Trip Reports - My two days at the Las Vegas Hilton

Hi!

I have been informed by the Moderator1 in a very dictator-like way that all my posts are the property of FlyerTalk. Not wanting to debate copyrights with this thing, I have moved all my trip reports away and thus there can be no claim of ownership made by anyone but me. Sad really but not my fault. I know my trip reports are not that amazing but they are still mine and I don't want anyone claiming otherwise.

Read the report at:
http://www.sumsar.com/other/trip-reports/my_two_days_at_the_las_vegas_hilton.shtml

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Goldlust

[This message has been edited by Goldlust (edited 08-14-2001).]

Goldlust, sounds like you DID get ripped off on the taxi ride to the LV Hilton....$13 would have been more likely than $23, even with the airport surcharge...

Next time take Las Vegas Limo for $5.

Yeah http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

He took a very strange route indeed. I thought it was because he wanted to avoid the strip, but still, there must have been a better way... Shouldn't have tipped him I guess. But then: I'm European - as another taxidriver told me: "Europeans are BAD tippers - they don't have a clue" (he was quite satisfied with my tip though...)

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Goldlust

Originally posted by QuietLion:
Next time take Las Vegas Limo for $5.

What is that?

Las Vegas Limo is a limo service from the airport to hotels and back. For hotels on the strip it is $4 each way. it's $5 each way for the north end of the strip, I believe. For that price you get to ride in a limo to your hotel, instead of a more expensive taxi. You catch it right outside baggage claim, at the exit marked for limo and hotel shuttle pick ups.

I seem to remember that when I was young you get stopped and questioned by security guards a lot. It gets a lot better as you get older. Of course, then you wind up wishing that you were younger for a lot of other reasons. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Wow! That's very interesting!
Does it have to be booked in advance?
How many people travel in the limo?
Why do people then use cabs from the airport???

Please, I find this to good to be true (still, I hope it is true, and when you say so I'm sure it is)

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Goldlust

Goldlust.I too had a taxi driver who tried to rip me off. He said do you want to go the long way or the short way. Of course I said the short way. he took me around the back of the strip on an expressway . when we got to the lv hilton he said $22.I walked up to the consierge and asked how much the taxi should have been as I lived in Vegas for 2 months and new it was almost walking distance.He walked over to the taxi driver and told him not to rip his customers off. I gave the guy $8 which i thought was fair and he walked of in a huff.So you are not the only one. trouble is you didnt know how far it was.I did.

I'm staying at the LV Hilton in a couple
weeks. Only $35 a night http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

The best thing about the LV Hilton is the
ability to get insanely cheap rooms. The
worst thing is that you're going to be paying
for all the taxi rides over to the strip.

Las Vegas Limo is NOT booked in advance. They fill it up with seven people (or if you're a sport you can but the whole thing for $35). People taxe cabs for the same reason they play slots.

Yeah, liek QL said, you don't book LVL in advance. You just go up to the booth, pay for one way (or even prepay round trip, if you're worried about losing all your money http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ). Then they put you in a limo and take you to your hotel, with several other folks. At least you arrive in style. We went to Caesar's Palace for $4 apiece.

Originally posted by tinkybelle:
Goldlust.I too had a taxi driver who tried to rip me off. He said do you want to go the long way or the short way. Of course I said the short way. he took me around the back of the strip on an expressway . when we got to the lv hilton he said $22.I walked up to the consierge and asked how much the taxi should have been as I lived in Vegas for 2 months and new it was almost walking distance.He walked over to the taxi driver and told him not to rip his customers off. I gave the guy $8 which i thought was fair and he walked of in a huff.So you are not the only one. trouble is you didnt know how far it was.I did.

**** http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Well at least I know for next time. Thanks.
Is the concierge someone outside the hotel, or do you have to go in to get him?



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Goldlust

Originally posted by Goldlust:
In ORD the INS-official was a very good-looking female

Not to be politically incorrect, but what ORD did you fly into? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Or is it just that at age 18, the qualifications for "very good-looking" are a whole lot lower http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Ragarding taxis in Las Vegas and "the scenic route" (also known as a New York detour :-)), I have some experience in this area.

I'm the type of person that sometimes reads the fine print, and I remember reading somewhere that a taxi driver in Las Vegas cannot take you on the freeway unless you explicitly approve of such a route.

