In fact, these very unimpressed fares reflect the convention schedule, with huge international consumer electronics and adult entertainment fairs taking place on Thursday, when many resorts seem to be selling out both then and Friday. About 130,000 convention participants are expected to participate in the electronic fair.
Even on Saturdays, many room rates are higher than Lunar New Year a week ago, as both are breezy. Prices for these three hotels are 10 times or more higher than on other days this month and may be considered unusually aggressive compared to their neighbors. However, some industry experts see the visitor industry as a sign that it is starting to pick up again after three years of mostly ugly figures. Nevertheless, improvements are often uneven.
“The recovery in Las Vegas that many are looking forward to is definitely ongoing,” Hudson Securities analyst Robert LaFleur said in a weekly survey of room rates. “Lower-priced properties continue to struggle, while properties that meet convention demand appear to have more price appeal.”
Rates at Caesars Entertainment hotels are up 48% this week from a year ago, MGM Resorts International is up 49%, Wynn Resorts is up 67%, and Las Vegas Sands is up twice as much, according to his calculations.
Stand-alone hotels, on the other hand, were flat. Several online booking services showed significant vacancies at local casinos. Treasure Island, which covers small and medium-sized groups and large corporations, expects the convention to be the only one of its four business segments to see rate and room sales growth this year. 파친코
“Overall, the convention looks pretty good,” said Don Bose, vice president of hotel sales and marketing. “But it’s all relative. It’s nothing like 2007, but it’s a lot better than last year.”
However, Michael Zalettel, CEO of i4vegas.com , a reservation service, ironically allocates most of the credit for a busy weekend to Apple CEO Stephen Jobs. Although Apple does not unveil new products in the show, the success of Apple’s iPads and iPods has spurred interest in what products its competitors will release in response.