We remember when the PBX (phone) department was turned into a profit center and the uproar when all the fees were added to phone calls. We also recall the ruckus over TITO. But all of these changes combined haven't created the degree of outcry that paid parking has.
And it just got louder: As we predicted in yesterday's QoD, MGM Resorts has rescinded the locals' exemption for self-parking; locals will now pay $10 per day to park at all MRI hotel-casinos except Circus Circus (though valet parking at Circus isn't free).
The announcement was included in a promotion for an MRI-branded Mastercard, with free parking touted as a benefit of qualifying for the credit card.
The no-fee Mlife card (from First National Bank of Omaha), coincidentally, was launched last June 8, only two days after paid parking was instituted.
Cardholders earn Mlife Rewards Points and Tier Credits for every dollar they spend, including double points at gas stations and supermarkets and triple points for purchases at Mlife Rewards destinations (15 casinos nationwide). In addition, 10,000 Mlife points are awarded for spending $1,000 within the first three billing cycles.
Holders of the card get free self-parking and priority hotel check-ins; it also doubles as a line pass at MRI buffets. In addition, it upgrades the holder to Pearl status, one level higher than the Sapphire entry level of the five-tier program; all Pearl-tier members get free parking.
As we said, it comes as no surprise, and it points squarely at the other Strip properties that have announced paid parking. After all, once paid parking was instituted at most of the hotels on the west side of the Strip, it was only a matter of time before the same would be true of the east side, if only as a defensive measure. And sure enough, Caesars Entertainment will begin charging for valet parking before the end of the year and for self-parking around June 2017.
Once the necessary equipment is installed to launch paid self-parking, like MRI, Caesars won’t charge locals to self-park "for an undetermined amount of time once implementation has occurred." At least that's the case so far.
Fees for valet parking will be as follows: At the company’s top-end properties, Caesars Palace, Bally’s, Paris, Planet Hollywood, and The Cromwell, $13 for up to four hours, $18 4-24 hours, and $18 for every additional day or fraction of a day.
At the Flamingo, Harrah’s, and The LINQ , the valet charge will be $8 for up to four hours, $13 4-24 hours, and $13 for every additional day or fraction of a day.
All valet charges are expected to be implemented by March.
There won’t be any valet parking charge at the off-Strip Rio.
Next up: Wynn Resorts. The Wynn and Encore started charging for valet parking last week. Wynn/Encore are charging everyone to valet park: $13 for the first four hours, $18 for 4-24 hours, and $18 for each additional 24 hours.
No announcement has been made about self-parking, which remains free and probably will for the foreseeable future.
Next up: Cosmopolitan. Beginning on Jan. 2, 2017, the Cosmopolitan will charge for valet and self-parking. The first hour will be free, then 1-4 hours $7, 4-24 hours $10, additional days $10.
Next up: Westgate. MRI-like gates have appeared in the parking lots, but Westgate Las Vegas hasn’t instituted all-the-time paid parking. A fee is charged, usually $20, when there’s a big convention or special event at the property, which happens fairly frequently, because the Westgate courts convention business. However, the rest of the time, the gates into the parking areas are raised, making parking free.
So far, SLS, Circus Circus, Casino Royale, the Royal, Venetian-Palazzo, Trump, Treasure Island, Tropicana, and Hooters remain free for both self- and valet parking on or near the Strip. (Hooters recently promoted its free parking with an offer of a free beer for retweeting its message).
None of the off-Strip casinos now charge, or have any plans to, so far — though we’d be really surprised if any locals casinos tried to implement it.
Parking for the monorail is a good question, but it’s moot everywhere but the south end — so far. At the north end, parking in the SLS garages is free and the monorail station is right there, so that’s easy and no different than it's always been. In the middle, you can park at Westgate for free, unless, as stated, there’s a big event and a charge to self-park. Also, self-parking at all Caesars' properties will remain free for another six months or so.
Parking at the south end is a little more challenging. You could park at Hooters, but you have to cross Tropicana Avenue at a crosswalk, unless you want to walk to the corner and take the pedestrian overpass. You could park at Tropicana, but doing so, you’re expected to patronize the place, so to be proper, you’d have to walk in, do a little something there, then cross on the overpass and head to the monorail. Both would be a bit time-consuming.
As far as we’re concerned, paying to park at MGM in order to pay to ride the monorail makes very little sense.
As for the valet parkers, we have only anecdotal evidence, but from what we know, they’ve seen business drop off dramatically. And it certainly stands to reason that where valet parking had been free forever, but now costs $13-$18 per day every day, it would discourage people from continuing to use this service. Fewer cars to park mean less tip income for valets; it also makes sense that anyone paying for valet parking will be tempted to tip less.
Wayne Allyn Root, a columnist for the Review-Journal, makes the following points about the new valet policy as it applies to locals, though it can also be extrapolated for visitors.
First, locals do go to the Strip. They like to eat at the great restaurants, drink at the fancy bars, see shows, and shop. They also take their constant parade of visitors to the Strip. "They just want to feel valued. Free valet parking made locals feel valued."
Second, casino executives claim that hotels in all the big cities charge for parking. Sure, but locals in those cities rarely have reason to go to hotels to stay or eat. Why would they?
"Virtually our entire population ran away from those places. They moved to Vegas specifically for the less expensive quality of life. That quality of life revolves around enjoying the Strip."
Third, "Seniors are upset. They need valet. They can’t walk long distances from parking garages. Women are upset. They park at valet for safety and security reasons. They don’t want to walk long distances in dark garages. Disabled people are upset. They rely on valet parking. Casino employees are upset. Their income has been cut dramatically."
It's the same for the rental-car revenues.
First, Uber and Lyft ride-sharing overtook rental cars for the first time in the fourth quarter of last year (since July 1, Hertz’s stock has plummeted nearly 50%). And now that visitors have to tack parking charges onto their rental-car fees and taxes, they’re obviously thinking twice about it, especially when Uber and Lyft are, other than during surge pricing, much less expensive than taxis (taxi ridership is also down, about 20% from pre-ride-sharing).
Finally, in response to the question about LVA membership numbers, we'd have to say that it's too early to tell. Next year, when Caesars et al. institute their paid-parking systems, we might get a more noticeable result. But we have to add this: It's kind of hard to declare that it's all bad when visitation continues to break records. So far.
Tomorrow, in the final part of our parking extravaganza, we’ll discuss the situation downtown.
