An analyst for the gaming industry has noted a decline in hotel room prices in the second quarter in Las Vegas, a possible indicator of a softening market, but is not ready to buy the Las Vegas Convention and the visitor’s government theory that it depends on the uncertainty of consumers.
Barry Jonas, an analyst with Atlanta-based truist securities, noted interest rate weakness in a Tuesday report but said that prices can disappear due to typical declines that occur when the weather gets warmer.
Jonas regularly investigates Las Vegas room prices by monitoring prices offered by MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Properties. MGM and Caesars between them run 20 remote hotels.
“Our latest Las Vegas Strip Room Survey looks like the last, which still shows speed weakness in the warmer months,” Jonas said in his report. “Overall, the second quarter is trends down years over the year, with April growth followed by softness in May and June, while our early reading in July is down years over years as well.”
He said that shorter booking windows can also record in the perceived tact.
“While LVCVA recently quoted consumers’ uncertainty, we are not ready to call something structural yet because we could still see improvements with shorter and shorter Vegas booking windows,” he wrote.
Jonas said he expects to have a better read of what the declining prices mean after meeting with Strip Resort Management next week.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@ theplayerlounge.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @rickvelotta at X.
