Saturday, September 12, 2009
Las Vegas gets back to showbiz basics
Variety: "Just a couple of years ago, top-end Strip resorts in Las Vegas, like the Wynn Hotel and the Bellagio, were commanding room rates of $300 or more, especially on weekends. But as any Vegas lover with an e-mail address now knows, those rates have come down."
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9 comments:
I haven't done a lot of research into the prices in Vegas, especially over the past few years, but it is interesting to see the stats that the article provides. The drop from 35 million to 31 million tourists a year, doesn't sound like a huge deal, but when it comes to incoming money for shows and hotels, you can see why hotels have dropped their prices more than 50%. I think it was a really great idea for the various Vegas shows and hotels to come together and offer packages to incoming tourists. Yeah, the economy's downturn is hurting the entertainment industry, but at the same time, it's almost a blessing. We're able to connect to other businesses and strengthen our own resources and hopefully some of our financial stability through our relationships with some of the other corporations.
I'm very surprised to hear that a room in a 5 star hotel in vegas is only $119. Actually this article made me think, oh, i could do that! But i think the whole premise is going back to what vegas used to do. My grandfather used to get junkits for hotel rooms in vegas, if he promised to cash in a certain amount in the casino. He wasn't required to gamble, but merely to exchange it into chips, and then if he wanted, he could exchange it back. But those junkits worked because it brought people into the city, and once they had chips, they would gamble and see shows. I feel like the deal of getting a show for a room, or a room for a show is along the same premises. I think giving people "free" stuff definitely helps business, because they think they are getting a great deal on one aspect, so are generally willing to spend a bit more somewhere else (like in the casino....) I don't think they'll ratio the amount they spend on a show just cause their hotel is cheaper..... but i dont really know.
Guess I need to visit Vegas soon. On a serious note, the cheap tickets for now are a blessing, but I'm sure in time the show's performing in Vegas will be hurt economically. As much as I love cheap ticket prices, I'd much rather see the places I want to visit open. I'm sure for now things are fine, business is made. But the fact of the matter is there are less tourists and less money is being spent. Over time that's going to hurt business in entertainment everywhere. Recessions by definition do end, so hopefully this one ends soon (or as some analysts claim already has- we are just in the in-between shit period) and Vegas and all entertainment can be restored to its former glory. I don't want to see prices go up, but at the same time that show's me the business is still doing allright and won't vanish anytime soon.
Las Vegas has always been about "perks". Vacationers and even gamblers are looking for ways to get things for free or at drastically discounted rates. One way to keep ticket prices at a higher rate, and something they alluded to in the article, is to raise the value of the ticket while still keeping the value of the show the same. For example, adding in "free" backstage tours or getting to meet some of the chorus members in the hotel bar after a show are ways to get more for your money when buying a ticket. While adding these perks aren't realistic for every performance (mainly for the sanity of the show's cast/crew), they are great ways to beef up sales on slower days with emptier houses without having to give away tickets for almost nothing.
Theater tickets to the latests, especially shows in vegas, were a thing to have. But with the impact of this recession we are in, this is changing for the better. Theater and Cirque are still opening in Vegas, and although it may not be what it could be with more money, it is a change in money management- which is a good thing. The ability to now see a Vegas show at half the price is great and the new marketing strategies is a great idea to to get people in the door, stay in the door and spend money. Hearing these prices or new deals avaliable I may be visiting Vegas myself and see a few shows.
Its really too bad that Vegas has fallen on difficult times. I know there have been many layoffs in Vegas theatre companies as well. But its great that, even with the cuts that have been made and the desperation to sell tickets that the city can support such an abundance of big theatrical shows. Its difficult to find as many big time shows happening in one city in such a concentrated local outside NYC. Although Vegas is famous for being flashy and all about the money, its important to realize how big the theatre scene has become there, and how Las Vegas theatre is getting people interested in theatre outside of Vegas.
Coupling theater tickets and hotel rooms seems a completely innovative move to bring in tourists. In this ecomony, people want to feel they're getting more bang for their buck, but still be able to treat themselves to some of the finer things. This offers a perfect way for people to have their cake and eat it too. I think if more theaters falling on hard times did this, maybe they wouldn't be hit quite so hard. I'm not saying we need to turn every show into dinner theater, but people like feeling like they're getting perks. Maybe if broadway joined up with some hotels in NYC, more people would be able to go. I know that I can't afford to go, the way things are right now, but if I could get a ticket and a room, that would be PERFECT!
I'll admit when I think of Las Vegas's entertainment options I imediatley think of the travel advertisments claiming that you could "use the plays in Vegas as your excuse" to spend the weekend there. But, what really amazes me now is just how interlocked the entire city is. If what the articel says is true, and hotels, venues, and the rest of the workings of Vegas really have banded to together in a sort of co-op of sorts so that everyone gets a fair deal and enough money to remain, that's just amazing to me and should be used as an example in other places. The hotels in Vegas recognize that they need the shows, and the shows recognize that they need the hotels, it's when people start working together to sustain each other during the economic down turn that I'm always amazed at places like Vegas, that while having questionable origins, have really made themselves into something that at least in some ways should be exemplified.
Nowadays, it seems theatre or entertainment in general are working to broaden their audience demogprahic but they never take in to account that the price of tickets closes the demographic significatly and Las Vegas is the worst offender for ticket prices. It's surprising they are stubbornly holding their noses up at the current recession. I think they would be surprised at the ticket sale boom if they dropped ticket prices, even by 20%. They cannot complain about needing a bigger audience if they refuse to acknowledge the true problem or even work along with the entire community in their attempt to lower prices. It only looks back on them.
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