Expect to pay more for Strip hotel rooms during July 4th holiday

Room rates for this year’s Independence Day holiday weekend are running about 60 percent higher than July 2021’s average daily room rate.

A survey of room rates for July 2-5 conducted Tuesday indicated the average price of a hotel room in Las Vegas for the Fourth of July weekend is $201.92 a night.

The higher hotel room rates coincide with an American Hotel & Lodging Association study that found Americans are more conscious of inflation and higher gasoline prices when making travel decisions.

The AHLA indicated that Fourth of July is the summer holiday when most people are expected to travel, with 32 percent, compared with 25 percent for Memorial Day and 27 percent for Labor Day.

The Review-Journal surveyed prices at 83 properties as listed on hotels.com for Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights of that holiday weekend. The Fourth of July falls on a Monday this year, and it’s anticipated that travelers coming to the city would take advantage of that day being a full day off work.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported the average daily room rate for the month of July 2021 was $127.90 a night. That month kicked off what was to become a steady increase in hotel room rates that has continued through April. Rates in April, $177.12 a night, were the highest on record for Southern Nevada.

Still deals out there

Individual properties monitor supply and demand regularly, so rates for the Fourth of July could potentially rise more or fall, depending on the visitation outlook.

Among the 83 properties surveyed, nine had rates below $100 a night, with the lowest at $48 offered at the Days Inn Wild Wild West property on Tropicana Avenue.

Among others under $100 a night were Circus Circus, the Rio, El Cortez and the two Arizona Charlies properties.

Some luxury resorts were offering rates of more than $400 a night. The highest listed: the two-bedroom Signature Suites at MGM Grand, going for $659 a night.

Other high-end rooms going for more than $400 a night included The Venetian and Palazzo, Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the Four Seasons and Nobu at Caesars Palace.

In the study completed in late May, the American Hotel & Lodging Association said inflation and gas prices will play into travel decisions more than COVID-19.

‘New set of challenges’

In the survey of 2,210 adults, the AHLA said a majority of travelers say they are likely to take fewer leisure trips and shorter trips because of current gas prices. Among those surveyed, 44 percent said they are likely to postpone trips while 33 percent said they are likely to cancel with no plans to reschedule. A total 82 percent said gas prices will have at least some impact on their travel destinations.

“The pandemic has instilled in most people a greater appreciation for travel, and that’s reflected in the plans Americans are making to get out and about this summer,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA.

“But just as COVID’s negative impact on travel is starting to wane, a new set of challenges is emerging in the form of historic inflation and record-high gas prices. We will be keeping a close eye on these issues and urging Congress and the administration to do the same in order to help ensure they don’t negatively impact hotels’ continued pandemic recovery.”

Other details from the AHLA survey:

— 90 percent say gas prices are a consideration in deciding whether to travel in the next three months (50 percent “major” consideration, 23 percent “moderate” consideration, 17 percent “slight” consideration, 10 percent no consideration.

— 78 percent say that COVID-19 infection rates are a consideration in deciding whether to travel this summer.

— 60 percent say they are likely to take more vacations this year compared with 2020-21.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.