The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently released their annual Las Vegas Visitor Profile. The survey polled 300 participants each month of 2016 for a total of 3,600 people throughout the year. Compare that to the record-breaking number of visitors in 2016 of 42.9 million and you can see that this can’t be entirely accurate. That said, the visitor profile chock full of information that may not be specific but points to certain trends.
According to the visitor profile, nearly one-half (49%) of the visitors to Las Vegas in 2016 said that they paid a regular hotel room rate. That’s up significantly from 2012–2015 results. Only 27% of the visitors in 2015 paid regular hotel room rates. This means that visitors are paying full advertised rates.
Only 10% of the respondents said that they received a casino complimentary hotel room rate. That’s down from 15% in 2015. The trend of more people visiting Las Vegas for a convention continued to be true. More people, 7%, paid a convention rate in 2016 than any year still tracked by the Visitors Profile.
Using the $20 trick for room upgrades in Las Vegas is great. Receiving a discounted or complimentary hotel and then using the $20 Trick for an upgrade is even better. Find out which casino players club family your favorite casino/hotel/resort belongs to so you can get discounts and complimentary hotel rooms this year and in the future. There’s no reason to pay full price for a hotel room if you don’t have to.
As we’ve discussed this year hotel room rates in Las Vegas rose in 2016. A way to combat higher hotel room prices is to split the rate with more people. Last year 8% of Las Vegas visitors who stayed in a hotel had 4 or more people in their room. That’s an increase from just 4% in 2015. The cost of the hotel room should remain the same if you plan on reserving a queen room anyway.
Another way to save money on a hotel room is to stay in a hotel room away from the Vegas Strip. Last year, 75% of visitors stayed in a property on the Vegas Strip. Only 6% of visitors stayed in downtown Las Vegas while 13% stayed in the outlying areas of Las Vegas. While a few more people stayed in downtown Las Vegas, fewer people stayed in hotels around the Las Vegas valley.
Last year more visitors explored the outlying areas of Las Vegas beyond the Vegas Strip. Visitors interested in staying at hotels away from the Vegas Strip have some good news to look forward to. Many properties have been improving their properties over the past couple of years. Others are already planning improvements. This is a great time to explore casino-hotels off the Vegas Strip.
Here are a handful of properties away from the Vegas Strip that recently renovated their property or will do so in the near future.
The California – This renovation has been happening for just over a year and is almost complete. Just about everything is complete besides a few hotel rooms that still need to be updated.
Palms – This property was purchased by Station Casinos last year and will be slowly changing the property over the next couple of years. New restaurants and a renovated nightclub are top of the list for changes.
Plaza – The Plaza has undergone many renovations in the past couple of years and they’re already upgrading their new rooftop pool complex.
Palace Station – This casino just off the Vegas Strip is set to see major renovations. A new Bingo room will open shortly and there’s much more to come. There will be a restaurant shuffle next and possibly much more. Eater Vegas has a look at the different renovation phases we could see.
Downtown Grand – This is still a relatively new casino having opened less than five years ago. They upgraded their pool and in-house restaurant last year. The new restaurant, Freedom Beat, has a stage for music and the pool will be adding more entertainment this summer.
Ellis Island – This casino is just off the Vegas Strip and famous for inexpensive craft beer, dinner specials, and cheap gambling. Ellis Island recently announced that they’ll be adding an indoor/outdoor bar and restaurant called Front Yard later this year.
