DepositPhotos.com

For decades, Las Vegas has been synonymous with “all things meetings and events.” And while the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the meetings and events environment in all locations and across all industries, Las Vegas continues to make a name for itself in the meetings and events space, regardless of the recent challenges.

H. Fletch Brunelle, vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), says Las Vegas has seen a tremendous amount of new development over the last couple of years. There was the opening of three new resort properties — Circa Las Vegas, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and Resorts World, and more than 2 million sf of new meeting and convention space with the addition of the West Hall expansion at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), CAESARS FORUM and The Venetian Resort’s Stella Studio. In total, the destination offers more than 150,000 hotel rooms and 14 million sf of exhibit and meeting space, giving planners and attendees ample choice to accommodate any type of event and price point.

“We are known for setting the gold standard for the meetings and conventions industry, and that is no different when it comes to the health and safety of our visitors,” Brunelle says. “In addition to following state and local guidelines to safely allow the return of in-person business, the Las Vegas Convention Center is proud to be a Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accredited facility, and several of our partners throughout the resort corridor, as well as Harry Reid International Airport, are also GBAC accredited.”

Last summer, the LVCC’s $1 billion, 1.4 million-sf West Hall expansion debuted. The Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, the underground tunnel developed by Elon Musk’s The Boring Company designed to shuttle convention attendees throughout the 200-acre campus in all-electric Tesla vehicles, also became fully operational.

Focused Growth

The incredible venues gracing the Las Vegas skyline consistently work to renew and rejuvenate themselves to meet the evolving needs of today’s meetings and events. Take SAHARA Las Vegas, for example. According to Chris Bond, CMP, vice president of sales, SAHARA Las Vegas, the resort — which offers more than 85,000 sf of flexible meeting space — this year unveiled a refreshed conference space with a new contemporary look that feels spacious and inviting for numerous size groups.

“Hotel guests … have an additional option this year with our brand-new room product, our remodeled Marra Tower rooms,” Bond says. “These rooms boast warm and inviting appointments that create the perfect respite between meetings.”

As the SAHARA team conducts site tours, event planners are impressed with the venue’s new theater space. “This innovative venue is completely in the round, includes two floors of seating for attendees, has a built-in pre-function space and can easily serve multiple uses, whether that is a pre-conference mixer or a keynote speaker,” Bond says.

Paul Hobson, senior vice president and general manager, SAHARA Las Vegas, adds that as groups make their plans, SAHARA Las Vegas is thrilled to add another venue option in its new AZILO Ultra Pool. “Not only is it a great outdoor space with additional flexibility for larger groups, but the state-of-the-art audio and visual package will cultivate a customized experience and help groups create a truly memorable event,” Hobson says.

Being the new shiny penny in town, Resorts World Las Vegas has a natural appeal for the city’s meetings and events planners. The property features several great outlets that are new and unique to meeting attendees and guests, as well as employees that are ready to help attendees have a fantastic experience. Resorts World Las Vegas and Hilton partnered to bring three of Hilton’s brands together — Hilton, Conrad and Crockfords — for a $4.3 billion integrated resort. Having opened last summer, Resorts World Las Vegas offers 3,500 rooms, as well as a 5,000-seat state-of-the-art theater, 350,000 sf of meeting and convention space and a 220,000-sf pool complex with seven unique pool experiences.

Another aspect of the resort’s appeal is how easy it is to work within the property. Their sales team strategically creates meeting experiences unique to the Las Vegas market, with a more boutique style feel to the event space. And while Resorts World is situated across 50 acres, the meeting space is less than 30 seconds from the elevator banks, the check-in desks are within view of the guest elevator banks, and attendees can even access the Vegas Loop Passenger Station or group dining options without stepping foot in the casino. Resorts World’s advanced technology and digital enhancements have also been a huge appeal for meeting planners and attendees who enjoy the venue’s meeting space, which accommodates both social and corporate groups.

