In addition, says Cadieux, who has been using Las Vegas regularly for 13 years, just outside the city limits are breathtaking natural landscapes and historical locations that further expand the list of planner options for an interesting and exciting meeting. “And based on all of that,” Cadieux says, “I can’t think of another place that has so much appeal to so many different kinds of people.”

And, she adds, a planner gets all of that appeal at a very cost-effective price. “It’s become a very affordable destination,” Cadieux says. “If you look at other places, there just aren’t any that offer as many options and also are as affordable.”

Kim Payne, assistant to the CEO of Eden Prairie, MN-based data center service provider Datalink, is another planner with a long history of loyalty to and enthusiasm for Las Vegas.

“It’s an economical destination,” says Payne, who has hosted Datalink’s annual national sales and engineering meeting in Las Vegas each January for the last six years — the last four at the AAA Five Diamond Bellagio. “I think it’s a matter of fact that Las Vegas just knows how to do tourism and meetings. And when it comes to value, I feel that the dollars I spend in Las Vegas are better spent than anywhere else in the country.”

The other big advantage Payne cites is the extraordinary meeting infrastructure Las Vegas has and its experience in doing major meetings. “When you go to Las Vegas with 500 attendees, you’re not the only meeting of that size in the hotel,” she says. “The staffs have a lot of experience doing major meetings on a regular basis.” And that shows in the delivery of day-to-day meeting services, she said. “And to me as a planner, the level of service we get is as important as the cost.”

Airlift and Convenience

Although Las Vegas is best known for the extravagant big-box hotels that line its fabled Strip and its globally celebrated dining and entertainment scene, one pleasant surprise for planners and attendees who experience it for the first time is its almost unparalleled ease of access and convenience.

“One of the main reasons we like Las Vegas so much is the airlift, which makes it nice and easy for our attendees to get there,” says Jean Walsh, meeting and event planning manager at private label food company Federated Group in Arlington Heights, IL. “And the proximity of the airport to the major hotels along The Strip makes it very convenient to get to the hotels, which are just a short cab ride.”

That’s especially important now and into the future, Walsh says, since convenience for attendees is a growing factor in the meetings industry. And in that increasingly important sense, Las Vegas sets itself apart from most destinations in the U.S.

Walsh also points out that airlift — both the availability and cost-effectiveness of flights from across the country and around the world — is becoming an ever more important factor in planning meetings.

“That is a big factor for us,” she says. “For any trade show in any industry, people are giving up their time and spending their money to attend. And if a whole day is wasted on travel in each direction, that is not considered a productive use of time for many people. So that is more and more a consideration that people look at when they’re deciding whether to attend a show or not. And on the other hand, when they know the airlift is easy, and it’s just going to be a half day of travel so they can still get a half day of work in before they leave or when they get home, that just makes them more comfortable about coming to your show.”

Chris Collinson, president of Norcross, GA-based Collinson Media & Events, which stages trade shows in the travel industry, agrees that its formidable airlift is a major factor in the popularity of Las Vegas. “The airport has a number of direct flights from all over the world,” he says. “And a lot of those are low-cost flights. That means it’s affordable for any attendee on any budget. The combination of those two things just makes it a very appealing destination, because the cost of getting to the meeting is a major consideration for a significant number of our attendees who pay their own way to get to the meeting.”

Payne puts it even more succinctly. “For us,” she says, “Las Vegas is the most convenient destination in the country when it comes to getting people there easily and cost-effectively.”

Hotel Product

Although convenience and cost-effectiveness are important attributes for any destination — and Las Vegas famously delivers on both counts — it is the city’s awe-inspiring hotel inventory that makes it a popular choice for so many planners.

The city’s hotel room inventory earlier this year was 150,454, according to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority. Now, thanks to a total investment of $2 billion in new and renovated properties over the last year, that number is headed toward 153,373 with the addition of new hotels, such as the $100 million Downtown Grand Las Vegas, formerly the Lady Luck Hotel & Casino. The 634-room Downtown Grand made its debut in October as the first new hotel in historic downtown Las Vegas in nearly three decades — and now serves as a symbol of the reinvention of downtown Las Vegas, especially along Fremont Street, as a new alternative away from The Strip.

Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment Inc. has completed the 181-room and suite Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace, a $30 million renovation and rebranding of the former Centurion Tower at local landmark Caesars Palace — and the first hotel branded with Nobu Matsuhisa, the king of exclusive sushi emporiums. The Nobu Hotel is a boutique hotel within a hotel and its high-profile partners, along with Caesars Palace, include actor Robert De Niro.

Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment is now putting the finishing touches on The Strip’s first standalone boutique hotel, a $185 million, 188-room project that will occupy the site of the old Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon. The property will feature the first Las Vegas restaurant from celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis and will house three of Victor Drai’s party venues, which are rumored to include a beach club, a huge nightclub and an updated version of Drai’s After Hours lounge. The property name has not been announced as of this writing.

Next fall, the new SLS Las Vegas, a 1,600-room property with 30,000 sf of meeting space, on the site of the former Sahara Hotel, will make its much-anticipated debut.

And MGM Resorts will introduce its new Delano Las Vegas, a local outpost of the super-chic South Beach Miami celebrity hideaway, where THEhotel at Mandalay Bay used to be.

Dining and Entertainment

A natural outgrowth of the city’s mega-casino hotels has been a long list of celebrity chef restaurants and other exclusive eateries that generate critical acclaim around the world.

“The dining and entertainment scene is another example of the things that make Las Vegas a special experience,” Collinson says. “We always leave a free night for attendees so they can take advantage of all that the city has to offer and also do individual entertaining.”

Cadieux seconds the opinion that the dining scene in Las Vegas truly sets it apart as a place that guarantees a spectacular experience for meeting attendees. “There is no other place I can think of, except New York or London, where you can find so many celebrity chef restaurants and top dining establishments,” she says. “So when you’re looking at a high-end group or a very important meeting, Las Vegas has the facilities to make that happen. But they also offer a complete range of options. So if you’re looking at a conference that is more driven toward (lower costs), there are also a lot of good options there, as well. There is something for everyone. So in terms of diversity of options, you also can’t find a better destination.”

And, she notes, Las Vegas restaurants are also relentlessly zeroed in on making an event special. “They are focused on helping me, as the planner, pull off a fantastic event,” she says. “And they really pull it all together to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Because vendors and suppliers do a lot of entertaining at her meetings, Walsh says that the dining scene in Las Vegas is always a key to the success of her events. “A lot of networking takes place at our shows,” Walsh says. “For example, vendors and suppliers entertain customers over dinner. And again, there are just so many options within each of the major hotels, or just down the street, that there is something for everyone. And you’re also not wasting a lot of time getting from one place to another. Everything is in close proximity, which is another convenience factor.

“We have some suppliers that want to go more high-end when they’re entertaining,” Walsh continues. “And we’re often asked to help set up their dinner appointments with those preferences in mind. But at the same time, vendors that are more on a budget, or our staff members, who don’t get to enjoy those expensive dinners, also have a lot of great options.”

And attendees, in particular, appreciate the broad array of options. “It’s very unusual to find such a range,” Walsh says. “And it’s something our attendees appreciate, because there is something in each of the major hotels that will please everyone, whether that’s high end, low end or in between. And today, that even includes options when it comes to (ethnic foods), which is another thing attendees appreciate these days.”

Likewise, the entertainment scene is another major benefit of the destination. “One of the key drivers for us in using Las Vegas is that in a two-mile stretch (of The Strip) you have 15 or 20 different shows happening at the same time,” Collinson says. “And they all offer something different, so that no matter what your taste or preference is, you’re going to be able to find something you enjoy. I don’t think there’s any other city that can say that.”

Moreover, he says, there is always something new and exciting in Las Vegas, no matter how often you go. “If you go there this year, by the time you come back next year, there are going to be new restaurants and shows,” Collinson says. “ And not just any restaurant or shows, but the best you’re going to find anywhere.”

