A good number of the properties on the Las Vegas Strip have now shut down their hotel rooms temporarily as a result of low consumer demand. Palazzo at the Venetian resort is the latest property to join this list because of the slowdown in tourism.
Since July, the hotel had stopped accepting weekday reservations but have gone a lot further. The Palazzo tower suites is now to be closed every day of the week, effective immediately. It is reported that the management of the Palazzo is shutting down the hotel to “better reflect occupancy patterns.”
Palazzo Casino Remains Open
Although the Palazzo tower suites will be closed temporarily, the casino, restaurants, bars, and shops will all remain open. However, the number of games available at the casino will be less than what was regularly obtainable. Also, “minor adjustments” will be made to operating hours. It is not a strange move as all properties on the Strip are looking to cut operating costs as tourism is still slow. The Venetian Resort has, however, stated that no changes will be made to its operations.
The location of the Venetian and Palazzo is where the famous Sands hotel-casino once occupied. It was demolished in 1996 even as its marquee Copa Room staged the famous big entertainers – Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. among others.
Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, leading to a slump in tourism, different large resorts have resolved to closing their hotel towers during the week and resuming operations on Fridays. Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, and Mirage are resorts that have adopted this approach.
Another property on the Strip that is doing this is the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. However, its closure is for Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, affecting the hotel and gaming areas. All of this was decided on because of the low demand for those facilities at the time.
Promotions Offered in Attempt to Gain Traffic
Some resorts have started to offer promotions all to attract customers. Some of these promotions come in form of lower room rates. Gaming experts have attributed the fall in the midweek hotel occupancy rate to a fall in conventions and large events. Those events played a huge role in hotel room occupancy during the weekdays in the past.
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, convention business is down about 70% this year. The occupancy rate on the Strip during the weekends is at 64.2 percent. However, that of the midweek is at 38.6 percent.
Tourism slowdown has also been reflected in the numbers of the Southern Nevada McCarran International Airport. The departure and arrival numbers are staggering compared to what it was this time last year. In 2019, 4.6 million passengers made their way through the airport, while only 1.98 million did in October 2020.
People are, however, confident that the numbers will shoot back up as soon as people feel safe again. The 57% percent decline is showed in the figures from the Clark County Department of Aviation. Hopefully, as the Covid-19 vaccines start to be administered nation-wide, people will feel more confident to move around.
