Philip

I was at the Bellagio this past weekend for my 3rd stay. We experienced keys that would not work, a dirty room upon arrival, "lost" dinner reservations, and several other examples of service that was not up to past levels. Granted these are minor issues. However, given the premium on my room, I expected better.

In March, we had a wonderful time. In November, it seemed like a different hotel. Maybe it is the new ownership.

Anyone else see a decline?

Vic

I have a friend who has worked there since it opened.
No question that MGM is not a high end hotel management outfit. Their goals and ideals are well below those Steve Wynn first tried to ingrain into Bellagio when he opened it.
That said, while I like Bellagio, I must admit that I believe that it is all but impossible to offer top notch service to 4000-6000 guests at a time in a town like Las Vegas given the staffing and labor pool limitations.

People complain about service at Venetian and Bellagio, but they will never, nor can they ever be IMO, anywhere near the Four Seasons Maui or Ritz Carlton Naples when it comes to service.
When you're in LV, expectations have to be a little bit different.

And please bear in mind that while room rates have gone up a lot in LV during recent years, they're still not on par with those of the better hotels in Chicago, SF, NYC, Miami, etc etc.

Philip

Vic,
I suspected the MGM change had something to do with it.

I do understand your point given the size of these hotels. I found the problem shocking because it was basic things that we had problems with at Bellagio.

Such as garbage from a previous guest left on the floor, used toiletries left in the bathroom, 3 phone calls to get a towel, 25 minute waits for a bellman, 6 tries and 25 minutes to get a room key that worked.

What really got me pissed it that my wife wasn't allowed to get to our room at 2:00 a.m. because her key wouldn't work in the elevator. This is the same elevator that 10 of us couldn't get to work less than 2 hours earlier. Rather than be aware of this earlier problem with the keys, they chose to give her a hard time and keep her for 25 minutes.

Steve Wynn is definately missed. Next time I come to Vegas, I'm shopping my business.

Patrick

I have already expresesd my views on my three night stay at Bellagio in late September. Although I was slammed as trying to stiff the valet parkers by using self-park, I still maintain that the parking and getting cars was so slow, I had no desire to lose that much time trying to use their system. And when we arrived with our luggage (after check in several hours earlier so we already had our keys) the bellmen refused to take our luggage directly to the room. We had to go to our room, call and wait at least a half hour for our luggage, even though we already knew our room number and had our keys when they took it out of our car. In three nights we only received turn-down service (including fresh towels on our third and final night). We had a toilet that refused to flush which we called about twice and was never fixed in three days. We were told that they laid off a whole lot of people after 9/11, so perhaps that was the problem, although on the weekend we arrived, the hotel was virtually full, just very understaffed.

Monique

This isn't just a Bellagio/MGM takeover issue. It is prevalent in Vegas right now. They laid off thousands of workers and even if occpancy is creeping back up they do not have the staff they used to. Therefore you have half as many maids trying to clean way more rooms and still get it done on time. Sadly this isn't just a Bellagio issue right now.

Phil

I think the staffing cut is really noticeable. Occupancy rates have picked up but are still nowhere near last hear.

"Officially" 170,000 came for the COMDEX show in early November. However, several cab drivers told me they would be surprised if it was more than 100,000. Unlike last year, they apparently spent hours sitting and waiting for fares.

I also think the casinos gambling revenues are being hurt by the drop-off in Asian visitors as they tend to be bigger gamblers. I saw plenty of empty tables on Saturday night at several casinos.

Bottom line, I can't see how Bellagio can maintain its #15 ranking in Traveler's Readers Poll past this year.

Patrick

Perhaps some of the reason the service has gone downhill at Bellagio is because they have hired bellman who can't even read or do math (see the post above by the guy who claims to be one.) He has been unable to read my post that says we tipped the bellman very well for delivering our luggage to the room, (not his fault they didn't get to it for a half hour) but because we wanted to leave early for Grand Canyon and Zion we chose to use self-park to avoid the long (yes half hour and longer wait for cars on that morning we left) for our car. And the original post was that we tried to get a bellman to take our luggage to the lobby near the self-park so that we wouldn't have to get involved in that mess at valet parking, but he refused saying there was no direct route they could take the luggage to get there. If he had agreed as I think at a higher level of service hotel they would have, he would have been tipped extremely well. And no I'm not complaining about a $169 per night rate (for the Saturday -- lowest I could get, but down from the original $300+ they quoted me at original booking) and was even happier with the $129 rate for the Sunday and Monday nights. What does that have to do with this entire post, however? If a hotel boasts top service they should provide it for everyone not only offer half service if someone gets a half-price deal on a room. Or as a bellman do you find out how much each person is paying for a room and if they are getting a deal you only take half their luggage or only take it half way to their room?

TheBellman

Patrick: I thought the entire thread related to the decline in service. Well don't you think the decline in room rate might have something to do with it? You can't get $300+ service for a $169 room rate. It doesn't compute.

Patrick

Perhaps you are right, except that when I stayed at the Mirage for $79 a night I got full turn down service every night, and it never took me a half hour to get my car. When I checked in they took my luggage right up to the room. If they can do those things and charge only $79 a night for rooms, why can't the Bellagio do them at more than double that price? I received similar service at Bally's, MGM, Treasure Island, and even Flamingo Hilton and all of them charge even less than Bellagio's bargain price. I really am not talking about the price paid here, that is not the issue. I still maintain that because the Bellagio had been running something like half capacity after 9/11 and they had laid off lots of employees, they couldn't handle the sold out house they had the weekend I arrived, on Saturday,September 22. And isn't it interesting that the only night we got clean towels and turn-down service was the Monday night when they were far below full capacity once again?

