If one looks to pop culture for an illustration of “livin’ large,” partying it up in a rockin’ suite in Las Vegas would probably be the image you’re offered.
One guy who’s a proponent of the suite life—if only for professional purposes—is Bill Lynch, president of meetings services company NHS (www.nhs-usa.com), which utilizes Las Vegas on a frequent basis for incentive travel programs and corporate events.
“It’s a place our clients like going to, so we operate a lot of programs there—it’s a popular spot in our world,” Lynch says, adding that NHS probably operates six to eight programs in Las Vegas every year, and provides site-selection services for maybe 20 more. “It used to be only certain groups would want to go there, but now all cross-sections do, from doctors to professionals to midlevel customers—everyone wants a piece of it now.”
And many groups who crave the 24/7 action of Vegas are selecting some of the splashiest suites on the Strip as reception venues worthy of a rock star.
“In terms of trying to do something you wouldn’t do yourself, [using a suite] has a certain panache to it, and we spend the resources to make sure it’s special, with musicians, decor and magicians,” Lynch says. “We had an incentive trip late last year and we did a rock and roll party at Planet Hollywood. They had this awesome suite and we really decked it out like a rock star [would]. It was something like The Rolling Stones would do, and it was really a hit.”
Some suite suggestions from Lynch include the aforementioned offering at Planet Hollywood; the Penthouse Suites at Caesars Palace, where opulence comes in a wide variety of flavors; one of the more than 50 Skylofts at MGM Grand, where the top suite measures 6,000 square feet; and the supremely opulent Las Vegas Sky Villas at LVH (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton, next to the convention center), offering Venetian and Tuscan luxury in up to 15,400 square feet of space.
