Hi All - Wow the hotels have really gone up!

Bargains in Vegas are Sunday through Thursday nights of non-holiday and non-convention weeks. Very few weekend bargains anymore except for late July...August....and the two weekends prior to Christmas.

Everyone seems to want to stay at the same 7 or 8 "major strip" hotels so that's why they're expensive. Supply and demand. They hype it up, we bite and they win.

When did PIZZA get so expensive? When Domino's started dominating the world and all the mom and pops closed up shop. When did SANDWICHES get so expensive? When Subway took over the world.... $7 for an airy sandwich with 2 oz of meat? No thanks.

They have, haven't they? I remember paying $54 a night at the Rio 7 years ago--on a weekend. Wow, not anymore. We stayed at Paris two weekends ago and were thrilled to find a $159 per night rate. I kinda miss the $5.00 buffets and $1.99 breakfasts, too--the Old Vegas is rapidly disappearing. My husband and I finally walked down to the Frontier and gambled for awhile (with REAL coins) just so we felt like we were in Vegas. It's changed so much since we started going there 20 years ago...I must be getting old!

The hotel costs are nothing as there are major bargains to be found there, as long as you avoid the weekends and holidays. But like Tess says, remember the days of the $1.99 meals? Food was always dirt cheap -- now even the buffets are expensive (they tell me, I don't do them). And remember when most every show was free or a couple of dollars? Who'd have ever thought you'd pay over $100 for a ticket to a Las Vegas Show? Don't get me wrong, the quality has gone up with them for the most part, but the prices have gone sky high. Vegas used to be the bargain destination for free entertainment. Those days are long gone.

Unfortunately for travelers I don't think Las Vegas will be getting cheaper any time soon. Last year was LV's biggest year ever, with weekend hotel occupancy at about 94%. As noted, try during the week but if there is a convention going on rates will still be high. Traditioal slow periods such as summer and Christmas are now very congested. I have lived in LV for 12 years now and never have seen it so busy, and that includes the weekdays. I saw the TI is runnging some really good bargains coming up in march at $59/nt. Sign up for each hotel's email promos via their websites, it helps.

Major associations are trapped with only a few locations that can house their mamouth conventions and Vegas is one of those locales. Think Rodeo week that brings an estimated 150,000 to Vegas.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has noticed the high prices. We have been going to Vegas during Christmas for years and we stay at the mirage and usually pay around $79 a night. Apparently Christmas is the ONLY time to get a rate like that at a nice hotel. My local airport has had some good deals to Vegas recently, but the hotel is becoming the killer cost. I can only go on a long weekend or during a weekend holiday.

So Tracy, sometimes they have deals in July and August? Are weekends EVER included?

BTW, I was excited about the new buffet, Cravings, at the Mirage. but we were very unimpressed with it.

There are still bargains to be had. If you are willing to stay a few blocks off the strip, the Station Casino/Hotels (Sahara Station, etc.)have great deals. I have to stay a couple of times a year for medical appointments and nice rooms in a nice hotel are less than $30 mid-week. They also run regular shuttles to and from the strip that take only a few minutes.

If you have a car, Sam's Town on Boulder Hwy is also a nice and inexpensive place to stay.

As others have said, one of the reasons strip mega hotels are expensive is supply and demand. The other is they cost gazillions of dollars to build and have to be paid for.

Laughlin is very much like old Las Vegas used to be, if you have a hankering. Food too, like old Vegas. Some "kind" person compared Laughlin as trailer people's Vegas last week on this board. NOT! It's an older crowd, slower, and very close to what Vegas was in the 1960's and 1970's. But if you talk to the people there, many are very wealthy Californians, who know a good deal and take it. Today Vegas is a big tourist/convention center and does not have the individual "flavor" it once had. Only IMHO.

Shows have gone sky high in Vegas, relatively more than the other costs. It was not that long ago when very good performers' tickets were half of what they cost now. It's been almost 2 years since I have been, and I feel like I will not be returning soon. I missed the old Las Vegas, and especially the old Dunes when I went last time. Now it feels more like an amusement park.

I think it got expensive several years ago when hotels decided to make the town more of a 'family resort destination'. Many hotels built mega-pools, family and kiddie parks and expensive Disneyland-style attractions. Once they stopped catering to adults and more into the family crowd, it got expensive.

I think that visitors with lots of kids in tow don't gamble as much, spend as much overall or visit high-end restaurants, etc. For that reason, I believe it was a marketing mistake and now everyone is making up the difference through higher prices.

The best defense against high hotel prices is joining what is also known as a 'slot club'. Pick a hotel you like, join their 'club', make sure you do your gambling there and use the card you were issued every time. You will rack up points. The more points you accumulate, the better the mail offers will be. Take advantage of these offers that run year around. Some of them are very good, and include heavily discounted or free stays, dinner vouchers, spa packages, etc.

If you are going to gamble, you might as well rack up some points towards a future visit. I like the Las Vegas Hilton program, but every hotel has one, so look around and decide which club and hotel is best for you.

Staying mid-week is cheaper if booking without the above perks.

Hotels went begging for business following 9-11. Now it's back to high prices and business as usual.

Sesamee

it's too bad. i love vegas but it certainly isn't very affordable now. we use to stay at the super 8 regularly because it was close to the strip, clean but usually cheaper. last march we paid about $75/night. i checked and for a weekend in march 2005 they want $165!!! that for a basic motel room.

I've noticed the hotel and food prices went up too, and I agree with Sesamee it must be because of somebody's "bright" idea of making Vegas family-friendly.

Well, part of it also is the lack of competition. MGM/Mirage and Mandalay have all merged together I believe, and then Harrahs/Caesars/Rio combined and own a dozen or so properties........just like everything else in America...the bigger the better!

Clarkgriswold mentions a very good point. MGM/Caesars Entertainment/Harrah's (to a lesser extent) have gobbled up all the casinos so there isn't as much competition. As long as travelers are willing to pay high prices they will keep going up. Also, there are many more europeans visiting and to them Las Vegas is still a budget vacation, lucky dawgs

About 8 years ago.