Venetian/Palazzo RESCINDING offers that have already been booked!!!

KarenTN, you penetrated the fog very nicely.

I recently found an offer from V/P sent Dec 2010 giving me 3-4 nights comp, 2 free tix to Phantom, $700 free slot / table play, and $50 dining credits. My previous offer was only $300 promo + $50 dining. Seems my visit at P in 2010 boosted my "comp" value significantly higher.

Clearly, the comp went up more than 2x just before they pulled the rug! Clearly the comps were deserved but this had nothing to do with individual analyses, but rather a broad-based policy decision regardless of deserving people, but more based upon Sheldon's benchmark of a high roller, which he also categorized in a 60min CBS interview--those who bet $1,500 / hand at table games. Not sure what the equivalent would be in slot play.

This is Sheldon's bruised ego (and wallet) from today's economic reality showing through more than anything else. Didn't the V/P temporarily close a tower last year or in 2009 because people weren't there to occupy the rooms under any circumstances? If his entire player base couldn't fill them then, how is this a good business decision now?

It is bad publicity for his properties, period. If he believes his properties to be only worthy of elite clientèle, he should drop the next shoe. Change/remove all machines and table games that are usually played by those with smaller bankrolls. If he wants it both ways on the casino floor but only one way on comps, he deserves to lose every player who isn't a mid-level player or lower. Make all of the casino floors high limit all of the time if gambling at every level is no longer desireable.

Bob, you raise a valid point, but I think you are going a bit far. Let me offer my thoughts on what you raised:

1. "Change/remove all machines and table games that are usually played by those with smaller bankrolls. If he wants it both ways on the casino floor but only one way on comps, he deserves to lose every player who isn't a mid-level player or lower."

Well, if he is making a nice profit on those visitors paying the full tab on his rooms, and restaurants and shows, he can afford the lower level games which will still return a profit. I dont know of any casinos that offer games that are money losers -- with all due respect to our "video poker advantage players" of course. Businessmen and conventiongoers want to gamble, and you might as well let them gamble in the P/V and keep ALL the profits in house.


2. "Make all of the casino floors high limit all of the time if gambling at every level is no longer desireable." Im sure LVS believes that gambling is still desireable at every level-- but they dont want to give away their gaming by comping too many rooms, meals, show tickets. etc.

Let me just say it one more time: there are still plenty of casinos in LV that will cater to low and mid level gamblers. the V/P just won't be among them. Is this really the end of the world?

Businesses sometimes are faced with "pulling the plug." I guess there are cases when the plug can be pulled three months in advance and sometimes only a day in advance. I too would be hurt and offended if the plug got pulled on short notice, but I'd get over it.

In fact, I have gotten "over it." I was once invited for a "high roller" event and when the gifts were handed out Saturday night I found that I got a "second tier gift" and not what was promised. My host said, "I'm sorry but you were under the cut off mark." OK, I lost out on a two thousand dollar sound system. I got over it.

I think if we took a survey EVERY casino in Vegas over the last two years has cut comps and freebies and promotions. Thats the economy and that's business. If you think your number one choice for your next trip might downgrade your offer... please.... double book at your next choice. ;-)

MoneyLA- I finally at least understand what you are thinking. I have no problem with the V/P and their new strategy good or bad. You and (12195d) would have far less people debating and getting frustrated with you by simply sticking to topic like KarenTN is saying. This thread is about them "RESCINDING offers already booked".

If you start a new thread asking about the new V/P philosophy I will gladly post on it and state my opinion. I have no problem with their philosophy in general, it is a new idea that may or may not work for them.

Sticking with the topic of THIS thread, the V/P should be ashamed of cancelling offers they extended at the last minute.

If you stick on this topic only your "haters" will go away.

I have read most of the postings here . I know if I anticipated that I have a free room anywhere and it is booked . I proceed to book my flights at the outrageous prices they are at now . From Boston . If it were 2 weeks before the trip and they tell me I don't have the rooms any more I would be livid . I think I could get a room elsewhere and when I arrived in Vegas I certainly get over to the Hotel that cancelled me out and express my feelings towards them. Make sure there is a crowd' Hope i don't get arrested. LOL

What a number of people may not have done yet is to read the news article about Adelson's move which I believe Sue posted back on page one of this beast.

I speculate that Adelson is obligated to provide X amount of room availability at a bargain rate for his new partner, Intercontinental Hotels, which is using Venetian/Palazzo to burn off its member rewards. That part of the deal has little to do with convention business except that some of Intercontinental's patrons may use the freebies while attending a convention. So perhaps partly to fill that need and partly to balance the bottom line for the quarter (as redietz suggested), Adelson decided to cancel comps for high maintenance/relatively low return guests he thinks he will no longer need. Other casino chains can attempt to forge partnerships with other hotel chains which have rewards programs, but finding another fish that big will be tough. If they do, they may wish to honor previous commitments rather than burn their bridges as Adelson has done.

If that is true, then what Adelson did, at least in part, was to swap one kind of freebie/discount for another that is more dependable and less difficult to manage.

Does V/P run anywhere close to 100% occupancy that they need to free up rooms?

InterContinental Hotels Group plc (IHG) (LSE: IHG, NYSE: IHG) is a global hotels company headquartered in Denham, United Kingdom. It is the largest hotels company in the world measured by number of rooms (with 646,000 as of January 2010), and has over 4,500 hotels in over 100 countries.[2] Its brands include InterContinental, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. Around 3,800 of the company's hotels operate under franchise agreements, around 630 are managed by the company and 16 are owned.[3]

Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.


[edit] History[edit] Bass HotelsInterContinental Hotels Group can be traced back to 1777 when William Bass established the Bass Brewery in Burton-upon-Trent.[4] In 1876, their red triangle trademark was the first registered in the United Kingdom.[4]

In 1989, the British Government limited the number of pubs brewers could directly own, so Bass began to grow their small line of hotels. In 1990, they purchased Holiday Inn International from Kemmons Wilson, expanding themselves into North America.[4]

[edit] InterContinentalMain article: InterContinental
The InterContinental brand began in 1946 as part of Pan American Airways under Juan Trippe, when the first hotel opened in Belem, Brazil. In 1981, holding company InterContinental Hotels Corporation was sold to UK-based company Grand Metropolitan. As GrandMet focused it core business and expanded into fast food through the purchase of Burger King, ICH was sold to fund the restructure in 1988 to Japanese based Saison Group

Added because I did not feel this thread was long enough.

Las Vegas has busy nights and not busy nights. Typically, comped players want busy nights.

It doesnt matter if the these hotels are empty or not to say that comped rooms should be given out.

It costs a casino money to give away a free room. Linens, cleaning, wear and tear, general maintenance. If you can't cover your "cost" of the room, you dont simply give it away just to fill it.

Now, you can lose money on a room if the hotel guest is going to spend their money elsewhere on other profitable line items, such as gambling, or theyve book a party, or they are running a convention.

you dont give away a room just because its empty.