Will inflated hotel prices keep conventioneers away from CES?

For hotels, CES 2017 is a time to make serious money.

But CES organizers are worried that what conventiongoers may perceive as price gouging will keep them away, and ultimately kill the show.

“It’s increasingly expensive,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Virginia-based Consumer Technology Association, which puts on CES. “We met with the hotel leadership and everyone is very sympathetic, but we’re working for concrete action.”

This year CES, which opens Thursday, runs through a weekend, inflating room rates beyond the regular convention rate.

Hotels are charging anywhere from two times to five times more for the same room during CES compared with the same four days next week, according to booking.com. Someone reserving a room Wednesday at the Downtowner Motel would pay $866 to stay the four nights of the CES conference. The same room costs $182 for the same four nights next week. Meanwhile, Wyndham Grand Desert is charging $3,236 for a one-bedroom apartment during CES, nearly four times the price next week.

“We know on weekends Las Vegas has its own ebb and flow, and we don’t want to be part of that,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro said he is working to persuade hotels and the convention to change the dates of CES 2023, currently slated to again fall on a weekend.

But no matter when CES falls, Shapiro says, hotels will inflate their prices accordingly.

“We are increasingly getting complaints from customers that it is too expensive to come to CES in Las Vegas,” he said.

Many CES customers come to Las Vegas during other parts of the year, he said, and they feel that the CTA is responsible for room prices going for double the rate during CES.

“There’s no convention that has higher rates than we do,” he said. “We want the hotels to make money and be full. We just don’t want them to scare the heck out of our customers.”

Micah Richins, chief commercial officer for MGM Resorts International, said via email that MGM agrees that “rate increases should be moderated moving forward for the overall success of CES.”

“In the past, Las Vegas consistently added thousands of new rooms to the city’s inventory every year, accommodating major show growth more easily. Unlike any other convention market in the world, Vegas has experienced no new supply since 2014. At the same time, CES is setting all-time attendance numbers, which compounds this issue,” Richins said.

He added that MGM has been in “collaborative discussions with CES leaders to develop choices that reward attendees for length of stay.”

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Las Vegas did not return a request for comment.

While prudent companies and showgoers booked rooms weeks or months in advance at a discounted group rate, those stuck with non-group rates or last-available rooms are paying a hefty price.

Phil Taylor, attending CES as the co-founder of a tech startup, Brightwork, said he and his colleague booked their accommodations about a month ago and decided to stay off the Strip at Royal Resort, for roughly $300 a night, because it was too expensive on the Strip.

“The price is good. The accommodations aren’t so good,” he said.

Taylor said he doubts that there will be a room rate at which large companies will choose to no longer attend CES.

“But definitely for startups like us that are strapped for cash, we will probably not attend if it’s really high,” he said, adding that $300 a night for a hotel is the most they are willing to spend.

Buyi Kim, who works for advertising company PostVisual in South Korea, said she is staying at the Luxor hotel. Her budget was also $300 per night.

Others are finding alternatives to hotels — including hostels.

At Sin City Hostel, just north of the Stratosphere, all 60 beds are fully booked Thursday and Friday.

“About 80 percent of our bookings are from people going to CES,” said Sin City Hostel Assistant Manager Prescilla Medina. “We have people who just want to see things at CES. We have people working the booths and some even presenting.”

Those staying at Sin City for the four-day CES conference are paying a total of $190 for a single bed in an eight-person dormitory. The cost of that bed for the same four days a week later is $77, or nearly a third the price.

“Our customers are price sensitive,” Shapiro said.

A man exhibiting at CES from South Korea said his company is already talking about sending fewer people from the company to CES next year to cut costs.

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