Las Vegas room rates climb in September even as hotel occupancy dips

Hotel occupancy rates maintained a mean gait successful September, but Las Vegas edifice operators managed to propulsion country rates to the highest level successful the pandemic era, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Wednesday.

Occupancy rates averaged 73 percent for the period with play occupancy astatine 89.1 percent, conscionable beneath the norm, but midweek levels were astatine 66.1 percent, underscoring the lack of normal traffic.

Despite mean occupancy rates, edifice operators person pushed the mean regular country rates up by double-digit percentages.

The normal authorization reported an mean country complaint of $155.80, 11 percent higher than successful August and 44.1 percent higher than successful September 2020.

The Strip mean regular country complaint was $164.78 for the month, up 10.9 percent from August and 40.4 percent from much than a twelvemonth ago. Downtown Las Vegas rooms were beardown with a complaint of $110.20, 28.7 percent much than August and 84 percent much than a twelvemonth ago.

Festival boost

Higher request for downtown rooms resulted from the Life Is Beautiful euphony and taste festival successful the mediate of the month.

“With stronger weekends but declines midweek vs. August 2021, September visitation saw immoderate stabilization astatine astir 2.9 cardinal visitors (down 2.1 percent period implicit period and down 15.5 percent from September 2019) aft seeing sharper declines successful August arsenic the COVID delta variant surged,” Kevin Bagger, vice president of the LVCVA probe halfway said successful a report.

The LVCVA continues to study nary normal attendance for the full twelvemonth truthful far, though immoderate ample events, including the World of Concrete commercialized amusement successful June, person occurred.

The normal authorization besides reported 74.5 percent occupancy connected Strip properties, down 0.2 percent points from August, but up 28.1 points from September 2020. Downtown Las Vegas occupancy was reported astatine 61.9 percent, up 4.3 points from August and 17.6 points much than successful September 2020.

Other tourism indicators proceed to amusement mean trends.

The magnitude of car postulation connected highways starring to Las Vegas was up 0.1 percent from August to 127,905 and up 0.8 percent from September 2020.

But the fig of cars counted astatine the California-Nevada borderline connected Interstate 15 adjacent Primm was down 3.7 percent from August to 47,539. That’s besides down 0.1 percent from September 2020.

The Nevada Department of Transportation, which provides the data, acknowledges that it doesn’t differentiate betwixt tourists and section traffic.

McCarran International Airport has yet to merchandise its September rider numbers.

Room for improvement

While visitation was up somewhat successful Laughlin (2.7 percent compared with August), gaming gross was down 9.2 percent to $37.3 cardinal for the month. Laughlin was 1 of 3 markets monitored by the Nevada Gaming Control Board that showed a monthly diminution with the 2 others successful the forest-fire-ravaged Lake Tahoe area.

Joseph Greff, a gaming expert with New York-based J.P. Morgan, said occupancy rates are somewhat skewed due to the fact that much disposable rooms are successful the marketplace present than a twelvemonth ago. With the openings of Circa, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas, country inventory has climbed 1 percent to 150,518.

“For the month, citywide occupancy was 73 percent, flattish sequentially, and down 15 points vs. September 2019,” Greff said successful a Wednesday enactment to investors. “Weekend occupancy continues to outperform convention/group skewing midweek; play occupancy for the period was 89.1 percent vs. weekday 66.1 percent — we enactment that play occupancy improved sequentially, coming successful adjacent the post-pandemic precocious astatine 89.1 percent (up 2 points period implicit month), portion midweek occupancy took a flimsy measurement backmost successful the period to 66.1 percent (down 1.7 points period implicit month).”

Contact Richard N. Velotta astatine rvelotta@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta connected Twitter.