Las Vegas started 2024 with perhaps its biggest event of the year, Super Bowl LVIII, in February, but hospitality executives have high expectations for the city as the year progresses.
During fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings calls, hotel and gaming executives spoke about how their hotels have performed and shared their outlooks for the market given the strong calendar of citywide events this year.
Bill Hornbuckle, President and CEO, MGM Resorts International
“Looking ahead, our outlook remains strong. We're encouraged by the metrics we've seen in our business including room and rates on the books and in-the-year group attendance and future bookings as well as the robust event calendar for the city. ...
“On the group side, the Mandalay Bay Convention Center refresh is nearly complete, and we're poised to benefit from an increased 100,000-plus group room nights on The Strip. With MGM's casino segment, we will drive growth from the return of Far East baccarat play, which is still below 2019 levels.
“We will leverage our branch office network to drive customers to our resorts in Las Vegas and expect to see further recovery of international inbound flights, which are still only 75% recovered from Asia. Later this week, we will hold our annual Chinese New Year celebration at Bellagio and Aria, which is already seeing stronger gaming demand than last year.”
Craig Billings, CEO, Wynn Resorts
“We continue to fire on all cylinders here in Las Vegas, and I'm incredibly proud of the Vegas team. ...
"January 2024 looked a lot like January 2023 from an overall revenue perspective with hotel revenue particularly strong. That being said, January isn't where the action is this quarter. It's all about February. Super Bowl, Chinese New Year and for us, the best February in our history for group and convention [business].
“Between Super Bowl and Chinese New Year, we have doubled the front money and credit that we had in 2023, and we expect record hotel revenue over Super Bowl. A very active February will really set the tone for the first quarter.”
Anthony Carano, President and Chief Operating Officer, Caesars Entertainment
“2023 in Las Vegas was a year driven by record occupancy and record [average daily rates] throughout our portfolio. Strong occupancy and ADRs led to records in cash hotel revenues and food and beverage results.
“Our group segment set another adjusted EBITDA record in 2023 and increased occupied room nights to 17% of our mix in Las Vegas.
“While we clearly had a strong year in Las Vegas, we remain optimistic for '24 and beyond.
“Forward occupancy and ADR remained strong, and the outlook for group and convention remains encouraging. The event calendar in Las Vegas remains robust, and we expect to build upon 2023 momentum for several key events.”
Tony Capuano, President and CEO, Marriott International
“Number one, when you look at the vibrancy of that market, you look at how effectively the city was able to accommodate an event like that, you likely heard the NFL Commissioner talking about how anxious the league is to get back to Las Vegas ... both of us [Marriott and MGM Resorts are] really enthusiastic about what this [loyalty program] partnership is going to offer our guests around the world and our Bonvoy members. ...
“We're really excited about what MGM does for Bonvoy. And if those sorts of opportunities present themselves, we are certainly open to pursuing.”
Justin Knight, CEO, Apple Hospitality REIT
“Vegas is a market that we've liked for some time now. Given that the majority of rooms in Vegas are associated with casinos, there are limited opportunities to invest in rooms-focused hotels that fit our overall investment thesis and are a good fit for the profile of our portfolio.
“We have historically owned assets in Vegas. We owned a full-service Marriott hotel and a Residence Inn hotel that we sold before the Great Financial Crisis, and so we have a significant amount of experience in [the] market.
“Vegas is unique in that it generates its own demand, and that demand takes many different forms. We found that there is significant demand for hotel rooms that are not associated with casinos and especially given proximity of this hotel, which is very similar to the hotels that we owned earlier, relative to the convention center. We found we can do incredibly well in the market. We're incredibly excited about the SpringHill Suites specifically. The hotel came with land that enables us to potentially develop up to 500 additional rooms; we are in the process of currently exploring an opportunity to develop on that site. ...
“Given the scarcity of land and available opportunities for development in the heart of Vegas with close proximity to the convention center, we think we have something very special there. ...
“And if you look at projections for the Vegas market, they're incredibly favorable. And I think interestingly, as we look at leisure specifically, and how leisure trends have transitioned, Vegas is on the winning side of those transitions right now and certainly benefited early in the year from the Super Bowl. But even outside of the Super Bowl week, [it] has continued to produce incredibly strong numbers for us year over year. We feel it will be meaningfully additive to the performance of our portfolio overall.”