In what is likely to become a public relations disaster for the company and possibly for the Las Vegas Strip as a whole, MGM Resorts International announced yesterday that it will start charging for parking this spring at its major resorts.
Resorts near MGM properties, including the Tropicana, Paris and Bally's and Caesars Palace, will probably have to start charging as a defensive move. If that happens, it will likely create a tipping point, and free parking on the Strip will be gone.
In a way it is suprising that this idea hasn't been attempted before as casino executives have tried, with a great deal of success, to wring profits out of operations that traditionally supported their casinos, such as restaurants, hotels and nightclubs.
And it's not unreasonable that people who come to, say, the Bellagio just to eye the fountain show and the conservatory should pay something, especially if their vehicles are occupying spaces that could be used by gamblers or diners or nightclub patrons. Further, it appears that MGM will allow some customers to park for free.
Still, this does not seem to be a good idea. Americans have an entitlement mentality about free parking, especially at places where they're expected to spend their money, such as shopping malls -- and casinos. But in Vegas, it's more than that. Many people drive to the city -- half of all visitors come from California -- and often are here for only a few days. They have their cars here anyway, and free parking helps them make the most of their time and money.
MGM also announced that it's going to build a new parking garage at the Excalibur, to serve the new sports arena, the adjacent park and commercial area, and the theater at the Monte Carlo. These are the kinds of attractions at which customers in other cities are used to paying for parking. It might have made sense and been widely accepted if MGM had limited parking fees to just this facility.
But MGM says it will charge for parking at all its Strip properties, except for self-parking at Circus Circus, where it will charge for valet parking. (Assuming customers will not want to tip as much, or at all, when they're paying a parking fee, this looks like an attempt by the company to steal from its valet parking employees.) It justifies these fees by promising improvements in parking facilities, incluing technology that will allow customers to check on availablity of spaces before they arrive and that will guide them to open spots.
Given the choice of this technology, and even enhanced lighting and signage (also promised), or free parking, I think I'd take ... let me think ... the free parking! In an online poll in the Review-Journal today 70 percent of respondents said they'd no longer go to the Strip if they had to pay for parking. (This is not a scientific poll.) But people don't like "resort fees" either, and the casino industry continues to get away with those.
If this parking policy sticks, I think the beneficiaries will be the big outlying casinos, from Sam's Town to the Golden Nugget to Red Rock Resort, I just got back from a trip on Southwest Airlines, and its magazine had an add for Station Casinos with a headline like "Strip blackjack pays 6 to 5. Our blackjack pays 3 to 2." Free parking will be another advantage they can advertise.
As someone who is part of the Vegas economy, it bothers me that one of the leading companies in the leading industry doesn't seem more concerned about ticking off customers, who enjoy more options for their gaming and entertainment dollars in other regions than ever before. Gaming is having trouble attracting younger patrons, and this policy is likely to keep some new customers out of the casinos because free parking apparently will have to be earned over tine through the players club.
My prediction is that MGM's newly announced policy won't stick, at least not without major modifications.
Showing posts with label Las Vegas Strip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Las Vegas Strip. Show all posts
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Slightly off-topic: I visit the Strip
In the past few weeks, I have visited some of the Caesars Entertainment properties on and near the Strip. Caesars is one of the two big companies that own most of the big Strip properties, the other being MGM Resorts International. Caesars properties in Las Vegas are Caesars Palace, Harrah's, Bally's, the Flamingo, Paris Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, the Rio, the Cromwell and the Linq. All but the Rio are on the Strip.
If you follow business news at all, and particularly the gaming industry, you know that Caesars recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. It is in about $18 billion in debt, much of that as a result of a totally economically nonproductive taking of the company private before the recession hit. The debt incurred for that bit of financial manipulation became unsustainable in the new economic environment.
But some of the money Caesars has spent more recently has gone to good use. The Linq is both the name of the renovated hotel that used to be the Imperial Palace, the worst of the Caesars properties in Las Vegas. The casino won't knock your socks off; it has a slightly institutional feel, like an airport. I stayed one night in the hotel, in a room that was hiply decorated but as narrow as any I had experienced.
The Linq is also the name of the pedestrian mall that runs between the Linq hotel and the Flamingo. Lined by shops, bars and restaurants, it has kind of a Disneyesque feel. The main attractions are the Brooklyn Bowl, a concert venue and bowling alley, and the High Roller, a 599-plus-feet tall observation wheel at the east end of the walkway.
I got an opportunity to ride the wheel as part of my birthday celebration, thanks to a comp received by my spouse. The ride, which took a half hour, was pleasant but not spectacular. Better views of the city can be obtained from the top of the Stratosphere's tower and the Palms Casino Resort. The view consisted of just parts of the Strip; downtown was fully blocked. The height revealed a shocking amount of vacant land near the Strip being used only for parking. We did enjoy watching Ellis Island emerge from behind the Westin as the wheel turned us toward its top.
