"As hotel room prices sink, quality of casino guests also takes dive"

Originally Posted by DonQ

Well, Vegas has no one to blame but itself. They've overbuilt too much too fast and the recession has killed the heyday of the mega casino. So now you have people who could only afford Circus Circus or Imperial Palace staying at 3-5 star resorts? Too bad, maybe they'll re-think this whole mega-casino, expensive nite club theme and go back to the days when decent gamblers got decent comps and the trailor trash booked at the nearest Motel 6.

That's the business model that Las Vegas was built on; luring gamblers in with free or inexpensive food, rooms, drinks, and entertainment. Seems simple enough to understand.

Yes, my wife and I are the "trash" that this article addresses. Being in our 60's, we are the roughage that has migrated from the Monte Carlo and Treasure Island to the Mirage and Wynn.

We plead guilty to taking up our own beer and wine to the rooms so we might have a drink late at night.
And yes, we will have a can of peanuts, some nabs and a bag of chips to snack on.
And we commit the cardinal sin of taking up a McDonalds, or likewise, to our rooms.
And heaven forbid they know that we bring our own coffemaker so we don't have to pay 7$ for a cup of Starsux.
And my wife has even been know to take a cookie, or a piece of fruit, from the buffet in her purse.

Other than that, the maid gets their 5$ tip a day, the room is left clearner than we found it and we treat others the way we want to be treated.

Not bad for "trailer-trash"

A lot of hotels have food courts or a Deli style place for you to bring food upstairs. I don't know what the big problem with bringing McD into the room is. Keep in mind that Vegas also has a lot of tourists and heaven forbid they want to try McD in America.

For me, I never trash my room mostly due to the fear of being charged for damage. But it's just common sense and courtesy. When it's late at night you try to keep the noise down in your room. Don't talk too loud in the halls etc. One's social class might factor in, but honestly age factors in more. I'm a lot quieter (maybe? ) when I go with my gf than when I go with a bunch of guys.

The MINI BAR?!? Yikes!

Excelllent points raised here. Completely agree -- article should be backed up w/facts.

And, yes, our drive from LA to Vegas includes bottled water, snacks/refreshments. What we don't finish on the way up is usually taking up to our room, and I don't care if anyone does see us. Sheesh. Why do hotels place ice machines on most of the floors?

Originally Posted by defanman

Yes, my wife and I are the "trash" that this article addresses. Being in our 60's, we are the roughage that has migrated from the Monte Carlo and Treasure Island to the Mirage and Wynn.

We plead guilty to taking up our own beer and wine to the rooms so we might have a drink late at night.
And yes, we will have a can of peanuts, some nabs and a bag of chips to snack on.
And we commit the cardinal sin of taking up a McDonalds, or likewise, to our rooms.
And heaven forbid they know that we bring our own coffemaker so we don't have to pay 7$ for a cup of Starsux.
And my wife has even been know to take a cookie, or a piece of fruit, from the buffet in her purse.

Other than that, the maid gets their 5$ tip a day, the room is left clearner than we found it and we treat others the way we want to be treated. Not bad for "trailer-trash"

There's Frugal and then there is Cheap. I don't think you're Trailer Trash for stretching your hard earned dollars. But if you have a mullet cut and wear wife beaters then maybe we should talk haha...

I'm not one of these folks who thinks the casino's are big bad corporations out to rob me. It's my choice to visit them (or not) and spend my money in them (or not). I can't understand someone putting a $100 bill on a table game or slot machine only to bitch about the cost of food and beverages. Mini bars are expensive but I look at the added expense as a conveniance charge for not having to leave the room. And if the room is comp'd then a few extra bucks isn't going to kill me.

And as far as comp'd rooms go I appreciate them but I don't feel like the casinos owe me anything more than good customer service with a smile, no different than a Theme Park.

Originally Posted by mdee

I can't understand someone putting a $100 bill on a table game or slot machine only to bitch about the cost of food and beverages.

There's no point in bitching about it, I just don't believe in feeding the beast any more than I have to. If I get a 2for1 buffet or meal that saves me $10, that puts me $10 ahead. You can understand wanting to be $10 ahead, can't you? It's no more difficult to understand than that.

Ok I have to chime in here...

