From Foxwoods’ 25th anniversary to MGM Resorts International’s growing Maryland to Massachusetts footprint, celebration, anticipation and revenue generation are watchwords for 2017 and beyond as all major East Coast casino-resorts report rising bookings from corporate, association and incentive groups.
Another hot topic is competition. Having announced its interest in Pennsylvania’s Sands Bethlehem, MGM is facing partners Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods and their plans for a casino in East Windsor, Conn.—close to the Massachusetts border and MGM’s new $950 million Springfield property, slated to open in 2018.
Amid the maneuvering, East Coast properties continue to invest in the future and unique brand appeal in this ever-evolving market.
Meaningful Business
Among the all-star Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) panelists in Atlantic City last month was Caesars Entertainment Chief Sales Officer Michael Massari, who pointed to the significance of leaders such as Roger Dow, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO, and Paul Van Deventer, MPI president and CEO and Meetings Means Business Coalition co-chair, attending the event.
“That would not have happened before,” he said. “The changes here are real.”
Now in undeniable turnaround mode, Atlantic City beams with positive signals.
Spearheaded by Massari, the $126 million Harrah’s Atlantic City Waterfront Conference Center continues to drive significant meetings growth, including from major corporations that previously would never have looked at the destination. For example, summer 2017 bookings include 1,000-delegate meetings from Caterpillar and Olympus, and 2,000 from Ernst & Young.
Meet AC President and CEO Jim Wood shared more good news during the GMID events.
“With a record 171,000 room nights in 2014, we finished 2016 at around 280,000 rooms,” Wood said. “From that banner year, our 2017 meetings outlook, currently at 107 percent of pace, is very strong.”
The strategy includes driving business and demand through long-term selling and multiyear agreements.
“We are booking major conventions up to seven years out, versus two just three years ago,” he said. “Eighty-eight percent of room bookings are midweek, which helps casino properties manage their mix and yield management.”
Openings, not closings, dominate the headlines. The day before GMID, Hard Rock International confirmed its purchase of Trump Taj Mahal and an all-encompassing $375 million makeover of the property, scheduled for summer 2018. Plans call for the $135 million transformation of the closed Atlantic Club Casino Hotel into a waterpark and entertainment complex. The failed Revel is slated for rebranded rebirth in late 2017 as TEN. This summer sees the anticipated debut of a 200-foot observation wheel with climate-controlled gondolas on the Steel Pier. More jobs are coming back via the $220 million Gateway project, including South Jersey Gas’ headquarters and a new Stockton University campus.
Meetings mean continuing growth for casino properties, too.
At Tropicana Atlantic City, Jim Zieries, assistant vice president of hotel sales, reported “tremendous uptick in short-term corporate meetings, which fits nicely over core and repeat business from larger state and regional association conventions.”
With North and Havana Tower room renovations complete, other upgrades include a refresh of the 20,000-square-foot Grand Exhibition Center; renovation of 21 Havana Tower meeting rooms this July; and three dining concepts from Philadelphia-based celebrity chef Jose Garces.
With one beachhead in Maryland at the $1.3 billion MGM National Harbor Resort & Casino and another slated for Massachusetts in 2018 with MGM Springfield, MGM Resorts International centered its place in Atlantic City by acquiring market-leading Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.
“With 95 percent of our business in Las Vegas, adding Borgata and its already strong brand aligned with our strategy of leveraging our meetings set and addressing inventory lag in other markets,” said MGM’s Chief Sales Officer Michael Dominguez at GMID. “It is the right fit for our growing East Coast footprint.”
Offering value-driven pricing, particularly midweek, which is unrivaled on the East Coast, Borgata’s meetings growth is as buoyant as ever.
“First-time Borgata groups increase approximately 10 to 15 percent in attendance and exhibitors,” said Vice President of Hotel and Property Operations Mark Vanderwielen. “With Atlantic City working to evolve beyond gaming, the overall market outlook is positive for 2017 and beyond.”
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Significant serial upgrades are also part of the strategy, including this month’s debut of the bilevel, 18,000-square-foot Central Conference Center, with 11 meeting spaces accommodating groups from 10 to 700, and celebrity chef Michael Symon’s Italian concept, Angeline.
