McCarran unveils new lounge to better serve global travelers

A new premium shared-use lounge that officially opened Friday at McCarran International Airport is the latest step in a plan to better cater to international travelers.

Located in the D gate concourse in Terminal 1, the 7,054-square-foot The Club LAS was developed by Airport Lounge Development (ALD) and features five areas, with the capacity to fit up to 149 people.

“Those zones allow individual guests to serve their individual needs,” said Chris Gwilliam, vice president of business development for ALD. “The space has these beautiful floor to ceiling windows, which offer a great view of the Strip, the backdrop of the mountains and a view of the airport operations.”

The five areas are:

■ A refresh zone providing private restrooms and shower suites and offering spa-quality soaps and lotions to give travelers an at-home feel.

■ A productivity zone aimed at business travelers looking to get some work done between flights.

■ A relax zone featuring ultra-comfortable seating and ample electrical outlets, allowing guests the opportunity to socialize with fellow travelers or simply enjoy sweeping views of the airport and Las Vegas.

■ A replenish zone where customers can enjoy food and beverages, with a hot and cold buffet, table and banquette-style seating, and a bar with complimentary cocktails and premium spirits, wines and beers.

■ A resting zone where travelers can hang out in recliners and ottomans with convenient reading lamps and electrical outlets.

The lounge is open to any traveler. Travelers who are members of Lounge Key, Lounge Pass, AAA, Diners Club International or Priority Pass are able to enter free of charge. All others can enter for a $40 charge. Once a guest is inside, all amenities are complimentary.

The space also features electrical outlets throughout most areas, where travelers can charge their smart devices and laptops. Artwork featuring various landmarks from around the Las Vegas area adorn the walls throughout the lounge.

The space takes advantage of the 995-foot-long corridor that opened in June 2017, linking seven newly configured airline gates in the D gate concourse to the airport’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Terminal 3.

Chris Jones, chief marketing officer for McCarran, said it’s all part of the airport’s plan to better serve international travelers.

“When we opened those gates at D concourse that’s one piece to the larger puzzle,” Jones said. “Two other key pieces to that was the Duty Free store … and the other piece is a full end lounge. That really gives us much more flexibility to handle our airline customers with international service with all of the pieces’ international travelers expect.”

The new lounge has an upscale feel to it, which was a byproduct of airport officials listening to customers’ needs and experiencing similar spaces traveling abroad.

“This one really ups our game,” Jones said. “Things like showers, having a space to set aide to have a quiet area, little amenities like that” is what international customers expect.

The new space is huge for McCarran, Jones said, as the terminal can crowd quickly on days when multiple flights featuring larger jets land with 200 people on board.

With the new lounge, in addition to ALD’s other lounge in Terminal 3, the AMEX Lounge and United Airlines’ Presidents Club lounge, there now are several spaces for travelers to get away from the crowd until their flight is ready to depart.

“The company that operates this lounge also operates the one in Terminal 3. That one is coming up on seven years old and they’re actually going to go back in and renovate that area as well. So, we’re able to give more and better service to customers over there.”

Since the opening of Terminal 3 in 2012, McCarran’s international travelers have grown from 2.88 million in 2012 to 3.78 million in 2018.

Jones attributes that increase to the addition of the international gates in the D concourse and to the airport doing a better job catering to international travelers by adding employees who speak different languages and are equipped with iPads with access to Google Translate, along with other amenities.

Jones said the number of international travelers passing through McCarran is expected to keep increasing as nonstop flights to Japan, Israel and other destinations come on board in the coming years.

“It just seems like more and more of the world has Vegas on their radar and we want to make sure we’re able to give them a good experience when they get here,” he said.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.