SLS Las Vegas is relocating as many as 30 employees at the Strip resort’s W Las Vegas hotel tower?including quite possibly all the female employees?to make way for an extended stay by a squadron of the Royal Saudi Air Force.
A W spokeswoman confirmed only that all 289 rooms of the tower are booked through August 28, but local news reports have tracked the booking to participation by the kingdom’s military in combat training exercises sponsored by the U.S. Air Force and its allies at Nellis Air Force Base north of the city.
Nellis’ public affairs department responded to an inquiry from the Las Vegas Review-Journal the facility does not disclose the participants of its joint exercises.
“While we encourage foreign participants to stay in our base lodging for ease of travel during the exercise, they are welcome to make arrangements anyplace they prefer,” the department said.
The W pool, bar and salon will be closed to the public for the duration of the booking, according to employees, who said three large portraits of women had been removed from the bar.
The workers, including those in reception, concierge and valet parking, are being temporarily moved to other positions within the property, which has struggled since it opened at the site of the old Sahara Hotel in 2015 and is being sold to Reno casino owner Alex Meruelo.
The deal is expected to be completed in September.
“Everyone will have full-time employment during the time of the buyout and will have their positions at the end of August,” said Greta Vanhersecke, a publicist for W Las Vegas.
She declined to comment on the reported transfer of the women employees, which was revealed to the Review-Journal by SLS staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The possibility has raised some eyebrows, however. Mehmet Erdem, an associate professor at UNLV’s Hotel College, said the shuffling of female employees to other positions, if true, makes for an interesting business case study.
“Running a hospitality operation means welcoming all cultures from around the world and being as accommodating as possible to exceed the expectations of the guests,” said Erdem. “Nevertheless, employees are the internal guests of hospitality companies and hotel organizations cannot thrive without an engaged workforce which has a sense of ownership and pride.”
If the Saudis are behind the booking it would not be the first time they have taken over a U.S. hotel.
In November 2010, more than 100 guests at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City were moved to another hotel when a contingent of the kingdom’s princes and officials accompanying then-King Abdullah took up residence for a few days, according to The New York Times.
The entourage of Saudi Arabia King Salman bought out the entire 222-room Four Seasons in Georgetown, Md., just outside Washington, for several days in September 2015, according to Politico.
A Saudi prince owns 47.5 percent of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which operates more than 100 hotels around the world, including one in Las Vegas.
A spokesman for the Four Seasons Las Vegas told the Review-Journal that Saudi delegations normally stay at the property, but that they did not receive any group request for August.