For those of you that know me, I've been on this board for many many years. through 4 different forum upgrades and multiple trolls and good folks who have come and gone. I have been and always will be a vegas bargain hunter. This board and my love of Las Vegas influenced my career change to become a flight attendant so I travel for a living. Las Vegas isn't the only place with 3 dollar sodas in the soda machine, and 2 dollar bags of chips that should cost .50 cents. I pack a food bag that I take on most of my trips now because in the past I bought food wherever I layovered and paid a premium price. 9 bucks for a cheese burger and fries, 10 bucks for a chicken salad. etc. etc. because of this I was always broke.

Just because someone brings a cooler to their room doesn't mean they will in turn trash that room. Remember this is Las Vegas where booze flows like water. I'm sure doctors and lawyers have been drunk enough to trash their rooms as well.

In las vegas, I eat out at places where food will cost me less than 10 bucks. I have the steak special at ellis island, I eat the buffet at the fremont, and terribles (which inconsequentially isn't that terrible and a good price with a 1/2 off coupon comes to 5.34). But I also buy McD's and In N' Out and bring food court food up to my room. Have I spent high dollars on food at restaurants that overlook the strip? Sure....but thats the beauty of vegas. if you want a cheese burger, well you can find mcd's burgers all the way up to the most expensive kobe beef you can find.

I prefer to spend my money on gambling, shows, and entertainment rather than food and drinks. I stay downtown primarily where the rooms have always been less expensive but lately i have stayed on the strip due to the lowering of prices down to my level. I used to book the cheapest rooms at rock bottom prices. Now I don't mind paying 35 bucks for CC, or IP, or Tropicana...and it has brought the prices downtown to unprecendeted lows....the gold spike my old stall-wort is 13.99 a night right now midweek. I have NEVER EVER paid 99 dollars a night for a hotel in las vegas and I have stayed at a plethora of them... heres a list of them all. The highest I ever paid was 89 a night for the venetian.

Stardust
FRontier
Vacation Village
Circus Circus
Monte Carlo
Venetian
The Plaza
The Vegas Club
El Cortez
Ogden House/Cabana Suites.
Hooters
Tropicana
Stratosphere
Del Mar
Sahara
Binions
Fitzgeralds
Four Queens
Golden Nugget
Arizona charlies Boulder Highway
Castaways
XXX motel.
Clarion Inn & Suites
Imperial Palace

I've been to vegas dozens of dozens of times and have stayed at some of these properties multiple times. I can afford this #1 because I fly free and #2....because I save money when I'm in vegas by spending smartly.

If I were in the same room as this woman I'd turn the other cheek and walk the other way....Far be it from me to judge her and her "hoity toity" lifestyle. I'll keep enjoying my vegas vacations thank you very much!

Here is another point I think is being missed. If these folks are staying at the higher end joints because the rates are so great, and we are so sure that is why they are staying there, WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY TRASH THE ROOM? If they are so intent on doing Vegas on the cheap why would they risk paying the extensive repair and cleaning costs. This makes no sense!!!

As for coolers, sorry but when I drive to Vegas I take one on every trip. It has my Beer in it, many of which I cannot get in Vegas, as well as plenty of water. I am not paying $5.00 for a 200z bottle of water. So call me what you want, how I spend my vacations and my vacation dollars is nobody else' business in the first place.

I always thought prices were affected by “Supply and Demand” economics…??? Am I wrong? If a significantly large group of people gripe about food/drink prices and demonstrate their displeasure by bringing such in from outside, the business should take the hint and adjust accordingly. The problem here seems to be that the properties have gone too far in lowering their prices, allowing in a demographic element that is counter-productive to their business model and profit margin goals. The solution seems to be for them to begin increasing prices again until that destructive element is reduced to a tolerable level.

Just a note on taking outside drinks up to the room… the wife and I love Dr. Pepper. It is very difficult to get inside the casinos in LV. Not impossible, mind, just difficult… a rarity. So, we stop at a convenience store when we get into town and buy a 12-pack to take up to the room. We throw it in the room fridge so we’re guaranteed to have some readily available. We even take a can or two with us during the day so all we need do is get a glass of ice and we’re set. By drinking this in a casino where they don’t make it available, we’re doing our part to let the casino know our consumer preference. Hasn’t changed their practices yet, but maybe it’s just because not enough people are doing it.

Originally Posted by therealmrvegas

Here is another point I think is being missed. If these folks are staying at the higher end joints because the rates are so great, and we are so sure that is why they are staying there, WHY ON EARTH WOULD THEY TRASH THE ROOM?

