A Tale of Two Resorts
How I see it as a young, small fish in an old, big pond...
A Tale of Two Resorts
This article from CNN discusses the economic downturn that Las Vegas is taking, and the steadfastness that Disney Theme Parks are holding. Las Vegas always assumed people would continue to gamble regardless of personal, or national economic status. With the two destinations moving in opposite directions this should have been easy to see. Disney is going cheaper and Vegas is going more pricey, in regards to average rate, food costs and attractions. Regardless of the average room rate at either location, one of these resort locations, Disney, is aimed at families, mean while Las Vegas, despite its efforts, is geared more towards adults. This creates a rift in their target customers and perhaps comparing these two is like comparing apples and oranges. The appeal to a family is that you get a lot more for your buck at Disney, as opposed to placing $100 on one hand at a black jack table versus buying dinner for your whole family. If the general public is being as price conscience as the media tells them they are, then Disney is much more efficient. You can pay a flat fee for your 2.5 children to get into an amusement park and spend the whole day there, where as in Vegas you can pay the same price for tickets but for a 2-3 hour show. More importantly than the gambling revenues dropping 4% in the first two months of the year (let’s hope it isn’t from people learning to count cards and actually winning), convention bookings have dropped over 10% for the same time period. This is a dangerous trend, which hopefully will stay as just a phase. With thousands of new rooms opening over the next two years in Vegas, having no one to fill them will have an even bigger impact on the gambling revenue. Some groups book 15 years in advance, once they take Vegas off their list, it might be a while before they return. This may cause Vegas to chance its image once again and return to those dirt cheap room rates and all-you-can buffet’s which are sadly disappearing.
A Tale of Two Resorts
This article from CNN discusses the economic downturn that Las Vegas is taking, and the steadfastness that Disney Theme Parks are holding. Las Vegas always assumed people would continue to gamble regardless of personal, or national economic status. With the two destinations moving in opposite directions this should have been easy to see. Disney is going cheaper and Vegas is going more pricey, in regards to average rate, food costs and attractions. Regardless of the average room rate at either location, one of these resort locations, Disney, is aimed at families, mean while Las Vegas, despite its efforts, is geared more towards adults. This creates a rift in their target customers and perhaps comparing these two is like comparing apples and oranges. The appeal to a family is that you get a lot more for your buck at Disney, as opposed to placing $100 on one hand at a black jack table versus buying dinner for your whole family. If the general public is being as price conscience as the media tells them they are, then Disney is much more efficient. You can pay a flat fee for your 2.5 children to get into an amusement park and spend the whole day there, where as in Vegas you can pay the same price for tickets but for a 2-3 hour show. More importantly than the gambling revenues dropping 4% in the first two months of the year (let’s hope it isn’t from people learning to count cards and actually winning), convention bookings have dropped over 10% for the same time period. This is a dangerous trend, which hopefully will stay as just a phase. With thousands of new rooms opening over the next two years in Vegas, having no one to fill them will have an even bigger impact on the gambling revenue. Some groups book 15 years in advance, once they take Vegas off their list, it might be a while before they return. This may cause Vegas to chance its image once again and return to those dirt cheap room rates and all-you-can buffet’s which are sadly disappearing.
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