offers someone a free night, then it should be free. If someone is looking to visit Vegas and books a room then charge a fee. I have been staying at Caesars properties for years and bringing family and friends. I would love to see these resort fees changed, either reduced or eliminated. I come there for gambling and shows, I leave plenty of money for the Las Vegas economy. I shouldn't see an extra couple hundred dollars for the exercise room and swimming pool that I don't use.