LOST WAGES, INDEED: Study Finds Vegas Prices Rising Faster than Any Other US Travel Destination

Posted on: June 20, 2024, 10:33h. 

Last updated on: June 20, 2024, 04:21h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

According to a new study by Forbes Advisor, Las Vegas has experienced the steepest cost increases of any other US travel destination in the last five years.

AI renders an image of the Las Vegas Strip experiencing inflation. (Image: ChatGPT)

Vegas topped the list based on the cost of its daily hotel accommodations (which increased 47.45%), its daily car rentals (up 61.44%), and its daily meals (up 13.96%).

Forbes’ study used data from the Business Travel News Corporate Travel Index, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, and AAA to rank the 75 largest US cities.

According to its findings, the average Vegas hotel stay now costs $252 per night, which is believed to be a new Vegas record — along with a new $98 average daily cost for three meals out, and a new average daily car rental rate of $77.

How US travel destinations ranked on price hikes in the past 5 years. (Image: Forbes Advisor)

And that car rental increase doesn’t include the escalating costs of gas, daily resort parking fees, which didn’t exist for some Strip resorts five years ago, or special event parking, which can now exceed $100 a pop for big concerts and sporting events.

The only good news was the cost of domestic airfare to Las Vegas, which decreased 5.53%. However, all the destinations that made the most-expensive list also experienced airfare cost decreases, with six of the top 10 destinations experiencing greater decreases than Vegas.

Rounding out the destinations with the biggest hikes in travel costs were Tucson, Ariz., Sacramento, Calif., New Orleans, La., and San Antonio, Texas.

Indianapolis, Ind. ranked as the city with the smallest average increase in overall travel costs (2.25% for hotels, 6.27% for car rental, and 22.28% for daily meals).

But its Strip isn’t as entertaining.