What Is Surge Pricing at Casino Sundries Stores?

I read on another website about surge pricing at Las Vegas casino minimarts. Something about how they raise prices on things like toothpaste and chips according to how many people are in the hotel and city. Is this yet another kind of gouge the casinos are perpetrating on Vegas visitors?

Unfortunately, yes. From what we can tell, it seems to be just that.

"Surge pricing" is a term most associated with ride sharing: Uber adjusts the prices of its rides to match driver supply to rider demand; when there are more riders than drivers and customer wait times are long, Uber increases its normal fares on the fly. Surge pricing is also known as "yield management" in a number of industries, but it's the same principle of maximizing profits from fixed time-limited resources (such as airline seats or hotel rooms).

A few years ago, the blog VitalVegas.com reported that surge pricing was in effect at unnamed Las Vegas restaurants, especially those that posted menus online without prices, so they could change what they charged for the same dish on a slow Tuesday or busy Saturday. We suppose it wouldn't be too difficult to have two sets of menus, one for Sundays through Thursdays, the other for Fridays and Saturdays, on which the only things that change are the prices.

Last month, VitalVegas ran another story about surge pricing at the Excalibur gift shop on items such as toothpaste, sunscreen, bottled water, and snacks, based on a tip from a guest staying at Excalibur.

Following up on that, the blog VegasChanges.com posted a page claiming that the VitalVegas report was "absolutely correct" and that this pricing scheme "has been in place for years. It's not just at the Excalibur, but at many Las Vegas casino gift shops and sundries stores. This was confirmed by over a dozen gift shop cashiers."

VegasChanges wrote that things like beer, chips, and candy don't have their prices marked, while other items do, and that surge pricing "seems to take place at MGM Resorts International properties more frequently than the others. Caesars Entertainment properties said that they vary rarely have surge pricing, but they do during major events, such as the Super Bowl, New Years Eve, etc."

We all know that prices at casino convenience stores are higher than at Walmart, but they might be even higher than they themselves normally charge.

Another example would be the parking fees at downtown garages. Again, there are a fixed number of parking spaces, which will be at a premium during weekends, when the flat fees rise from, say, $5 during the week to $10 Saturdays and Sundays, and up to $20 while big event are taking place. The difference is that those prices are mostly posted and consistent, while you might not expect toothpaste and sunscreen at casino sundry shops to go up and down based on hotel occupancy rates.

It probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise that point-of-sale technology can adjust prices for beer, chips, and bottled water according to demand. Nor would it be a shock that, the way things are going around here, as well as in the greater economy, it's a widespread practice.

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Comments

Jackie Jul-01-2019

How Odd

I thought everyone who has spent more than a weekend in Las Vegas would have known about surge pricing and it extends well beyond just casinos s any business that deals with the transient nature of Las Vegas uses surge pricing.  Gas Stations, especially those close to the casinos, off strip motels, close to strip convenience stores, and even weekend rental car rates.  BTW, during weeks when a holiday, like the upcoming 4th of July is on a Thursday or any other Monday through Thursday the surge pricing will be in effect all week long.

Kevin Lewis Jul-01-2019

A ripoff by any other name would stink as badly

Vegas has been screwing people over whenever it gets busy for decades--just look at the quintupling (or more) of hotel room rates on weekends or holidays. Also, table game minimums rocket skyward when it's busy. Bottom line, only a fool would ever visit Vegas on a weekend/holiday. It's a gougefest on steroids.

Annie Jul-01-2019

Back in the day

Before I was priced out of Vegas, I stayed at middle-market Strip hotels (i.e. Stardust, Sahara, Riv) for Mon-Thu, but even back then, my mid-week $15- $28 room doubled or tripled for Fri. and Sat. nights.

However, there were small, no-casino, ultra-cheap, downtown hotels -- mostly owned by Jackie Gaughan --  that didn't raise their weekend rates (they were all $18), so I used to move downtown for the weekend. The only hotel I remember was the Ogden but there were several others. (The El Cortez may not have increased its rates on weekends, but it was always fully booked, so I never got to stay there.) I wondered why Jackie didn't raise weekend rates. Maybe, it was part of his being a fair and decent guy, and why everybody loved Jackie.

