A friend and I decided that we would go to Las Vegas in two weeks since we've heard that occupancy in the hotels are so low during the week and that Las Vegas needs our business. We both would fly in to LAS and stay two nights taking in a show, going to some restaurants, etc. We gamble a little but really enjoy visiting there.

I called four hotels tonight to see about special rates for this time (Sunday - Tuesday). Was told by the MGM Grand that this is their busiest part of the year and that they are sold out on all of the weekends for October and November and she's worked there for 8 years and has never seen it so busy.

I then called the Venetian. Asked about special rates. Was told that they had a special of $435 PER night!

The other two hotels that I contacted also said that they are very full and occupancy is way above normal.

Now, I don't want to sound cynical, but all of the news reports on TV and the web, the newspapers, etc. have all been giving this big sob story about tourism being down. From talking with the folks in the reservations area, this doesn't sound true starting this month in Vegas. If you call a hotel with the anticipation that there are going to be good rates/special deals because they have empty rooms and you're basically blown off by the reservations staff, then it sounds like things are already back to "normal" doesn't it?

Has anybody else had this experience?

You've got an accurate picture, Liz.
Several factors are important: the biggest convention month of the year is October, and conventioneers are not avoiding LV for the most part;
casual and serious gamblers are much more likely to return to their traditional vacation patterns (since gambling is a heavily 'patterned' behavior) than those who vacation more randomly based on changing goals for each vacation;
LV vacations are easier to arrange on short notice than Hawaiian and Caribbean trips, which allows people to 'jump back in' more easily;
a Vegas vacation is in many respects a good antidote to the dreary mood many Americans have been beset by since the recent attacks.
Vegas was not destined to be down for long.

Hi Liz,
I got a great deal that I booked just this past weekend for 3 nights 4 days at the Golden nugget in vegas for only 500 some odd dollars including airfare from Providence RI. We depart in December on a Thursday and return that Sunday! My experience in booking was great!

Try the Mandalay Bay. I have been seeing specials on their site in the last 2 weeks.....plus, I was supposed to attend a big meeting there on November 12 & 13, and was told today that the meeting is cancelled. Bummer for me. But you can swoop in now!

I heard that they fired so many workers that now they do not have the staff clean all the rooms, so entire sections are left empty.

They determined it was better to keep the rates high than start a room rate promotion that would not cover their costs.

In the mean time rates stay high, people are unemployed and the Vegas casino owners stay rich!

Liz,
Wow! What a shocker!Every time I hear the media talk about Vegas they are all saying how bad they're hurting.Almost sounded like a ghost town from the last report I heard.Whats up with that?How can so many journalists be so uninformed? I plan on going to Vegas next year to visit my parents who just moved out there.I guess I will try for off- season because Vegas is supposed to be the place for deals from what I've heard, not rip-offs.

Try www.travelzoo.com. they post great deals for vegas hotels!
I dont know what's up w/ the Venetian. Gorgeous, but pricey! And they never seem to have a sale!. Luxor, paris, Mandalay Bay, etc having good sales.

LAS VEGAS HILTON FOR $25/NIGHT!
WWW.TRAVELZOO.COM

I've booked tons of hotels rooms in Vegas for our companies convention goers.. through www.tripres.com
They are reliable and have great prices.

D.J., there really is no off-season in Vegas, just off-weeks. Like the week before Christmas, the week after school starts in January. If a BIG convention is in town, like COMDEX, rooms will be hard to find and they will be expensive.

But, 15,000 people HAVE been laid off--some are my friends. And the town, though beginning to come back, is hurting right now. Hopefully, by the end of the year we'll be back to normal.

Vic was right. October probably the biggest convention month for Las Vegas. This past weekend proves that we are coming back..several hotels sold out! And Linda..I know how your friends feel..I was laid off just last week. Tell them to keep the faith..hopefully we will all be back to "normal" soon.

If nothing else works, try priceline.com. Never took the chance before, but like Liz I was having a bit of trouble getting a good rate for a stay of 1 night on a Saturday before heading home from Sedona. Bid $75 on a 5 star and they wouldn't go for it. Bid $60 on a 4 star and no go either. Then I hit on $65. I only put two areas in the designation -South strip and just west of strip. I got the Rio Suites for $65 on an October Saturday night and I am very satisfied. Good Luck, Liz, the rooms are out there.

Gosh, I'm sorry, I think my post was misunderstood a bit. Thanks for all of the responses (nice, thoughtful ones too!) I'm not saying that I couldn't get a room, I can. My point is that the rates that I've been quoted are the same as BEFORE the tragedy. With all of the news media, etc. saying that Las Vegas is hurting so badly and tourism is down, blah, blah, blah. . .I expected the hotels to have some "deals" to encourage people to come and visit. I'm glad to hear that things are back to normal, but I wonder why two weeks of not normal causes people to knee-jerk react by laying off so many people.

My point is that it sounds as though there are a lot of stories that are making things sound much worse than what reality is. And, obviously, these hotels really aren't in bad shape when they don't offer any incentives to visitors.

I think many people understood your initial question Liz. And it's an excellent question...but the only 'answers' would be speculative.
But since I'm a speculator, I'll proceed to speculate.
I see two issues from hotel management's point of view as regards their strategy about room rates and employment: 1) they have ample factual info about up to the minute occupancy rates and tourism data, 2) they must attempt to project what they believe will happen in the future and be proactive in attempt to be on top of changing landscape.
The week of 9/11/01 their factual info was dismal...occupancies plummeted, people stopped gambling, etc etc.
Projections were based on many sources of info: economic analysts, government statements, historical profiles on tourism following crises, etc etc.

The casino business is tricky. THey depend on very steady cash flow because the overhead is tremendous, and relatively modest fluctuations can result in negative revenues. In fact, every once in awhile you'll read (if you follow this stuff) about a casino having an entire quarter in the red simply because one or two major gamblers came into town and won very big (millions). This happened to MGM recently. The natural ebb and flow of cash in the casino business can create some real stress for management. And when things decline steadily for 2-3 weeks during time periods which are usually big revenue months (like the fall months), casino businesses will sink into the red much faster than, say, a department store.
So, in retrospect, many management people in LV overreacted a bit. BUT: what if another terrorist attack had occurred on, say, 9/20/01? This was considered a distinct possibility at one point. Mgmt would have been harshly criticized for having NOT pared staff and such. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Fortunately for them, they'll likely be faced with more business in the next month than they'd projected 10 days ago.

Soooo....if you'd called for room rates just after cost cutting decisions had been made, Liz, you'd have found some great deals and plenty of rooms. But that window of opportunity closed pretty quickly.

Vic:

Thank you VERY much for a thoughtful response and explanation. I appreciate your time! This makes more sense. Again, thanks.

We got reservations at Bellagio For five nights in December and the flight from Manchester New Hampshire to Las Vegas, round trip for $1024.70 for my wife and I. Total. Good deal!

HarryM - how did you get that deal? Did you go through the airlines?

try Flamingo...$55 A NIGHT Sunday thru Thursday...special for anniversary.......55 drafts-hot dogs-etc.....

If you go in November, you might want to try the Palms Casino Resort. Its a brand new hotel/casino/resort opening in November. Its owned by the Maloof family that also owns the Sacramento Kings. Because it is new, they are going to be discounting rates the first few months.

Liz, Try NY NY. 89$ rate, including weekends. I do agree that the more upscale hotels have not changed their rates ( at least on the weekends) nor have the shows. I had heard that ALL hotels were offering lower rates due to low occupancy, but found out that wasn't so.(This was for early November)

M.

Message to Sharon G.
I got the deal from Expedia. the dates are 12/9==12/14