Las Vegas - LAS: Special events Feb 3-6 (carnival)?

I just tried to get affordable room rates for Feb 3-6 2005. I am surprised that I couldn't find any deals, rates were rack-rates nearly everywhere I looked.

Are there a lot of special events during the carnival weekend?

Any tips when and where I should start to look for good rates...?

My favourites would be: Westin Casuarina, TheHotel, Venetian, Bellagio.

I just tried to get affordable room rates for Feb 3-6 2005. I am surprised that I couldn't find any deals, rates were rack-rates nearly everywhere I looked.

Are there a lot of special events during the carnival weekend?

Any tips when and where I should start to look for good rates...?

My favourites would be: Westin Casuarina, TheHotel, Venetian, Bellagio.

Always a good idea to check the major events calendars first. The World Shoe Assn is meeting at the Man Bay Conv Ctr during that time, with 35,000 attendees expected. That means rooms at the MB/TheHotel will be a premium. There is also a smaller show at the LV Con Ctr (4000 attendees). Those kind of overall numbers drive up room demand and along with it, room prices.

Have you tried TravelAxe? (http://www.travelaxe.com) TravelAxe is a Windows program you load on your PC. It can then search many different travel web sites, looking for the best deal. Not a perfect tool, but can still be helpful.

Michael
http://www.biztrip.com

Thanks a lot, Michael!

With the room capacity in LV is it typical that rooms go only for rack rates if a 35k people tradeshow is in town?

My hopes are that the better rates are just not yet loaded... Give me some hope, please... ;)

Thanks a lot, Michael!

With the room capacity in LV is it typical that rooms go only for rack rates if a 35k people tradeshow is in town?

My hopes are that the better rates are just not yet loaded... Give me some hope, please... ;)

The hotels will watch the amount of advance reservations they are getting and adjust rates accordingly if they deem necasary. I would keep watch.

BTW, are you a member of each hotels Frequent Player program? If not, sign up. You'll get regular mailings that usually contain special offers. The offers tend be come about 60 days in advance.

Um, excuse me ... ;)

Ever hear of an obscure American folk ritual called the Super Bowl? :D :D

Vegas is a *very* popular destination during Super Bowl week (and not just for those heading to the sports books).

Beginning with SB XXXIX in 2005, the Super Bowl dates were pushed back a week to accomnodate the NFL's adjusted schedule.

Future dates:

Super Bowl XL - February 5, 2006 - Detroit, Michigan

Super Bowl XLI - February 4, 2007 - Miami, Florida

Super Bowl XLII - February 3 or 10, 2008 - Phoenix, Arizona

[QUOTE=ralfkrippner]Thanks a lot, Michael!

With the room capacity in LV is it typical that rooms go only for rack rates if a 35k people tradeshow is in town?

[QUOTE]

One other point. Remember, that is 40K additional visitors, over and above the regular tourist crowd for that time of year.

While LV boast the largest number of hotel rooms of any city in the world, occupany is also way up from the doldrum days of post 9-11. The higher the demand, the more the hotels can charge.

Also remember that the majority of the rooms in Vegas are now owned by public corporations who answer to shareholders first. That means that the days of cheap room rates as a way to get more gamblers into the casinos are all but gone. The hotels are now responsible for their own bottom line (no longer subsidized by the casinos), which means that will try to ring every $ they can out of every room, every night.

If you are a Vegas fan, read the SEC filings for the major Vegas players (MGM Mirage, etc). They provide a lot of detail, including occupancy rates, avg rate per room night, total sales and profit/loss data for each property. Makes for interesting reading.

Um, excuse me ... ;)

Ever hear of an obscure American folk ritual called the Super Bowl? :D :D

Vegas is a *very* popular destination during Super Bowl week (and not just for those heading to the sports books).

Beginning with SB XXXIX in 2005, the Super Bowl dates were pushed back a week to accomnodate the NFL's adjusted schedule.

Future dates:

Super Bowl XL - February 5, 2006 - Detroit, Michigan

Super Bowl XLI - February 4, 2007 - Miami, Florida

Super Bowl XLII - February 3 or 10, 2008 - Phoenix, Arizona

Absolutely right - the SB is Feb 6th, 2005. That will drive up occupany and room rates dramatically. I was only tracking major business related events.

Here's a good Web Page from Vegas.com (http://www.vegas.com/traveltips/calendar.html?f=m0gu&t=caltxt) that provides info on the busiest times of the year in Vegas.

Thanks again to all.

I looked into many different booking engines and found one amazing deal with Amex:

The Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas, Exec. Club Suite for 350$ / night. (Rate on their website was 550$)

That would only be 50$ more than for a regular room at the Westin and about 150$ less than for a regular suite at the Venetian.

As we would have a rental car this seems to be a good deal... And I can cancel up to two days before arrival...

Absolutely right - the SB is Feb 6th, 2005. That will drive up occupany and room rates dramatically. I was only tracking major business related events.

Here's a good Web Page from Vegas.com (http://www.vegas.com/traveltips/calendar.html?f=m0gu&t=caltxt) that provides info on the busiest times of the year in Vegas.

Thank you for that link. It explains why I'm having problems getting rooms at a time when there are no conventions going on -- it's another major event.

Next time I'll pick a different weekend to go to town. :)

Super Bowl.....got my plane tickets...and...room reserved.

First trip to Vegas.....going all out for the second biggest party weekend of the year (everyone tell's me New Year's is bigger than Super Bowl).

Can't wait.....now just hoping my KC Chiefs make a huge turn around and are representing the AFC!!!!

Go big RED

A simple question:

Do I harm my chances of an upgrade to a suite/better view if I book my room through orbitz or expedia rather than direct with the casinos own websites?

I am in Vegas for a four night stay Feb 6-10 (aargh - Superbowl I now realise!) my dates are inflexible and I am noticing many resorts are showing no availability on their own sites, but still some rooms available on other sites/travelaxe.

Should I grab them now on orbitz or wait for similar prices (or special offers) to come available on the hotel sites? I am looking to stay at either Bellagio or MGM Grand, THE Hotel being too far away.