‘Vegas is not fun anymore': $9 cups of coffee and pricier rooms are steering travelers away from the vacation mecca

Yahoo

4 days ago

For decades, Las Vegas was considered a destination of bargains galore, offering 99-cent shrimp cocktails, $10 steak dinners and shows that cost no more than the price of a drink.
But those days are long gone. Instead, think $9 cups of coffee, $100-a-person buffet spreads and a movie ticket that can set you back a whopping $279.
'Vegas is not fun anymore': $9 cups of coffee and pricier rooms are steering travelers away from the vacation mecca
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It's prices like these that have some Vegas regulars saying the tourist and gambling mecca has lost its appeal.
'Vegas is not fun anymore,' said Amrita Bhasin, a retail-industry entrepreneur who has traveled there frequently for business as well as pleasure. Her pet financial peeve? The resort fees that hotels charge, which she said can add as much as $50 a day to the tab.
Such complaints are coming at a time when Vegas has seen a sizable drop in visits. In June, hotel occupancy rates fell 14.6% versus the prior year, according to CoStar, a global provider of real-estate data, analytics and news. They were down 12.3% for the current month through July 19.
Among the city's major hotel and gaming operators are such corporate giants as Caesars Entertainment CZR and MGM Resorts International MGM. Both companies declined comment for this story.
Vegas tourism officials don't deny that the city is going through a dry spell, but they say it's reflective of tourism declines nationwide, particularly as foreigners hesitate to come to the U.S.
'Very little of the drop is a Vegas issue,' said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Hill pointed to a significant decline in travelers from Canada as a critical factor, since Canadians have traditionally been the city's biggest international market.
Specifically, Hill said the number of Canadian visitors has declined around 20% in Las Vegas. That dovetails with a broader U.S. trend, which shows a decline of nearly 19% in visits by our northern neighbors.
David Cárdenas, a tourism expert who teaches at the University of Nevada's William F. Harrah College of Hospitality in Las Vegas, said foreigners are staying away from Vegas and other U.S. destinations for a host of reasons, from weak exchange rates to concerns about U.S. immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
Canadians have also been particularly incensed over Trump's comments about making the country the 51st U.S. state, as has been widely reported, and that may be playing a role in their decision not to travel to the U.S.
But plenty of travelers say Vegas has simply become a budget buster. And hospitality experts who know the city say the high costs are definitely a factor in the tourism slump.
Philip Knott, an asset-strategy adviser and hospitality executive who has worked for companies operating and investing in Vegas, is one of those who view it that way.
'Vegas is now seen as overpriced,' he said, pointing to everything from expensive dining to hidden charges at hotels. 'All of those things are impacting booking.'
Even without those hidden charges, hotels have gotten much pricier over the years. In 2015, the average daily room rate in Vegas was $124.42, according to CoStar. In 2024, it was $209.54, an increase of nearly 70%.
It's not just about room rates, however. Visitors point to a variety of things that are hitting them in the wallet.
Like that $9 cup of coffee, which is what you'll spend for a regular-size brew at Café Belle Madeleine, located in the Paris Las Vegas resort, a Caesars property. Or that $100 buffet, which is roughly what you'll pay for the spread on a weekend, including tax, at the Bacchanal, located at Caesars Palace.
What about that $279 movie ticket? Technically, that's the price of a VIP package for what's called the Sphere Experience, a screening of the Darren Aronofsky film 'Postcard from Earth' plus a few preshow attractions at the Sphere, the $2 billion Vegas entertainment venue that opened in 2023.
Even if you don't opt for the VIP treatment, a basic ticket starts at $89 for upcoming shows, according to what's listed on Ticketmaster. Officials with the Sphere didn't respond to a MarketWatch request for comment.
Of course, value-conscious travelers will still find ways to save on a Vegas vacation. Lisa Nicole Jackson, a Los Angeles resident who visits Vegas about three times a year, said she always hunts for deals — and usually finds them. For example, she attended the Sphere Experience for free as part of a hotel package.
Still, Jackson admits that there is the occasional reminder of how expensive Vegas can get these days. Her prime example: a $17 smoothie.
Jackson also said she doesn't like the resort fees that hotels charge, especially when she feels the service and amenities aren't commensurate with the tacked-on cost. An example she cited was hotel pools that close relatively early in the day — 'like 6 p.m.,' she said of a recent experience.
Vegas tourism officials say that deals can readily be found for hotels, particularly during the summer, which is considered the off-season in the city. And sure enough, one of the big deals being promoted right now by some establishments is waiving those pesky resort fees.
'We've got an offering for every budget,' said Hill of the city's Convention and Visitors Authority. As for things like that $9 cup of coffee, he said: 'You're not paying $9 for the coffee. You're paying $9 for the setting.'
There's a reason that Vegas has a $9 cup of coffee, experts say, and that those $10 steak dinner deals of yesteryear are largely gone: Vegas hotels no longer rely as heavily on gambling revenue. Those steak-dinner deals were often loss leaders aimed at getting people inside to play the slots or hit the craps table.
Now Vegas is about the setting, with elaborately themed hotels — yes, Paris in Nevada — along with restaurants helmed by celebrity chefs and performances by star entertainers. In the upcoming week alone, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and the Backstreet Boys are in town, and there are ongoing engagements by the likes of David Copperfield and Penn & Teller.
The Vegas of today also demands a highly qualified workforce, one that requires good salaries and benefits, says Tony Abou-Ganim, a renowned bar professional who's been based in Vegas for more than 20 years and is now a managing partner at Libertine Social, a craft cocktail establishment at Mandalay Bay.
'It takes a $9 cup of coffee to provide that,' said Abou-Ganim. 'In turn, hopefully the guest experience is elevated.'
But experts say there's no disputing that such costs can make Vegas seem out of reach for many middle-class travelers — the very same vacationers who helped put the city on the tourism map.
As for Bhasin, the entrepreneur who has been a Vegas regular, she's fairly certain she'll be cutting back on her trips to the city, in large part because of the cost. Her next vacation there is with family, but she says the plan is actually to visit national parks far from the famed Vegas Strip.
'The only reason we're flying into Vegas is because the flight was cheaper,' Bhasin said.
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