Mandalay Bay, Mirage Latest Las Vegas Hotels to Close Midweek, as Airport Travel Remains Sluggish

Posted on: November 20, 2020, 01:37h. 

Last updated on: November 21, 2020, 03:25h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

In response to low demand, the Mirage and Mandalay Bay are the latest Las Vegas hotels set to close during the middle of the week. This comes as the slowdown continues at McCarran International Airport during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mandalay Bay
The Mandalay Bay, seen here, is on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. It is one of several resorts closing its hotel rooms during the middle of the week because of low demand. (Image: Business Insider)

With a decline in tourism traffic, the hotel towers at the Mirage and Mandalay Bay on the Las Vegas Strip are closing during the slow midweek days.

Beginning Nov. 30, the hotels at the Mirage and Mandalay Bay will close Mondays at noon and reopen Thursdays at noon, according to a statement from MGM Resorts. The hotels will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesday.

The casino portions at the Mirage and Mandalay Bay, and as well as restaurants and other amenities, will remain open. Both resorts are expected to reopen on a regular schedule after December.

While we do not currently expect the midweek hotel closures to remain past December, we will continue evaluating business levels to determine how long they are in effect,” MGM Resorts said in a statement.

Another MGM Resorts property on the Strip, Park MGM, also is only accepting hotels guests on weekends.

The LINQ and Planet Hollywood, two Caesars Entertainment properties on the Strip, are opening rooms for reservations only on weekends.

The off-Strip Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino has been closed since the March state-mandated COVID-19 shutdown. It is one of the last to reopen after Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) allowed casinos to begin operating again June 4.

The Rio is reopening on Dec. 22. After the first of the year, it will only accept weekend hotel reservations.

Encore, a Wynn Resorts hotel-casino on the Strip, has closed its casino and hotel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because of low consumer demand.

These midweek woes can be attributed in part to the falloff in convention business since the pandemic began, industry experts said. Conventions and other big events are seen as helpful in filling up hotel rooms during the middle of the week.

The weekday occupancy rate in Las Vegas during September was 38.5 percent, compared to a weekend rate of 66.1 percent, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Airport Slowdown

In October 2020, 1.98 million travelers used McCarran International Airport, according to totals released this week by the Clark County Department of Aviation. This is a decline of 57 percent compared to the same month last year.

In October 2019, 4.6 million passengers made their way through the airport. This means 2.6 million fewer travelers used the airport this October than in the previous October.

However, the October 2020 number is higher than the 1.7 million passengers who used the airport one month earlier.

TSA Coronavirus Surge

In addition to the drop in the number airline passengers, McCarran International Airport is faced with a surge in the number of Transportation Security Administration officers who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Since Oct. 22, the number of reported cases at the airport has reached 24, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In total, 65 TSA employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Las Vegas airport since the March onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nationwide, nearly 800 TSA employees have tested positive for COVID-19. The airport with the largest number is Miami International Airport, at 157.