The ride takes a half hour, which struck me as just about the right amount of time. The pods hold about 20 people each, and a few of them have bars inside (there's also a bar in the the building you go through to get on the wheel, and a gift shop you have to exit through). There are TVs in the pods that show a recorded program that some might find entertaining, including a trivia quiz.
From a distance, it's hard to tell that the wheel is turning, but it just about always is, even as people get on and off. That's about like stepping onto an escalator, but I was interested to see a safety net below the boarding area. I wonder if anyone has fallen into it.
The price of a ride at night is $35 per person, which strikes me as $10 to $15 too much. During the day it's $25. Coupons for $5 off seem to be available in the freebie magazines for tourists.
Also in the area of the Linq are is the Cromwell, the boutique hotel at the northeast corner of Flamingo and the Strip. This was Bill's Gambling Hall for a few years and before that the Barbary Coast. This property has been nicely upgraded with a Victorian-influenced decor, including red lamps much like those in the Encore. I was surprised by the high number of table games in the casino (tourists generally prefer to play slots), but unfortunately almost all the blackjack games were 6-to-5 eight deck shoes. Nothing to play there.
The Cromwell has a nightclub and beach club but of most interest to me is the restaurant Giada on the second floor. I took the escalator up for a peek at the eatery and the menu, which looked both highly tempting a pricey. The reviews of this restaurant have been very good, and reservations must be made well in advance.
With the Cromwell and the Linq, both the hotel renovation and the walkway, Caesars has taken some praiseworthy steps to upgrade and add interest to the part of the Strip the company controls. But with some of the Strips oldest and ugliest properties in its portfolio, Caesars still has a lot of work left.
If you follow business news at all, and particularly the gaming industry, you know that Caesars recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. It is in about $18 billion in debt, much of that as a result of a totally economically nonproductive taking of the company private before the recession hit. The debt incurred for that bit of financial manipulation became unsustainable in the new economic environment.
But some of the money Caesars has spent more recently has gone to good use. The Linq is both the name of the renovated hotel that used to be the Imperial Palace, the worst of the Caesars properties in Las Vegas. The casino won't knock your socks off; it has a slightly institutional feel, like an airport. I stayed one night in the hotel, in a room that was hiply decorated but as narrow as any I had experienced.
The Linq is also the name of the pedestrian mall that runs between the Linq hotel and the Flamingo. Lined by shops, bars and restaurants, it has kind of a Disneyesque feel. The main attractions are the Brooklyn Bowl, a concert venue and bowling alley, and the High Roller, a 599-plus-feet tall observation wheel at the east end of the walkway.
I got an opportunity to ride the wheel as part of my birthday celebration, thanks to a comp received by my spouse. The ride, which took a half hour, was pleasant but not spectacular. Better views of the city can be obtained from the top of the Stratosphere's tower and the Palms Casino Resort. The view consisted of just parts of the Strip; downtown was fully blocked. The height revealed a shocking amount of vacant land near the Strip being used only for parking. We did enjoy watching Ellis Island emerge from behind the Westin as the wheel turned us toward its top.
The ride takes a half hour, which struck me as just about the right amount of time. The pods hold about 20 people each, and a few of them have bars inside (there's also a bar in the the building you go through to get on the wheel, and a gift shop you have to exit through). There are TVs in the pods that show a recorded program that some might find entertaining, including a trivia quiz.
From a distance, it's hard to tell that the wheel is turning, but it just about always is, even as people get on and off. That's about like stepping onto an escalator, but I was interested to see a safety net below the boarding area. I wonder if anyone has fallen into it.
The price of a ride at night is $35 per person, which strikes me as $10 to $15 too much. During the day it's $25. Coupons for $5 off seem to be available in the freebie magazines for tourists.
Also in the area of the Linq are is the Cromwell, the boutique hotel at the northeast corner of Flamingo and the Strip. This was Bill's Gambling Hall for a few years and before that the Barbary Coast. This property has been nicely upgraded with a Victorian-influenced decor, including red lamps much like those in the Encore. I was surprised by the high number of table games in the casino (tourists generally prefer to play slots), but unfortunately almost all the blackjack games were 6-to-5 eight deck shoes. Nothing to play there.
The Cromwell has a nightclub and beach club but of most interest to me is the restaurant Giada on the second floor. I took the escalator up for a peek at the eatery and the menu, which looked both highly tempting a pricey. The reviews of this restaurant have been very good, and reservations must be made well in advance.
With the Cromwell and the Linq, both the hotel renovation and the walkway, Caesars has taken some praiseworthy steps to upgrade and add interest to the part of the Strip the company controls. But with some of the Strips oldest and ugliest properties in its portfolio, Caesars still has a lot of work left.
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