Las Vegas Abounds With Hotel Deals And Bargains

The bottom has dropped out of hotel rates in Las Vegas as the number of visitors continues to plummet and gambling revenue falls even more steeply.

The Las Vegas Sun recently reported that the number of visitors in June 2009 was 6.8 percent lower than in June 2009, occupancy rates were down 7.2 percentage points, convention attendance was down 18.9 percent and throughout the county, gambling revenue dropped 14.7 percent.

Hotels are discounting an average of 25.5 percent, the Sun reported, but I like to pay less than average. Here are some of the discounts I’ve seen:

Read the rest of this entry »

Obama Hates Las Vegas! Wait, No He Doesn’t

The governor of Nevada says the Obama administration has “sentenced Nevada’s economy to the gallows” by banning government meeting in Las Vegas, Reno and other “fun” destinations.

In fact, there is no ban but a loose set of guidelines dating back to the Bush administration, as the Las Vegas Sun points out in an editorial.

It could be that raising taxes by 33 percent on hotel rooms in the middle of an economic crisis has hurt tourism in Las Vegas. Gov. Jim Gibbons let that increase become law without his signature, although he had said he opposed tax increases.

It could also be that government guidelines discouraging meetings in gambling and resort destinations are a good idea. I’d like government meetings on the economic crisis to be held in dank rooms where the participants will be held until they solve it.

Putting The Tax Squeeze On The Tourists

The Hawaii legislature has passed a bill to raise hotel room taxes, but Gov. Linda Lingle is expected to veto it, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

Not so much in Nevada, where Gov. Jim Gibbons is allowing an increase in the room tax to become law without his signature. On July 1, the room tax rate will increase from 9 percent to 12 percent, as the Las Vegas Sun reported last month.

In Hawaii, the room tax would rise from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent in July and to 9.25 percent in July 2010 under the bill passed Wednesday. The legislature also passed tax increases on incomes of more than $150,000 a year and on tobacco products.

The issue is the same in Hawaii and Nevada. The economic slump is really slamming states that rely on tourism for tax revenue, and the temptation is to slam tourists back. But the wisdom of raising taxes on a dwindling tax base is questionable at best. Tourists have an option that residents don’t — they can stay away.

Hawaii’s hotel occupancy rates are already way down. They were 12.4 percent lower in February from a year earlier, hitting 75 percent, the lowest point in 18 years, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Occupancy was off only 5.5 percentage points to 83.9 percent during the same period in Las Vegas, but gaming revenues were down 14 percent, the Las Vegas Sun reports.

Raising taxes on visitors is unlikely to increase tourism. But the money has to come from somewhere.

More Las Vegas Deals And Bargains

The inbox is filling up again with Las Vegas hotel bargains, and the spring and summer deals are better than ever. Let me list them for you. 

These rates are generally available only on weekdays, with some periods excluded. All the hotels (except The Orleans, as noted) are right on the Strip. Keep in mind that the rates do not include room taxes, which will increase from 9 percent to 12 percent on July 1:

Read the rest of this entry »

Airfare Deals: $170 To Vegas, $464 To Honolulu And More

I just had a look at airfarewatchdog.com‘s list for bargain airfares from Bradley International and was knocked over by what I found. These are round trips:

* to Las Vegas, $145 base fare, totaling $170 with taxes and fees

* to several cities in California, $205, with taxes and fees totaling about $240

* to Honolulu, $425, with taxes and fees $464

* to Chicago, $109, with taxes and fees $139

* to Detroit, $114, with taxes and fees $156

Many of these fares are available through the middle of August. Some are available seven days a week.

They’re all great deals.

Half Price To Vegas On Southwest

Thanks for George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog.com for pointing out that Southwest Airlines is having a 50 percent off sale for flights to Las Vegas from anywhere.

That brings the fare down as low as $210 round trip, everything included, out of Bradley.

You have to buy the ticket today or tomorrow for travel between Jan.13 and March 11.

Not into Vegas? It’s also a handy entry point for a driving tour of lovely southern Arizona and Utah.

Lazy Tourists Scoot Around Vegas

Just today I was lamenting that I seem to be getting a little, well, heftier. "Back away from the cookies," I sternly ordered myself, to no avail. But then I read this Associated Press story about perfectly healthy tourists renting motor scooters intended for the disabled so that it’s easier to get around Las Vegas.

Maybe I’m not so bad.

Read the rest of this entry »

Making Your Own Movie

Have you ever wondered what you could do with a $250 digital camera, a $100 video editing program and no training or talent whatsoever. Let me show you!

Read the rest of this entry »