The hotels were quite awful, but I survived and dashed back to The Strip early Sunday mornings. Back then, front desks let you check in as soon as they had a room that had been serviced, and they didn't hit you with an extra charge for early check-in.

Dave Jul-01-2019

CVS...

As already mentioned, air fares, hotels, car rentals, etc., have been doing this for years. Evan taxis, which charge a surcharge for late night rides.
 
It really is nothing more than supply & demand
 
It also works in reverse. Happy hour is one example. Retail stores running an unannounced brief special is another (K-Mart's "Blue Light Special" was a fine example).
 
The real problem at the casino gift shops, is that there are no prices at all - they are trying to hide the fact that the prices fluctuate. They are being deliberately deceitful.
 
A simple solution is to label all products (or shelves) with whatever highest price they like, then have a sign stating "10% off all snacks" or something similar. They could even have a permanent sign such as "10% off Thursdays and Sundays, 15% off Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Excluding holidays." Simple.
 
 
On the flip side, I'm kinda glad there's a CVS or Walgreens on every corner of the strip. Better pricing and better selection.

David Miller Jul-01-2019

Vegas Gougefest

 The low brow bean counters delight in finding ways to gouge tourists - with "surge" pricing being one of their tools. If you really want to enjoy the present day Vegas experience, one must expect to pay dearly for any and all things Vegas has to offer.Pricing one selves out of business comes to mind...

Jeff Jul-01-2019

All merch should have its price displayed

Dave wrote "The real problem at the casino gift shops, is that there are no prices at all - they are trying to hide the fact that the prices fluctuate. They are being deliberately deceitful."

Exactly. Decades ago, at the outset of my adult life in New York City, I quickly realized that clerks in 24/7, high-priced delis (mostly the "Smilers" chain) employed a variable pricing model on items that didn't have a price on them. If I was with a young lady, the clerks tended to ring-up a crazy high price on the (correct) theory that I wouldn't make a scene about a small sum in front of a girlfriend. Even when alone, the prices for the same unmarked items jumped around a lot.

To this day, I will not buy anything in a store in Vegas or anywhere that doesn't have a price on it, and if I see a lot of items lacking a price, I'll immediately walk out.

Diane Crosby Jul-01-2019

surge pricing parking

We experienced this at what used to be the Hilton. We parked to use the coupon in your book for the buffet. We were told the buffet did not stamp the parking tickets, so we ended up paying a  premium due to an event going on at the time, which we were not attending. Not fun.

Roy Furukawa Jul-01-2019

Strip Drug Stores

I think maybe that has contributed to the rise of the number of Walgreens and CVS stores on the strip. It’s always better to get snacks, water, etc. outside the casino and take it back to your room.

[email protected] Jul-01-2019

Roy

I'm with Roy on this - the addition of all the strip drug stores has been a boon for travelers.  While they may be a bit higher than the stores back home, they are way less than the hotel shops.  First thing I do when I get to LAS is hit the CVS for water and sodas and load up the fridge in my room.  I'll also pick up yogurt and granola bars for a quick breakfast for far less than any hotel restaurants.  Before those stores arrived, the only option for water, etc. were the extremely overpriced hotel stores.  The drug stores have really made things so much better!

Annie Jul-02-2019

Maryland Parkway for shopping

During my Vegas going days, there were no drugstores on the Strip (except White Cross Drugs, North of Sahara, which was a story unto itself). I used to walk to Maryland Parkway, about 1/2 to a 1 mile East of the Strip where there were loads of normal stores, banks, and an enclosed mall. It was like going back to the "real world." I'd shop at a Lucky supermarket for soda and food.

It was fun and refreshing to get back to civilization and get away from the Strip for a bit with its 100% tourist culture and economy.

Question of the Day - 01 July 2019

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