In Las Vegas (and generally speaking, the rest of the U.S.), taxicabs have meters that charge a standardized fare based primarily on mileage. In the case where the taxicab must sit idle in traffic, there is an additional time-based charge for times where the cab doesn't move for a certain amount of time. All of this is usually set by the taxicab regulatory agency, and the meters in the cabs are set to charge the authorized fare, and are sealed and certified as such.

Taking a cab the airport to the major hotels in Las Vegas provides the classic opportunity for cab drivers to cheat the customer: if they take the freeway from the airport to the hotel, they generally double the distance, but take essentially the same amount of time. The unsuspecting passenger thinks they got there the best way, as most of the journey was at 60mph, but the taxicab travelled about twice the necessary distance as the surface street route, and thus the passeger gets charged twice the fare.

However, in Las Vegas, there are very specific regulations that govern taxis. Las Vegas is very much a tourist-driven town, and thus the authorities are concerned about preventing the tourists from being taken advantage of (at least until they get to the casinos :-)).

In particular, a taxicab driver cannot take a route other than the most direct route unless specifically approved by the passenger.

A few months ago, I took a cab from the airport to the Mandalay Bay casino. Without asking, the driver took me on the freeway most of the way. People familiar with the local geography will confirm that this route doubles the distance, without reducing the time required. Upon arrival, I decided to "stiff" the driver on his tip, and told him why. He said that I hadn't told him not to take the freeway, at which point I told him that the law said that he could not do so unless I explicity told him to do so. He was upset at having received no tip, but left with no further incident. I noted his cab number, company, and the time.

Once I got back home a couple of days later, I decided to follow up on this matter (obviously, it was a slow day at work :-)). I was able to locate the taxicab authority and called them, and explained my situation. I was expecting nothing to be done, as I suspected that the taxicab complaint line was nothing more than the typical "consumer affairs" line in that they could make a lot of noise but not really do anything unless the Attorney General of the county decided to do so.

I was surprised at what happened next. They said that in fact they were their own independent law enforcement agency. Furthermore, they said that in this situation, the taxicab driver was clearly in the wrong, and in fact would face a citation in traffic court, the same as if they had been caught speeding. They said that the taxicab authority in Clark County, Nevada had law enforcement powers with respect to taxicab regulations. If I wished to press my case, the driver would be issued a citation, but that since I waited two days to call, it would be hard to sustain in court. I said that I didn't want to turn this into a "federal case" (for our non-U.S. readers, this is slang for a case of great importance), and at my request they instead would call the cab company and deliver an informal reprimand.

But, they also said that should this happen to me in the future, the proper thing to do is to complain immediately upon arrival. Specifically, before paying a fare that you think is unreasonably high because the taxi took a route that you didn't approve of, you should call call the taxicab authority on the spot. They will immediately send an officer to the scene. If you have been unjustly overcharged, you will be required to pay only the amount for a direct routing, and the driver will be issued a citation. The citation then will be processed by the traffic court much like a speeding ticket, and too many convictions will result in suspention/revocation of the taxicab license and/or the actual driver's license of the driver.

In once sense, I don't want to turn a subjective situation into a case where the driver gets a penalty against their license. However, in the case where I've been clearly taken advantage of because I'm an "unknowledgable tourist," I'm more than willing to press the issue. Now that I know the rules that apply to Las Vegas, I'm more than willing to press the issue if I'm ever taken advantage of in the future. I'm pleased to report that most of the taxicab drivers in Las Vegas don't seem to do this, as I haven't gotten the "scenic route" since the incident I report above. But then again, I would imagine that people that the cab driver thinks are from another country are much more likely to be subject to an overcharge.

Caveat Emptor.

[This message has been edited by Steve M (edited 12-11-2000).]

This explains a few things that have happened to me recently in Las Vegas. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ka9taw:
Not to be politically incorrect, but what ORD did you fly into? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Or is it just that at age 18, the qualifications for "very good-looking" are a whole lot lower http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif[/QUOITE]

ROTFLOL... Not http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Well, I do turn 19 in january but more to the point: She was at least so beautiful that I was extremely surprised when she opened her mouth and spoke like an INS agent... (trust me, hispanic, long dark hair...)

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Goldlust

Goldlust.
the consierge is the guy who looks efficient and takes your bags with his hand out when you pull up at the hotel.
Yes I called the cab company but they said they would talk to the guy. I too am very annoyed when a tourist is taken advantage of and so i usually call and complain so the wroughter doesnt do it again.