Well going back to the article it does say that its somebody who works at a "locals" casino is saying they are seeing rooms taking more damage than before.

As somebody else pointed out: the article doesn't actually provide any stats or numbers to back up its points. It just provides the anecdotal observations of one person that might or might not be taken out of context.

So when they are saying "more rooms are being damaged" what does that mean?

Does it mean that their normal average is 3 rooms per week take some kind of damage and they had a bad month or two where the average was up to 4 rooms?

But it could also mean that before this person being quoted was in a position where they never heard about room damage except where it was so big/extensive that the whole staff was talking about it... and maybe now they are working front desk where they hear about every little thing from a full room "makeover" to somebody dropped a cigarette butt on the carpet and burned a small hole.

It could mean that the average is 3 rooms per week take some kind of damage and for the first six months of the year the average was pushing 10. That would be a significant rise in room damage, bu then thats the point: we don't know if thats the case or what.

Originally Posted by Lawgiver

I always thought prices were affected by “Supply and Demand” economics…??? Am I wrong? If a significantly large group of people gripe about food/drink prices and demonstrate their displeasure by bringing such in from outside, the business should take the hint and adjust accordingly. The problem here seems to be that the properties have gone too far in lowering their prices, allowing in a demographic element that is counter-productive to their business model and profit margin goals. The solution seems to be for them to begin increasing prices again until that destructive element is reduced to a tolerable level.

Just a note on taking outside drinks up to the room… the wife and I love Dr. Pepper. It is very difficult to get inside the casinos in LV. Not impossible, mind, just difficult… a rarity. So, we stop at a convenience store when we get into town and buy a 12-pack to take up to the room. We throw it in the room fridge so we’re guaranteed to have some readily available. We even take a can or two with us during the day so all we need do is get a glass of ice and we’re set. By drinking this in a casino where they don’t make it available, we’re doing our part to let the casino know our consumer preference. Hasn’t changed their practices yet, but maybe it’s just because not enough people are doing it.

You hit the nail on the head. It seems a lot of industries just want to supply what they wish at the cost they choose and completely ignore the demand side of the equation. In the case of the gaming industry, they wanted to give us high priced hotels with expensive dining. Sure, there was a little demand for it but but not to the extent that Vegas has invested in the high end. I was shocked at how low room rates got at the worst of it. You would think that the hotels would have focused those rates on their regular customers but anyjamoke off the street could get rooms for dirt cheap anywhere. Considering that alot of customers had started choosing all inclusive resorts in other parts of the world over Vegas, you would think that Vegas would have taken a clue and looked at food costs. They could have made more money on rooms if they had looked at making the whole experience affordable.

And folks, you don't need to defend bringing food and drinks to your rooms. Except for the McDonalds. I'm sorry but eating fast food in Vegas is so wrong. And the with the prices they are charging for a frickin Big Mac these days, you would actually come out ahead eating at a place like Ellis Island or some of the downtown coffee shops and lunch counters!

Have to agree with DonQ , lawgiver, and theshaah on their views.

Well, there's no doubt cheap room prices have resulted in greater clashes between socio-economic classes in Vegas. Don't you recall what happened when the NBA all star game was held in Vegas? Rooms were trashed, fights, shootings, etc. This, of course, is an extreme example, but illustrates the point. I'm old enough to remember when men were required to wear jackets in the casino after 6pm and likewise for ladies wearing dresses. Can you imagine the horror if a casino exec caught someone hauling a cooler through the lobby? And if you trashed the room you would likely end up somewhere in the desert under a mound of sand haha

I agree with faithmp5, theshah, Lawgiver, etc...my husband prefers Diet Sprite - you can't get it in vending machines and you can't usually get it in gift shops. I prefer Diet Coke...most places sell Pepsi. It's not that we can't afford $3 for a soda from the gift shop, but a) why should we pay that much for something that's not worth that much and b) we can't get what we want from the gift shop.

We also buy a lot of food to bring back home - so we're always hauling grocery bags to our room...some for the room, some to take home. I like having snacks in the room - things I like, things I picked out from a huge selection instead of settling for what we can get in the gift shop, etc...and yeah, things I paid a reasonable price for. Guess we're viewed as trash by some then. That's OK, I really could not care less. In fact, if I knew someone we were walking past was thinking snobby thoughts about us and our shopping, I'm pretty sure I would be inclined to go up to them, rustle around in my grocery bag and offer them a Nutty Bar for their trouble.

