Room rates for Super Bowl may be higher than they were for F1

Hotel room rates for the Super Bowl next month may go higher than they were for November’s Formula One race.

A survey of rates from 138 Las Vegas hotels conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal Thursday indicates that visitors during the weekend leading up to the Feb. 11 National Football League championship game will average $443.84 a night before taxes and fees.

The average on the Strip is a mind-boggling $856.19 a night at 36 properties.

“Each property has a history of Super Bowl demand so they are better prepared to make pricing decisions than they had been for F1,” said Amanda Belarmino, an assistant professor at UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hospitality.

The Review-Journal surveyed rooms as listed on Hotels.com for a Friday and Saturday night stay before the Sunday game. Some resorts have already sold out and others require two- and three-night stays to accept a booking.

“Las Vegas has always been home to a strong visitor base without ever hosting the event,” said Brendan Bussmann, a gaming industry analyst with Las Vegas-based B Global. “With the game being here for the first time, it will be the mecca of American football whether you are or are not attending the game at Allegiant. Room rates clearly reflect the interest for those coming to the game or those that have always come here to enjoy the game regardless of the location.”

Proximity matters

A hotel’s proximity to Allegiant Stadium where the game will be played appears to be a factor in the total cost.

For example, a Motel 6 near the stadium, at 5085 S. Dean Martin Drive, is asking $509 a night. By comparison, rooms at MGM Grand are going for $500 a night.

The closest casino resort to Allegiant Stadium, the 3,209-room Mandalay Bay, is selling for $1,100 a night while the attached non-gaming Delano property with 1,117 suites, is going for $1,478 a night.

Mandalay Bay’s convention center also is the location for the Super Bowl Experience, a collection of activities and displays related to the big game.

Mandalay Bay and Delano are among 10 properties whose rates exceed $1,000 a night. The locations where guests will pay the most: Wynn and Encore Las Vegas, both with a base price of $2,500 a night. With taxes and fees, the price per night at Wynn and Encore is $2,880 a night.

Other properties that eclipsed the $1,000 level are Caesars Palace, the host hotel for the NFL, $2,499 a night; MGM Grand’s Signature Suites, $1,900; the balcony suites at MGM Grand Signature, $1,170; Aria, $1,149; brand-new Fontainebleau, $1,120; and Hilton Grand Vacations Club Flamingo, $1,099.

Two other resorts barely missed the $1,000 threshold — The Venetian and Palazzo, which offered rooms for $999 a night.

Rates at off-Strip properties and downtown Las Vegas are a bargain compared with Strip rates.

Cheapest rooms out of town

The survey showed that prices at 13 downtown properties average $280.77 a night while 89 off-Strip motels and hotels offer an average price of $300.87 a night. Off-Strip properties include some out-of-town availabilities in Boulder City, Primm, Pahrump and Mount Charleston.

There aren’t any motel or hotel rooms under $100 available in the Las Vegas Valley during Super Bowl weekend. The least expensive accommodations available are at Buffalo Bill’s on the California-Nevada border at Primm, $62 a night, at the Saddle West Hotel and Casino and RV Park in Pahrump, $89 a night, and at the Pahrump Nugget, $94 a night.

The least expensive availability downtown is at the Oasis at Gold Spike, $219 a night.

Comparatively, room rates for the Super Bowl appear to be higher than they were for the F1 race, the National Finals Rodeo, the New Year’s Eve celebration and CES.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which monthly publishes room rate averages, said November’s average rate was $249.31, the highest monthly rate in history.

The Review-Journal did not survey all hotel rooms on Hotels.com rates specifically for F1. The average price of a Strip room, according to a survey of 47 resorts on Hotels.com, was about $593, not including taxes and resort fees.

But the newspaper surveyed for the National Finals Rodeo ($399.65 a night on average), New Year’s Eve ($261.76) and CES ($266.81).

Las Vegas has never hosted a Super Bowl. Normal hotel rates for February are dramatically lower. LVCVA reported last March that the February 2023 average daily room rate was $176.64 a night, with the Strip averaging rates of $188.18 a night.

Bussmann said it would be unfair to compare the Super Bowl with F1.

“They are different fan bases and a different run-up to the event,” he said. “It would be like comparing the attendees at CES and World of Concrete. They are different events with different attendees. As the sports and entertainment capital of the world, it’s exciting to see these major events being hosted in Vegas for the first time and what will likely be several times into the future.”

Gaming measure of success

Belarmino said she believes the true measure of success for Las Vegas as a Super Bowl host will be in the gaming win numbers since the city traditionally draws a big crowd for the game, even if it’s being played elsewhere.

“Increased room rates also indicates to me that there is increased demand from casino players,” Belarmino said. “If a casino-hotel has more players staying at their hotel, they have less rooms they need to sell online and can sell them at higher prices. Super Bowl historically generates high demand for the host city, and many Americans have attending a Super Bowl on their bucket lists. Las Vegas is always busy for Super Bowl, so I think the true metric of success will be the gaming win for that weekend rather than the average daily rate.”

Officials won’t know what that amount is until late March when the Nevada Gaming Control Board produces February’s gaming win numbers.

Analysts already are anticipating February gaming numbers will be higher than in 2023 because it’s a leap year and gamblers will have an extra day to play table games and slots than they normally have most Februaries.

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