TheBellman

Patrick: When the Bellagio was built, a room rate was established in order to service the debt. You can't compare the posh surrounding of the Bellagio to the hotels you mentioned. The building cost is a fixed expense and needs to be serviced. The variable expense relates to service and personnel. When Steve Wynn envisioned and built the Bellagio, he had a certain level of service in mind and likewise a comparable room rate. Now that the economy has tanked, and the room rates have to be dropped, the service suffers. The newer the hotel, the more important the high room rate is, witness the bankruptcy of the Alladin.

Philip

Bellman,
I understand the reality of the economics given that room rates have come down post 9/11. It is tough to support $300 service at $169 rates.

However, I think it is shortsighted for MGM to push so hard that you damage Bellagio's image longer term. If you piss off enough people, like my wife and I, who are willing to pay $300+ a night, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and you wind up "lumped with the pack." At that point, they'll find it tough to justify $300+ a night to loyal customers.

Gerry

When Kirk Kerkorian purchased Mirage, it was widely believed on Wall St. that he would attempt to recoup his investment quickly by cutting costs. Since Steve Wynn was known as an "extravegant" spender this was considered a very easy task for
Kerkorian, known as a penny pincher by comparison. Witness the almost immediate sale of the paintings. And, for Bellman his almost immediate cutting out of many employee perks. And, since there is now practically no real competition who whould know?
Steve Wynn for his part saw this as an opportunity to cash out at the height of his success. A win-win for these two. For the rest of us? Now you can see a bit of wear on the upholstery, carpets etc. No longer the meticulous upkeep and attention to detail that Steve Wynn demanded.
Steve Wynn is now beginning construction of a new casino at the sight of the Desert Inn. This was Howard Hughes' hotel. It was from Howard that Steve got the property to build his first casino. Very poetic. We shall now get to witness Steve Wynn's next move.
Bellman: What you say sounds logical but that's not the whole story. All of the Mirage hotels (including Bellagio) have always run promotional pricing. You could have gotten the same rates way before 9/11 if you were a prefered customer or knew where to look. The object is to keep the hotel full even if they have to give special rates. They cannot make money on empty rooms or empty tables. And its about getting loyal repeat visitors. Usually these rates run for just one or two consecutive nights. Most other nights, most people still pay the same high prices.

TheBellman

Keep in mind that Steve Wynn never really "ran" the Bellagio, he left via a hostile takeover shortly after the hotel opened. As I recall, Mirage stock was severly depressed due primarily to the huge building costs associated with the Bellagio. This in turn led to MGM making a hostile bid for the company. Although I believe Wynn is a visionary, he seemed to forget he ultimately needed to make a profit after the hotel was built. The art works were in my opinion nothing more than an unnecessary extravagance and an example of not keeping an eye on cost. Wynn's timing with the Mirage was visionary, but with each new property, his ambition grows and the question remains can the property make money? We will see if and when he completes his next property and if he stays on to operate it. With the immense competition on the Strip, and with the average guest looking for the best deal, it's difficult to fill 4000 rooms on a daily basis at $300 per night. As for the carpeting getting shabby, it's unfair to compare to Wynn's tenure when the hotel was brand spanking new. Keep in mind that MGM is a public company and the stockholders are looking for profits this quarter and are probably not prepared to sacrifice todays profits for tomorrow's potential. It's a tough balancing act and one that I believe the Bellagio is handling well considering the tough economic climate.

Gerry

Bellman:
If you went to the Mirage, Golden Nugget etc., you would see them constantly replacing carpets, upholstry etc at the slightest hint of wear. Last time I was at the Bellagio(last May), the wear was noticable. I never saw that before. And, I encountered rude staff. This never happened before. Hopefully this is not a trend.
They said that Steve Wynn was nuts when he built the Mirage. It would be a finantial disaster. In stead he is credited with creating the Las Vegas we see today. Kerkorian tried but could not compete and so decided to buy Wynn out.
It will be as fascinating as ever to see what happens next.

PS. The money has not been made on the hotel but on the high rollers. The hotel at best covers expenses but does not produce the profits.

Inside

If you're going to get into a discussion of casino stockholder demands and corporate performance, you're wading into murky waters.
Those familiar with the industry realize full well that the expectations for and performance of casinos from a business standpoint (profits, margins, etc) is very different from that of virtually all other industries.
Let's just say that the accounting practices leave a bit to be desired.
Therefore, to attempt to correlate stock value and actual performance is a bit of a smoke and mirrors game.
Lance Burton should be an MGM accountant.
I'll leave it at that.

Philip

I take it from some of the comments that it wasn't just me, service has slipped at Bellagio. To bad, it was a great hotel.

xxx

Bellagio was just awarded the 5 diamond rating by AAA. This happened within the past 2 weeks. Dosen't sound like service is slipping at all.

John

AAA and Mobil are at least a year or two behind when they change a hotel's ratings. And if they just got the 2001/02 award last week, this means the property was evaluated (if at all) months ago.

Phil

I think those people who show up expecting a 5 Star resort will be seriously disappointed. Read the Bellman's comments, clearly he confirms that service levels have been cut. It is not the same hotel, trust me on this one.