Las Vegas Room Rates Soar To Record Highs, While Resort Fees Could Be Axed
Las Vegas hotel room rates climbed in September to the highest level ever, averaging $187.18 a night, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is seeking to ban add-on expenses, including hotel resort fees, that the president calls “junk fees.” In Las Vegas, daily resort fees of $40 or more are added to posted room rates at many hotel-casinos, usually to cover guest services such as Wi-Fi access.
$2,000 Room vs. $55 Room
During September, the average hotel room rate on the Las Vegas Strip was $199.49 a night, while rooms in downtown Las Vegas averaged $117.95, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Most of the hotel-casinos on the Strip are south of downtown, outside Las Vegas city limits.
Amanda Belarmino, UNLV assistant professor at William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal higher room rates could be here to stay.
“If consumers no longer view Las Vegas as a value destination and are viewing it as a trade-off with high priced destinations like Los Angeles and San Francisco, then higher average room rates may be the wave of the future,” she said.
Visitors who recall bargain room rates from years ago still can find value in the Las Vegas Valley.
For instance, Arizona Charlie’s Decatur west of downtown Las Vegas has “Klondike standard king" rooms on weekdays in November for $55, according to its website.
By comparison, the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino on the Strip features a wraparound terrace suite on at least one November weekday for $2,000. The room includes a “sleek wet bar with a sub-zero wine chiller”and offers guests a view of the fountains at the Bellagio resort next door.
‘Junk Fees’ Targeted by Feds
In Washington, D.C., the Federal Trade Commission is looking at ways to prevent back-end fees that sometimes catch consumers by surprise on items such as concert tickets, banking transactions and hotel room rates.
Last week, President Biden said these “junk fees” cost Americans tens of billions of dollars.
“My administration is taking action to eliminate those fees,” he said.
Gaming historian David Schwartz of UNLV told KLAS-TV that hotels probably would raise their standard rates if resort fees are prohibited.
“I think it will provide more transparency in pricing which is usually a good thing, and it will just give people a better idea of exactly what they are getting into when they go to book (a room),” Schwartz said.
Southern Nevada Tourism Surge
In recent months, Las Vegas has seen a surge of visitors.
June and July set consecutive records for arriving and departing passengers at Harry Reid International Airport near the southeastern end of the Strip. The June passenger total of 4.68 million was surpassed by July’s 4.86 million. The August total was down slightly, at 4.64 million.
September’s arriving and departing airport passenger total has not been released, but the overall visitor volume that month was 3.35 million, including 372,600 convention attendees. This year's overall visitor volume was an increase of 14.3% over September 2021.
In addition to the Labor Day weekend and other events in September, the Las Vegas Raiders opened their NFL regular season schedule at home on Sept. 18 this year against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals defeated the Raiders in overtime, 29-23.
This game likely attracted large numbers of people from Phoenix and Los Angeles, the closest large metropolitan areas to Las Vegas. The Raiders, who previously made their home in Oakland and Los Angeles, continue to enjoy a sizable fan base in California.
Looking ahead, the October visitor volume also could be high, especially now that the NFL season is in full stride and the World Series is underway.
Events such as the World Series and Super Bowl in February typically attract large numbers of sports bettors to Las Vegas.
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