Echoing the optimism is Bill Jackson, director of sales and marketing at Resorts Casino Hotel, which expects to totally renovate all 450 Ocean Tower guest rooms before Memorial Day weekend.
“With our new Resorts Conference Center and All-Inclusive Meeting Package, we’ve seen a significant uptick in short-term corporate bookings, with more meetings happening within a month of contracting,” Jackson said. “As the entire community embraces non-gaming tourism, we are very upbeat on Atlantic City’s future as a meetings destination.”
Major Market Moves
Opened in 1992 by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn., became the first full-service casino built on tribal land, pioneering a nationwide movement that now includes 400-plus tribal-owned and -operated gaming properties across the U.S.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year as North America’s largest resort-casino, Foxwoods’ epic offerings include 150,000 square feet of meeting and convention space and 2,230 luxurious rooms and suites in four hotels. Plus, enough amenities to bolster the claim that “if meeting planners designed a city it would be Foxwoods.”
“Since opening 25 years ago, the property has grown exponentially in physical size, and in our unparalleled ability to meet and exceed every planner and group need, including technology, amenities, service and resort experience,” said Jason Guyot, Foxwoods’ vice president of resort operations and development. “We will always enhance our meeting and convention offerings to maintain our leading East Coast position for groups of all sizes.”
Another entertainment and gaming leader with meetings muscle is the Mohegan Tribal Gaming’s award-winning flagship Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
Presently offering 100,000-plus square feet of flexible, high-tech at its convention center, plus 30,000 square feet of exhibition space at the adjacent 10,000-seat arena, the property is now developing the $80 million Mohegan Sun Exposition Center.
Destined to become the largest expo space along the New York-Boston I-95 corridor when making its anticipated summer 2018 debut, the 132,000-square-foot high-tech venue will feature 8,000 square feet of prefunction space; a 22,000-square-foot ballroom for 1,600 people; and 18 meeting rooms, including a 1,200-square-foot boardroom.
“Among the first events planned for the center is our third-annual hosting of the Northeast Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction, which attracted 90,000 people last year—the largest in Mohegan Sun’s history,” said Gary Baker, director of convention sales and services. “We expect the space to attract more corporate and association tradeshows, while allowing us to expand on current consumer-geared shows like the Sun Wine & Food Festival.”
In Wilkes-Barre, Pa., award-winning Mohegan Sun Pocono offers 20,000-plus square feet of space, with the Keystone Grand Ballroom accommodating up to 1,600 people and doubling as an entertainment complex.
In Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, Sands Bethlehem remains a Mid-Atlantic leader with wide group appeal as a fully integrated resort, including 14,000-plus square feet of flexible multipurpose space. “Group bookings are up overall for 2017, with continuing growth in local corporate, state associations and regional bookings, and consistent high-yield repeat business,” reported Patrick Ryan, executive director, hotel operations. “After hovering between 30 to 60 days over the past five years, booking windows are now lengthening.”
Completely renovated after only five years, Sands’ AAA Four Diamond, 282-room hotel’s new Chairman Level features separate check-in and spacious Chairman Suites. Last November, the resort announced a $90 million casino expansion.
Ten dining options include three Emeril Lagasse signature restaurants, and Buddy V’s Ristorante from TV’s Cake Boss. Entertainment venues include the Molten Lounge and Sands Bethlehem Event Center, with designer stores at the Outlets at Sands Bethlehem.
Set on 3,400 acres east of Syracuse, the Oneida Indian Nation’s Turning Stone Resort Casino is an Upstate New York beacon for an expanding circle of groups.
“Turning Stone Resort Casino continues to be a leader in both regional and national group sales and events,” said Melissa Olsen, director of sales. “Last year, we saw a noted increase in corporate groups planning incentive trips like golf outings and spa weekends, and we expect this growth to continue.”
With adaptable packages, tailored programs and scalable services, the four-season resort comfortably hosts groups from 10 to 2,000 people. Complementing the 48,000-square-foot convention center and 707 guest rooms and suites among four hotels, amenities include 20-plus dining concepts; a 5,000-seat arena; five golf courses; and two spas.