To me, this really falls into the category of why the hell do you care so much what other people do? It never ceases to amaze me how some people allow stuff like this to annoy them so much. If things like this really get under your skin, I seriously think that maybe stepping back and getting some perspective is in order.

As for trashing rooms and things of that nature - obviously that's wrong and unacceptable...but bringing drinks and snacks to your room? God help us all...the horror!

Why would anyone care what some stranger they've never met thinks about what they do in vegas? Quite frankly, the people who eat in their room have the same opinion of the snobs who look down on them, as the snobs do of them.

I always bring a case of water and typically gatorade powder as "dehydration" becomes a huge issue in my Vegas activities. Where's the shame in that? $5.00 for 24 16 ounce water bottles. In room equivalent: 12 liter bottles for $60. That leaves $55 to buy lots of big macs to smear on the artwork!

Originally Posted by JOHNNYVEGAS

NO! Don't tell me Vegas is turning into Laughlin????

Oh MAN..

Las Vegas can turn into a LOT OF THINGS.. but Laughlin? Ummm NO.

I guess if they put a big POOL down the FSE.. and have boat races.. and Harley meets. ..sigh.. yea I guess.

But I'll have my bags packed and be closing the sites down.

Ick.. perish at the thought.

GENE

Originally Posted by Gaggles

1) Why are you staying at Caesers if you are sweating a $3 soda in the machine when you are paying at the very least $99 a night?

2) Is saving that money worth that trouble?
.

Could we be near an Agreement here Gaggles?

Awk!

....

Back in 1980-85. The Sands Hotel changed hands a few times.

Oh man YES we even had BUS Junkets to the hotel.

R/S had to clean boxes of rotting pizza.. and paper bags full of empty cans/bottle just SHOVED out the door. A real LOW point for the world class property.

Our Kitchen even got a "D" rating.. If I remember right.

Something like that can really demoralize the "Help".. Things might have changed a little bit today. But back "In MY Day". We worked for LESS than Minimum Wadge. LESS than. Some nights I'd give all my tip money to my bus boys. They worked their asses off.. and no matter how hard i worked or what kind of order I delivered.. They (The people that got the SUPER deals to visit Vegas) refused to tip.

It was worse at the Aladdin back then. Waiters would do cart wheels.. anything to get even a 7% tip. Really! And FORGET IT when the Grateful Dead played there. I'd hear stories from the old R/S crew suffering through the Hippies. Awk..

It was very Hard Going when the GUESTS would STEAL all the R/S equipment. Coffee pots.. everything that wasn't NOT nailed down! Orders would pile up.. and there was no way we could deliver them.

The same thing started to happen at the Golden Nugget right before I left. Bobby Baldwin and Crew came down to look at R/S storage.. trying to find out WHY our stuff was going out the door so fast. As if the Waiters.. would want that crap. The SHOULD have been looking at the QUALITY of the Junkets their NEWBIE hosts were shuttling into the hotel. Oh BOY!

F&B management (now that is a joke) didn't do anything. I guess they thought we could deliver coffee with our bare hands.

After delivering a $2000 order.. best wines.. best food.. etc.. "Hey lets give the kid a couple of bucks"..

Things changed around 1990.. Working in the hotels in the 80's? Man.. it was rough.

I guess I'm happy I made it out alive.

GENE

i bring food and snacks to my room as well. i dont bring in a cooler, but i use the room fridg. i like to have a few beers while relaxing between blackjack sessions. i think seven dollar bottle beer is high, but between the ones im comped and the ones i buy its not so bad. i eat once a day at the hotel eateries and pay the price, and the other meals i go to ellis island for the 6.99 steak, or hard rock 7.77 gamblers steak and potato special. i believe being frugal at times isnt bad and allows more money to gamble on. for my 21st trip to vegas 8-28-09 i decided to do some things ive never done here before. rode the paddle wheel ferry at lake meade, cactus garden and chocolate factory tour in henderson, pinball hall of fame off tropicana. just did some internet searches and found so much more to do than i knew was out there. stayed a whole week and really enjoyed it.

Originally Posted by Vegasguy

Okay. Where on the Strip can you get a room for under $30.00??

I'll bet your avatar could.