Pictured, the VIP Pool at Resorts World Las Vegas. Resorts World Las Vegas offers 3,500 rooms, as well as a 5,000-seat state-of-the-art theater, 350,000 sf of meeting and convention space and a 220,000-sf pool complex. Courtesy Photo

A Welcoming Environment

While Las Vegas experienced restrictions aplenty during the height of the pandemic, meeting and event venues have eagerly welcomed groups back to Las Vegas. According to Stephanie Glanzer, senior vice president and chief of sales for MGM Resorts International, as they continue to welcome groups back to Las Vegas, they want them to feel confident that their health and safety is MGM’s top priority.

“Throughout the last two years, we have created and continue to update our Convene with Confidence program, which allows groups to customize their events with the health and safety components that make the most sense for their attendees,” Glanzer says. “This could mean anything from on-site testing and vaccine status checks, to creative solutions for room set-ups and dining arrangements. We’ve created a robust template that allows planners to easily customize their events and ensure that all attendees feel confident getting back to meeting in person.”

Las Vegas has always been, and still is, a city that is constantly evolving — which has continued to be the case since the start of the pandemic lockdowns. One of the initiatives MGM is most proud of is a significant digital transformation that has allowed the company to create new options for how guests and meeting attendees experience MGM resorts, including fully mobile check-in; digital queues at restaurants and pools to avoid physical lines, and mobile ordering at the pool.

“This allows guests to customize their experience and provides them with options on how much or how little interaction they want to have with our employees and other guests,” Glanzer says. As Glanzer further explains, one of the most appealing elements of MGM Resorts in Las Vegas is the sheer number of options available for meetings and events of all sizes.

While many planners are aware of MGM’s robust convention spaces at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino and The Mirage Hotel & Casino, many may not know the company also offers a luxury experience at Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, Vdara Hotel & Spa and Park MGM that allows them to host events on a large scale while also offering an elevated experience.

“This luxury meetings district offers planners a convenient way to build out dynamic programming across multiple resorts all within close proximity, while also providing large spaces for general sessions and entertainment at Park Theater and T-Mobile Arena,” Glanzer says. “Additionally, while we have the ability to host large groups throughout our resorts, the majority of our groups are actually small in size. Our team loves developing highly customized programs for these smaller groups, as they allow for great flexibility and creativity.”

Las Vegas offers more than 150,000 hotel rooms and 14 million sf of exhibit and meeting space, giving planners and attendees ample choice to accommodate any type of event. Photo by Ronda Churchill for R&R Partners/LVCVA

A Wealth of Meeting and Entertainment Options

For an amazing meeting space experience, Caesars Entertainment also offers an amazing array of options for groups of all sizes. “[Caesars has] safely and meaningfully been welcoming back hundreds of groups a month. So, [Caesars has] a solid track record thus far for groups from 10 to 27,000. [Caesars has] been able to execute safe and meaningful meetings,” says Lisa Messina, former senior vice president of sales at Caesars Entertainment, and now chief sales officer at Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. “[Caesars is] going in the right direction.”

One of the areas that Caesars Entertainment is focusing on is reinvesting in many of it’s resorts across the country. “[Caesars] will be reinvesting in our food and beverage outlets,” Messina says. “All of [their] planned restaurant experiences support [the] meeting attendees, obviously to provide for things to do once they’re done their meetings or to grab a company lunch.”

At Paris Las Vegas, they are also doing a complete overhaul of the venue’s food and beverage offerings, which are also tied to meeting attendees. “[Caesars has] a new Martha Stewart-inspired restaurant [they’re] doing in collaboration with [her, The Bedford by March Stewart], and [they’ve] got a new [Vanderpump à Paris] going in since it was so successful at Caesar’s Palace,” Messina says. “It is themed differently, so not a complete replica. It obviously has the more Parisian feel to it. Also, what used to be the Asian Street Fair Market at Paris is now officially a Nobu Restaurant, not to compete with the one at Caesar’s Palace, but more of a very approachable offering that you can have for the meeting attendees when they’re on their own for lunch and things of that nature.”

