Venetian Paid Self-Parking Start Date Announced
Venetian Resort has finally announced the day it will end free self-parking. We’re not going to share the date in this paragraph, because delayed gratification is more satisfying.
You might say it’s the blog version of “edging.”
Learn to live with disappointment. At least until after this photo.
An internal memo to Venetian’s tenants and partners says paid self-parking will go into effect on August 29, 2023.
Are you not entertained?
We were the first to get our hands on the announcement, as that is how we roll. Look, if we had a life, breaking stories wouldn’t be such a big deal. We’re hoping to get a life, but apparently there have been supply chain disruptions, and that’s the story we’re sticking to.
Here’s the memo from Venetian management.
On August 18, 2023, Venetian shared the first details of its new paid parking policy.
The internal missive reiterates the details of the paid parking plan: Grazie Rewards Premier members and above will receive complimentary parking. Paid self-parking for hotel guests starts Sep. 5 (for those who booked on or after August 24, 2023).
Nevada residents get three hours of free parking.
The cost for hotel guests will be $18 per day. For non-hotel guests, rates start at $15 for up to four hours, Monday through Thursday. Four to 24 hours will be $18, Monday through Thursday. The fee will be $23 per day Friday through Sunday.
Valet still costs $35 a day.
All of this is subject to change, of course, because Venetian and Palazzo are going to take a massive hit when this program is rolled out. The imagined influx of cars going to shows at the Sphere is unlikely to transpire, and even if it does, it’s only going to be in the evening for concerts and movies.
Then again, customers have gotten used to paying for parking at Strip casinos, so Venetian/Palazzo could emerge unscathed, with a new source of revenue and a “screening process” to keep out employees of neighboring businesses and guests who aren’t really their desired customers in the first place.
As always, we’re obligated to mention paid parking is the norm everywhere else in the world, and rates are often much, much higher. Shout-out to everyone in New York City, Chicago and L.A. nodding right now.
The blame for the implementation of paid parking at Venetian rests directly on the bulbous noggin of the Sphere. The paid parking program is part of gearing up for the opening of the $2.2 billion entertainment venue on Sep. 29, 2023.
From the moment we heard Venetian/Palazzo would start charging for parking, we predicted Wynn Las Vegas will now be forced to do so as well. Rumblings are Wynn Las Vegas is partnering with Sphere during events, but it’s unknown if that will result in 24/7 paid self-parking. Wynn previously charged for parking, but rolled the policy back when it had a negative effect on business levels, especially at Wynn Plaza.
That leaves just a few hold-outs on The Strip: Tropicana (some parking is “premium”), TI, Casino Royale, Circus Circus and Resorts World (for loyalty club members).
This means one needs more Las Vegas parking hacks!
Like the free parking lot behind Target beneath BrewDog and Olive Garden across from Park MGM, or the free parking lot at Harmon Corner, or the four free spaces outside the sportsbook at Paris, or the free parking lot at Stage Door and Battista’s Hole in the Wall, or the Shoppes at Mandalay Place.
We’d say Fashion Show Mall, but given its proximity to Venetian and Wynn, that could end up being another domino to fall.
Venetian held out as long as it could on paid parking, but somebody in the company had a freak-out, so now we pay. Or don’t go there. Viable option, despite Venetian being one of the most beautiful casino resorts in the world.
Venetian was sold by Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. to Apollo Global and Vici Properties in 2022. Would Sheldon Adelson approve of paid parking? Unfortunately, he was unavailable for comment.
Oh, stop your cringing. It’s been more than two years. If you think two years is “too soon,” go back to breastfeeding like that Robert Arryn kid on “Game of Thrones,” you big baby.
Anyway, while we hope Venetian will do a turnaround on its paid parking policy, it’s a longshot. As other casinos found, visitors didn’t stop visiting because of paid parking (many find ways to avoid the charges, such as being in a casino’s players club or getting their credit card, which bumps them up to a tier status that gets them free parking).
Ultimately, any remaining outrage about paid parking comes from the fact Las Vegas is being compared to its former self. Things evolve. Economics change. Spheres happen.
We’ll all get around in the Vegas Loop soon enough, so the whole conversation will be moot. Unless Elon Musk takes a blow to the head from Mark Zuckerberg and forgets where he put his Prufrock tunnel drill.
Too soon?
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