After two-plus years of Covid-related shakiness, the city of Las Vegas posted their highest average daily room rates ever in April, according to the latest report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
The new record was bolstered by a string of high-profile events in the Las Vegas Valley, including four concerts across two weekends from Korean pop mega-group BTS, a five-day trade show for the National Association of Broadcasters and the 2022 NFL Draft. Between the three events, tourist traffic reached peak pre-pandemic levels, which led to a corresponding spike in prices.
Kevin Bagger, vice president of LVCVA’s research center, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that in April, average daily room rates “exceeded $177, 62 percent ahead of last April and nearly 36 percent above pre-COVID levels of April 2019.”
Not only that, but the average revenue per available room was just under $150, which was more than 25 percent higher than that of April 2019, according to Bagger.
Interestingly enough, while prices and profitability reached new heights, total visitation was still just below pre-Covid levels. According to data from the LVCVA, nearly 3.4 million visitors traveled to Las Vegas this April, which was still 4.5 percent below that of 2019.
In terms of tourist visitation, the NFL Draft was perhaps the biggest disappointment of the three events, despite its strong revenue output. Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli told investors that based on his conversations with Strip casino executives, total attendance for the three-day football party was likely under 300,000, which is about half of the 600,000+ that was estimated prior to the event.
Overall, weekend and midweek hotel occupancies landed at 93.2 percent and 79.4 percent, respectively. Those levels are still a little sluggish compared to previous years, but this has largely been attributed to the floundering convention industry as well as decreased levels of international visitation.
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