Las Vegas room rates hit all-time high in October

Las Vegas tourists paid the highest hotel rates in history last month, and the number of visitors nearly matched pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Tuesday.

An estimated 3.6 million people visited Southern Nevada in October, 7.3 percent ahead of last year and just 0.8 percent off October 2019.

Visitors paid an average daily room rate of $209.89, breaking a record that stood for only one month. In September, the LVCVA reported average room rates of $187.18 a night.

The LVCVA reported visitors paid an average of $225.69 a night on the Strip and $117.51 in downtown Las Vegas. The average rate was 20.8 percent more than a year ago and 55.1 percent more than in October 2019.

“Strong demand during the month supported by major events and conventions shattered the monthly record for ADR as average daily room rates approached $210,” said Kevin Bagger, vice president of the LVCVA Research Center.

More people attended conventions in October than any month in 2022. And Bagger said the When We Were Young music festival, two Las Vegas Raiders home games and the NASCAR South Point 400 race drew thousands of out-of-town guests.

The occupancy rate statistics followed the same pattern as visitation: At 87.7 percent, the rate was 6.1 percentage points greater than in October 2021, but 2.3 points less than in October 2019. But resorts have more rooms to fill today than in 2021 or 2019. The hotel room inventory is 150,867, which is 0.2 percent more than last year and 1.1 percent more than in 2019.

“Weekend occupancy reached 94 percent, a level not seen since the 94.8 percent figure of February 2020, the month immediately preceding the COVID shutdown. While midweek occupancy reached 85.1 percent, the highest figure since October 2019’s 87.1 percent tally,” Bagger said.

Convention visitation hit 628,100 for the month with the Global Gaming Expo, the National Association of Convenience Stores, IMEX and Routes World among the shows that used the Las Vegas Convention Center that month.

“We heard operator enthusiasm for October coming out of third-quarter earnings, and we believe these record (average daily rate) levels are evidence of their enthusiasm, which should have a material positive impact on cash flow,” John DeCree of Las Vegas-based CBRE Equity Research said in a report to investors. “The accelerating recovery of group and convention business is highlighting our bullish thesis on the Las Vegas Strip, and the strong room pricing is serving as a material inflation buster for casinos.”

For the first 10 months of 2022, convention visitation was up 149.5 percent over last year to 4.2 million, but down 8.9 percent for the same period in 2019.

The average daily room rate for the first 10 months of 2022 was $168.82, 26.4 percent more than in 2021 and 2019.

Harry Reid International Airport and the Nevada Department of Transportation had yet to post passenger and traffic volume statistics for October, as of Tuesday afternoon.

Laughlin, Mesquite

Visitor volume in Laughlin and Mesquite continued to stay below pre-pandemic levels.

In Laughlin, the LVCVA calculated visitation at 103,600, 0.7 percent above October 2021 levels, but 29.8 percent below October 2019. Laughlin reported total occupancy rates of 48.4 percent, 0.3 percentage points below 2021 and 10.4 points below 2019. The average daily room rate was $79.57.

In Mesquite, visitation was 88,000 for the month, with no data available for October 2021. Occupancy was 88.4 percent, and the average room rate was $79.57 a night.

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