Sorry guys, LVA has been having a technical problem with my user ID, and my previous posts on this thread disappeared. Just got off the phone with Dale the webmaster, and hopefully it's been fixed. Here's a recap of the disappeared posts-
On the LVS conference call, the subject of comps at V/P came up. Here's the transcript from that call-
Mark Strawn - (analyst for Morgan Stanley)
Q: Just really quickly on Vegas, it looks like you guys have done some work on the promotional side. I'm guessing that perhaps some of that's on the comp room side. Maybe if you could give us any color there, and that's my last question.
Michael Leven- Las Vegas Sands COO
A: We have sort of changed our mix considerably over the last couple of months in Vegas. We have improved our room penetration, our group numbers for 2011 are basically on the books today compared to last year, like over double what they were at the same time. We experienced over 90,000 room nights in the month of January, which were significantly ahead of last year and we're still booking. We've actually increased that group room allotments. We've lowered our comp allotments considerably to get a better customer in, which may cause some short-term occupancy looks that looks down, but to the cash component to us is actually better.
Sheldon Adelson- Las Vegas Sands CEO
A: We know that the subject of comps has been played out all across Las Vegas, but we've taken a different position. We've essentially cut out all our comps except for the most highly rated players. No more packaging deals to try to be competitive with others. There's no more comp rooms given out. There is no more RFB. There's no more food and beverage. There's no shopping credits. There's no restaurant credits. There's no showroom credits. We're selling rooms, and we see that it's resulting in a substantial increase in cash income.
On the LVS conference call, the subject of comps at V/P came up. Here's the transcript from that call-
Mark Strawn - (analyst for Morgan Stanley)
Q: Just really quickly on Vegas, it looks like you guys have done some work on the promotional side. I'm guessing that perhaps some of that's on the comp room side. Maybe if you could give us any color there, and that's my last question.
Michael Leven- Las Vegas Sands COO
A: We have sort of changed our mix considerably over the last couple of months in Vegas. We have improved our room penetration, our group numbers for 2011 are basically on the books today compared to last year, like over double what they were at the same time. We experienced over 90,000 room nights in the month of January, which were significantly ahead of last year and we're still booking. We've actually increased that group room allotments. We've lowered our comp allotments considerably to get a better customer in, which may cause some short-term occupancy looks that looks down, but to the cash component to us is actually better.
Sheldon Adelson- Las Vegas Sands CEO
A: We know that the subject of comps has been played out all across Las Vegas, but we've taken a different position. We've essentially cut out all our comps except for the most highly rated players. No more packaging deals to try to be competitive with others. There's no more comp rooms given out. There is no more RFB. There's no more food and beverage. There's no shopping credits. There's no restaurant credits. There's no showroom credits. We're selling rooms, and we see that it's resulting in a substantial increase in cash income.
