The decline in visitation to Las Vegas this spring hurt business at the Las Vegas Hilton, which sustained a loss for the second quarter ended June 30. The 3,174-room Paradise Road property lost $10.552 million during the June quarter vs. a profit in the year-ago period of $3.394 million, a regulatory filing showed Thursday. Revenue declined from $75.5 million to $45.2 million.
These figures are not surprising. After spending a week there recently, it was obvious that business was in decline. It seems Vegas, like the rest of the country, is feeling the results of the recession. It was hard to see that at other properties. The NY NY Hotel was hopping with activity, as was Harrah's and the Luxor. I was at the Mandalay Bay hotel several days and the activity in some of the restaurants boasted lines waiting to get in.
The Hilton has some factors that are not in its favor. It's off the main strip. It's an older property. There are not that many restaurants or shows there to draw people in. There are just two bars, Tempo and Shimmer, with a few small ones attached to the restaurants. Tempo is dead except during Manilow nights and Shimmer draws a mostly male crowd.
I hope their marketing department has some innovative thinkers. It's time to bring the Hilton into the 21st century. Add a piano bar. Bring in a celebrity chef. Have a 24-hour restaurant that actually stays open all night. Offer some fun things to do past 11pm at night. It's obvious the convention business will not sustain them.
Here's hoping things improve in Vegas (and everywhere),
Texas Fan
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6 comments:
I've been hearing that Vegas was having some ills. You are probably right in that maybe the Hilton needs to re-invent itself.Kind of makes me wonder about Barry... We will always follow, but once in a while I wonder doesn't get ever get bored? At the rate my life is going if I ever get a chance to go to Vegas, it will probably be closed due to lack of interest. Just my luck.
I think the piano bar would be a great thing! I've been to a few and they are always a lot of fun.
Don't hold your breath on the Presley Estate helping out. They tried that in the late 1970s. Plus, EP Enterprise had big expansion plans and had been buying up property on Elvis Presley Blvd. in Memphis, but all of that has been put on hold.
No word yet on Barry re-signing, right? Makes me wonder. With the economy the way it is, to have business a company has to be at the top of its game and the Hilton hasn't been for quite a while. Something to watch.
It's not surprising the Hilton didn't fair well their last quarter everyone is getting hit hard but canceling Barry in June didn't help their cause. other then Barry and an occasional fill in the showroom when Barry is not there the Hilton offers very little other then a nice quiet hotel you can go to to relax, but aren't we in Vegas to have a good time?
I'm off to Vegas next week and the Hilton. Can't pass the deal they are offering. It's been a year since my last trip. I'm sure I will be able to notice the changes.
I just got a postcard in the mail for $33 a night. Wow. Of course, if you are going for excitement, the Hilton is not the place. It is a place to sleep and shower cheap. That's about the extent of it.
You hit the nail on the head. When I've visited LV, I tradiitonally stayed at the Hilton because either I was there to see an act in their showroom, or I was spending a bunch of time in the Star Trek exhibits. If I was going out to raise some hell, I'd be at any other major resort hotel in the city. Entertainment in LV has evolved, the Hilton has not. (Case in point: focus is on traditional entertainment in the showroom, the Sports Book, and the spa.) The other resorts have that **and more**, and I don't mean just "family entertainment" for the hookers, gamblers, and their kids. ;-) I hate to say it, but the LVH is on its way to that great gambling palace in the sky and if Barry intends to stay in LV, I hope he gets a good deal from a great resort there. Like the Wynn, which has already made the rumor mill out there.
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