For example, the longest-running show on the Las Vegas Strip — Jubilee! at Bally’s Las Vegas — will undergo a major transformation. Frank Gatson Jr., one of the most celebrated creative directors and choreographers in the world, will work hand-in-hand with the cast and crew of Jubilee! to bring a bold, fresh new twist to the production in 2014.

Offsite Venues

Like its roster of dining and entertainment options, Las Vegas offers an almost endless list of offsite venues.

The big news for 2014, says Stephanie Arone, owner of Activity Planners Inc., a destination management company, is the huge project being developed by Caesars Entertainment on a site that includes its former Imperial Palace Hotel. The Quad Casino & Resort is replacing the old property, and a new multipurpose, non-gaming attraction and venue known as The Linq will make its debut in 2014. In addition to dining, shopping and entertainment options, The Linq will feature the High Roller, a 550-foot observation wheel that rises above The Strip for spectacular views. The High Roller will include 28 individual pods that each hold 40 passengers, making it a unique option for meeting planners who want to exploit the sizzle of Las Vegas in a brand new way. The Linq’s cabins can be booked individually or in any quantity, up to and including a complete buyout. And the adjacent High Roller building features 2,500 sf of meeting space divisible into as many as three rooms and perfect for up to 500 guests. “The entire complex is just magnificent,” Arone says.

However, her top three “hottest offsite venues of the moment” are all located in downtown Las Vegas, which has undergone a renaissance since footwear purveyor Zappos moved its headquarters there and undertook a major urban revitalization business center project just a stone’s throw from Fremont Street hotels and casinos.

In fact, Arone says, Fremont Street itself is her No. 1 choice as a venue for offsite events. Planners can close off an entire city block and host a major outdoor event for large groups.

For medium-sized groups, Arone favors the relatively new Mob Museum, a passion project of former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a defense attorney who represented more than the occasional Mafia figure over the years.

And for small groups looking for something different, Arone suggests the Neon Boneyard, a dedicated, specialized space within The Neon Museum that is home to some of the most treasured and world-famous signs of Las Vegas — Caesars Palace, Binion’s Horseshoe, the Golden Nugget and the Stardust. “They took a lot of the old neon signs that made Las Vegas famous and restored them to a degree and put them on display,” she says. “But the space itself is also very dynamic. And you’re looking at the exhibits from an ‘art’ standpoint, where you learn about the history  of Las Vegas and the culture of the destination.”

New offsite venues winning rave reviews include the new Havana Room and outdoor, poolside Beach Club, featuring fountains, palm trees and luxurious cabanas, at the fully renovated Tropicana Las Vegas, yet another historic property that has been resurrected for the 21st century.

A stylish and unique new offsite venue for meetings and events is Silk Road at Vdara Hotel & Spa, one of the hotels in MGM Resort’s City Center complex at the heart of The Strip. The 6,700-sf facility includes individual spaces of 3,700 sf and 900 sf that are illuminated by beautiful natural light.

In order to be in-the-know and get the best results from the venues she uses, Cadieux has worked with Activity Planners as her DMC for the last 13 years. And she highly recommends Arone and her team to other planners who aspire to the best possible Las Vegas meetings.

“The reason I’ve been so loyal is that I just tell Stephanie, ‘I need to do this’ and she says, ‘When do you need it done by? What’s your budget? And I’ll make it happen.’ It really is that simple. But also, the other thing that sets her apart is the level of her staff. They really are very, very focused on making your event a success, so they are in constant communication. And they turn on a dime when I change my plans. And in addition to all that, they are incredibly well connected.”

And it’s not just Arone and Activity Planners who are completely committed to the success of meetings, Collinson says. In fact, he has been surprised by the ferocious sense of responsibility displayed by just about everyone in town.

“People really care about the success of your meeting and about whether your attendees have a good time,” he says. “And that’s because so much of their economy is built on tourism and meetings. And that shows in everything they do. They take meetings very seriously. And that’s why they host more meetings each year than any other destination.”     C&IT