Is the Drop in Strip Revenues Due to Paid Parking?

David McKee's blog is showing little to no growth in Strip slot and table games while downtown and locals casinos are up! Do you think the chickens may be coming home to roost as a result of the paid-parking cash grab by Caesars and MGM?

David says: One month’s results aren’t much of a yardstick but the Las Vegas Strip was indeed the only major jurisdiction in Nevada to report a downturn in revenues while other drive-in markets did remarkably well — that would include Mesquite, Laughlin (up 3.5 percent), Reno (an eye-popping 14 percent gain) and volatile Lake Tahoe (up 15 percent). By contrast, the Strip sagged nine percent.

Before we get to parking fees, it should be noted that business on the Strip has never been the same since the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting rampage by Stephen Paddock. Also, the absence of both major conventions and Chinese New Year from January conspired to depress the numbers. However, there is one statistic that stands out from the rest: While airline passengers were three percent greater in number, that was offset by a five percent decline in automobile passengers. Even if they are coming by car in fewer numbers, they seem to be nibbling around the fringes: Reno, Laughlin, Mesquite, Primm.

One can’t say for a certainty that parking fees are inhibiting drive-in business to Las Vegas but they’re clearly not helping. The locals market, meanwhile, has been bolstered by increased construction in the Las Vegas Valley and the larger number of people with disposable income that tends to accompany such surges. We’ll need to several months’ more data before a parking fees/less revenue equation can be postulated but it doesn’t seem to be helping.

However, we don’t expect casinos to back down from paid parking, no matter how much drive-in traffic is depressed. MGM Resorts International, in a recent investor call, coming off a good fourth quarter, announced a new hike in resort fees. Why? Not because they need the money. (They don’t.) Just because they can get away with it. Strip gaming execs are so loath to admit when they’ve made a public-relations mistake that we are pessimistic that they will say, “We were wrong. Parking will be free again.” We could be wrong, but we doubt it.

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[email protected] Mar-24-2018

Planes from DTW always full

DTW (Detroit Metro) planes to Vegas are always full, so it isn't fly-in visitors that didn't come. I never rent a car as the drivers in Vegas are horrible. This of course restricts us to the "Deuce Route" and Downtown. There should be a cheaper and faster way to Red Rock,etc. from The Strip. We also avoided anything South of Planet Ho as the Ghost of the October 2017 Massacre is too fresh. I wish they would just raise the rates up to the real cost as resort fees are misleading and stupid. BTW, there will be a taxi strike in April to protest Lyft ans Uber. The cab-shuttle drivers told us so.

Carey Rohrig Mar-24-2018

Surprise

The cost of a Strip stay continues to escalate, between the exorbitant resort fees and pay parking, with the lack of a chance of any slot/machine winnings, why go to the Strip. I find in the last couple years there is a safety aspect, the Strip is not as safe as it used to be.

Steven Larson Mar-24-2018

Uber to Red Rock

Mike48128 you can Uber out to Red Rock fairly cheaply - I did it for around $15 for a single ride and $10 or so for a shared ride a few months ago.

David Miller Mar-24-2018

Gouging

I have not set foot in any of the rip off strip casinos for over 5 years. 6/5 blackjack, rip off so called "resort fees", evisceration of video poker, reduced comps and the parking fees - the strip will not see any of my business again. Anyone who continues to frequent those properties need to rethink why.

Scott Monroe Mar-24-2018

[email protected]

I believe the strip hotels are definitely geared towards the under 30 crowd who don’t question the resort fees and subpar gaming. The Strip casinos will continue this trend ( as demonstrated by charging for parking ) until the younger visitors wisen up. Unfortunately this will probably never happen because that demographic has been “ conditioned “ to accept these changes from Las Vegas’ earlier pricing practices.  We have going to Las Vegas since 1991 on a yearly basis and as a frequent visitor I have to say the changes have driven us to stay off strip for the majority of our stays.  So far the Strip changes haven’t occurred at the property we stay at ( except the exorbitant resort fees! ) but if there are it will be time to change our vacation plans. I still am asked as a “ regular “ by friends going to Vegas for recommendations and I definitely warn them of the Strip’s price gouging and lousy gaming options. I sincerely hope someday the hidden fees will be gone but as for now beware!

Bumbug Mar-24-2018

Too many fees!

I used to visit Vegas at least 3 or 4 times a year, but since resort fees and parking fees have added so much to the cost, not to mention how tight the gaming is, I've decreased my visits to only 1 or 2 a year. Instead I go to the Biloxi/Gulfport, MS area. Their casinos are friendly, they offer me free rooms and other comps, and the only resort fees are at the Caesar's and MGM properties, and at least they don't charge for parking. I just returned from a 10-day visit to the Gulf Coast and my costs were far less than they would have been in Vegas.

Deke Castleman Mar-25-2018

this is via email

We gave up on the Strip long ago.  Too pricey and not much fun.   It's not aimed at us and our money doesn't spend as well, I suppose.  Locals' places are much more in tune with us.   Who cares how beautiful it is, as ambiance doesn't translate into why we're there.  It's just 'sugar candy' with no real value.   Neither does the  decline of decency appeal to us.  Someone I know went there for the first time last year and said 'never again'.  

The shootings six months ago really did turn us off, too.  Waaay back, when the mob ran the place, (The police found a body just across from where we were, just the day before) it wasn't a good situation, but no one would have ignored Paddock.  They would have been watching him and intervened earlier, but corporations don't keep the same vigilance, I suppose.  Too busy 'counting the beans' and looking at bottom lines.  The rest of the country has taken notice.

Question of the Day - 24 March 2018

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