MGM Resorts to add 20 percent charge at Las Vegas Strip spas

The company said the added service charge essentially replaces tips.

Five MGM properties — The Mirage, Excalibur, Luxor, MGM Grand and New York-New York — already have a service charge at their spas and salons. Aria, Bellagio, Vdara, Mandalay Bay and Delano Las Vegas will be joining, with the charge in place by the end of August.

“Our policies are based on industry standards and focus on providing superior service and an unforgettable guest experience,” Brian Ahern, director of corporate media relations for MGM Resorts, said in an email. “The Spa and Salon policy will help improve facilities and service, streamline interactions and allow guests to focus even more on the experience they choose to receive.”

David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, said it’s unclear how this decision will affect MGM Resorts; it could bring in additional revenue in the short term, but it could also affect customers’ goodwill.

Visitors to Las Vegas “have become increasingly outspoken in their disapproval of add-on charges and fees, and it is hard to imagine that customers will be happy with a new service charge,” Schwartz said in an email.

Wynn Resorts Ltd. spokeswoman Deanna Pettit-Irestone said the company does not have service charges at its spas and salons, and does not have “immediate plans” to add any.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. spokeswoman Jennifer Forkish said the company does not have service charges for its spas and salons and does not plan to add any.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. spokesman Ron Reese said the company is “not involved in the management” of its spas.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.