Signs of a Vegas slump? Chances are . . .

Scripps Howard News Service

10:43 AM EDT, April 18, 2008

For all the highly technical and nuanced ways to identify economic slowdowns, in Las Vegas there's one simple way to take measure: room rates.

So it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to figure out that, at a time of year when business conventioneers and tourists head to Vegas for near-perfect weather, the city's economic engine isn't firing on all eight cylinders.

The proof: Rooms are going for $75 at Harrah's, $69 at Bally's and only $199 at Wynn Las Vegas and the Venetian.

Even one of the Strip's most exclusive hotels, the Four Seasons, is offering a $50 credit on hotel services and rooms for less than $400 a night.

Then there's the blitz of promotions, from two-for-one meal and show offers to free cocktails and concierge services. Even the just-opened Palazzo is offering a $20 food credit and a $25 gambling credit.

There are no hard figures to show Las Vegas is in a slump.

Though airline and car traffic is down, figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority largely show flattening growth in key indicators such as room rates and visitor traffic, and most casino bosses have yet to publicly acknowledge any slowdown in business.

(Figures from the visitors authority, one of the only official sources of data, are more than a month old by the time they are released.) Despite its impressive track record, Las Vegas has been hit harder by the combined effect of the subprime mortgage crisis, rising gas prices and the broader economic slowdown, said Ray Snisky, president of Funjet Vacations, a brand of Mark Travel Corp. The company has seen some Las Vegas rates drop by more than 20 percent from a year ago.

"It's been surprising to us, because Las Vegas has always been considered recession-proof," Snisky said.

It's a cold blow to Las Vegas, where room rates have hit record highs in recent years, and rooms have remained occupied 90 percent or more of the time.

Major travel Web sites are witnessing a change, too.

At Travelocity.com, average hotel room rates in Las Vegas are slightly higher than a year ago, though hotels are offering many more promotions to drive bookings, including dining, spa and slot play credits. Some travelers are targeting less expensive hotels or booking further in advance for better rates, senior editor Genevieve Shaw Brown said.