Hotels still have rooms for sale for F1. What’s left — and for how much?
Resorts on the Las Vegas Strip are kicking their Formula One week preparations into high gear — and shifting hotel room prices to sell remaining available hotel inventory.
The average daily room rate for a Friday through Sunday stay at an MGM Resorts International or Caesars Entertainment property was $571.10, without taxes and resort fees, on Thursday afternoon, according to a survey of both companies’ direct booking websites and compiled by the Review-Journal.
Last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix brought eye-popping room rates for the inaugural event that typically attracts an affluent customer. At Caesars Palace, for instance, prices were originally set at $5,323 when rooms were first made available in 2022, but fell to about $2,420 a month before the 2023 event.
But hotel operators and Wall Street analysts have already said they expect hotel revenue to be lower than last year. In late October earnings calls for both MGM and Caesars, executives told investors that the financial returns from the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, to be held Nov. 21-23, are expected to fall short of last year’s results. Both companies said they are anticipating multimillion-dollar year-over-year declines from this year’s race.
Despite the tough comparisons, those executives said given the F1 demographic’s expected high spending on an otherwise slow weekend for the market, they still view the event favorably.
This year, the region’s tourism and business leaders decided instead to try flooding the market with major events at various tourism hot spots in the region. Downtown Las Vegas will host a free, all-ages music and food festival called Neon City Festival, on Nov. 22-24, shifting the dates slightly to spread out visitation interest. Also that weekend will be a Raiders home football game against the Denver Broncos, held Nov. 24 at Allegiant Stadium near the south end of the Strip.
Room rates for F1
The average three-night stay for next weekend, Nov. 22-24, at 12 Strip properties operated by MGM Resorts International, as of Thursday afternoon was $526.58, not including taxes and resort fees, according to room rates advertised on the company’s website. That’s on par with rates advertised at the end of October.
Its most affordable accommodation option was at Excalibur, for an average nightly rate of $212, without taxes and fees. Most expensive was The Cosmopolitan — with its center Strip vantage point and rooms with balconies — at $1,150 per night.
The average daily room rate at one of eight Caesars Entertainment properties was $637.88, according to room rates advertised on the company’s website. Its lowest rate was at Harrah’s for $234 per night, not including taxes and fees. Meanwhile the highest priced accommodations still available were in the Nobu Hotel — a boutique hotel within Caesars Palace — for $2,174. The flagship property was second highest at $799 nightly.
Room rates can fluctuate and are often priced based on demand and availability.
Visitors looking to stay away from the Formula One activity, or just looking for less expensive accommodations, may have more luck in downtown Las Vegas. Twelve hotel-casinos still advertised available rooms on Hotels.com on Thursday afternoon, for an average daily rate of $147.42 without taxes and fees. Most affordable was El Cortez at $98 nightly. On the other end of the spectrum was Circa, with rooms available starting at $389, according to the online travel agency site.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.