Hourslong delays at check-in desk plague famed Las Vegas resort

NBC News

24-02-2025

A planned automation upgrade went haywire and plagued one of Las Vegas' most prominent properties over the weekend, forcing thousands of guests to wait hours before reaching their rooms, officials said Monday.
Frustrated customers filled social media with images and video of their marathon-like experiences last week at Resorts World Las Vegas, a sprawling Strip destination comprised of three Hilton hotels, a Hilton, Conrad and Crockfords.
After driving five hours from Los Angeles, 30-year-old Emily Palencia (CQ: Palencia) said she had to wait from 8 p.m. to midnight before finally being able to check in.
"That was our Friday night, just wasted," she told NBC News on Monday. "It didn't feel like a vacation anymore, just completely losing Friday night."
The hotel meltdown became a global issue when Australian rugby players and fans had to endure a massive scrum at check-in line.
Danny Weidler, a columnist for the Sun-Herald newspaper in Sydney, posted video of the never-ending lines at Resorts World with the brutal commentary: "What a joke."
Weidler said some guests had to wait for up to seven hours.
The property was set to undergo a system-wide upgrade aimed at giving the local desk more autonomy than the greater Hilton-connected system had to offer, a hotel official said.
Las Vegas casino and hotel operators typically have to make more on-the-fly adjustments to reservations — such as for complementary stays, meals and other resort services — compared to a typical U.S. property.
Resorts World had scheduled this computer upgrade to unfold late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, assuming manual check-ins would be sufficient during this typically slower time.
But the process of migrating all data from one system to another took days to complete and not the hours that managers had expected, a hotel official said.
"Resorts World Las Vegas recently implemented an upgrade to our booking and hotel technology platform," Resorts World said in a statement. "We experienced longer-than-expected delays in our guest check-in process due to an unforeseen outage related to this upgrade."
The system upgrade was finally completed by Saturday, a hotel official said.
Resort Worlds is in the process of reaching out to all the inconvenienced customers to offer some compensation, such as a 50% discount on another stay, a hotel official said.
"We have thanked our valued guests for their patience and understanding during this time," according to Resorts World. "Our Guest Relations team has been working 24/7 to resolve any outstanding issues. We are committed to utilizing this new technology to enhance the customer experience going forward."
By late Monday morning, Palencia, who works as a teaching assistant in special education, said she'd yet to hear from Resorts World. All she immediately got from the hotel for her ordeal was a $35 food and drink voucher.
"We were so exhausted at that point, I didn't even have the energy to complain," she said. "We just wanted to get into our room."