At Caesars Palace Las Vegas, they created new arrival experience that’s going to open up and allow Caesars to add an open-air lounge experience that they didn’t have space for previously. “Because a lot of the money in 2018 and 2019 was spent on the rooms product, [Caesars] started focusing back on the service amenities such as … food and beverage outlets in Las Vegas,” Messina says. “[Caesars closed] Rao’s after 20+ successful years of that partnership, and … will be turning it over to a Peter Luger’s Steak House restaurant”

Recently, Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace, the luxury boutique hotel within the iconic Las Vegas resort, introduced 182 redesigned guest rooms and suites after completing a multimillion-dollar refresh. The world’s first Nobu Hotel now features a more modern, residential feel.

Caesars Palace offers memorable gaming and meeting space experience. Its 300,000 sf of meeting space is comfortably set apart from the casino area, yet remains within easy reach of attendees. Caesars Palace also offers a large range of flexible venues with countless configuration options to suit groups of all sizes. In addition to traditional meeting venues within Caesars, the site’s 4,100-seat Colosseum boasts one of the world’s largest LED screens, a perfect location to for presentations that really “wow.”

The Tropicana Las Vegas – a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel and a Penn National Gaming destination, offers more than 88,000 sf of flexible meeting and exhibition space in a convenient location on the Las Vegas Strip just minutes from the airport, the LVCC and top entertainment stadiums. After a recent expansion, their all-new conference facility is divisible into as many as 38 breakout rooms, and includes a 25,000-sf ballroom, an expansive Trinidad pavilion featuring 27,000 sf of space ideal for large general sessions and exhibits, and elaborate venues such as the state-of-the-art Tropicana Theatre.

The newest addition to The Tropicana Las Vegas’ reception room lineup is the Havana Room, teeming with elegance and awe-inspiring design details at every turn. Surrounded by more than 40 custom-built banquette-seating areas and multiple full-service bars makes events of all sizes a streamlined affair for both attendees and planners alike. State-of-the-art A/V technology means that attendees can enjoy leading-edge presentations throughout the approximately 12,000-sf space, which can accommodate up to 300 attendees seated and 800 attendees reception style.

To further welcome groups back to Tropicana, there are a wealth of group booking specials, including discounts on in-house entertainment, no surcharges on executive meeting banquet menus and complimentary rooms and limo transfers — all of which are dependent on several factors, including number of rooms reserved and the dates of the stay.

Something For Everyone

Station Casinos has long been synonymous with the Las Vegas meetings and events industry. Here’s why: Station Casinos offers several different resorts and hotels, including Red Rock Resort, Casino & Spa; Green Valley Ranch, Resort, Casino & Spa; as well as Palace Station, Sunset Station, Boulder Station and Santa Fe Station. And the meetings and events offerings are as distinct as the properties themselves. For example, Red Rock Resort welcomes groups from 10 to 1,500 in its 100,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, and a quiet setting off the Las Vegas Strip.

Boulder Station boasts more than 300 guest rooms, 13,000 sf of configurable space for meetings and dining, and is conveniently located close to the LVCC. Santa Fe Station can accommodate groups from 10 to 900, and can customize spaces to meet the specific needs of everything from large conferences to mid-size corporate events, to more intimate executive meetings or retreats.

Station Casinos has also announced the newest addition to its portfolio with Durango Casino & Resort, a casino resort set to open late next year in the southwest Las Vegas area of the city.

Durango will feature a boutique gaming and resort experience with the amenities that will appeal to today’s meeting attendees. Some of the highlights of the resort include 83,000 sf of casino space including an open floor plan seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor socializing spaces; 200 guest rooms and suites; 20,000 sf of meeting and event space; and four signature food and beverage outlets. | AC&F |